KR102521829B1 - Control apparatus for rudder and ship - Google Patents

Abstract

We propose a technology to improve the fuel efficiency of a ship by suppressing engine load fluctuations.
A propeller 21, an engine 19 for propelling the ship 100 by transmitting rotational power to the propeller 21, a steering gear 17 for turning the ship 100, and the ship 100 are designated It is a key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 having a steering unit 13 that outputs a command for a target steering angle value of the steering gear 17 to navigate a route, and provides a predetermined control while the ship 100 navigates a designated route. A prediction unit 27 that predicts the load of the engine 19 caused by disturbance in timing and calculates a load variation amount with respect to the predicted load reference load of the engine 19; and based on the load variation amount, the engine A correction unit 33 for correcting the target steering angle value to reduce fuel consumption, and a key control unit 35 for controlling the steering gear according to the corrected target steering angle value.

Description

Key control device and vessel {CONTROL APPARATUS FOR RUDDER AND SHIP}

The present invention relates to a rudder control device and a ship.

Conventionally, various techniques have been proposed to improve the fuel efficiency of ships (for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Literature 1 describes predicting the inflow speed of seawater flowing into a variable pitch propeller and controlling the blade angle of the variable pitch propeller based on the prediction result.

Japanese Patent No. 6047923

An object of the present invention is to propose a technique for improving the fuel efficiency of a ship by suppressing engine load fluctuations by a method different from Patent Document 1.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a propeller, an engine for propelling a ship by transmitting rotational power to the propeller, a steering gear for turning the ship, and a target steering angle value of the steering gear so that the ship navigates a designated route. A key control device for controlling the steering gear having a turn command unit for outputting commands, predicting the engine load generated by disturbance at a predetermined timing while the ship is navigating a designated route, and predicting the predicted engine load A prediction unit that calculates the load fluctuation amount for the standard load of the load variation, a correction unit that corrects the target steering angle value to reduce the fuel consumption of the engine based on the load variation amount, and a key control unit that controls the steering gear according to the corrected target steering angle value. to provide

1 is a block diagram of a ship to which a control device is applied.
2 is an example of an equal fuel ratio line.
Fig. 3 shows the change over time of the target rudder angle value for navigating the specified route.
Fig. 4 shows the change over time of the predicted load.
5 shows corrected target angle values.
FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 5 .
Fig. 7 shows the change with the passage of time of the steering angle when the correction amount is corrected according to the change amount of the steering angle.
8 is a flowchart showing a series of controls by the control device.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described. 1 is a block diagram of a ship to which the control device 23 is applied.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vessel 100 includes, for example, a telegraph 11 and a steering unit 13 disposed on a bridge. An output command value of the propulsion generating unit 15 is input to the telegraph 11, and the propulsive generating unit 15 generates an output according to the command value. A steering angle command value of the steering gear 17 is input to the steering unit 13 by an operator, and the steering angle changes according to the steering angle command value during manual operation.

The propulsive force generator 15 includes an engine 19 and a propeller 21 fixed to an output shaft of the engine 19 and rotationally driven by rotational power transmitted from the engine 19 . The engine 19 is driven at the number of revolutions according to the output command value input from the telegraph 11. It is also possible to make the telegraph 11 capable of inputting a command based on ship speed (ground ship speed or log ship speed), and the output command value may be a value representing the number of engine revolutions required to achieve the ship speed.

The ship 100 is provided with a control device 23 as a key control device. The control device 23 controls the steering angle of the steering gear 17 based on a preset target steering angle value at the time of autopilot control to navigate to a destination along a designated route specified in advance. Incidentally, in the following examples, it is assumed that the rotational speed of the engine 19 is kept constant by a governor or other governor not shown when following a designated route unless otherwise specified. The control device 23 includes a fuel economy calculator 25 that calculates the fuel economy of the engine 19 and a first predictor 27 that predicts the engine load when a disturbance such as tidal current or wind is received, and It includes a second prediction unit (29) for predicting the load of the engine along the way, a displacement amount calculation unit (31) for calculating a displacement amount from the specified route, and a correction unit (33).

The fuel economy calculator 25 calculates the current fuel economy based on the current engine torque, the current engine speed, and the amount of fuel injected to the engine. Fuel consumption refers to the fuel consumption rate [g/kW·h] of an engine expressed as fuel consumption per unit output in unit time. In addition, the fuel economy calculation unit 25 calculates the fuel economy at a predetermined timing when the current engine rotation speed is maintained based on the engine load variation (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "engine load variation") predict The fuel economy calculator 25 corresponds to a fuel economy calculator and a fuel economy predictor.

