Automatic ship braking system with double propellers and ship

Abstract

The utility model relates to an automatic ship braking system with double propellers and a ship, and belongs to the field of ship braking. The system comprises two thrusters, each thruster comprises a propeller, a driving device of the propeller and a steering engine, the system further comprises a central controller, a power control unit, a thruster control unit and a sensor unit, and the central controller is connected with the power control unit, the thruster control unit and the sensor unit; the propeller is connected with the power control unit and the propeller control unit. According to the utility model, the automation of ship braking is realized, and the requirements of short-distance or emergency braking of the ship can be met, so that the safety and the automation degree of the ship are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of ship braking. Specifically, the utility model relates to a ship automatic braking system and a ship with double thrusters. Background Technique

[0002] The way of ship braking is different from that of land vehicles such as cars because the movement mode and power system of ships are different from those of cars. Ship braking is usually achieved through the following methods:

[0003] 1. Deceleration thruster: Many ships are equipped with the ability to reverse or adjust the thruster. When the captain wants to decelerate or stop, the crew can decelerate by turning the thruster in the reverse direction or adjusting the thrust of the propeller. This method is similar to releasing the accelerator or stepping on the brake pedal when a car decelerates.

[0004] 2. Use of rudder: The rudder is an important component for controlling the direction of a ship. When decelerating or stopping, the crew can change the direction and course of the ship by adjusting the angle of the rudder, thereby helping to decelerate or maintain the ship's movement state in the water.

[0005] 3. Anchor: When it is necessary to quickly stop the ship or fix the ship's position, the crew can drop the anchor to achieve the braking effect. Dropping the anchor can quickly increase the friction force, helping the ship to decelerate and fix its position in the water.

[0006] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, there are problems such as a long ship braking distance, too long response time for realizing ship braking behavior, and too single braking unit. And generally, only the rudder swing control or the adjustment of the propeller thrust is used to control, and short-distance braking of the ship cannot be achieved. Moreover, basically, the braking operation is achieved by the crew unilaterally controlling a certain unit.

[0007] The comparative document (publication number CN117842334A, publication date April 9, 2024) discloses a ship emergency braking device, including: a hull, an indented area, an outward expansion resistance increasing part, a timely adjustment mechanism and a storage and counter-rebound part; the two indented areas are respectively opened on both sides of the hull, the two groups of outward expansion resistance increasing parts are arranged on the hull and are respectively located at the two indented areas, the two groups of timely adjustment mechanisms are respectively arranged on the two groups of outward expansion resistance increasing parts, and the storage and counter-rebound part is arranged at the front section of the hull. This ship emergency braking device relies on a variety of braking measures to provide multiple obvious braking sources for the hull. In cooperation with the original braking equipment of the hull, the braking effect is greatly improved, the braking time is effectively shortened, and it is ensured that the ship can better cope with emergencies such as many navigation ships, many obstacles, and frequent berthing and leaving, and effectively prevent the ship from colliding.

[0008] However, the above - mentioned comparative document realizes emergency braking by improving the hull. This method has a low degree of automation and is not generally applicable to existing ships that have already left the factory. Moreover, since the hull needs to be improved, it also brings the problem of increased costs. Summary of the Utility Model

[0009] The utility model aims to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art and proposes a ship automatic braking system and a ship with double thrusters to achieve the following objectives: Based on the double thrusters of the ship, the automation of ship braking is realized, and the requirements for short - distance or emergency braking of the ship can be met, thereby improving the safety and automation degree of the ship.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the utility model is: A ship automatic braking system with double thrusters, including two thrusters. Each thruster includes a propeller, a propeller drive device, and a steering gear. The system includes a central controller, a power control unit, a thruster control unit, and a sensor unit. Among them, the central controller is respectively connected to the power control unit, the thruster control unit, and the sensor unit; the thrusters are respectively connected to the power control unit and the thruster control unit.

[0011] Preferably, the power control unit is connected to the propeller drive device, and the power control unit is used to control the propeller drive device to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

[0012] Preferably, the propeller drive device is an electric motor, and the power control unit is used to control the output power and current direction of the electric motor to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

[0013] Preferably, the rotation speeds of the propeller drive devices of the two thrusters are not equal during braking.

[0014] Preferably, the thruster control unit includes a steering gear controller. The steering gear controller is respectively connected to the steering gear and the central controller, and the steering gear controller is used to control the direction of the steering gear according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

[0015] Preferably, the sensor unit includes a ship body angle sensor, a ship speed sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The rotation speed sensor is installed on the propeller drive device, and the ship body angle sensor, the ship speed sensor, and the rotation speed sensor are respectively connected to the central controller.

