Modular control system of unmanned monitoring boat

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of unmanned ship control, in particular to a modularized control system of an unmanned monitoring ship, which comprises a control cabin module, a control module group, a communication and navigation module group, a direct current voltage stabilization and conversion module group and a switch module, and the control module group consists of an industrial personal computer, a relay group and a CAN (Controller Area Network) driver board; the propulsion cabin module is connected with the control cabin module through a watertight cable; the propelling module comprises a propeller and a driving circuit, the input end of the driving circuit is connected with the CAN driving board, and the output end of the driving circuit is connected with the propeller; the sensor module consists of a plurality of sensors; the power supply module is composed of a lithium battery pack and a solar battery, and hybrid power supply is achieved through a charging and discharging controller; the utility model has the advantages that the modularized operation is convenient and fast.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of unmanned surface vessel control technology, specifically to a modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel. Background Technology

[0002] An unmanned monitoring vessel is a surface-mounted unmanned platform that navigates on water via remote or autonomous control and is equipped with various sensors and monitoring equipment to perform monitoring tasks in oceans, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water.

[0003] Existing unmanned monitoring vessels come in a wide variety of types, each requiring individual adaptation and assembly of its control system, which is time-consuming and cumbersome. Furthermore, replacing different sensors or control devices for different mission requirements is cumbersome, as disassembly or installation is not easy. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention provides a modular control system for unmanned monitoring vessels, which offers the advantages of convenient and rapid modular operation.

[0005] The above-mentioned objective of this utility model is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0006] This utility model provides a modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel, comprising:

[0007] The control module includes a control module group, a communication and navigation module group, a DC voltage regulator and converter module group, and a switch module. The control module group consists of an industrial computer, a relay group, and a CAN driver board.

[0008] The propulsion module is connected to the control module via a watertight cable.

[0009] The propulsion module includes a thruster and a drive circuit; the input terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the CAN driver board, and the output terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the thruster.

[0010] The sensor module consists of a vision sensor, a water quality sensor group, a meteorological sensor, a lithium battery detection sensor, and a leak detection sensor.

[0011] The power supply module consists of a lithium battery pack and a solar cell, and the two are used to provide power through a charge and discharge controller.

[0012] Furthermore, the industrial control computer communicates with the shore station monitoring center through the communication module and transmits instructions to the corresponding thruster and sensor module groups; the relay group controls the power supply of the electrical equipment according to the power supply status of the lithium battery; the CAN driver board communicates with the industrial control computer through the USB interface according to the CAN protocol.

[0013] Furthermore, the communication and navigation module group consists of a BeiDou module, a combined navigation module, a bridge module, a BeiDou antenna, a combined navigation module antenna, and a bridge antenna. The BeiDou module, the combined navigation module, and the bridge module are respectively connected to their corresponding BeiDou antenna, combined navigation module antenna, and bridge antenna through a through-cabin method.

[0014] Furthermore, the visual sensor is connected to the control cabin module via a watertight cable, the water quality sensor group is installed in the sea passage of the unmanned monitoring vessel and communicates with the industrial control computer, the meteorological sensor is communicated with the STM32 circuit board, the lithium battery detection sensor is communicated with the industrial control computer, and the water leakage detection sensor is installed at the bottom of the control cabin module.

[0015] Furthermore, the DC voltage regulator and converter module group consists of 24VDC terminal blocks L and R on the left and right sides of the control cabin module, 24V-12VDC module L and R, and 12VDC terminal blocks L and R.

[0016] Furthermore, the propulsion module includes three panels, each of which is fixedly connected by long nuts and studs through fixing holes at the four corners. The first panel of the propulsion module is equipped with two lithium batteries, the second panel is equipped with multiple positive and negative terminal blocks for lithium batteries and one lithium battery, and the third panel is equipped with multiple watertight connectors.

