Autonomous mooring control system for surface vehicles

Abstract

Provides an autonomous mooring control system for water vehicles. [Solution] The autonomous mooring control system 100 for a water vehicle includes at least one bow thruster 20, at least two stern thrusters 30, at least two sensors 40, at least two detection points 50, a calculation unit 60, and a control unit 70, all of which are provided on the water vehicle 10. The calculation unit outputs a control signal based on the coordinates of the sensors and the coordinates of the detection points. The control unit controls the at least one bow thruster and at least two stern thrusters based on the control signal, thereby enabling the water vehicle to perform autonomous mooring.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of control systems for water vehicles, and more particularly to an autonomous mooring control system for use in water vehicles. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, mooring control of a ship has been performed depending on the experience of the operator, who visually judges the distance and angle between the ship and the quay, and successively corrects the ship's attitude, gradually bringing the ship closer to the quay, and finally mooring the ship to the quay with the mooring rope, completing the mooring.

[0003] Conventional ship mooring methods rely on the experience of the operator, so there are no standardized procedures, operators are required to demonstrate high levels of skill each time, and it is difficult to reproduce the mooring process. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a control technique applicable to an autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle according to the present invention comprises a water vehicle, at least one bow thruster, at least two stern thrusters, at least two sensors, at least two detection points, a calculation unit, and a control unit.

[0006] At least one bow thruster is provided in a region from the center of gravity of the surface vehicle to the bow. At least two stern thrusters are provided at the stern of the surface vehicle. At least two sensors are provided on the surface vehicle and detect coordinates of at least two detection points. A computing unit is connected to the at least two sensors and receives coordinate information of the at least two sensors and coordinate information of the at least two detection points transmitted from the at least two sensors. A control unit is connected to the at least one bow thruster, the at least two stern thrusters, and the computing unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] In order to understand the technical features and advantageous effects of the present invention and to enable it to be implemented based on the description in the specification, preferred embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0009] Please refer to Figure 1. The autonomous mooring control system 100 for a water vehicle according to this embodiment includes a water vehicle 10, at least one bow thruster 20, at least two stern thrusters 30, at least two sensors 40, at least two detection points 50, a calculation unit 60, and a control unit 70.

[0010] The water vehicle 10 of the present invention is a powered water vehicle that operates on the surface of the ocean. The water vehicle 10 of the present invention may be an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), a maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS), or an unmanned surface vehicle (USV).

[0011] In particular, at least one bow thruster 20 according to this embodiment is provided in the region from the center of gravity 11 to the bow of the surface vehicle 10. Furthermore, at least one bow thruster 20 is provided on the port side of the surface vehicle 10, and the bow thruster 20 generates propulsive force in the left and right directions, moving the surface vehicle 10 in the port or starboard direction. At least one bow thruster 20 according to this embodiment is provided on the starboard side of the surface vehicle 10. When the impeller of the bow thruster 20 rotates forward, the propulsive direction of the bow thruster 20 is toward the port side, and when the impeller rotates backward, the propulsive direction is toward the starboard side. The at least one bow thruster 20 according to this embodiment is a waterjet thruster.

[0012] In this embodiment, at least two stern thrusters 30 are provided at the stern of the watercraft 10. Each stern thruster 30 is provided at a position equidistant from the central axis 12 of the watercraft 10. Each stern thruster 30 is arranged symmetrically with respect to the central axis 12 of the watercraft 10. The propulsion directions of the at least two stern thrusters 30 include forward, aft, or a combination thereof, and can rotate the bow of the watercraft 10 clockwise or counterclockwise, or move the watercraft 10 forward or backward along the bow direction. Furthermore, by propelling the at least two stern thrusters 30 in the forward and aft directions and further propelling at least one bow thruster 20 in the port or starboard direction, the watercraft 10 can be moved in the port or starboard direction. In particular, the at least two stern thrusters 30 can control the heading of the bow of the water vehicle 10, movement to the port or starboard direction, and forward or backward movement in the bow direction by adjusting the forward or reverse rotation and rotation speed of the impellers of the at least two stern thrusters 30 without changing the installation direction or angle. The at least two stern thrusters 30 according to this embodiment are water jet thrusters.

[0013] Furthermore, at least two stern thrusters 30 adjust the heading of the water vehicle 10. When the impeller of the first stern thruster 31 rotates forward and the impeller of the second stern thruster 32 rotates backward, and the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 rotate at the same speed, the heading of the water vehicle 10 rotates clockwise. When the impeller of the first stern thruster 31 rotates backward and the impeller of the second stern thruster 32 rotates forward, and the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 rotate at the same speed, the heading of the water vehicle 10 rotates counterclockwise.

