A closed-loop turning sail control device for a sail of an unmanned sailboat

Abstract

The application discloses a closed-loop turning sail control device for a sail of an unmanned sailboat, which comprises a sail assembly, a stepping motor, a stepping motor driver, a worm and gear transmission device, a Hall angle sensor and a main control board; the stepping motor is in transmission connection with a sail shaft through the worm and gear transmission device, so that the stepping motor drives the sail to rotate; the Hall angle sensor is used for collecting an actual turning sail angle of the sail, and feeds back the actual angle when the sail is disturbed by sea wind, the stepping motor is out of step or the sail angle drifts, so that the main control board carries out compensation control accordingly; the worm and gear transmission device is used for realizing speed reduction and torque increase; the main control board is electrically connected with the Hall angle sensor and the stepping motor driver respectively, is used for receiving a target turning sail angle and an actual turning sail angle, and controls the stepping motor driver to drive the stepping motor to operate according to an angle deviation between the target turning sail angle and the actual turning sail angle, so that the sail shaft is rotated to the target turning sail angle.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned vessel sail actuator technology, specifically to a closed-loop sail control device for unmanned sailboats. Background Technology

[0002] Unmanned sailboats are propelled by natural wind energy and are suitable for ocean observation, cruising, and long-term autonomous navigation. During the navigation of an unmanned sailboat, the sail angle is an important control variable that directly affects the force on the sail, propulsion efficiency, and course maintenance.

[0003] Most existing sail turning mechanisms use stepper motors for angle control and pulse signals to control position. However, these mechanisms typically calculate the turning angle based on the number of pulses sent. Without actual angle feedback, the sail is prone to loss of synchronization, stalling, or sail drift under the influence of gusts, waves, hull rolling, or sudden changes in wind load at sea. If the corresponding control device still judges the sail position based on the theoretical pulse angle, the sail turning angle error will accumulate, affecting the stability of the unmanned sailboat's autonomous navigation. In addition, sails are significantly affected by wind loads at sea, and the sail turning mechanism needs to output a large torque to resist wind drag at the target angle. Simply relying on the motor to maintain torque will increase power consumption and heat generation, and is not conducive to long-term unattended operation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This invention provides a closed-loop sail control device for unmanned sailboats. With a reasonable structural design, and under the integrated control of the main control board, combined with various functional components, it can accurately reflect the actual sail angle, avoiding phenomena such as loss of synchronization, stalling, or sail angle drift. This transforms the sail turning mechanism from open-loop pulse control to closed-loop angle control, reducing the accumulation of sail angle errors caused by stepper motor loss of synchronization. The worm gear system achieves deceleration and torque increase, as well as self-locking, effectively resisting wind load disturbances and sail back-dragging, reducing sail angle drift. Simultaneously, it performs compensation control based on the deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, improving the reliability of sail angle control during autonomous sailboat navigation and solving the problems existing in the prior art.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems is as follows:

[0006] A closed-loop sail control device for an unmanned sailboat, the control device comprising:

[0007] Sail assembly, stepper motor, stepper motor driver, worm gear transmission device, Hall angle sensor and main control board;

[0008] The sail assembly includes a sail and a sail shaft for driving the sail to rotate; the stepper motor is connected to the sail shaft through a worm gear transmission device so that the stepper motor drives the sail to rotate.

[0009] The Hall angle sensor is installed on the sail shaft or a detection shaft that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft. The Hall angle sensor is used to collect the actual sail angle and feed back the actual angle when there is wind disturbance at sea, stepper motor loss of step or sail angle drift, so that the main control board can perform compensation control accordingly.

[0010] The worm gear transmission device is used to achieve speed reduction and torque increase;

[0011] The main control board is electrically connected to the Hall angle sensor and the stepper motor driver, respectively. It is used to receive the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, and control the stepper motor driver to drive the stepper motor to run based on the angular deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, so that the sail shaft rotates to the target sail angle.

[0012] The worm gear transmission device includes a worm connected to the output shaft of a stepper motor and a worm wheel connected to the sail shaft, wherein the worm and the worm wheel mesh and transmit power.

