Sail angle self-adaptive control device suitable for unmanned sailboat at sea

Abstract

The invention discloses a sail angle self-adaptive control device suitable for an offshore unmanned sailboat, and the sail angle self-adaptive control device comprises a mast which is used for installing a wing sail, is rod-shaped, and can rotate around the central axis of the mast; the mast is sleeved with the cam, and the cam synchronously rotates along with the mast; the pull rod is perpendicular to the mast, the first end of the pull rod is connected with a fixing shaft, the pull rod can rotate around the fixing shaft, and the pull rod makes contact with the rim of the cam; the elastic piece is perpendicular to the mast, the first end of the elastic piece is fixed, and the second end of the elastic piece is connected with the second end of the pull rod; and when the cam rotates to enable the pull rod to rotate around the fixed shaft, the elastic force of the elastic piece changes. Complete passive sail control is adopted, automatic adaptation to wind direction changes is achieved, and the sail is always kept at a better wind viewing angle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of unmanned sailing boats, and particularly to a sail angle adaptive control device applicable to unmanned sailing boats at sea. Background Art

[0002] The unmanned sailing boat driven by wind energy is a typical representative of the technology of ocean environment observation robots. As a new type of marine observation platform, the main technical feature of this equipment is to integrate the sail propulsion system and the autonomous navigation control system to achieve sustainable sailing powered by wind energy, so as to obtain a much longer endurance performance than traditional marine observation equipment. In the application of ocean environment monitoring, it can efficiently execute observation tasks such as collection of sea surface meteorological elements and acquisition of shallow water hydrological information, and can provide key technical support and advanced platform guarantee for fields such as the construction of an ocean three-dimensional comprehensive observation network and the construction of an ocean environment safety early warning system.

[0003] The sailing performance of an unmanned sailing boat depends to a large extent on the ability to capture wind energy and the conversion efficiency, which is specifically manifested as the effective control of the sail. To ensure that the sail can efficiently capture wind energy and convert it into forward thrust, the most crucial thing is to control the angle between the sail and the wind direction, that is, the angle of attack. At present, the control of the sail on an unmanned sailing boat mainly adopts active control, that is, by sensing wind speed and direction information and navigation data, and combining control algorithms to actively adjust the sail angle to ensure that the sail is at the optimal apparent wind angle to achieve the optimal propulsion performance. However, the active control system has problems such as complex system, high energy consumption, and poor environmental adaptability. Especially, relying on the motor to drive the sail adjustment not only increases the power consumption, affects the endurance of the platform, but is also easily affected by the ocean environment, reducing the reliability of the system.

[0004] Specifically, traditional unmanned sailing boats often actively adjust the rotation angle of the sail by sensing wind speed and direction information and navigation data. The active control system usually requires complex control algorithms and precise hardware support, which makes the design and maintenance of the system more complex. To achieve the rotation of the sail, the active control system usually relies on a motor to drive the sail to rotate. The operation of the motor requires continuous power supply, which not only consumes the power of other important devices on the platform, especially the sensors for data collection, thus affecting the continuous working ability of the platform when performing long-term monitoring tasks; moreover, the long-term tasks at sea are also a great test of the reliability of the motor. In a harsh ocean environment, the motor may be affected by factors such as salt spray and seawater corrosion, resulting in frequent failures and reducing the stability of the system and the reliability of task completion.

[0005] Therefore, the technical personnel in this field are committed to providing a sail angle adaptive control device applicable to unmanned sailing boats at sea, adopting a completely passive sail control to achieve automatic adaptation to wind direction changes, so that the sail always maintains a relatively optimal apparent wind angle. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is how to provide a sail control device capable of achieving adaptive control.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a sail angle adaptive control device suitable for an unmanned sailboat at sea, comprising:

[0008] A mast for mounting a wing sail, the mast being rod-shaped and capable of rotating about its central axis;

[0009] A cam sleeved on the mast, the cam rotating synchronously with the mast;

[0010] A pull rod perpendicular to the mast, the first end of the pull rod being connected to a fixed shaft, the pull rod being capable of rotating about the fixed shaft, and the pull rod being in contact with the rim of the cam;

[0011] An elastic member perpendicular to the mast, the first end of the elastic member being fixed, and the second end of the elastic member being connected to the second end of the pull rod; when the cam rotates to cause the pull rod to rotate about the fixed shaft, the elastic force of the elastic member changes.