[0014] At least two stern thrusters 30 adjust the forward and backward movement of the water vehicle 10. When the impellers of the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 are rotated forward at the same speed, the water vehicle 10 moves in the same direction as the bow direction. In this embodiment, the movement of the water vehicle 10 in the same direction as the bow direction is defined as the water vehicle 10 moving forward. Conversely, when the impellers of the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 are rotated backward at the same speed, the water vehicle 10 moves in the direction opposite to the bow direction. In this embodiment, the movement of the water vehicle 10 in the direction opposite to the bow direction is defined as the water vehicle 10 moving backward.

[0015] The at least two stern thrusters 30 coordinate the movement of the water vehicle 10 in the port or starboard direction. When the impeller of the first stern thruster 31 is rotated in the reverse direction and the impeller of the second stern thruster 32 is rotated in the forward direction, and the rotational speed of the second stern thruster 32 is greater than the rotational speed of the first stern thruster 31, the water vehicle 10 moves in the starboard direction. Conversely, when the impeller of the first stern thruster 31 is rotated in the forward direction and the impeller of the second stern thruster 32 is rotated in the reverse direction, and the rotational speed of the first stern thruster 31 is greater than the rotational speed of the second stern thruster 32, the water vehicle 10 moves in the port direction.

[0016] At least two sensors 40 are installed on the side of the watercraft 10 and detect the coordinates of at least two detection points 50. The sensor 40 in this embodiment includes a millimeter-wave radar or laser. The detection point 50 in this embodiment is a reflective sheet for reflecting a signal emitted from the sensor 40. In this embodiment, the first and second sensors are installed on the starboard side of the watercraft 10. In this embodiment, the at least two detection points 50 are installed on a mooring object 80. The mooring object 80 allows the watercraft 10 to moor, and any location where the watercraft 10 can be moored, such as a pier, ferry landing, wharf, port coast, river coast, or canal coast, is considered to be reasonably within the scope of the present invention. In this embodiment, the first and second detection points are installed on bollards of the mooring object 80. When the water vehicle 10 activates the water vehicle's autonomous mooring control system 100, the sensor 40 emits a detection signal toward the mooring target 80, and when the detection signal reaches the detection point 50, the detection point 50 reflects a distance signal back to the sensor 40, and the sensor 40 acquires the coordinates of the detection point 50.

[0017] The arithmetic unit 60 is connected to the at least two sensors 40 and is used to receive coordinate information of the at least two sensors 40 and the at least two detection points 50 transmitted from the at least two sensors 40. The arithmetic unit 60 in this embodiment receives the coordinate information of the detection points 50 transmitted from the at least two sensors 40 in real time. The arithmetic unit 60 in this embodiment is a central processing unit (CPU). Based on the coordinate points of each sensor 40 and the coordinate points of each detection point 50, the arithmetic unit 60 calculates the heading error of the watercraft 10, the fore-aft position error of the watercraft 10, and the starboard heading error of the watercraft 10 using predetermined arithmetic expressions. The arithmetic expressions in this embodiment are trigonometric functions. The above-mentioned errors in this embodiment are relative errors occurring between the position of the watercraft 10 and the position of the mooring object 80.

[0018] The control signal corresponding to the result calculated by the calculation unit 60 will now be described in detail. If the calculation unit 60 calculates based on the calculation formula that the heading error of the water vehicle 10 is not 0 degrees, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal to adjust the heading of the water vehicle 10. On the other hand, if the calculation unit 60 calculates that the heading error of the water vehicle 10 is 0 degrees, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal that does not adjust the heading of the water vehicle 10. This indicates that the heading of the water vehicle 10 is in the appropriate direction relative to the mooring position 81 of the mooring object 80.

[0019] Furthermore, if the calculation unit 60 calculates based on the calculation formula that the forward / rearward position error of the water vehicle 10 is not zero, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal that adjusts the forward / rearward movement of the water vehicle 10. On the other hand, if the calculation unit 60 calculates that the forward / rearward position error of the water vehicle 10 is zero, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal that does not adjust the forward / rearward movement of the water vehicle 10.

[0020] If the calculation unit 60 calculates based on the calculation formula that the port / starboard heading error of the surface vehicle 10 is not zero, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal to adjust the left / right movement of the surface vehicle 10. On the other hand, if the calculation unit 60 calculates that the port / starboard heading error of the surface vehicle 10 is zero, the calculation unit 60 outputs a control signal that does not adjust the left / right movement of the surface vehicle 10.

[0021] The control unit 70 is connected to the at least one bow thruster 20, the at least two stern thrusters 30, and the arithmetic unit 60. The arithmetic unit 60 transmits control signals to the control unit 70, and the control unit 70 controls the at least one bow thruster 20 and the at least two stern thrusters 30 based on the control signals. The control unit 70 in this embodiment is a central processing unit (CPU).