[0013] The worm gear transmission device has a self-locking structure, which is used to suppress wind-borne reverse dragging of the sail shaft when the stepper motor stops driving or remains in a holding state.

[0014] The Hall angle sensor is a non-contact magnetic angle sensor, comprising a magnet that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft and a Hall detection chip positioned opposite the magnet.

[0015] The main control board includes an angle acquisition circuit, a motor drive interface, a communication interface, a power module, and a power conversion circuit. The angle acquisition circuit is connected to a Hall angle sensor, the motor drive interface is electrically connected to a stepper motor driver, and the communication interface is used to receive the target sail angle output by the unmanned sailboat navigation control system. The power conversion circuit is used to provide a stable power supply voltage to the main control board.

[0016] The communication interface includes at least an RS485 interface, a CAN interface, a USB interface, or a serial debugging interface.

[0017] The main control board is configured to determine the rotation direction, pulse count, and speed of the stepper motor when the angular deviation between the actual sail angle and the target sail angle exceeds the allowable error, and to stop driving or enter a holding state after the actual sail angle enters the allowable error range.

[0018] The main control board is configured to output a compensation control signal to the stepper motor driver when the actual sail angle change is inconsistent with the theoretical step distance of the stepper motor, the angle deviation persists, or the sail is deflected due to wind load disturbance at sea.

[0019] The main control board stores zero-position calibration parameters and angle limit parameters, which are used to convert the angle values ​​collected by the Hall angle sensor into sail rotation angles relative to the hull and limit the maximum rotation range of the sail.

[0020] The sail shaft, worm gear transmission device, stepper motor and Hall angle sensor are installed in a waterproof mounting cavity on the deck or at the bottom of the mast of the unmanned sailboat.

[0021] This invention employs the aforementioned structure, using a Hall angle sensor to provide feedback on the actual sail angle, thus switching the sail turning mechanism from open-loop pulse control to closed-loop angle control. This reduces the accumulation of sail angle errors caused by stepper motor step loss. A worm gear transmission device achieves deceleration and torque increase, as well as self-locking, which helps resist wind disturbances and sail drag, reducing sail angle drift. The main control board performs compensation control based on the deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, improving the reliability of sail angle control during autonomous navigation of the unmanned sailboat. This enhances the sail angle control accuracy and anti-disturbance holding capability during autonomous navigation at sea, offering advantages of safety, reliability, simplicity, and practicality. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 2 This is a block diagram of the overall structure of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 3 This is the control flowchart of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 4 This is a hardware electrical connection diagram of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the rotating sail of the present invention.

[0027] In the diagram: 1. Sail; 2. Sail shaft; 3. Stepper motor; 4. Stepper motor driver; 5. Worm gear; 6. Worm wheel; 7. Hall angle sensor; 8. Main control board; 9. Unmanned sailboat navigation control system; 10. Power module; 11. Waterproof mounting cavity; 12. Magnet; 13. Hall detection chip; 14. RS485 communication circuit; 15. CAN communication circuit; 16. USB / serial port debugging circuit; 17. Power conversion circuit. Detailed Implementation

[0028] To clearly illustrate the technical features of this solution, the invention will be described in detail below through specific implementation methods and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0029] like Figures 1-5 As shown, the unmanned sailboat's closed-loop sail control device includes:

[0030] Sail assembly, stepper motor 3, stepper motor driver 4, worm gear transmission device, Hall angle sensor 7, and main control board 8;

[0031] The sail assembly includes a sail 1 and a sail shaft 2 for driving the sail 1 to rotate; the stepper motor 3 is connected to the sail shaft 2 through a worm gear transmission device so that the stepper motor 3 drives the sail 1 to rotate.

[0032] The Hall angle sensor 7 is installed on the sail shaft 2 or the detection shaft that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft 2. The Hall angle sensor 7 is used to collect the actual sail angle of the sail 1 and to feed back the actual angle when there is wind disturbance at sea, stepper motor 3 loses step or sail angle drift, so that the main control board 8 can perform compensation control accordingly.

[0033] The worm gear transmission device is used to achieve speed reduction and torque increase;

[0034] The main control board 8 is electrically connected to the Hall angle sensor 7 and the stepper motor driver 4 respectively. It is used to receive the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, and control the stepper motor driver 4 to drive the stepper motor 3 to run based on the angular deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, so that the sail shaft 2 rotates to the target sail angle.