The 1st prediction part 27 predicts the engine load fluctuation amount by disturbances, such as a tidal current and wind, during navigation of the ship 100. The engine load fluctuation amount predicted by the first predictor 27 (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "first engine load fluctuation amount") refers to a fluctuation amount with respect to the reference load of the engine 19 . The reference load of the engine 19 refers to the load of the engine 19 when the engine 19 is driven at a constant rotational speed in a state not affected by tidal currents, waves, and wind. Therefore, the first engine load variation amount refers to the variation amount with respect to the standard load when the ship 100 receives a disturbance. In order to predict the first engine load variation amount, the first prediction unit 27 acquires disturbance information including maritime information such as tide forecast and wave forecast, and meteorological information such as wind forecast. The disturbance information may be information detected on the ship 100 or information obtained from outside the ship. The first predictor 27 performs time-sequential analysis by an autoregressive model based on the acquired disturbance information by a known method to predict disturbance. The first prediction unit 27 outputs, to the correcting unit 33, the predicted load variation amount when the predicted disturbance is received.

The second predictor 29 predicts the engine load variation due to the change in the steering angle according to the target steering angle value. The target steering angle value is a steering angle value when navigating along a designated route. It is known that when the rudder angle is changed from the neutral position, water resistance applied to the steering gear 17 or the entire ship 100 increases, and the load on the engine 19 increases according to the amount of change in the rudder angle. In order to predict a change in steering angle and engine load, information relating a past steering angle value and a measurement result obtained from an engine load measuring instrument such as a main machine output meter can be used. The second predictor 29 has information relating to the relationship between the amount of change in steering angle and the change in engine load in advance, predicts the change in engine load from this information, and uses the prediction result as the second amount of change in engine load, and the correction unit ( 33) is output.

The deviation amount calculation unit 31 acquires positional information such as GPS and calculates the deviation amount between the route during navigation and the designated route. As for the deviation amount, for example, the distance from the linear route constituting the designated route is output to the correction unit 33 as the deviation amount.

The correction unit 33 corrects the target steering angle value based on the fuel consumption, the first engine load variation amount, the second engine load amount, and the deviation amount. Therefore, in this embodiment, the 1st predictor 27 and the 2nd predictor 29 function as a predictor, and the corrector 33 functions as a corrector. Further, the correction unit 33 corrects the target steering angle value based on the constant fuel consumption line of the engine 19 . Fig. 2 shows an example of an equal fuel ratio line. In Fig. 2, the vertical axis represents engine torque and the horizontal axis represents engine revolutions.

The ship 100 includes a key control unit 35 that controls the steering angle based on the target steering angle value or the target steering angle value corrected by the correction unit 33, and a steering angle command input unit that receives a command from the steering unit 13 ( 37) is provided. The key control unit 35 controls the steering angle based on an input from the correction unit 33 or the steering angle command input unit 37 . Therefore, the key control unit 35 corresponds to a turning command unit. For example, when the steering unit 13 is operated during autopilot control to perform emergency avoidance or the like, the steering angle command input unit 37 detects the operation of the steering unit 13, and the key control unit 35 controls the steering. A steering angle command value according to the manipulated variable in section 13 is input. In this case, the key control unit 35 controls the steering angle based on the steering angle command value from the steering angle command input unit 37 regardless of the output from the correction unit 33 .

The correction processing by the correction unit 33 will be described below.

[Target Angle Correction Based on Disturbance]

