Multi-redundancy high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device

Abstract

The invention relates to a multi-redundancy high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device, which comprises a feedback mechanism, a mounting seat and a control system, and is characterized in that the feedback mechanism is mounted on the mounting seat and is provided with a plurality of groups of feedback signal modules to realize cold and hot backup of feedback signals; during hot backup, a plurality of rudder angle feedback signals are simultaneously sent to a control system, and after an arbitration algorithm, an optimal feedback signal is output and participates in rudder angle closed-loop operation, so that the reliability of the feedback signals is improved, and the steering safety is effectively guaranteed. According to the method, a feedback signal hot backup mode is adopted, fault feedback signals can be automatically eliminated under a software algorithm, and the reliability of the feedback signals is improved. A standby feedback signal adopts a cold backup mode, so that a hot backup feedback module can be replaced in time when the service life of the hot backup feedback module is about to reach, and the safety of ship course control is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a ship heading control device, in particular to a coaxial rudder angle feedback device. Background Art

[0002] As ships develop towards intelligent, unmanned, and multi-system joint control (such as rudder-fin joint control), higher requirements are placed on the control accuracy of the rudder angle. The first step to improve the control accuracy of the rudder angle is to improve the detection accuracy of the feedback rudder angle.

[0003] The commonly used mechanical rudder angle feedback device maps the rudder angle through the linkage mechanism driving the gear transmission. In actual use, the transmission error of the linkage mechanism, the linearity of the angle sensor, the meshing clearance of the gear, and the gear wear can all cause rudder angle feedback errors.

[0004] Among them, due to the existence of the turning radius of the rudder handle, the length of the connecting rod in the connecting rod feedback device is usually greater than 1 meter. The extremely small positioning error of the connecting rod hinge seat will also produce a large deviation in the mapped rudder angle after being amplified by the connecting rod transmission.

[0005] Furthermore, the linearity deviation of the angle sensor can be corrected by software, while the nonlinear error caused by gear meshing clearance and wear cannot be corrected in real time by software, and tends to increase gradually over time. At the same time, the angle sensor also has the problem of failure after long-term use, which may cause steering failure and have a significant impact on the safety of ship navigation.

[0006] Since the hydraulic steering gear is a special device for controlling the ship's heading, a rudder angle feedback device is required as a detection unit in the hydraulic steering gear's rudder angle position control to feed back the steering angle of the push-rudder mechanism to the steering gear control system in real time, so that it can complete the closed-loop control of the rudder angle. Summary of the invention

[0007] In response to the above-mentioned error sources that affect the accuracy of feedback rudder angle, the present invention proposes a multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device, which adopts a hot backup method for feedback signals and can automatically eliminate faulty feedback signals under software algorithms, thereby improving the reliability of feedback signals.

[0008] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution of the present invention is: a multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device, including a feedback mechanism, a mounting seat, and a control system. The feedback mechanism is installed on the mounting seat, and the feedback mechanism is provided with multiple groups of feedback signal modules to realize cold and hot backup of the feedback signal; during hot backup, multiple rudder angle feedback signals are sent to the control system at the same time, and after the arbitration algorithm, the optimal feedback signal is output to participate in the rudder angle closed-loop operation, thereby improving the reliability of the feedback signal and effectively ensuring the steering safety.

[0009] Furthermore, during cold backup, in the other feedback model modules, the angle sensor is completely disconnected from the transmission system to avoid mechanical wear affecting its life.

[0010] Furthermore, during the meshing process between the feedback signal module and the main gear in the feedback mechanism, a double-gear self-tensioning method is adopted, which can effectively eliminate the meshing clearance and automatically compensate for the rudder angle feedback error caused by gear wear, thereby further improving the feedback signal mapping accuracy.

[0011] Furthermore, the feedback mechanism includes a main shaft, a slave shaft, a bearing seat, a cover plate, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a tensioning wheel, a spring, and an angle sensor. The main shaft is fixed on the bearing seat, the driving wheel is installed on the main shaft, the driven wheel and the tensioning wheel are coaxially stacked and installed on the slave shaft, the driving wheel is meshed with the driven wheel and the tensioning wheel in opposite directions respectively, and the angle sensor is fixedly connected to the upper connecting plate of the mounting seat through a triangular bracket.