[0017] Furthermore, the control cabin module includes three panels. Each panel is fixedly connected by long nuts and studs through fixing holes at the four corners. The first panel of the control cabin module is provided with positive and negative terminal blocks and voltage regulator modules corresponding to the propulsion cabin module. The second panel is provided with an industrial control computer, switch, STM32, CAN communication card, relay group, Beidou module, integrated navigation module, and bridge module. The third panel is provided with multiple watertight connectors and multiple through-cabin connectors.

[0018] Furthermore, the water quality sensor group is installed inside the sea passage of the unmanned monitoring vessel and includes a temperature sensor, a salinity sensor, an ammonia nitrogen sensor, a pH sensor, a chlorophyll sensor, and an oil sensor.

[0019] In summary, this utility model has at least one of the following beneficial technical effects:

[0020] This invention mounts the lithium battery pack of the power supply module in the propulsion module and the industrial control computer and communication and navigation module group in the control module. This ensures electrical safety while preventing the lithium battery from causing electromagnetic interference to the industrial control computer and communication and navigation module group. This invention features a modular layout for the unmanned monitoring vessel's control system and equipment modules. Modularizing functions facilitates installation and disassembly, while meeting the requirements of installation space and the internal structure of the instrument compartment. It allows for the rapid replacement of different sensor or control equipment modules according to mission needs, making equipment maintenance and upgrades more convenient. Only individual modules need to be replaced or upgraded, reducing overall equipment downtime and thus improving the flexibility and efficiency of mission execution. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a layout diagram of the functional modules in this embodiment;

[0022] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the layout of each functional module from another perspective of this embodiment;

[0023] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the propulsion module layout in this embodiment;

[0024] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the control cabin module layout in this embodiment.

[0025] In the diagram, 1. Solar panel 1; 2. Control cabin module; 3. Solar panel 2; 4. Thruster 1; 5. Thruster cabin module; 6. Thruster 2; 7. Solar panel 3; 8. Sea passage; 9. Sensor mounting panel; 10. Lower bracket; 11. Solar panel 4; 12. Beidou bracket; 13. Weather instrument bracket; 14. Camera bracket; 15. Network bridge bracket; 16. GPS bracket; 17. Lower bracket fixing base; 18. Beidou antenna; 19. Weather instrument; 20. Visual inspection module; 21. Network bridge antenna; 22. GPS antenna. Detailed Implementation

[0026] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] To facilitate understanding of this utility model by those skilled in the art, the specific embodiments of this utility model are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] This utility model discloses a modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel, including a control cabin module, a propulsion cabin module, a propulsion module, a sensor module, and a power supply module.

[0029] The control module and propulsion module are connected by a watertight cable; preferably, they are connected by a set of eight-core watertight cables for power supply and CAN communication; more preferably, the power supply and communication watertight cables between the control module and propulsion module are two sets of eight-core watertight cables, including two sets of 24VDC power supply, two sets of 485 communication, and two sets of CAN communication. The control module and propulsion module are placed along the centerline of the hull.

[0030] The control module includes a control module group, a communication and navigation module group, a DC voltage regulator and converter module group, and a switch module.

[0031] The control module group consists of an industrial computer, a relay group, and a CAN driver board.

[0032] The industrial control computer is the core of the control system. It collects the position and attitude information of the unmanned monitoring vessel from the navigation module and communicates with the shore station monitoring center through the communication module. It also collects water quality and meteorological sensor information from the sensor module, packages and frames the collected information, and sends it to the shore station monitoring center at regular intervals through the communication module. At the same time, the industrial control computer receives the control commands of the unmanned monitoring vessel issued by the shore station monitoring center through the communication module, unpacks the issued commands according to the protocol, and sends the control commands to the corresponding propulsion module and sensor module, thereby controlling the speed and heading of the unmanned monitoring vessel and controlling the time interval of data transmission from multiple sensors.

[0033] The relay group controls the power supply to the equipment based on the lithium battery power status detected by the unmanned monitoring vessel, thereby achieving safe and energy-saving control of the equipment. For example, when the industrial control computer detects that the remaining power of the power lithium battery is below a threshold, it controls the relay group to cut off the power supply to the propeller, ensuring that the unmanned monitoring vessel still has sufficient power remaining for use when it is recovered.