[0016] At the same time, this application also proposes a ship with double thrusters, and the ship includes the ship automatic braking system described in this application.

[0017] The technical effects of the present utility model are as follows: (1) The automatic braking system of the present application can achieve ship braking only by adjusting the rotation speed and direction of the propeller drive device of the ship's twin propellers, and can achieve short-distance or emergency braking; (2) The application of the present application on electric ships (i.e., ships with a propeller drive device being an electric motor) is more convenient, and the adjustment of the propeller rotation speed and direction can be achieved mainly by controlling the output power and the output current direction of the power supply; (3) The present application also adds the control of the steering gear, enabling the ship to reach a certain tilt angle faster to increase resistance and speed up the braking process; (4) Through the control of multiple controllers or control units and the real-time feedback of the sensor unit, the automation degree of the ship is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a ship automatic braking system with twin propellers according to an embodiment of the present utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0019] The following is a more detailed description of the specific embodiments of the present utility model by referring to the accompanying drawings and describing the embodiments, aiming to help those skilled in the art have a more complete, accurate and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solution of the present utility model and to facilitate its implementation. To make the technical solution of the present utility model clearer, the present utility model is explained and illustrated through the following embodiments.

[0020] A ship automatic braking system with twin propellers includes two propellers, and each propeller includes a propeller, a propeller drive device, and a steering gear. The system includes a central controller, a power control unit, a propeller control unit, and a sensor unit. Among them, the central controller is respectively connected to the power control unit, the propeller control unit, and the ship body angle detection device; the propellers are respectively connected to the power control unit and the propeller control unit. The system structure of this embodiment is as Figure 1 shown (only one propeller is shown, and the structures of the two propellers are the same).

[0021] Among them, the central controller is used to issue a braking instruction to the power control unit and the thruster control unit when the ship needs to brake; the power control unit is used to control the two thrusters of the ship according to the braking instruction of the central controller to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of their respective propellers, so that the ship tilts to increase the contact area between the hull and the oncoming water flow, that is, increase the resistance, and thus realize the braking of the ship; the thruster control unit is used to control the direction of the steering gear according to the braking instruction of the central controller to accelerate the process of the ship tilting to a certain angle, so as to accelerate the braking process and reduce the braking distance; the sensor unit is used to monitor the ship in real time (including the ship's traveling speed and the low tilt of the ship's hull) and the thruster state (including the rotation speed and direction of the propeller drive device), and feedback to the central controller in real time to achieve automatic control.

[0022] Specifically, in this embodiment, the power control unit is mainly used to provide power output for the system. The ship power includes power supply and fuel. The power control unit is connected to the propeller drive device. The power control unit controls the propeller drive device according to the braking instruction of the central controller to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller. Among them, the propeller drive device in this embodiment uses an electric motor and is applicable to electric ships. In other feasible embodiments of the present application, the propeller drive device uses an engine and is applicable to traditional fuel ships. However, the engine needs to wait for it to stop rotating and then change the gear to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller, which is not convenient enough. In this embodiment, with the electric motor as the propeller drive device, after receiving the braking instruction from the central controller, the power control unit only needs to control the output power of the electric motor to adjust the rotation speed of the propeller, and only needs to control the current direction of the electric motor to adjust the rotation direction of the propeller, which is more convenient and fast.

[0023] In this embodiment, the thruster control unit includes a steering gear controller. The steering gear controller is respectively connected to the steering gear and the central controller. The steering gear controller is used to control the direction of the steering gear according to the braking instruction of the central controller. Through independent steering gear control, interference from other signals can be avoided, and precise control of the steering gear direction can be achieved, so as to ensure that the ship quickly and accurately tilts to a certain angle, and at the same time avoid the risk of capsizing caused by insensitive steering gear control.

[0024] In this embodiment, the sensor unit includes a hull angle sensor, a ship speed sensor, and a rotational speed sensor, and the hull angle sensor, the ship speed sensor, and the rotational speed sensor are respectively connected to the central controller. Among them, the hull angle sensor is used to monitor the hull inclination angle in real time and send it to the central controller. Specifically, devices such as gyroscopes and ship inclinometers can be selected; the rotational speed sensor is installed on the propeller drive device and is used to monitor the rotational speed and direction of the propeller drive device in real time and send it to the central controller. Specifically, devices such as Hall sensors can be selected; the ship speed sensor is used to monitor the ship's traveling speed in real time and send it to the central controller. The setting of multiple sensors enables the system of the present application to obtain the states of the ship and each component of the system in real time, so that the central controller can achieve automatic braking control according to the states of the ship and each component of the system.