[0012] Furthermore, a deep groove ball bearing and a thrust bearing are installed in the bearing seat. The annular boss of the bearing seat passes through the corresponding circular hole of the lower connecting plate and is connected by bolts. The cover plate is connected to the bearing seat by bolts. An annular groove is opened on the inner side of the cover plate, and an O-ring is installed inside, which can meet certain dust and water proof functions when the main shaft rotates.

[0013] Furthermore, the main shaft passes through the deep groove ball bearing, the thrust bearing and the cover plate in sequence; the main shaft shoulder and the inner ring of the deep groove ball bearing form a stopper, and the axial positioning of the main shaft is achieved by applying a tightening force on the surface of the thrust bearing by a nut; a keyway is opened on the main shaft, and a flat key is installed in the keyway of the inner ring of the driving wheel to achieve axial positioning; the main shaft and the driving wheel are radially provided with pin holes of the same diameter, and a pin shaft is connected by interference fit in the middle to achieve radial positioning of the driving wheel.

[0014] Furthermore, deep groove ball bearings are passed through the upper and lower ends of the slave shaft and fixed between the upper connecting plate and the lower connecting plate of the mounting seat. A keyway is opened on the slave shaft, and torque is transmitted to the driven wheel through a flat key. A radial hole is opened on the slave shaft, and a hole of the same diameter is also opened on the end face of the tensioning wheel. The center of a spring with the same diameter as the two holes passes through the slave shaft and is tightened to store energy. The two ends are respectively inserted into the two holes, so that the tooth surfaces on both sides of the tensioning wheel and the driven wheel are tightly meshed with the driving wheel in the opposite direction.

[0015] Furthermore, the angle sensor is installed coaxially with the driven shaft, and connection and separation are achieved through a coupling; the angle sensors are divided into 4 groups and evenly distributed around the circumference of the driving wheel to achieve redundant backup.

[0016] Furthermore, the modules of the driving wheel, driven wheel and tensioning wheel are all 1, the number of teeth of the driving wheel is 80, the number of teeth of the driven wheel and the tensioning wheel is 20, the transmission ratio is 4:1, and the angle sensor is a potentiometer with a resistance of 2K ohms and a linearity of 0.5%.

[0017] Furthermore, the multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device is coaxially installed with the push-rudder mechanism through a universal coupling, which can avoid the amplification effect of the long connecting rod on the connecting rod feedback mechanism on the installation error of the connecting rod hinge seat, and improve the mapping accuracy of the rudder angle feedback signal.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] 1. The feedback signal hot backup method is adopted, and the fault feedback signal can be automatically eliminated under the software algorithm to improve the reliability of the feedback signal.

[0020] 2. The standby feedback signal adopts a cold backup method, which can realize timely replacement of the hot backup feedback module when its service life is about to reach the end, ensuring the safety of ship heading control.

[0021] 3. The double gear spring tension meshing mode is adopted to eliminate the meshing gap, and the influence of gear wear can be automatically compensated under the action of the spring, which greatly improves the accuracy of the feedback signal. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 It is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the feedback mechanism;

[0025] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the gear transmission mechanism;

[0026] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the connection between the feedback device and the push-rudder mechanism;

[0027] Figure 6 It is the logic diagram of the software arbitration algorithm. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0029] The present invention proposes a multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device, which is equipped with multiple feedback signal modules to achieve cold and hot backup of feedback signals. During hot backup, multiple rudder angle feedback signals are sent to the control system at the same time, and after the arbitration algorithm, the optimal feedback signal is output to participate in the closed-loop operation of the rudder angle.

[0030] During cold backup, in other feedback model modules, the angle sensor is completely disconnected from the transmission system to avoid mechanical wear affecting its life.

[0031] When the angle sensor in the hot backup module is about to reach the end of its service life, the control software automatically issues a warning message, prompting manual replacement of the cold backup feedback module.

[0032] The adoption of cold and hot backup methods has greatly improved the reliability and "vitality" of the feedback signal, effectively ensuring steering safety; during the meshing process of the feedback signal module and the main gear, the dual-gear self-tensioning method is adopted to effectively eliminate the meshing clearance, and at the same time can automatically compensate for the rudder angle feedback error caused by gear wear, thereby further improving the feedback signal mapping accuracy.

[0033] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, a multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device proposed in an embodiment of the present invention includes an angle sensor 1, a triangular bracket 2, an upper connecting plate 3, a support leg 4, a spring 5, a slave shaft 6, a driving wheel 7, a main shaft 8, a driven wheel 9, a tensioning wheel 10, a lower connecting plate 11, a deep groove ball bearing 12, a cylindrical pin 13, a ball bearing 14, a thrust bearing 15, a nut 16, a rubber sealing ring 17, a cover plate 18, a bearing seat 19, and a bearing 20.