[0035] The worm gear transmission device includes a worm 5 connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor 3 and a worm wheel 6 connected to the sail shaft 2, wherein the worm 5 and the worm wheel 6 mesh and transmit power.

[0036] The worm gear transmission device has a self-locking structure, which is used to suppress wind load reverse dragging of the sail shaft 2 when the stepper motor 3 stops driving or remains in a state of holding.

[0037] The Hall angle sensor 7 is a non-contact magnetic angle sensor, including a magnet 12 that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft 2 and a Hall detection chip 13 that is disposed opposite to the magnet 12.

[0038] The main control board 8 includes an angle acquisition circuit, a motor drive interface, a communication interface, a power module 10, and a power conversion circuit 17. The angle acquisition circuit is connected to the Hall angle sensor 7, the motor drive interface is electrically connected to the stepper motor driver 4, and the communication interface is used to receive the target sail angle output by the unmanned sailboat navigation control system 9. The power conversion circuit 17 is used to provide a stable power supply voltage to the main control board 8.

[0039] The communication interface includes at least an RS485 interface, a CAN interface, a USB interface, or a serial debugging interface.

[0040] The main control board 8 is configured to determine the rotation direction, pulse number, and speed of the stepper motor 3 when the angular deviation between the actual sail angle and the target sail angle exceeds the allowable error, and to stop driving or enter a holding state after the actual sail angle enters the allowable error range.

[0041] The main control board 8 is configured to output a compensation control signal to the stepper motor driver 4 when the actual sail angle change is inconsistent with the theoretical step distance of the stepper motor 3, the angle deviation persists, or the sail is deflected due to wind load disturbance at sea.

[0042] The main control board 8 stores zero-position calibration parameters and angle limit parameters, which are used to convert the angle values ​​collected by the Hall angle sensor 7 into sail rotation angles relative to the hull and limit the maximum rotation range of the sail.

[0043] The sail shaft 2, worm gear transmission device, stepper motor 3 and Hall angle sensor 7 are installed in the waterproof mounting cavity 11 at the bottom of the deck or mast of the unmanned sailboat.

[0044] The working principle of the closed-loop sail control device for unmanned sailboats in this embodiment of the invention is as follows: Under the integrated control of the main control board 8, and in conjunction with various functional components, the actual sail angle can be accurately fed back, avoiding the occurrence of step loss, stalling, or sail angle drift. This allows the sail turning mechanism to switch from open-loop pulse control to closed-loop angle control, reducing the accumulation of sail angle errors caused by stepper motor 3 step loss. The worm gear is used to achieve deceleration and torque increase and self-locking, effectively resisting wind load disturbances and sail back drag, reducing sail angle drift. At the same time, compensation control is performed based on the deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, improving the reliability of sail angle control during the autonomous navigation of the unmanned sailboat.

[0045] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a closed-loop angle control device that can provide high torque, self-locking, and actual sail angle feedback, thereby improving the sail angle control accuracy and anti-disturbance holding capability of unmanned sailboats during autonomous navigation at sea.

[0046] In the overall solution, the control device includes:

[0047] Sail assembly, stepper motor 3, stepper motor driver 4, worm gear transmission device, Hall angle sensor 7, and main control board 8;

[0048] The sail assembly includes a sail 1 and a sail shaft 2 for driving the sail 1 to rotate; the stepper motor 3 is connected to the sail shaft 2 through a worm gear transmission device so that the stepper motor 3 drives the sail 1 to rotate.

[0049] The Hall angle sensor 7 is installed on the sail shaft 2 or the detection shaft that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft 2. The Hall angle sensor 7 is used to collect the actual sail angle of the sail 1 and to feed back the actual angle when there is wind disturbance at sea, stepper motor 3 loses step or sail angle drift, so that the main control board 8 can perform compensation control accordingly.

[0050] The worm gear transmission device is used to achieve speed reduction and torque increase;

[0051] The main control board 8 is electrically connected to the Hall angle sensor 7 and the stepper motor driver 4 respectively. It is used to receive the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, and control the stepper motor driver 4 to drive the stepper motor 3 to run based on the angular deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, so that the sail shaft 2 rotates to the target sail angle.

