Alarm method and alarm system of autopilot

Abstract

The invention discloses an automatic rudder alarm method, alarm information is generated by an automatic module of an automatic rudder installed in a cab, and the alarm information can effectively remind a ship driver of data information currently received by a ship and problems existing in the aspect of ship control. The method comprises the steps of alarm type division, alarm information processing, alarm information storage in a double linked list, key confirmation and display through a Dijin screen. The invention further discloses an alarm system of the autopilot. According to the alarm method and the alarm system of the autopilot, all alarm information in a course control mode, a track control mode and a follow-up mode can be correctly displayed, navigation safety is guaranteed, all alarm contents are connected in series in a linked list mode, searching, inserting and deleting are very convenient, and when multiple alarms occur at the same time, the alarm information can be accurately displayed. Both interface display and sound alarm can be accurately responded, the implementation mode is simple, and the requirement for a CPU is not high.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to ship navigation, and in particular to an alarm method and an alarm system for a ship automatic rudder. Background Art

[0002] In ships with autopilots, the autopilot has three steering modes: automatic mode, follow-up mode and emergency mode, among which the automatic mode is further divided into heading control mode and track control mode. The automatic control module of the autopilot realizes the automatic mode function of the autopilot. The automatic control module receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through the serial port, and transmits it to the control system through the CAN bus after processing, and performs corresponding operations on the autopilot to ensure safe and smooth navigation.

[0003] Chinese invention application 201510569459.8 discloses a steering gear alarm system and its alarm process on a track automatic steering instrument. The invention only involves the alarm of the steering gear, mainly the alarm of temperature, power, liquid level, pressure and other information. These are the power-end alarms of the automatic steering instrument, while the alarms for the steering of the navigation personnel at the front end are not involved, so that the navigation personnel cannot intuitively obtain the alarm information that needs to be known, such as faults, and cannot obtain early warnings.

[0004] In order to make up for the lack of steering alarm for sailors, it is urgently necessary to display the data information encountered by sailors during steering and the alarms existing in ship control, so that sailors can use the automatic pilot more safely during navigation. Based on this, the present invention provides an alarm method and alarm system for a ship automatic pilot. Summary of the invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiency of the above-mentioned prior art that the alarm information cannot be automatically displayed at the front end, and to provide an alarm method and an alarm system for a ship automatic pilot. The alarm method and the alarm system of the present invention should be able to display the data information and the alarms existing in the ship control when the navigation personnel are steering, so that the navigation personnel can perform corresponding operations according to the alarm information during the navigation process and use the automatic pilot more safely.

[0006] In order to achieve the above invention purpose, the technical solution provided by the present invention is as follows:

[0007] An alarm method for an autopilot, wherein the autopilot is installed in a ship's cab, and an automatic module is connected to the autopilot, wherein an input end of the automatic module receives external heading information, position information, speed information, and feedback rudder angle information through a serial port, and an output end of the automatic module is connected to a DWIN screen through a serial port, and the DWIN screen displays all external information, internal information, and alarm information of the autopilot, and the alarm method comprises the following steps:

[0008] The first step is to classify the alarms of the autopilot into three types: alarm, warning and prompt. The alarm information includes power failure, heading control loss, yaw, rudder angle loss, track control stop, track deviation exceeded, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure, position sensor failure. The warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceeded, suspicious heading, low speed, the end of the navigation plan, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control, and track control stopped. The prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation.