[0034] The CAN driver board communicates with the industrial control computer via a USB interface according to the CAN protocol. It receives the thruster speed command sent by the industrial control computer and sends the thruster speed, voltage and current, as well as voltage and current fault information fed back by the thruster to the industrial control computer, which then parses the information according to the given protocol.

[0035] The communication and navigation module group consists of a BeiDou module, a combined navigation module, a bridge module, as well as a BeiDou antenna, a combined navigation module antenna, and a bridge antenna.

[0036] The aforementioned BeiDou antenna, integrated navigation module antenna, and network bridge antenna are all connected to their corresponding modules within the control cabin using a through-cabin method. All three antennas are fixed to brackets on the upper panel of the hull's support structure. The BeiDou module is responsible for remote communication with the shore-based data center. It uses BeiDou satellites to achieve communication between the unmanned monitoring vessel and the shore-based data center, periodically sending sensor data from the unmanned monitoring vessel to the data center and receiving control commands from the shore-based data center to monitor the unmanned monitoring vessel.

[0037] The integrated navigation module acquires navigation information such as position, attitude, and acceleration of the unmanned monitoring vessel and communicates with the industrial control computer via a 232 serial port. It is a GPS-assisted inertial navigation module that uses GPS signals to correct the navigation information of the inertial navigation module, thereby obtaining high-precision navigation information for the unmanned monitoring vessel.

[0038] The bridge module is responsible for medium- and long-range communication of the unmanned monitoring vessel, functioning identically to the BeiDou module. It facilitates communication between the unmanned monitoring vessel and the shore-based data center, offering advantages in lower latency and higher data volume compared to the BeiDou module. The bridge module communicates with the industrial control computer via a switch using UDP / TCP data.

[0039] The sensor module consists of a vision sensor, a water quality sensor group, a meteorological sensor, a lithium battery detection sensor, and a leak detection sensor.

[0040] The visual sensor is used to detect target information within the visual range. Employing an edge computing platform NVR, it consists of four infrared cameras arranged at 120° angles. It can acquire a 360° view of the unmanned monitoring vessel's perimeter within 100 meters in real time. Using relevant visual detection algorithms, it detects the presence, shape, and size of targets, calculates the position of the target's image center, and transmits the NVR data to the industrial control computer via a switch. A five-core watertight cable connects the visual sensor to the control module: two cores for power supply to the module (12VDC) and three cores for RS-232 serial data communication.

[0041] The water quality sensor array is installed inside the sea passage of the unmanned monitoring vessel. It includes temperature, salinity, ammonia nitrogen, pH, chlorophyll, and oil sensors, enabling real-time monitoring of the aforementioned water quality information. It communicates with the industrial control computer via a Modbus protocol through a 485 interface. The water quality sensor array is connected to the control module using a four-core watertight cable: two 12VDC cables powering the module, and two 485 serial communication cables.

[0042] The meteorological sensors include wind direction and wind speed sensors, which monitor wind direction and wind speed information in all directions of the unmanned monitoring vessel in real time, and communicate with the STM32 circuit board through the Modbus protocol and 485 interface.

[0043] The lithium battery detection sensor detects information such as voltage, current, and remaining capacity of the two lithium batteries and communicates with the industrial control computer via Modbus protocol and 485 interface.

[0044] The water leakage detection sensor is installed at the bottom of the control cabin module and is responsible for detecting whether there is water leakage in the control cabin. It adopts the normally open output mode of the relay. When the water leakage detection sensor detects water leakage in the control cabin, the normally open relay closes and the on / off state is detected by the IO port of the STM circuit board to realize real-time detection of whether there is water leakage in the control cabin.