[0025] In this embodiment, each controller or control unit can be a computer, CPU, microprocessor, ECU and other chips or devices. In this embodiment, the powerful data processing and analysis capabilities of these devices are utilized to achieve the automatic control of the system.

[0026] Based on the ship automatic braking system with dual propellers in this embodiment, when the ship needs to brake, the central controller will obtain the monitoring information of the sensor unit and send a braking instruction to the power control unit and the propeller control unit. After receiving the braking instruction, the power control unit adjusts the current directions of the two propeller motors, so that the two propeller motors rotate in the reverse direction to drive their respective propellers to rotate in the reverse direction; at the same time, the output powers of the two propeller motors are controlled to adjust the rotational speeds of the propellers driven by them respectively. It should be noted that the rotational speeds of the two propeller motors during braking are not equal, that is, the rotational speeds of the propellers on both sides are one high and one low. Thus, the difference in the rotational speeds of the propellers on both sides causes the ship to tilt towards the side with the faster rotational speed to increase the resistance of the hull, which can overcome the sliding of the ship due to inertia, thereby achieving ship braking. At the same time, after receiving the braking instruction, the steering gear controller of the propeller control unit controls the steering gear to deflect towards the direction where the propeller with the faster rotational speed of the two propellers is located, so that the ship can reach the required hull angle at a faster speed, meeting the requirement of faster braking.

[0027] When the hull tilts to a certain angle (the angle needs to be set according to the actual situation on the premise of ensuring the safety of the ship), the power control unit then reduces the rotational speed of the high-speed motor among the two motors in the same way and increases the rotational speed of the low-speed motor among the two motors, causing the hull to tilt in the opposite direction. At the same time, the steering gear controller controls the steering gear to rotate in the opposite direction, thereby realizing reversing the hull angle to straighten the hull, and at the same time, using the resistance of the relative water flow in the forward direction to the side of the hull to achieve rapid ship braking.

[0028] Meanwhile, the present application also provides a ship with dual thrusters, and the ship includes the ship automatic braking system described in the present application.

[0029] The automatic braking system of the present application can achieve ship braking only by adjusting the rotational speed and direction of the propeller drive device of the ship's dual thrusters. At the same time, it combines the rudder control to accelerate the braking, and finally can meet the requirements of short-distance or emergency braking. The present application also improves the automation degree of the ship through the control of multiple controllers or control units and the real-time feedback of the sensor unit.

[0030] The above has made an exemplary description of the present utility model in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the specific implementation of the present utility model is not limited by the above methods. As long as various non-substantive improvements are made by adopting the method concept and technical solution of the present utility model; or without improvement, the above concept and technical solution of the present utility model are directly applied to other occasions, they are all within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An automatic braking system for a ship with dual thrusters, comprising two thrusters, each thruster including a propeller, a propeller drive device, and a steering gear, characterized in that: The system includes a central controller, a power control unit, a thruster control unit, and a sensor unit. Among them, the central controller is respectively connected to the power control unit, the thruster control unit, and the sensor unit; the thrusters are respectively connected to the power control unit and the thruster control unit.

2. The automatic braking system for a ship with double thrusters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power control unit is connected to the propeller drive device, and the power control unit is used to control the propeller drive device to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

3. The automatic braking system for a ship with a double thruster according to claim 2, characterized in that: The propeller drive device is a motor, and the power control unit is used to control the output power and current direction of the motor to change the rotation speed and rotation direction of the propeller according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

4. An automatic braking system for a ship with a double thruster according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The rotation speeds of the propeller drive devices of the two thrusters are not equal during braking.

5. The automatic braking system for a ship with a double thruster according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thruster control unit includes a servo controller, and the servo controller is respectively connected to the servo and the central controller. The servo controller is used to control the direction of the servo according to the braking instruction of the central controller.

6. The automatic braking system for a ship with dual thrusters according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor unit includes a hull angle sensor, a ship speed sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The rotation speed sensor is installed on the propeller drive device, and the hull angle sensor, the ship speed sensor, and the rotation speed sensor are respectively connected to the central controller.

7. A ship with dual thrusters, characterized in that: The ship includes a ship automatic braking system with dual thrusters according to any one of claims 1-6.

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