[0009] The second step is to design 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding the alarm to the linked list, deleting the alarm from the linked list, and updating. The activation means that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to flashing, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and the alarm is inserted into the alarm linked list; the cancellation means that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the confirmation means pressing the confirmation key. If the alarm has been cancelled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been cancelled, the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the silencing means that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding the alarm to the linked list means adding the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; the update means updating the alarm time;

[0010] The third step is that the automatic module is also provided with three buttons, namely, an up arrow, a down arrow and a confirmation key (ACK). A bidirectional linked list for storing alarms is provided in the automatic module. Two frames, one large and one small, are provided in the Diwen screen. The small frame is used to display an alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time. When an alarm is generated, the alarm information is processed according to the method of the second step, and the processed alarm is added to the alarm linked list. The alarm linked list is read to display the alarm information in the Diwen screen. The up arrow controls the Diwen screen to display six alarm contents, and the down arrow controls the Diwen screen to display one alarm content. When the confirmation key displays one alarm content, press it to confirm the current alarm. When multiple alarm contents are displayed, press it to confirm all alarms.

[0011] Step 4: Multiple pictures are stored in the Diwen screen, each picture corresponds to an alarm type in color, all alarm contents are stored in the pictures, and the background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the background of the prompt content is set to yellow;

[0012] The fifth step, when an alarm needs to be displayed, you need to find the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture, use the DWIN screen's built-in picture area cut and paste instructions, fill in the alarm's upper left and lower right pixel coordinates and the upper left pixel coordinates of the page position to be pasted in the instructions, send the instructions to the DWIN screen through the serial port, and the alarm can be displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the DWIN screen.

[0013] In an alarm method for an automatic pilot of the present invention, when an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red in the Diwen screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, three short sounds, repeated every 8 seconds; when a warning occurs, the warning flashes yellow and orange in the Diwen screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, two short sounds, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow in the Diwen screen, and there is no sound alarm.

[0014] In an alarm method for an automatic pilot of the present invention, in the third step, when a certain alarm content is restored and confirmed, the linked list is traversed to find the location of the alarm, and the alarm is deleted from the alarm linked list. When a certain alarm content is restored but not confirmed, if it is a prompt, the alarm is deleted from the alarm linked list; if it is an alarm or warning, the alarm content changes from flashing to a constantly bright display. At this time, the alarm still exists in the alarm linked list until it is confirmed, and then it is deleted from the alarm linked list. When there is an alarm, only one alarm content is displayed by default each time.

[0015] In an alarm method for an automatic pilot of the present invention, when an alarm is sounding, if another alarm or warning comes at this time, the alarm sound will only be sounded according to the current alarm. When a warning is within a 16-second life cycle, if another warning comes at this time, the alarm sound of the warning will be sounded only after the 16-second life cycle of the current warning ends.

[0016] In an alarm method for an autopilot of the present invention, during the alarm process of the autopilot, there are the following alarm upgrade situations:

[0017] (1) Warnings are upgraded to alarms. Early course change warnings are upgraded to early course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Actual course change warnings are upgraded to actual course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Track control stop warnings are upgraded to track control stop alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement.

[0018] (2) Warning is upgraded to warning. Under normal circumstances, the warning alarm only needs to sound two short beeps, and then the alarm will no longer sound. For low speed warning and doubtful heading warning, if the warning still exists after 3 minutes, the alarm will sound two short beeps again;

[0019] (3) Send a message to the Bridge Watch Alarm System (BNWAS). If the heading control loss alarm is not acknowledged within 30 seconds, the autopilot sends an ALR statement to the BNWAS and recommends switching to manual control. After switching to manual control, the alarm will be cancelled regardless of whether the heading control loss alarm is acknowledged or not, and no message will be sent to the Bridge Watch Alarm System.

[0020] The present invention also provides an alarm system for an automatic pilot, which includes an automatic module, a Diwen screen and control buttons. The input end of the automatic module receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through a serial port, and the output end of the automatic module is connected to a Diwen screen through a serial port. The automatic module is also provided with three buttons, namely an up arrow, a down arrow and a confirmation key (ACK);

[0021] In the automatic module, there are an alarm type classification unit, an alarm processing unit and a bidirectional linked list for storing alarms. The alarm type classification unit divides the alarms of the autopilot into three types: alarm, warning and prompt. The alarm processing unit designs 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding alarms to the linked list, deleting alarms from the linked list and updating.