In one embodiment, the correction unit 33 corrects the target steering angle value based on the first engine load variation amount predicted by the first prediction unit 27 . Fig. 3 shows the change over time of the target rudder angle value for navigating the specified route. In the illustrated example, the steering angle is increased or decreased in one direction (for example, the right turning direction), and the origin of the vertical axis represents the neutral position of the steering gear 17. 4 shows the change over time of the predicted load predicted by the first prediction unit 27, that is, the first engine load variation amount. In Fig. 4, the origin of the vertical axis represents the reference load. The first engine load variation amount includes a load that increases the engine load (a load that becomes a positive value) and a load that decreases the engine load (a load that becomes a negative value). The correcting unit 33 calculates a correction function that reduces the engine load at the timing indicating an increase in the first engine load variation amount and increases the engine load at the timing indicating a decrease in the first engine load variation amount. In other words, the correction unit 33 calculates a correction function that is in reverse phase with the waveform of the first engine load variation amount. In this aspect, the magnitude of the correction function at each time is equal to the magnitude of the predicted load at the same time. Therefore, the correction function has a waveform that made the waveform of the first engine load fluctuation amount line symmetrical with respect to the horizontal axis (indicated by a broken line in the same figure), and eliminates the first engine load fluctuation amount. The correction unit 33 applies the correction function to the target steering angle value to obtain a target steering angle value that eliminates the first engine load variation amount. In this case, it is not necessary to eliminate 100% of the first engine load variation amount, and it is only necessary to make the first engine load variation amount small enough to fall within a predetermined range.

5 shows corrected target angle values. As shown in Fig. 5, the corrected target steering angle value is a value obtained by applying the same waveform as the correction function to the target steering angle value before correction.

4 and 5 , the first engine load variation at time t1 is greater than the first engine load variation at time t2. In contrast, as shown in Fig. 5, the corrected steering angle at time t1 is smaller than the corrected steering angle at time t2. As described above, at the timing where the first engine load variation is large, the rudder angle is reduced to reduce the engine load, and at the timing where the first engine load variation is small, the rudder angle is increased to increase the engine load. As a result, the first engine load fluctuation amount can be eliminated, and the load fluctuation of the engine 19 when a disturbance is received can be reduced by making the load fluctuation of the engine 19 close to zero (ie, close to the reference load). there is. By reducing the load fluctuation of the engine 19, the fuel consumption of the engine 19 can be reduced, that is, the amount of fuel consumption can be reduced.

Steering may be performed using the corrected target steering angle value obtained above as it is, or the corrected target steering angle value may be further corrected based on information obtained from the fuel economy, the second predicted load, and the amount of deviation.

[Control Based on Equal Fuel Ratio Line]

In one embodiment, the correction unit 33 further corrects the corrected target steering angle value based on the fuel economy calculated by the fuel economy calculation unit 25 . In this case, the correction unit 33 improves fuel efficiency by increasing the correction amount when fuel efficiency deteriorates, and sets the correction amount to 0 or decreases when there is no deterioration in fuel efficiency or is slight. Setting the correction amount to 0 means returning the target steering angle value corrected based on the first engine load variation amount to the target steering angle value before correction. Further, reducing the correction amount means setting the target steering angle value to an arbitrary value between the target steering angle value corrected based on the first engine load variation amount and the target steering angle value before correction.

Referring to Fig. 2, point A represents the current engine condition. The state of the engine at a predetermined timing in the case of performing correction of the target steering angle value for the first engine load variation amount is indicated by points B and C, respectively. Point A and point B represent the same fuel economy on the equal fuel ratio line. Even if the first engine load variation amount is applied to the engine 19, when the fuel economy does not deteriorate from the current value (when the engine state transitions from point A to point B), the correction unit 33 determines the correction amount. Correction is made to a value smaller than the correction value for 0 or the first engine load variation amount. On the other hand, when the fuel efficiency deteriorates from the current value when the first engine load variation amount is added (when transitioning from point A to point C), the correction unit 33 sets the target ratio so that the first engine load variation amount disappears. Each value is corrected so that fuel efficiency does not deteriorate.

[Control based on route deviation amount]

In one embodiment, the correction unit 33 further corrects the corrected target steering angle value based on the displacement amount calculated by the displacement amount calculation unit 31 . In this case, the correction unit 33 refers to the current position, and when the amount of deviation from the designated route is equal to or greater than the first threshold value, the correction amount is reduced to give priority to returning to the designated route, and the amount of deviation from the designated route is reduced. If it is less than the first deviation threshold, the predicted load is removed based on the correction amount. The corrected target steering angle value becomes smaller or larger than the target steering angle value according to the value of the first engine load variation amount. Therefore, it is possible to significantly deviate from the designated route if it continues to navigate based on the corrected target steering angle value. The correction unit 33 sets the correction amount to 0 or a value smaller than the correction amount when the deviation amount is less than the deviation threshold value, when the deviation is equal to or more than a predetermined distance (displacement amount threshold) from the designated route.