[0034] The front end of the main shaft 8 passes through the ball bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 15 in sequence, and is fixed by a nut 16 on the end face of the thrust bearing 15 to achieve axial positioning. The driving wheel 7 passes through the main shaft 8 and is close to the stop position. The main shaft 8 is provided with a keyway to radially position with the driving wheel 7 through a flat key, and is axially fixed by a cylindrical pin 13. The tail end of the main shaft 8 passes through the ball bearing 12 to enhance the rigidity of the tail of the main shaft 8 connected to the driving wheel 7. The ball bearing 14 and the thrust bearing 15 are both installed in the bearing seat 19, and the bearing seat 19 is fixed to the lower connecting plate 11 by bolts. The end cover 18 passes through the head of the main shaft 8 and is connected to the bearing seat 19 by bolts. A rubber sealing ring 17 is installed in the end cover 18 to achieve the waterproof function of the rotation of the main shaft 8.

[0035] The upper connecting plate 3 is connected to the lower connecting plate 11 through four legs 4. A bearing mounting hole is provided at the center of the upper connecting plate 11, and four bearing 20 mounting holes of the slave shaft 6 are evenly distributed 360° around the center hole.

[0036] The four evenly distributed angle sensors 1 are connected to the slave shaft 6 through couplings when in use. The faulty angle sensor signals can be automatically eliminated through the arbitration algorithm designed by the software, achieving hot backup capability. The couplings of the other two angle sensors 1 are disconnected from the slave shaft 6 to achieve cold backup. Each angle sensor 1 is composed of a potentiometer, all of which are double-layer structures and can output two equal-value signals.

[0037] The upper and lower ends of the shaft 6 are fixed in ball bearings 20 on the upper connecting plate 3 and the lower connecting plate 311. The upper connecting plate 3 protrudes from the tail end of the shaft 6 and is connected to the angle sensor 1 through the coupling 12. The angle sensor 1 is fixed on the upper connecting plate 3 through the tripod angle 2.

[0038] A keyway is provided on the slave shaft 6 and connected to the driven wheel 9 through a flat key. Circular holes of equal diameter are provided on the end face of the tensioning wheel 10 and the longitudinal direction of the slave shaft 6. The two ends of the preload spring 5 pass through the holes on the tensioning wheel 10 and the slave shaft 6 respectively. In this way, the driven wheel 9 and the tensioning wheel 10 are firmly fitted with the tooth surfaces on both sides of the driving wheel 9 under the action of the spring 5, thereby eliminating the gap in the gear transmission process. At the same time, when the gears are worn, the master and slave gears will still be closely meshed under the tensioning force of the spring 5, automatically compensating for the transmission gap caused by gear wear.

[0039] The module of the driving wheel, driven wheel and tensioning wheel are all 1, the number of teeth of the driving wheel is 80, the number of teeth of the driven wheel and the tensioning wheel is 20, the transmission ratio is 4:1, and the angle sensor 1 is a potentiometer with a resistance of 2K ohms and a linearity of 0.5%.

[0040] Depend on Figure 5 It can be seen that the feedback device 21 is coaxially installed with the push-rudder mechanism 22 through the universal coupling 23, which avoids the amplification effect of the long connecting rod on the connecting rod feedback mechanism on the connecting rod hinge installation error, and improves the mapping accuracy of the rudder angle feedback signal. The universal coupling 23 is composed of an upper and lower part, which can slide up and down, and can compensate for the influence of the up and down movement of the tiller on the feedback mechanism.

[0041] The software arbitration algorithm can automatically eliminate fault feedback signals and output valid rudder angle feedback signals. The implementation method is as follows:

[0042] like Figure 6 As shown, in order to ensure that the feedback rudder angle is true and reliable, the control software collects three-way rudder angle feedback values ​​(%IW0003, %IW0005, IW0007) and obtains the feedback rudder angle (FK1, FK2, FK3) after digital-to-analog conversion. The three-way feedback rudder angle is input into the rudder angle arbitration controller, and the controller calculates FK1-FK2 and compares the result with 1°. If the deviation is less than 1°, FK1 is adopted as the rudder angle feedback value; if the deviation is greater than or equal to 1°, FK1-FK3 is continued to be calculated, and the result is compared with 3°. If the deviation is less than 3°, FK1 is continued to be adopted as the rudder angle feedback value; if the deviation is greater than or equal to 3°, FK1 is considered to be invalid, and FK2 is adopted as the rudder angle feedback value;