[0022] The bidirectional linked list stores the processed alarm information. The alarm linked list is read to display the alarm information on the Diwen screen. The up arrow controls the Diwen screen to display six alarm contents, and the down arrow controls the Diwen screen to display one alarm content. When one alarm content is displayed, press the confirmation key to confirm the current alarm. When multiple alarm contents are displayed, press the confirmation key to confirm all alarms.

[0023] The Diwen screen stores multiple pictures, each picture corresponds to an alarm type with a color, and all alarm contents are stored in the pictures respectively, and the picture background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the picture background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the picture background of the prompt content is set to yellow. There are two frames, one large and one small, in the Diwen screen. The small frame is used to display one alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time;

[0024] When the Diwen screen displays an alarm, the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture are displayed, and the alarm information is displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the Diwen screen.

[0025] In an alarm system for an automatic pilot of the present invention, the alarm information includes power failure, heading control loss, yaw, rudder angle loss, track control stop, track deviation exceeding limit, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure, position sensor failure; the warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceeding limit, suspicious heading, low speed, navigation plan is about to end, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control, and track control stop; the prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation.

[0026] In an alarm system of an automatic pilot of the present invention, the activation is that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to a flashing form, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and it is inserted into the alarm linked list; the cancellation is that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; the confirmation is that a confirmation key is pressed. If the alarm has been canceled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been canceled, the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; the silencing is that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding the alarm to the linked list is to add the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; the updating is to update the alarm time.

[0027] In an alarm system of an automatic pilot of the present invention, a buzzer is also provided on the Diwen screen. When an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red on the screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, three short sounds, repeated every 8 seconds; when a warning occurs, the alarm flashes yellow and orange on the screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, two short sounds, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow on the screen, without a sound alarm.

[0028] In an alarm system for an automatic pilot of the present invention, the automatic module is also connected to the ship's bridge watch alarm system (BNWAS). When the heading control loss alarm is not confirmed within 30 seconds, the automatic module sends an ALR statement to the bridge watch alarm system and recommends switching to manual control. After switching to manual control, regardless of whether the heading control loss alarm is confirmed, the alarm will be cancelled and no message will be sent to the bridge watch alarm system.

[0029] Based on the above technical solution, the alarm method and alarm system of an automatic pilot of the present invention have achieved the following technical effects through practical application:

[0030] 1. The alarm method of the autopilot of the present invention can correctly display all alarm information in the heading control mode, track control mode and follow-up mode, thereby ensuring navigation safety and meeting the requirements of relevant international standards.

[0031] 2. The alarm method of the autopilot of the present invention can be applied to an autopilot that has heading control, track control, and follow-up control at the same time, and can also be used in an autopilot that has only heading control, an autopilot that has only track control, or a steering instrument that has only follow-up control. The method has strong adaptability.

[0032] 3. The alarm system display of the automatic pilot of the present invention is cleverly designed. It only needs to draw all the alarms in several pictures in advance and store them in the Diwen screen. To find out which alarm appears, it is only necessary to calculate the page number of the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel coordinates of the upper left corner and lower right corner of the picture. Use Diwen's built-in picture area cut and paste instructions to cut out the corresponding alarm content and display it in the alarm box. At the same time, two alarm boxes are designed, one large and one small. The small box is used to display one alarm content, and the large box displays up to six alarm contents. The two boxes are stacked with each other, that is, only one of them can be displayed at a certain time.

[0033] 4. The alarm method of the automatic pilot of the present invention is simple in design. All alarm contents are connected in series by a linked list, which is very convenient for searching, inserting and deleting. When multiple alarms occur at the same time, both the interface display and the sound alarm can respond accurately. The algorithm is simple and the CPU requirement is not high. A simple ARM chip can implement the alarm method. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Figure 1 The present invention is a flowchart of an alarm method for an automatic pilot.