[0052] Specifically, sail 1 is mounted on sail shaft 2, which is used to drive sail 1 to rotate relative to the hull of the unmanned sailboat. Stepper motor 3 is located near sail shaft 2. The output shaft of stepper motor 3 is connected to worm 5. Worm 5 meshes with worm wheel 6. Worm wheel 6 is connected to sail shaft 2. When stepper motor 3 rotates forward or in reverse, worm 5 drives worm wheel 6 to rotate, which in turn drives sail shaft 2 and sail 1 to rotate.

[0053] Under the action of the worm gear transmission device, the output torque of the stepper motor 3 is transmitted to the sail shaft 2, and the output is reduced and the torque is increased. Since the sail 1 is easily disturbed by external disturbances caused by gusts and waves at sea, the self-locking effect of the worm gear transmission device can suppress the sail shaft 2 from dragging the stepper motor 3 in the opposite direction, which helps to maintain the target sail angle.

[0054] The Hall angle sensor 7 is mounted on the sail shaft 2 or a detection shaft that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft 2. The Hall angle sensor 7 may include a magnet 12 and a Hall detection chip 13. The magnet 12 rotates synchronously with the sail shaft 2, and the Hall detection chip 13 detects changes in the magnetic field and outputs a signal corresponding to the actual sail angle.

[0055] In this application, the closed-loop control process is the core innovative technical feature. Specifically, the main control board 8 receives the target sail angle output by the unmanned sailboat navigation control system 9 and reads the actual sail angle fed back by the Hall angle sensor 7; the main control board 8 calculates the angle deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, and determines the rotation direction, pulse number and speed of the stepper motor 3 based on the angle deviation.

[0056] When the angle deviation exceeds the allowable error, the main control board 8 drives the stepper motor 3 through the stepper motor driver 4 to make the sail 1 rotate toward the target sail angle; when the actual sail angle enters the allowable error range, the main control board 8 stops driving or enters the holding state; in the holding state, the worm gear transmission device forms a mechanical self-locking on the sail shaft 2 to reduce the sail angle drift caused by the wind load reverse drag.

[0057] During sail turning or holding, if the main control board 8 detects that the actual sail angle change is inconsistent with the theoretical step distance of the stepper motor 3, or detects that the actual sail angle deviates from the target value due to wind load disturbance, the main control board 8 outputs a compensation control signal to the stepper motor driver 4 according to the real-time angle deviation until the actual sail angle recovers to the allowable error range.

[0058] For the electrical hardware structure of this application, the main control board 8 is provided with an angle acquisition circuit, a motor drive interface, a communication interface, a power module 10 and a power conversion circuit 17; the angle acquisition circuit is connected to the Hall angle sensor 7 to obtain the actual sail angle; the motor drive interface is connected to the stepper motor driver 4 to output control signals; the communication interface is used to communicate with the unmanned sailboat navigation control system 9 or debugging equipment.

[0059] The communication interface may include an RS485 communication circuit 14, a CAN communication circuit 15, a USB interface, or a serial port debugging circuit 16. The Hall angle sensor 7 can feed back the actual sail angle to the main control board 8 through the RS485 communication circuit 14, and the main control board 8 can receive the target sail angle or upload the operating status through the communication interface.

[0060] The main control board 8 can store zero-position calibration parameters and angle limit parameters. The zero-position calibration parameters are used to determine the reference angle of sail 1 relative to the hull, and the angle limit parameters are used to limit the maximum rotation range of sail 1 to avoid interference between sail 1 and the hull structure.

[0061] For the specific models of the electrical components in this application, the main control board is selected as STM32F103C8T6, the stepper motor driver is selected as UM244, the stepper motor is selected as 86HS2401-34J5-500, the Hall angle sensor is selected as GT38DQ / CZ38-M, the RS485 communication circuit is selected as MAX485, and the CAN communication circuit is selected as MAX3057. The specific models of the selected electrical components can be adjusted and adapted according to the actual application scenario to meet the closed-loop control requirements of the unmanned sailboat.