[0022] In particular, the arithmetic unit 60 and the control unit 70 may be configured using the same central processing unit (CPU), or the arithmetic unit 60 and the control unit 70 may be configured using separate central processing units (CPUs), although the present invention is not limited to these configurations.

[0023] Referring to FIG. 2, if the arithmetic unit 60 calculates based on the arithmetic equation that the heading error of the water vehicle 10 is not 0 degrees, it indicates that the heading needs to be adjusted. In this embodiment, the adjustment is performed by rotating the heading clockwise. The arithmetic unit 60 sends a control signal to the control unit 70 to rotate the heading of the water vehicle 10 clockwise. The control unit 70 rotates the impeller of the first thruster forward and the impeller of the second thruster reversely, and controls the rotational speeds of the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 to be the same, thereby rotating the heading of the water vehicle 10 clockwise. At this time, the heading error of the water vehicle 10 becomes 0 degrees.

[0024] 3, if the arithmetic unit 60 calculates based on the arithmetic equation that the fore-aft position error of the water vehicle 10 is not zero, the arithmetic unit 60 outputs a control signal to adjust the fore-aft movement of the water vehicle 10. This indicates that the fore-aft movement of the water vehicle 10 needs to be adjusted. In this embodiment, the adjustment is made by moving the water vehicle 10 forward. The arithmetic unit 60 sends a control signal for the forward movement of the water vehicle 10 to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 rotates the first stern thruster 31 and the second stern thruster 32 forward at the same rotational speed, thereby aligning the bow and stern of the water vehicle 10 with the mooring position 81 of the mooring target 80.

[0025] 4 and 5, when the arithmetic unit 60 calculates based on the arithmetic equation that the port / starboard heading error of the surface vehicle 10 is not zero, it outputs a control signal to adjust the left / right movement of the surface vehicle 10. In this embodiment, the adjustment is made by moving the surface vehicle 10 to the starboard direction. The arithmetic unit 60 sends a control signal to the control unit 70 to move the surface vehicle 10 to the starboard direction. The control unit 70 reverses the impeller of the first stern thruster 31 and rotates the impeller of the second stern thruster 32 forward, controlling the rotational speed of the second stern thruster 32 to be higher than that of the first stern thruster 31. Furthermore, the control unit 70 reverses the impeller of the bow thruster 20, thereby mooring the surface vehicle 10 at the mooring position 81 of the mooring target 80. This allows the operator to safely and securely moor the water vehicle 10 to the mooring target 80, completing the autonomous mooring operation of the water vehicle 10.

[0026] In particular, referring to FIG. 4, the control unit 70 controls the forward rotation, reverse rotation and rotation speed of at least one bow thruster 20 and at least two stern thrusters 30, thereby causing the water vehicle 10 to rotate in place around its center of gravity 11 as the rotation axis.

[0027] It should be noted that the above is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. In other words, simple modifications and adaptations made in accordance with the scope of the utility model registration claims and the contents of the specification of the present invention are included in the protection scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0028] 100 Autonomous Mooring Control System 10 Water Vehicles 11 Center of gravity 12 Center axis 20 Bow thruster 30 Stern thruster 31 First stern thruster 32 Second stern thruster 40 sensors 50 detection points 60 computing units 70 Control Unit 80 Mooring Targets 81 Mooring position

Claims

1. Water vehicles and at least one bow thruster located in a region from the center of gravity of the surface vehicle to the bow; at least two stern thrusters mounted on the stern of the surface vehicle; At least two sensors provided on the water vehicle for detecting coordinates of at least two detection points; a computing unit connected to the at least two sensors and configured to receive coordinate information of the at least two sensors and coordinate information of the at least two detection points transmitted from the at least two sensors; a control unit connected to the at least one bow thruster, the at least two stern thrusters and the computing unit; An autonomous mooring control system for a surface vehicle, comprising:

2. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the water vehicle is powered on the surface of the ocean.

3. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least one bow thruster is a waterjet thruster.

4. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the at least two stern thrusters are waterjet thrusters.

5. The autonomous mooring control system for a watercraft as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the stern thrusters are arranged symmetrically about a central axis of the watercraft.

6. 2. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle of claim 1, wherein the thrust directions of the at least two stern thrusters include a heading direction, an opposite heading direction, or a combination thereof.

7. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two sensors are millimeter wave radar or laser.

8. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two detection points are reflective sheets.

9. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the at least two detection points are provided on a mooring object.

10. 2. The autonomous mooring control system for a water vehicle of claim 1, wherein the arithmetic unit and the control unit are central processing units (CPUs).

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