[0035] Figure 2 The present invention is a schematic diagram of the structure of an alarm system for an automatic pilot. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solution of the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0037] Example 1

[0038] like Figure 1As shown, this embodiment is an alarm method for an automatic rudder, wherein the automatic rudder is installed in the ship's cab, and an automatic module is connected to the automatic rudder, and the input end of the automatic module receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through the RS422 serial port. In addition, the output end of the automatic module is connected to a Diwen screen through the RS422 serial port, and the Diwen screen displays all external information, internal information and alarm information of the automatic rudder. The external information includes the actual heading, longitude and latitude, speed and feedback rudder angle, and the internal information includes calculated values, such as the ship's command heading, command rudder angle and values ​​set through the interface, such as the captain, rudder limit, steering mode, heading monitoring limit, heading deviation limit and track deviation limit. These values ​​of internal information are obtained by conventional calculation using external information and do not need to be described in detail. For the patent of this invention, the alarm information displayed by the Diwen screen is the core of innovation.

[0039] The implementation of the autopilot alarm method involved in the present invention specifically includes the following steps:

[0040] The first step is to classify the alarms of the autopilot into three types according to their severity: alarms, warnings and prompts. The alarm information includes power failure, loss of heading control, yaw, loss of rudder angle, track control stop, track deviation exceeded limit, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure and position sensor failure; the warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceeded limit, suspicious heading, low speed, the end of the navigation plan, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control and track control stop; the prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation.

[0041] The second step is to design 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding the alarm to the linked list, deleting the alarm from the linked list, and updating. The activation means that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to flashing, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and it is inserted into the alarm linked list; the cancellation means that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the confirmation means pressing the confirmation key. If the alarm has been cancelled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been cancelled, the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the silencing means that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding the alarm to the linked list means adding the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; the update means updating the alarm time. Among them, these 7 functions are the seven attributes of the alarm information.

[0042] In the third step, the automatic module is also provided with three physical buttons, namely, an up arrow, a down arrow and a confirmation key (ACK). A bidirectional linked list for storing alarms is set in the automatic module, which is called an alarm linked list. When an alarm is generated, the alarm information is processed according to the method of the second step, and then the processed alarm linked list is read to display the alarm information in the Diwen screen by reading the alarm linked list. There are two frames, one large and one small, in the Diwen screen. The small frame is used to display an alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time. The up arrow controls the display of six alarm contents in the large frame of the Diwen screen, and the down arrow controls the display of one alarm content in the small frame of the Diwen screen. When the confirmation key displays an alarm content in the small frame, press it to confirm the current alarm; if multiple alarm contents are displayed in the large frame, press the confirmation key to confirm all alarms in the large frame. Of course, the display of alarms on the Diwen screen can also be in various forms such as scrolling display and sliding display. The above-mentioned up arrow key and down arrow key are used to select whether the display format is one alarm content or six alarm contents, while the confirmation key is to lock the display format and content.

[0043] Step 4: In order to display the alarm information, multiple pictures are stored in the Diwen screen in advance. Each picture corresponds to an alarm type with a different background color. The background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the background of the prompt content is set to yellow. At the same time, all the content information of the corresponding alarm is stored in each picture.

[0044] Step 5. When an alarm needs to be displayed, you need to find the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture, and then display the picture and alarm information in the DWIN screen. In addition, you can also use the DWIN screen's built-in image area cut and paste instructions, fill in the alarm's upper left and lower right pixel coordinates in the instructions, and the upper left pixel coordinates of the page position to be pasted, and send the instructions to the DWIN screen through the RS422 serial port. The alarm can be displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the DWIN screen. The above-mentioned large and small frames are both in the alarm display area and are part of the alarm display area.

[0045] For the three types of alarm information, the following alarm display forms are set: When an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red on the DWIN screen, accompanied by an audible alarm, three short beeps, repeated every 8 seconds. When a warning occurs, the warning flashes yellow and orange on the DWIN screen, accompanied by an audible alarm, two short beeps, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow on the DWIN screen, without an audible alarm.