Further, the correction unit 33 may further correct the correction amount of the target steering angle value based on the amount of deviation of the predicted route. The deviation amount calculation unit 31 calculates the amount of deviation between the route being navigated and the designated route based on the positional information, and predicts the position of the vessel when navigating with the corrected target steering angle value at a predetermined timing. The displacement amount calculation unit 31 predicts the displacement amount with respect to the predicted ship position designation route. Therefore, the displacement amount calculation unit 31 functions as a position acquisition unit, a position estimation unit, and a displacement amount prediction unit. The correcting unit 33 prioritizes return to the designated route when the deviation amount is equal to or greater than the second deviation amount threshold, reduces the correction amount of the target angle value, sets the correction amount to 0, or when the deviation amount is less than the second deviation amount threshold. It is set to a smaller value than the correction amount of .

[Control based on change amount of target steering angle value]

In one embodiment, the correction unit 33 further corrects the corrected target steering angle value based on the amount of change in the target steering angle value. When the change in the target steering angle value along the designated route is large (more than the steering angle threshold value), it is considered that a quick turn is requested for the ship 100 and the priority of following the designated route is high. The correction unit 33 reduces the correction amount of the corrected target steering angle value when the change amount of the target steering angle value is equal to or greater than the steering angle threshold value. In addition, the value of the steering angle threshold can be appropriately determined based on the turning performance of the ship and the like. Further, when the target steering angle value is large, the correction amount may be reduced.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of FIG. 5 . In FIG. 5 , the amount of change in the target angle value increases at times t3 and t4, and it is assumed that this amount of change is equal to or greater than the objective angle threshold. In this case, the correction unit 33 reduces the amount of correction immediately after time t3 and time t4 and approaches the target steering angle value. The correction amount may be returned to its original state after a predetermined time has elapsed after the steering angle has greatly changed.

[Control based on predicted change amount of steering angle]

In one embodiment, the correction unit 33 further corrects the corrected target steering angle value based on the prediction result of the second prediction unit 29 . In this case, the correction unit 33 further corrects the target steering angle value by adding the first engine load variation amount and the predicted load based on the steering angle predicted by the second prediction unit 29, that is, the second engine load variation amount. . The correction amount is larger as the steering angle is larger and smaller as the steering angle is smaller.

Fig. 7 shows the change with the lapse of time of the steering angle when the correction amount is corrected according to the steering angle amount. In FIG. 7 , the solid line represents the corrected target steering angle value described in relation to FIG. 5 , and the broken line indicates the corrected steering angle value obtained by correcting the corrected target steering angle value according to the steering angle. By further reducing the corrected target steering angle value based on the predicted result of the second prediction unit 29, the change in engine load can be reduced.

8 is a flowchart showing a series of controls by the control device 23. The control device 23 starts a series of processes when the autopilot control is turned on. In step S1, the control device 23 determines whether or not the current engine output is less than the output threshold. The engine output can be acquired from the measurement results of the fuel input amount, engine speed, and main machine output meter. When the output of the engine is small, the turnability of the vessel 100 for controlling the rudder angle is low. On the other hand, if the engine output is a certain amount or more, the turnability of the ship 100 for controlling the rudder angle increases. The load threshold value is determined in advance in consideration of the turnability of the vessel 100 . When the engine output is less than the load threshold (Y in step S1), the target steering angle value is not corrected, and the controller 23 controls the steering angle according to the target steering angle value in step S2.

When the output of the main device is equal to or greater than the threshold value (N in step S1), the controller 23 predicts the load fluctuation due to the disturbance based on the prediction result of the first prediction unit 27 in step S3. In step S4, the control device 23 corrects the target steering angle value based on the prediction result in step S1. In step S4, either the corrected target steering angle value obtained based on the prediction result of the first prediction unit 27 or the target steering angle value further corrected based on the information obtained by the fuel economy calculation unit 25 or the like is employed. do. In step S5, the control device 23 controls the steering angle according to the corrected target steering angle value.

If there is an input from the steering command input unit 37 during the above series of processing, steering is controlled based on the steering command input value. In addition, the process in step S1 may be performed at any timing.

In this way, the control device 23 can correct the target steering angle value based on the prediction result by the first prediction unit 27 . Accordingly, it is possible to suppress fluctuations in the engine load due to the influence of external disturbances, and to maintain a constant engine load to improve fuel efficiency.

In addition, by using a correction function such as removing the fluctuation amount of the predicted load predicted by the first prediction unit 27, the load fluctuation of the engine can be made small or zero.