[0012] Preferably, a sail fixing member is provided on the mast, and the wing sail is connected to the mast through the sail fixing member.

[0013] Preferably, a rotating bearing is connected to the end of the mast away from the wing sail, and the rotating bearing is arranged in a fixed sleeve.

[0014] Preferably, the cam is provided with holes, and the cam is connected to the mast through a flange.

[0015] Preferably, a rolling bearing is provided on the pull rod, and the pull rod is in contact with the cam through the rolling bearing.

[0016] Further, the rim of the cam includes a first rim and a second rim, the first rim being a constant radius profile, and the second rim being a variable radius profile.

[0017] Further, the radius of the second rim gradually increases from one side of the first rim to the side away from the first rim.

[0018] Further, when the radius of the second rim increases, the curvature decreases.

[0019] Preferably, a cushion block is provided at the bottom of the pull rod.

[0020] Preferably, the first end of the elastic member is connected to an adjusting device, and the position of the adjusting device is movable.

[0021] The present invention has at least the following beneficial technical effects:

[0022] 1. The wind sail angle adaptive control device for unmanned sailing boats applicable to the sea relies on the mechanical structure of a cam-rod-elastic member to automatically adapt to wind direction changes, keeping the wind sail at a relatively optimal apparent wind angle all the time to generate greater propulsion force. It does not require complex sensors and control systems, reducing design and maintenance costs. At the same time, it avoids the additional energy consumption brought by motor drive and improves the endurance.

[0023] 2. The present invention adopts a pure mechanical control method, which can effectively avoid the problem of communication interruption caused by damage to electronic devices in the marine environment, thereby enhancing the stability of the system and the reliability of task execution.

[0024] 3. Through a completely passive wind sail control mechanism, the present invention overcomes the problems of high energy consumption, large system complexity and poor environmental adaptability of traditional active control methods, providing a low-power, high-reliability and long-term stable wind sail control solution for unmanned sailing boats.

[0025] The concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings to fully understand the purpose, features and effects of the present invention. Description of the Drawings

[0026] Figure 1 is the overall structural schematic diagram of the wind sail angle adaptive control device for unmanned sailing boats applicable to the sea according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 is the bottom structural schematic diagram of the wind sail angle adaptive control device for unmanned sailing boats applicable to the sea according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 is the cam structural schematic diagram of the wind sail angle adaptive control device for unmanned sailing boats applicable to the sea according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 is the curve of the relationship between the cam radius and the angle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 is the curve of the relationship between the restoring moment of the elastic member and the angle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 is the schematic diagram of the control effect of the adaptive control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] In the figures,

[0033] 101 - Wing sail, 102 - Mast, 103 - Cam, 104 - Elastic member, 105 - Adjusting device, 106 - Tie rod, 107 - Fixed shaft, 108 - Rolling bearing, 109 - Cushion block, 110 - Support body;

[0034] 201 - Sail fixing member, 202 - Flange, 203 - Fixed sleeve;

[0035] 301 - Rotating bearing, 302 - First rim, 303 - Second rim. Detailed implementation manner

[0036] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are introduced below to make its technical content clearer and easier to understand. The present invention can be embodied in many different forms of embodiments, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments mentioned in the text.

[0037] In the drawings, components with the same structure are denoted by the same numeral labels, and components with similar structures or functions everywhere are denoted by similar numeral labels. The size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown, and the present invention does not limit the size and thickness of each component. To make the illustration clearer, the thickness of some parts in the drawings is appropriately exaggerated.

[0038] The present invention provides a sail angle adaptive control device applicable to unmanned sailing boats at sea, which automatically adapts to wind direction changes relying on a special mechanical structure, so that the sail always maintains a better apparent wind angle to generate greater propulsion force.