[0046] The automatic module also has a timer and a counter. A 500-millisecond timer is started, and a counter is set for the alarm and warning respectively, which is incremented by 1 every 500 milliseconds. Apply for an array whose size is the number of all alarms and is initially set to 0. When an alarm arrives, the position of the array where the alarm is located is set to 1, and it is set to 0 again when the alarm is restored. In this way, the process of an alarm changing from 0 to 1 can be judged each time, that is, the process of the alarm changing from no alarm to the alarm each time. The alarm chain list is traversed in real time. When there is an alarm, the alarm sound is sounded according to the rhythm of the alarm. When the alarm timer counts to 1, 3, and 5, the alarm sound is sounded, and the alarm sound is turned off at other times. When the alarm counter counts to 32, it is reset to 0 again, so that the alarm sound is sounded again when the alarm timer counts to 1, 3, and 5. When there is no alarm in the alarm chain list, check whether there is a warning. If there is, the alarm sound is sounded when the warning timer counts to 1 and 3, and the alarm sound is turned off at other times. When the count of the warning timer is less than or equal to 32, a flag bit is set and the flag bit is set to 1, indicating that a warning is now within the 16-second life cycle. If a warning changes from no alarm to alarm at this time, you need to set another flag bit to 1, and when the warning counter reaches 32, check whether the flag bit is 1. If so, set the warning counter to 0, so that the alarm sound will be sounded again when the warning timer counts to 1 and 3, so that the warning is upgraded to a warning again. Otherwise, the warning counter will never become 1 and 3 again, so the warning will only sound twice.

[0047] Furthermore, when an alarm is sounding, if another alarm or warning comes at this time, the alarm sound will only be sounded according to the current alarm. When a warning is within the 16-second life cycle, if another warning comes at this time, the alarm sound of the warning will not be sounded until the 16-second life cycle of the current warning ends.

[0048] If an alarm message is temporarily interrupted and lost due to an additional reason during display, the alarm will be restored after the additional reason is eliminated. For example, the GPS device is broken and the autopilot position signal is lost. After a period of time, the GPS is repaired and the position signal loss alarm is restored. Therefore, when an alarm content is restored and confirmed, the linked list is traversed to find the location of the alarm and delete the alarm from the alarm linked list. When an alarm content is restored but not confirmed, if it is a prompt, the alarm is deleted from the alarm linked list; if it is an alarm or warning, the alarm content changes from flashing to always on. At this time, the alarm still exists in the alarm linked list until it is confirmed, then it is deleted from the alarm linked list. When there is an alarm, only one alarm content is displayed by default each time.

[0049] During the autopilot alarm process, there are also the following alarm upgrades:

[0050] (1) Warnings are upgraded to alarms. Early course change warnings are upgraded to early course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Actual course change warnings are upgraded to actual course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Track control stop warnings are upgraded to track control stop alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement.

[0051] (2) Warning is upgraded to warning. Under normal circumstances, the warning alarm only needs to sound two short beeps, and then the alarm will no longer sound. For low speed warning and doubtful heading warning, if the warning still exists after 3 minutes, the alarm will sound two short beeps again;

[0052] (3) Send a message to the Bridge Watch Alarm System (BNWAS). If the heading control loss alarm is not acknowledged within 30 seconds, the autopilot sends an ALR statement to the BNWAS and recommends switching to manual control. After switching to manual control, the alarm will be cancelled regardless of whether the heading control loss alarm is acknowledged or not, and no message will be sent to the Bridge Watch Alarm System.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] This embodiment provides an alarm system for an autopilot, which includes an automatic module 1, a Diwen screen 2 and control buttons. The input end of the automatic module 1 receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through a serial port, and the output end of the automatic module is connected to a Diwen screen 2 through a serial port. The automatic module is also provided with three physical control buttons, namely an up arrow 3, a down arrow 4 and a confirmation key 5 (ACK);

[0055] In the automatic module 1, there are provided an alarm type classification unit 11, an alarm processing unit 12 and an alarm linked list 13. The alarm linked list 13 is a bidirectional linked list. The alarm type classification unit 11 divides the alarms of the automatic pilot into three types: alarm, warning and prompt. The alarm processing unit 12 designs 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding the alarm to the alarm linked list 13, deleting the alarm from the bidirectional linked list and updating; the alarm linked list 13 is used to store alarm information.