[0045] The DC voltage regulator and converter module group consists of 24VDC terminal blocks L and R on the left and right sides of the control compartment module, 24V-12VDC modules L and R, and 12VDC terminal blocks L and R. The 24VDC terminal blocks distribute the 24VDC power from the power supply unit to the electrical equipment in the control compartment module that requires 24VDC power; the 24V-12VDC modules convert and regulate the 24VDC power to 12VDC; and the 12VDC terminal blocks distribute the 12VDC power converted and regulated by the 24V-12VDC modules to the electrical equipment in the control compartment module that requires 12VDC power.

[0046] The switch module features PoE power supply and provides communication capabilities between devices with network ports, including communication between the industrial control computer and the vision camera NVR module, as well as the bridge module. The IP addresses of these three devices and the camera are all configured within the same local area network segment.

[0047] The propulsion module includes a thruster and a drive circuit; preferably, there are two thrusters, namely underwater thruster 1 and underwater thruster 2. The thrusters are connected to the propulsion module via two sets of four-core watertight cables for power supply, RS-485 and CAN communication. The input terminal of the propulsion module's drive circuit is connected to the CAN driver board in the control compartment, and the output terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the thruster.

[0048] The sensor module consists of a vision sensor, a water quality sensor group, a meteorological sensor, a lithium battery detection sensor, and a leak detection sensor.

[0049] The power supply module consists of a lithium battery pack and solar cells, and the two are used to provide power through a charge and discharge controller.

[0050] All lithium battery packs have external waterproof charging ports for charging. Each lithium battery pack includes a 48VDC 400Ah thruster drive battery and a 24VDC 200Ah control circuit power supply battery. The thruster drive battery powers both thrusters.

[0051] The solar panel assembly includes a charge / discharge controller and four 100W 12VDC solar panels, which are laid flat at a certain angle on both sides of the upper panel of the unmanned monitoring vessel along the central axis of the hull. The solar panels are connected to the control circuit to power the battery through the charge / discharge controller, which controls the charging of the lithium battery.

[0052] To make efficient use of space, both the propulsion module and the control module use a layered panel mounting method, with different layers arranged according to the different functions of the modules. To facilitate cable routing, cable trays and holes are provided on the panels of different layers. Each layer of panels is fixed and connected together using long studs and nuts through fixing holes at the four corners.

[0053] The propulsion module has two lithium battery mounting bases fixed to its bottom. Above these is the first panel, which houses two 48VDC 200Ah lithium batteries, 1 and 2. A leak detection sensor is also installed on the bottom of the module. The second panel of the propulsion module has positive and negative terminal blocks for the 48VDC lithium batteries 1 and 2, a 24VDC 200Ah lithium battery and its positive and negative terminal blocks, and a 24VDC charge / discharge controller. Cable routing channels are located on both sides of the second panel, a cable routing hole is located in the middle, and connection and fixing holes are located at the four corners. The third panel of the propulsion module is the hatch cover, which is equipped with multiple watertight connectors, including a four-core watertight connector connected to thruster 1, a four-core watertight connector connected to thruster 2, an eight-core watertight connector connected to the control module, a two-core watertight connector for the 24VDC lithium battery, a two-core watertight connector for the 48VDC lithium battery 1, a two-core watertight connector for the 48VDC lithium battery 2, and a two-core watertight connector for the solar panel.

[0054] The bottom of the control module is equipped with a water leakage detection sensor. The first panel of the control module houses 24VDC positive and negative terminal blocks L and R from the propulsion module, 24VDC-12VDC voltage regulator modules L and R, and 12VDC positive and negative terminal blocks L and R. Cable routing channels are located on both sides of the first panel, with a cable routing hole in the center and connection / fixing holes at the four corners. The second panel of the control module houses an industrial computer, a switch, an STM32 microcontroller, a CAN communication card, relay groups, a Beidou module, a combined navigation module, and a bridge module. Cable routing channels are located on both sides of the second panel of the control module, with a cable routing hole in the center and connection / fixing holes at the four corners. The third panel of the control cabin module is the cabin cover layer, which is equipped with watertight connectors and through-cabin connectors, including through-cabin connectors for the Beidou antenna, through-cabin connectors for the combined navigation module antenna, through-cabin connectors for the bridge antenna, an eight-core watertight connector for connecting to the propulsion cabin module, two watertight connectors for the 48 signals of the water quality and meteorological sensor, and two-core watertight connectors for the vision module.