Further, when the output of the main device is less than the output threshold value, the deviation from the specified route can be reduced by controlling the steering angle according to the target steering angle value without correcting the target steering angle value.

In addition, by further correcting the correction amount according to the amount of change in the target steering angle value, when a quick turn is requested, the turn of the ship 100 can be given priority.

In addition, fuel efficiency can be further improved by using the calculation result of the fuel economy calculation unit 25 .

In addition, by using the calculation result of the deviation amount calculating section 31, deviation from the specified route can be reduced.

In addition, by using the prediction result of the second prediction unit 29, the load of the engine can be kept more constant, and fuel efficiency can be further improved.

In addition, by using input from the steering angle command input unit 37, emergency avoidance or the like can be executed reliably.

This invention is not limited to embodiment, Each structure of embodiment can be changed suitably within the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

In the embodiment, the control device 23 reduces the fuel consumption rate [g/kW·h] to perform control such that fuel efficiency does not deteriorate. However, the control device 23 may perform control such that the fuel consumption is not deteriorated by reducing the fuel consumption amount based on the fuel consumption amount [m 3 /h] representing the fuel consumption amount per unit time by converting it into a fuel consumption rate.

The predicted steering angle change amount may be combined in advance when calculating a correction function for steering angle correction based on disturbance.

In addition, generalizing the above embodiment, the following ship control method is obtained. The load of the main machine at a predetermined timing during navigation on a designated route is predicted, and when the engine load is predicted to increase at the predetermined timing based on the prediction result, the rudder angle at the predetermined timing is reduced, and the predetermined timing and correcting a target steering angle value for navigating the specified route so as to increase the steering angle at the predetermined timing, and controlling the steering angle according to the corrected target steering angle value.

15: propulsion generating unit, 17: steering gear, 19: engine, 21: propeller, 23: control device, 25: fuel economy calculation unit, 29: second prediction unit, 31: deviation amount calculation unit, 33: correction unit, 35: Key control unit, 100: ship

Claims (17)