[0039] As Figure 1 shown, for the sail angle adaptive control device applicable to unmanned sailing boats at sea of the present invention, the wing sail 101 is connected to the mast 102, and the mast 102 can rotate around its own central axis. A cam 103 is connected to the mast 102, and the cam 103 rotates synchronously with the mast 102. One end of the tie rod 106 is provided with a fixed shaft 107, and the tie rod 106 can rotate around the fixed shaft 107; the other end of the tie rod 106 is connected with an elastic member 104; the side surface of the tie rod 106 contacts the cam 103. When the wind blows on the wing sail 101, the wing sail 101 drives the mast 102 to rotate, and the cam 103 rotates synchronously; due to the different rim radii of the cam 103, the cam 103 exerts a thrust on the tie rod 106 during rotation, and the tie rod 106 stretches the elastic member 104 again. The elastic force of the elastic member 104 can enable the tie rod 106 to generate a restoring moment on the cam 103 at the contact point with the cam 103, and then generate a restoring moment on the sail, so as to effectively resist the rotational moment of the sail, enabling the sail to automatically adapt to wind direction changes and always maintain at an optimized apparent wind angle.

[0040] The present invention utilizes the adaptive adjustment mechanism of cam-pull rod-elastic member, which does not rely on complex electronic control systems or external power supply, effectively avoiding the problems of high energy consumption, complex algorithms and control systems of active control systems, and high failure rates at sea. In addition, the passive adjustment mechanism of the present invention has lower maintenance costs, and the structural material can be made of high-strength stainless steel, which can show higher reliability and stability at sea.

[0041] Specifically, Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the mast 102 is pole-shaped, and a sail fixing member 201 is provided at the upper end of the mast 102, and the wingsail 101 is mounted on the mast 102 through the sail fixing member 201. A rotation bearing 301 is connected to the bottom end of the mast 102, and the rotation bearing 301 is installed in a fixing sleeve 203, so that the mast 102 can rotate. The fixing sleeve 203 provides positioning and support for the mast 102, thereby forming a stable rotation support mechanism to ensure the stability and smoothness of the sail rotation.

[0042] The cam 103 has a hole therein so that the cam 103 can be sleeved on the mast 102. The cam 103 is fixed to the mast 102 via the flange 202 so that the cam 103 can rotate around the rotation axis of the mast 102.

[0043] The pull rod 106 is arranged in a manner perpendicular to the mast 102. A fixed shaft 107 is provided at one end of the pull rod 106. The fixed shaft 107 is parallel to the mast 102, and the pull rod 106 can rotate around the fixed shaft 107. The other end of the pull rod 106 is connected to one end of the elastic member 104. The elastic member 104 is perpendicular to the mast 102, and the other end of the elastic member 104 is connected to the adjustment device 105. The side surface of the middle part of the pull rod 106 contacts the rim of the cam 103. When the cam 103 rotates, the pull rod 106 can be pushed to rotate due to the change in the radius of the rim, thereby pulling the elastic member 104, and generating a changing tension on the elastic member 104.

[0044] The side of the cam 103 is provided with a rolling bearing 108, which contacts the wheel rim of the cam 103 to reduce friction loss and improve system efficiency. The cam 103 can be made of nylon blocks to effectively reduce the mass while ensuring sufficient hardness, reduce system inertia, and improve response speed.

[0045] The elastic member 104 can be a spring as long as it can provide elastic force. The elastic member 104 has an initial pre-tension to ensure that the rolling bearing 108 on the pull rod 106 always clings to the outer surface of the cam 103, and can maintain continuous contact even if the cam 103 rotates.

[0046] The adjusting device 105 connected to one end of the elastic member 104 uses a movable fixed base, enabling the position of the adjusting device 105 to be adjusted, thereby changing the initial stretching length of the elastic member 104 and adjusting the pre-tightening force of the elastic member 104 to meet different control requirements. The adjusting device 105 can be installed with bolts and locked by the bolts to ensure that it will not move due to external vibration or load changes during operation.