[0056] The bidirectional linked list stores processed alarm information, which means that the processed alarm information is assigned seven functional parameters or seven attributes to the three types of alarm information received. The alarm information content can be displayed in the Diwen screen 2 by reading the alarm information in the alarm linked list 13. Two frames, one large and one small, are provided in the Diwen screen 2. The small frame is used to display an alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time. The upper arrow 3 controls the display of six alarm contents in the large frame of the Diwen screen 2, and the lower arrow 4 controls the display of one alarm content in the small frame of the Diwen screen 2. When displaying one alarm content, press the confirmation key 5 to confirm the current alarm. When multiple alarm contents are displayed, press the confirmation key 5 to confirm all alarms.

[0057] The Diwen screen 2 has multiple pictures pre-stored in it, and each picture corresponds to an alarm type in color. For example, the picture background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the picture background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the picture background of the prompt content is set to yellow. All alarm contents are stored in the form of squares in each picture. When the Diwen screen displays an alarm, the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture are displayed, and the alarm information is displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the Diwen screen.

[0058] Among the three types of alarm information mentioned above, the alarm information includes power failure, heading control loss, yaw, rudder angle loss, track control stop, track deviation exceeded, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure and position sensor failure. The warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceeded, suspicious heading, low speed, the end of the navigation plan, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control, and track control stop. The prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation.

[0059] Among the seven functional parameters or seven attributes assigned, activation means that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to flashing form, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and it is inserted into the alarm linked list; cancellation means that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; confirmation means pressing the confirmation key. If the alarm has been canceled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been canceled, the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; silencing means that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding an alarm to the linked list means adding the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; updating means updating the alarm time.

[0060] There is also a buzzer on the DWIN screen to sound an alarm. When an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red on the screen, accompanied by an audible alarm of three short sounds, repeated every 8 seconds; when a warning occurs, the alarm flashes yellow and orange on the screen, accompanied by an audible alarm of two short sounds, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow on the screen, without an audible alarm.

[0061] In an alarm system of an automatic pilot of the present invention, the automatic module is also connected to the ship's bridge watch alarm system (BNWAS). When the heading control out of control alarm is not confirmed within 30 seconds, the automatic module sends an ALR statement as a local alarm report to the bridge watch alarm system. Specifically, the automatic module is connected to the bridge watch alarm system (BNWAS) through a serial port to CAN module, and the automatic module sends a CAN message to the serial port to CAN module, and the serial port to CAN module packages the CAN message into a serial port message and then transfers it to BNWAS. At the same time, the alarm is displayed on the Diwen screen, and it is recommended to switch to manual control. After switching to manual control, regardless of whether the heading control out of control alarm is confirmed, the alarm will be cancelled, and no message will be sent to the bridge watch alarm system (BNWAS).