A propeller 21, an engine 19 for propelling the ship 100 by transmitting rotational power to the propeller 21, a steering gear 17 for turning the ship 100, and the ship 100 ) is a key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 having a turning command unit 13 that outputs a command for a target steering angle value of the steering gear 17 to navigate on a designated route,
The load of the engine 19 caused by the disturbance at a predetermined timing while the ship 100 is navigating the designated route is predicted, and the load of the predicted load of the engine 19 is relative to the reference load. Prediction units 27 and 29 for calculating the amount of change;
a correction unit (33) correcting the target steering angle value to reduce the fuel consumption of the engine (19) based on the load variation amount;
A key control unit 35 for controlling the steering gear 17 according to the corrected target steering angle value,
The correction unit (33) corrects the steering angle so that the amount of change in the load of the engine (19) predicted by the prediction unit (27, 29) falls within a predetermined range. A propeller 21, an engine 19 for propelling the ship 100 by transmitting rotational power to the propeller 21, a steering gear 17 for turning the ship 100, and the ship 100 ) is a key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 having a turning command unit 13 that outputs a command for a target steering angle value of the steering gear 17 to navigate on a designated route,
The load of the engine 19 caused by the disturbance at a predetermined timing while the ship 100 is navigating the designated route is predicted, and the load of the predicted load of the engine 19 is relative to the reference load. Prediction units 27 and 29 for calculating the amount of change;
a correcting unit (33) correcting the target steering angle value to reduce the fuel consumption of the engine (19) based on the load fluctuation amount;
A key control unit 35 for controlling the steering gear 17 according to the corrected target steering angle value,
The correction unit (33) corrects the steering angle so that the amount of change in the load of the engine (19) predicted by the prediction unit (27, 29) falls within a predetermined range. The key control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction unit (33) corrects the steering angle so as to eliminate the amount of change in the load of the engine (19) predicted by the prediction unit (27, 29). The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction unit (33), when the load of the engine (19) is predicted to increase with respect to the reference load at the predetermined timing, the target steering wheel at the predetermined timing A key control device that corrects each value so as to be small based on the load fluctuation amount. The load change amount according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction unit (33) sets the target steering angle value at the predetermined timing when it is predicted that the load of the engine (19) decreases at the predetermined timing. A key control device that is corrected to increase based on . The key control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reference load is a current load of the engine (19). The key control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction unit (33) corrects the steering angle so that the amount of change in load of the engine (19) predicted by the prediction unit (27, 29) is within a certain range. . The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the correction unit (33), when the change amount of the target objective angle value with respect to the current objective angle value is greater than or equal to the objective angle threshold value, compares the amount of correction of the target objective angle value with less than the objective objective angle value. A key control device that makes . The key control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, when the load of the engine (19) is less than a load threshold, the key control unit (35) controls the steering angle according to the uncorrected target steering angle value. The fuel economy calculator (25) according to claim 1 or 2, which calculates the current fuel economy based on the current engine (19) torque, the current engine (19) speed, and the fuel injection amount for the engine (19). )and,
a fuel consumption predicting unit (27, 29) for predicting fuel consumption at the predetermined timing when the current engine (19) rotational speed is maintained based on the load variation amount;
wherein the correcting unit (33) corrects the target steering angle value based on the current fuel efficiency and the predicted result of the fuel efficiency predicting units (27, 29). The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein a location acquisition unit for acquiring the current location of the vessel (100);
Equipped with a displacement amount calculation unit 31 for calculating a displacement amount of the current position of the vessel 100 with respect to the designated route,
wherein the correction unit (33) reduces the amount of correction of the target steering angle value when the amount of deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The position predicting unit (27, 29) according to claim 1 or 2, which predicts the position of the ship (100) when the steering gear (17) is controlled with the corrected target steering angle value at the predetermined timing. )and,
A misalignment amount prediction unit 27, 29 for predicting the amount of misalignment of the predicted position of the ship 100 with respect to the designated route,
wherein the correction unit (33) reduces the amount of correction of the target steering angle value when the amount of deviation is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. The load of the engine (19) generated by controlling the steering gear (17) based on the target steering angle value at the predetermined timing according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the prediction unit (27, 29) , and calculates the load fluctuation amount based on the load of the engine (19) generated by disturbance and the load of the engine (19) generated by controlling the steering gear (17). The key control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the prediction unit (27, 29) predicts a load of the engine (19) due to the disturbance based on at least one of marine information and meteorological information. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the ship (100) is provided with a steering command input unit (37) to which a steering command value from an operator is input,
When a steering command is input to the steering command input unit 37, the key controller 35 controls the steering gear 17 according to the steering command, and inputs the steering command to the steering command input unit 37. If not, the key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 according to the corrected target steering angle value. A propeller 21, an engine 19 for propelling the ship 100 by transmitting rotational power to the propeller 21, a steering gear 17 for turning the ship 100, and the ship 100 ) is a key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 having a turning command unit 13 that outputs a command for a target steering angle value of the steering gear 17 to navigate on a designated route,
The load of the engine 19 caused by the disturbance at a predetermined timing while the ship 100 is navigating the designated route is predicted, and the load of the predicted load of the engine 19 is relative to the reference load. Prediction units 27 and 29 for calculating the amount of change;
When the load of the engine 19 is predicted to increase with respect to the reference load at the predetermined timing based on the load variation amount, the target steering angle value is made small based on the load variation amount at the predetermined timing; And, when it is predicted that the load of the engine 19 will decrease at the predetermined timing, a correcting unit that performs at least one of correcting so as to increase the target steering angle value based on the load variation amount at the predetermined timing. (33) and,
A key control unit 35 for controlling the steering gear 17 according to the corrected target steering angle value,
The correction unit (33) corrects the steering angle so that the amount of change in the load of the engine (19) predicted by the prediction unit (27, 29) falls within a predetermined range. With the propeller 21,
An engine 19 for propelling the ship 100 by transmitting rotational power to the propeller 21;
A steering gear 17 for turning the ship 100;
A turn command unit 13 outputting a command for a target steering angle value of the steering gear 17 so that the ship 100 navigates a designated route;
A key control device for controlling the steering gear 17 is provided,
The key control device,
The load of the engine 19 caused by the disturbance at a predetermined timing while the ship 100 is navigating the designated route is predicted, and the load of the predicted load of the engine 19 is relative to the reference load. Prediction units 27 and 29 for calculating the amount of change;
a correction unit (33) correcting the target steering angle value to reduce the fuel consumption of the engine (19) based on the load variation amount;
A key control unit 35 for controlling the steering gear 17 according to the corrected target steering angle value,
The correction unit 33 corrects the steering angle so that the load variation of the engine 19 predicted by the prediction units 27 and 29 falls within a predetermined range.

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