[0047] To achieve adaptive control, the rim of the cam 103 is divided into a first rim 302 with a constant radius profile and a second rim 303 with a variable radius profile. The radius of the second rim 303 gradually increases in the direction away from the first rim 302, and its curvature gradually decreases as the radius of the second rim 303 increases. Considering that effective control can be generated on both the left and right sides of the unmanned sailboat when sailing against the wind, and the sails of the unmanned sailboat often adopt symmetric airfoil sails, the rim of the cam 103 is set to be symmetric about the same axis of symmetry. For the convenience of description, within the range of the rim of the cam 103, the intersection of the axis of symmetry and the first rim 302 is denoted as the 0° position, and the intersection of the axis of symmetry and the second rim 303 is denoted as the 180° position. Therefore, in the direction from the 0° position to the 180° position, the radius of the second rim 303 gradually increases while the curvature gradually decreases. It should be noted that this symmetry is to be consistent with the sail and is not necessary.

[0048] Taking the range of the first rim 302 under symmetric conditions as ±20° as an example, the present invention discloses the following specific embodiments.

[0049] In the initial state, the rolling bearing 108 of the pull rod 106 is tangent to the 0° position of the cam 103, and the constant radius profile is within the ±20° angular range of the cam 103. Within this range, the radius of the cam 103 is constant. Therefore, the force exerted by the pull rod 106 on the cam 103 always passes through the rotation center of the cam 103, the force arm is zero, and no reverse torque is generated. The cam 103 can rotate freely within this range and is not restricted by the elastic member - pull rod system. The setting of this area is based on the no-sailing angle characteristic of the sail at a windward angle of ±30°. Even if effective control is exerted on the sail within this range, the effective thrust generated contributes very little to the navigation of the unmanned sailboat. Therefore, no additional control is performed within this range; it is ensured that when the wind blows within this range, the cam 103 often remains at the ±20° limit angle and does not rotate, which can also effectively reduce the rotation frequency of the cam 103 and increase the stability and reliability of the structure.

[0050] Outside the ±20° range, the cam 103 enters the variable radius profile range, and its radius gradually increases with the increase of the angle. Moreover, this change is not linear, but it is ensured that the profile curvature gradually decreases as the radius increases. The relationship between the radius of the cam 103 and the angle is as Figure 4As shown. As the angle increases, the radius of the cam 103 increases, driving the pull rod 106 to rotate around the fixed shaft 107. The rotation of the pull rod 106 stretches the elastic member 104, causing the acting force at the contact point to gradually increase. Due to the change in the contour curvature of the cam 103, the angle between the acting force at the contact point and the radius of the cam 103 gradually decreases, thereby shortening the lever arm of the acting force. Due to the interaction of the increase in the acting force and the shortening of the lever arm, during the entire rotation process, the counter - torque acting on the cam 103 in the opposite direction remains nearly constant. The relationship between the restoring torque acting on the cam 103 and the angle is as Figure 5 shown. This non - linear cam contour enables the sail to obtain a stable adjustment torque under different wind conditions, thereby optimizing the passive control characteristics of the sail and improving the overall sailing efficiency.

[0051] The working principle of the adaptive control device of the present invention is as follows: When the wing sail 101 rotates under the action of wind force, the mast 102 rotates accordingly and drives the cam 103 to rotate synchronously through the flange 202. Since the cam 103 adopts an eccentric structure, its contour radius continuously increases during the rotation process, causing the pull rod 106 to rotate around the fixed shaft 107. When the pull rod 106 rotates, it stretches the elastic member 104, gradually increasing the tension of the elastic member 104, thereby increasing the acting force of the pull rod 106 on the contact point of the cam 103. During this process, the radius curvature of the cam 103 is different at different angles. Although the acting force at the contact point increases with the increase in the tension of the elastic member 104, due to the decrease in the local slope of the cam 103, the lever arm shortens, making the reverse rotation torque of the pull rod 106 on the cam 103 nearly constant. Finally, this constant torque acts on the wing sail 101, causing its rotational motion to be passively adjusted to achieve a stable control effect.