[0062] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technicians in the relevant field should understand that the specific implementation methods of the present invention can still be modified or replaced by equivalents. Any modification or equivalent replacement that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An alarm method for an automatic pilot, wherein the automatic pilot is installed in a ship's cabin, characterized in that: An automatic module is connected to the autopilot. The input end of the automatic module receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through a serial port. The output end of the automatic module is connected to a Diwen screen through a serial port. The Diwen screen displays all external information, internal information and alarm information of the autopilot. The alarm method includes the following steps: The first step is to classify the alarms of the autopilot into three types: alarm, warning and prompt. The alarm information includes power failure, heading control loss, yaw, rudder angle loss, track control stop, track deviation exceeded, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure, position sensor failure. The warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceeded, suspicious heading, low speed, the end of the navigation plan, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control, and track control stopped. The prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation. The second step is to design 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding the alarm to the linked list, deleting the alarm from the linked list, and updating. The activation means that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to flashing, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and the alarm is inserted into the alarm linked list; the cancellation means that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the confirmation means pressing the confirmation key. If the alarm has been cancelled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been cancelled, the alarm is always on and no alarm sound is emitted; the silencing means that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding the alarm to the linked list means adding the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; the update means updating the alarm time; The third step is that the automatic module is also provided with three buttons, namely, an up arrow, a down arrow and a confirmation key (ACK). A bidirectional linked list for storing alarms is provided in the automatic module. Two frames, one large and one small, are provided in the Diwen screen. The small frame is used to display an alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time. When an alarm is generated, the alarm information is processed according to the method of the second step, and the processed alarm is added to the alarm linked list. The alarm linked list is read to display the alarm information in the Diwen screen. The up arrow controls the Diwen screen to display six alarm contents, and the down arrow controls the Diwen screen to display one alarm content. When the confirmation key displays one alarm content, press it to confirm the current alarm. When multiple alarm contents are displayed, press it to confirm all alarms. Step 4: Multiple pictures are stored in the Diwen screen, each picture corresponds to an alarm type in color, all alarm contents are stored in the pictures, and the background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the background of the prompt content is set to yellow; The fifth step, when an alarm needs to be displayed, you need to find the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture, use the DWIN screen's built-in picture area cut and paste instructions, fill in the alarm's upper left and lower right pixel coordinates and the upper left pixel coordinates of the page position to be pasted in the instructions, send the instructions to the DWIN screen through the serial port, and the alarm can be displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the DWIN screen.

2. The alarm method of an automatic pilot according to claim 1, characterized in that: When an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red on the Diwen screen, accompanied by an audible alarm of three short sounds, repeated every 8 seconds; when a warning occurs, the warning flashes yellow and orange on the Diwen screen, accompanied by an audible alarm of two short sounds, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow on the Diwen screen, without an audible alarm.

3. The alarm method of an automatic pilot according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the third step, when an alarm content is restored and confirmed, the linked list is traversed to find the location of the alarm and the alarm is deleted from the alarm linked list. When an alarm content is restored but not confirmed, if it is a prompt, the alarm is deleted from the alarm linked list; if it is an alarm or warning, the alarm content changes from flashing to always on. At this time, the alarm still exists in the alarm linked list until it is confirmed, then it is deleted from the alarm linked list. When there is an alarm, only one alarm content is displayed by default each time.

4. The alarm method of an automatic pilot according to claim 1, characterized in that: When an alarm is sounding, if another alarm or warning comes, only the alarm sound of the current alarm will be sounded. When a warning is within the 16-second life cycle, if another warning comes, it will not sound the alarm sound until the 16-second life cycle of the current warning ends.

5. The alarm method of an automatic pilot according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the autopilot alarm process, the following alarm upgrades occur: (1) Warnings are upgraded to alarms. Early course change warnings are upgraded to early course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Actual course change warnings are upgraded to actual course change alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. Track control stop warnings are upgraded to track control stop alarms after 30 seconds of unacknowledgement. (2) Warning is upgraded to warning. Under normal circumstances, the warning alarm only needs to sound two short beeps, and then the alarm will no longer sound. For low speed warning and doubtful heading warning, if the warning still exists after 3 minutes, the alarm will sound two short beeps again; (3) Send a message to the Bridge Watch Alarm System (BNWAS). When the heading control loss alarm is not confirmed within 30 seconds, the automatic module sends an ALR statement to the Bridge Watch Alarm System and recommends switching to manual control. After switching to manual control, regardless of whether the heading control loss alarm is confirmed, the alarm will be cancelled and no message will be sent to the Bridge Watch Alarm System.