[0062] It should be noted that, in order to adapt to the marine environment, the sail shaft 2, worm gear transmission device, stepper motor 3 and Hall angle sensor 7 can be installed in the waterproof mounting cavity 11 on the deck of the unmanned sailboat or at the bottom of the sail. The electrical connection points adopt waterproof connectors or sealed structures to reduce the impact of seawater, rainwater and salt spray on the operation of the device.

[0063] In summary, the closed-loop sail control device for unmanned sailboats in this embodiment of the invention, under the integrated control of the main control board and in conjunction with various functional components, can accurately reflect the actual sail angle, avoiding phenomena such as loss of synchronization, stalling, or sail angle drift. This transforms the sail turning mechanism from open-loop pulse control to closed-loop angle control, reducing the accumulation of sail angle errors caused by stepper motor loss of synchronization. By utilizing a worm gear to achieve deceleration and torque increase and self-locking, it effectively resists wind load disturbances and sail back drag, reducing sail angle drift. At the same time, it performs compensation control based on the deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, improving the reliability of sail angle control during the autonomous navigation of the unmanned sailboat.

[0064] The above specific embodiments should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, any alternative improvements or modifications made to the embodiments of the present invention shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0065] Any aspects of this invention not described in detail are well-known to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A closed-loop sail control device for unmanned sailboats, characterized in that, The control device includes: Sail assembly, stepper motor, stepper motor driver, worm gear transmission device, Hall angle sensor and main control board; The sail assembly includes a sail and a sail shaft for driving the sail to rotate; the stepper motor is connected to the sail shaft through a worm gear transmission device so that the stepper motor drives the sail to rotate. The Hall angle sensor is installed on the sail shaft or a detection shaft that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft. The Hall angle sensor is used to collect the actual sail angle and feed back the actual angle when there is wind disturbance at sea, stepper motor loss of step or sail angle drift, so that the main control board can perform compensation control accordingly. The worm gear transmission device is used to achieve speed reduction and torque increase; The main control board is electrically connected to the Hall angle sensor and the stepper motor driver, respectively. It is used to receive the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, and control the stepper motor driver to drive the stepper motor to run based on the angular deviation between the target sail angle and the actual sail angle, so that the sail shaft rotates to the target sail angle.

2. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The worm gear transmission device includes a worm connected to the output shaft of a stepper motor and a worm wheel connected to the sail shaft, wherein the worm and the worm wheel mesh and transmit power. The worm gear transmission device has a self-locking structure, which is used to suppress wind-borne reverse dragging of the sail shaft when the stepper motor stops driving or remains in a holding state.

3. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The Hall angle sensor is a non-contact magnetic angle sensor, comprising a magnet that rotates synchronously with the sail shaft and a Hall detection chip positioned opposite the magnet.

4. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control board includes an angle acquisition circuit, a motor drive interface, a communication interface, a power module, and a power conversion circuit. The angle acquisition circuit is connected to a Hall angle sensor, the motor drive interface is electrically connected to a stepper motor driver, and the communication interface is used to receive the target sail angle output by the unmanned sailboat navigation control system. The power conversion circuit is used to provide a stable power supply voltage to the main control board.

5. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication interface includes at least an RS485 interface, a CAN interface, a USB interface, or a serial debugging interface.

6. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control board is configured to determine the rotation direction, pulse count, and speed of the stepper motor when the angular deviation between the actual sail angle and the target sail angle exceeds the allowable error, and to stop driving or enter a holding state after the actual sail angle enters the allowable error range.

7. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control board is configured to output a compensation control signal to the stepper motor driver when the actual sail angle change is inconsistent with the theoretical step distance of the stepper motor, the angle deviation persists, or the sail is deflected due to wind load disturbance at sea.

8. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main control board stores zero-position calibration parameters and angle limit parameters, which are used to convert the angle values ​​collected by the Hall angle sensor into sail rotation angles relative to the hull and limit the maximum rotation range of the sail.

9. The unmanned sailboat closed-loop sail control device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sail shaft, worm gear transmission device, stepper motor and Hall angle sensor are installed in a waterproof mounting cavity on the deck or at the bottom of the mast of the unmanned sailboat.

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