[0043] Although the present invention is disclosed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, it should be understood that these descriptions are merely exemplary and are not intended to limit the application of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and may include various modifications, alterations and equivalents made to the invention without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device, characterized in that: It includes a feedback mechanism, a mounting base, and a control system. The feedback mechanism is installed on the mounting base. The feedback mechanism is provided with multiple groups of feedback signal modules to realize cold and hot backup of the feedback signal. During hot backup, multiple rudder angle feedback signals are sent to the control system at the same time. After the arbitration algorithm, the optimal feedback signal is output and participates in the rudder angle closed-loop operation, thereby improving the reliability of the feedback signal and effectively ensuring the steering safety.

2. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 1, characterized in that: During cold backup, in other feedback model modules, the angle sensor is completely disconnected from the transmission system to avoid mechanical wear affecting its life.

3. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the meshing process between the feedback signal module and the main gear in the feedback mechanism, the double gear self-tensioning method is adopted to effectively eliminate the meshing clearance, and at the same time automatically compensate for the rudder angle feedback error caused by gear wear, thereby further improving the feedback signal mapping accuracy.

4. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The feedback mechanism includes a main shaft, a slave shaft, a bearing seat, a cover plate, a driving wheel, a driven wheel, a tension wheel, a spring, and an angle sensor. The main shaft is fixed on the bearing seat, the driving wheel is installed on the main shaft, the driven wheel and the tension wheel are coaxially stacked and installed on the slave shaft, the driving wheel is meshed with the driven wheel and the tension wheel in opposite directions respectively, and the angle sensor is fixedly connected to the upper connecting plate of the mounting seat through a triangular bracket.

5. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Deep groove ball bearings and thrust bearings are installed in the bearing seat. The annular boss of the bearing seat passes through the corresponding circular holes in the lower connecting plate and are connected by bolts. The cover plate is connected to the bearing seat by bolts. An annular groove is opened on the inner side of the cover plate, and an O-ring is installed inside, which can meet certain dust and water proof functions when the main shaft rotates.

6. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The main shaft passes through the deep groove ball bearing, thrust bearing and cover plate in sequence. The main shaft shoulder and the inner ring of the deep groove ball bearing form a stopper. The axial positioning of the main shaft is achieved by applying a tightening force on the surface of the thrust bearing by a nut. The main shaft is provided with a keyway in which a flat key is installed to cooperate with the keyway of the inner ring of the driving wheel to achieve axial positioning. The main shaft and the driving wheel are radially provided with pin holes of the same diameter, and a pin shaft is connected by an interference fit in the middle to achieve radial positioning of the driving wheel.

7. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 4, characterized in that: Deep groove ball bearings pass through the upper and lower ends of the slave shaft and are fixed between the upper connecting plate and the lower connecting plate of the mounting seat. A keyway is opened on the slave shaft, and torque is transmitted to the driven wheel through a flat key. A radial hole is opened on the slave shaft, and a hole of the same diameter is also opened on the end face of the tensioning wheel. The center of a spring with the same diameter as the two holes passes through the slave shaft. After being tightened and energy is stored, the two ends are respectively inserted into the two holes, so that the tooth surfaces on both sides of the tensioning wheel and the driven wheel are tightly meshed with the driving wheel in the opposite direction.

8. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The angle sensor is installed coaxially with the driven shaft, and the connection and separation are achieved through a coupling; the angle sensor is divided into 4 groups and evenly distributed around the circumference of the driving wheel to achieve redundant backup.

9. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The modules of the driving wheel, driven wheel and tensioning wheel are all 1, the number of teeth of the driving wheel is 80, the number of teeth of the driven wheel and tensioning wheel is 20, the transmission ratio is 4:1, and the angle sensor is a potentiometer with a resistance of 2K ohms and a linearity of 0.5%.

10. The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The multi-redundant high-precision coaxial rudder angle feedback device is coaxially installed with the push-rudder mechanism through a universal coupling, which can avoid the amplification effect of the long connecting rod on the connecting rod feedback mechanism on the installation error of the connecting rod hinge seat, and improve the mapping accuracy of the rudder angle feedback signal.

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