[0052] The control effect of the adaptive control device of this embodiment on the sail is as Figure 6 shown. It can be seen from the figure that when the wind comes from 0°, the symmetry of the sail keeps it in the zero - position state without deflection. When the wind direction deflects but is within the no - sailing angle range, the aerodynamic force acting on the sail will drive the sail to rotate until it rotates to the ±20° limit angle of the cam 103; at this position, since the force of the wind acting on the sail is small and not enough to overcome the constant torque exerted by the mechanism, the sail remains at this angle and cannot continue to rotate. When the wind - coming angle continues to increase, the force of the wind on the sail can overcome the constant torque of the mechanism, and the sail crosses the 20° limit angle of the cam 103 and continues to rotate. When the sail rotates to the desired angle of attack, at this time, the aerodynamic torque generated by the wind on the sail is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the constant torque generated by the mechanism, thus reaching an equilibrium and keeping the sail stable at this angle. When the wind comes from 90° laterally, the rotation behavior of the sail is similar to the above - mentioned situation. Under the action of wind force, the sail rotates to a certain angle until the rotational torque generated by it is balanced with the counter - torque exerted by the passive control mechanism, so that the sail is stable at this angle of attack.

[0053] As Figure 1 shown, the adaptive control device of this embodiment can be arranged on the support body 110. The fixed sleeve 203, the fixed shaft 107, and the adjusting device 105 are all supported by the support body 110 to achieve the overall positioning of the adaptive control device. A cushion block 109 can be arranged at the lower part of the pull rod 106, and the pull rod 106 is supported by the cushion block 109 to enhance the rigidity and stability during the rotation of the pull rod 106.

[0054] The adaptive sail control device of the present invention utilizes the interaction among the cam, the pull rod, and the elastic member to enable the sail to automatically adjust to an optimal angle of attack range under different wind directions. Without the intervention of external power, the optimal control of the sail angle can be achieved. By reasonably setting the non-linear profile curvature of the cam and the position adjusting device of the elastic member, the sail can always obtain a nearly constant control torque during the rotation process, ensuring the stability and reliability of the system while improving the versatility and convenience. The passive control mechanism of the present invention simplifies the sail adjusting mechanism, reduces the structural complexity, avoids control energy consumption, and improves the reliability of long-term offshore operations.

[0055] The preferred specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above. It should be understood that those of ordinary skill in the art can make many modifications and variations based on the concept of the present invention without creative work. Therefore, all technical solutions that can be obtained by those skilled in the art in the technical field of the present invention through logical analysis, reasoning, or limited experiments based on the concept of the present invention on the basis of the prior art should fall within the protection scope determined by the claims.

Claims

1. A sail angle adaptive control device suitable for an unmanned sailboat at sea, characterized in that: include: A mast, which is used to install the wing sail, wherein the mast is in the shape of a pole and can rotate around its central axis; A cam, which is sleeved on the mast, and the cam rotates synchronously with the mast; A pull rod, which is perpendicular to the mast, a first end of which is connected to a fixed shaft, the pull rod can rotate around the fixed shaft, and the pull rod is in contact with a wheel rim of the cam; An elastic member is perpendicular to the mast, a first end of the elastic member is fixed, and a second end of the elastic member is connected to a second end of the pull rod; when the cam rotates to cause the pull rod to rotate around the fixed axis, the elastic force of the elastic member changes.

2. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The mast is provided with a sail fixing member, and the wing sail is connected to the mast through the sail fixing member.

3. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The end of the mast away from the wingsail is connected with a rotary bearing, and the rotary bearing is arranged in a fixed sleeve.

4. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A hole is opened on the cam, and the cam is connected to the mast through a flange.

5. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The pull rod is provided with a rolling bearing, and the pull rod contacts the cam through the rolling bearing.

6. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The rim of the cam includes a first rim and a second rim, wherein the first rim is a constant radius profile and the second rim is a variable radius profile.

7. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The radius of the second wheel rim gradually increases from a side of the first wheel rim to a side away from the first wheel rim.

8. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: The curvature of the second rim decreases as the radius increases.

9. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: A cushion block is arranged at the bottom of the pull rod.

10. The sail angle adaptive control device for an unmanned sailboat at sea as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The first end of the elastic member is connected to an adjusting device, and the position of the adjusting device is movable.

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