[0055] This invention mounts the lithium battery pack of the power supply module in the propulsion module and the industrial control computer and communication and navigation module group in the control module. This ensures electrical safety while preventing the lithium battery from causing electromagnetic interference to the industrial control computer and communication and navigation module group. This invention features a modular layout for the unmanned monitoring vessel's control system and equipment modules. Modularizing functions facilitates installation and disassembly, while meeting the requirements of installation space and the internal structure of the instrument compartment. It allows for the rapid replacement of different sensor or control equipment modules according to mission needs, making equipment maintenance and upgrades more convenient. Only individual modules need to be replaced or upgraded, reducing overall equipment downtime and thus improving the flexibility and efficiency of mission execution.

[0056] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0057] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0058] The embodiments of this utility model described above do not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of this utility model. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the scope of protection of the claims of this utility model.

Claims

1. A modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel, characterized in that, include: The control module includes a control module group, a communication and navigation module group, a DC voltage regulator and converter module group, and a switch module. The control module group consists of an industrial computer, a relay group, and a CAN driver board. The propulsion module is connected to the control module via a watertight cable. The propulsion module includes a thruster and a drive circuit. The input terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the CAN driver board, and the output terminal of the drive circuit is connected to the thruster. The sensor module consists of a vision sensor, a water quality sensor group, a meteorological sensor, a lithium battery detection sensor, and a leak detection sensor; the power supply module consists of a lithium battery pack and a solar cell, which are powered by a charge and discharge controller.

2. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The industrial control computer communicates with the shore station monitoring center through the communication module and transmits instructions to the corresponding thruster and sensor module groups; the relay group controls the power supply of the electrical equipment according to the power supply status of the lithium battery; the CAN driver board communicates with the industrial control computer through the USB interface according to the CAN protocol.

3. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The communication and navigation module group consists of a Beidou module, a combined navigation module, a bridge module, a Beidou antenna, a combined navigation module antenna, and a bridge antenna. The Beidou module, the combined navigation module, and the bridge module are respectively connected to their corresponding Beidou antenna, combined navigation module antenna, and bridge antenna through a through-cabin method.

4. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual sensor is connected to the control cabin module via a watertight cable. The water quality sensor group is installed in the sea hole of the unmanned monitoring vessel and communicates with the industrial control computer. The meteorological sensor is communicated with the STM32 circuit board. The lithium battery detection sensor communicates with the industrial control computer, and the water leakage detection sensor is installed at the bottom of the control cabin module.

5. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The DC voltage regulator and converter module group consists of 24VDC terminal blocks L and R on the left and right sides of the control cabin module, 24V-12VDC module L and R, and 12VDC terminal blocks L and R.

6. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The propulsion module includes three panels. Each panel is fixedly connected by long nuts and studs through fixing holes at the four corners. The first panel of the propulsion module is equipped with two lithium batteries, the second panel is equipped with multiple positive and negative terminal blocks of lithium batteries and one lithium battery, and the third panel is equipped with multiple watertight connectors.

7. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 1, characterized in that: The control cabin module includes three panels. Each panel is fixedly connected by long nuts and studs through fixing holes at the four corners. The first panel of the control cabin module is equipped with positive and negative terminal blocks and voltage regulator modules corresponding to the propulsion cabin module. The second panel is equipped with an industrial control computer, switch, STM32, CAN communication card, relay group, Beidou module, integrated navigation module, and bridge module. The third panel is equipped with multiple watertight connectors and multiple through-cabin connectors.

8. The modular control system for an unmanned monitoring vessel according to claim 4, characterized in that: The water quality sensor group is installed in the sea passage of the unmanned monitoring vessel and includes a temperature sensor, a salinity sensor, an ammonia nitrogen sensor, a pH sensor, a chlorophyll sensor, and an oil sensor.

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