6. An alarm system for an automatic pilot, characterized in that: The alarm system includes an automatic module, a Diwen screen and control buttons. The input end of the automatic module receives external heading information, position information, speed information and feedback rudder angle information through a serial port. The output end of the automatic module is connected to a Diwen screen through a serial port. The automatic module is also provided with three buttons: an up arrow, a down arrow and a confirmation key (ACK); In the automatic module, there are an alarm type classification unit, an alarm processing unit and a bidirectional linked list for storing alarms. The alarm type classification unit divides the alarms of the autopilot into three types: alarm, warning and prompt. The alarm processing unit designs 7 functions for all alarms, namely activation, cancellation, confirmation, silencing, adding alarms to the linked list, deleting alarms from the linked list and updating. The bidirectional linked list stores the processed alarm information. The alarm linked list is read to display the alarm information on the Diwen screen. The up arrow controls the Diwen screen to display six alarm contents, and the down arrow controls the Diwen screen to display one alarm content. When one alarm content is displayed, press the confirmation key to confirm the current alarm. When multiple alarm contents are displayed, press the confirmation key to confirm all alarms. The Diwen screen stores multiple pictures, each picture corresponds to an alarm type with a color, and all alarm contents are stored in the pictures respectively, and the picture background of the corresponding alarm content is set to red, the picture background of the warning content is set to yellow-orange, and the picture background of the prompt content is set to yellow. There are two frames, one large and one small, in the Diwen screen. The small frame is used to display one alarm content, and the large frame displays up to six alarm contents. The two frames are stacked with each other, and only the large frame or the small frame can be displayed at a certain time; When the Diwen screen displays an alarm, the picture where the alarm is located and the pixel position of the picture are displayed, and the alarm information is displayed in the alarm display area in the lower middle part of the Diwen screen.

7. The alarm system for an automatic pilot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The alarm information includes power failure, heading control loss, yaw, rudder angle loss, track control stop, track deviation exceed limit, speed sensor failure, heading sensor failure, position sensor failure; the warning information includes early heading change, actual heading change, heading deviation exceed limit, suspicious heading, low speed, navigation plan is about to end, it is recommended to switch to manual control, it is recommended to switch to heading control, track control stop; the prompt information includes heading control unavailable and no speed adaptation.

8. The alarm system for an automatic pilot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The activation means that an alarm is generated, and the alarm content is set to flashing form, an alarm sound is emitted, the time count is cleared to 0, and it is inserted into the alarm linked list; the cancellation means that the alarm returns to normal. If it is a prompt, the alarm is directly deleted from the linked list, otherwise the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; the confirmation means pressing the confirmation key. If the alarm has been canceled, the alarm is deleted from the linked list. If the alarm has not been canceled, the alarm is always displayed and no alarm sound is emitted; the silencing means that the alarm no longer emits a sound; adding the alarm to the linked list means adding the alarm to the head of the alarm linked list; the updating means updating the alarm time.

9. The alarm system for an automatic pilot according to claim 6, characterized in that: There is also a buzzer on the Diwen screen. When an alarm occurs, the alarm flashes red on the screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, three short beeps, repeated every 8 seconds; when a warning occurs, the alarm flashes yellow and orange on the screen, accompanied by a sound alarm, two short beeps, which shall not be repeated unless upgraded; when a prompt occurs, the prompt flashes yellow on the screen, without a sound alarm.

10. The alarm system for an automatic pilot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The automatic module is also connected to the ship's bridge watch alarm system (BNWAS). When the heading control loss alarm is not confirmed within 30 seconds, the automatic module sends an ALR statement to the bridge watch alarm system and recommends switching to manual control. After switching to manual control, regardless of whether the heading control loss alarm is confirmed, the alarm will be cancelled and no message will be sent to the bridge watch alarm system.

Images