Winding radius calculation device and winding radius calculation method

Abstract

A winding radius calculation device (1) according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a processing circuit (11). The processing circuit (11) performs image processing on an image captured by an imaging device (3) so as to reflect a portion where a mooring line extends from a mooring machine including a drum and the rotation center of the drum, calculates the angle of the mooring line with respect to a horizontal line, and uses the calculated angle of the mooring line to calculate the winding radius of the mooring line on the drum.

Description

Wrapping Radius Calculation Device and Wrapping Radius Calculation Method

[0008] ,

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a device and a method for calculating the wrapping radius of a mooring line on a drum of a mooring machine.

[0002] Conventionally, ships are equipped with a mooring machine (mooring winch) including a drum around which a mooring line is wound. The drum of the mooring machine includes a single drum in which the mooring line is wound in multiple layers during mooring, and a split drum that is divided into a storage part and a tension part, and in which the mooring line is wound in a single layer on the tension part during mooring. Ships are relatively often equipped with a mooring machine including a single drum.

[0003] A load cell may be incorporated in the mooring machine to monitor the tension of the mooring line. In a single drum, if the wrapping radius of the mooring line on the drum is known, it is possible to calculate the tension of the mooring line using the wrapping radius and the detection value of the load cell.

[0004] For example, Patent Document 1 describes calculating the wrapping radius of the mooring line on the drum using a plurality of height measuring instruments that measure the height of the mooring line from the deck at a plurality of measurement points. Patent Document 1 also describes that instead of using a height measuring instrument, the height of the mooring line from the deck at a plurality of points may be obtained from an image captured by a camera.

[0005] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2024 - 25315

[0006] By the way, in order to calculate the wrapping radius of the mooring line on the drum, there is a desire to calculate the wrapping radius based on the angle of the mooring line.

[0007] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a wrapping radius calculation device and a wrapping radius calculation method capable of calculating the wrapping radius of the mooring line on the drum based on the angle of the mooring line.

[0008] This disclosure provides, in a first aspect, a winding radius calculation device that performs image processing on an image captured by a camera device so as to show the portion of the mooring rope extending from a mooring machine including a drum and the rotation center of the drum, calculates the angle of the mooring rope with respect to the horizon, and uses the calculated angle of the mooring rope to calculate the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum.

[0009] This disclosure provides, from a second aspect, a method for calculating the winding radius, which involves performing image processing on an image taken so as to show the portion of the mooring rope extending from a mooring machine including a drum and the rotation center of the drum, in order to calculate the angle of the mooring rope with respect to the horizon, and then using the calculated angle of the mooring rope to calculate the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum.

[0010] According to this disclosure, a winding radius calculation device and a winding radius calculation method are provided that can calculate the winding radius of a mooring rope on a drum based on the angle of the mooring rope.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a mooring radius calculation device according to one embodiment. Figure 2 is a side view of the mooring machine. Figure 3 is an example image. Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the method for calculating the mooring radius. Figure 5 is a side view of a modified mooring machine.

[0012] Figure 1 shows a mooring radius calculation device 1 according to one embodiment. For example, the mooring radius calculation device 1 is a computer terminal installed on a ship together with the mooring machine 5 shown in Figure 2. Alternatively, the mooring radius calculation device 1 may be a computer terminal installed on land that can communicate with a computer terminal installed on a ship via a communication network 2, which will be described later.

[0013] Specifically, the winding radius calculation device 1 includes a processing circuit 11, storage 14, a user interface 15, and a communication interface 16. The processing circuit 11 includes a processor 12 such as a CPU, and memory 13 such as RAM or ROM. The storage 14 is, for example, an HDD or SSD. A program stored in the ROM or storage 14 is executed by the processor 12.

[0014] The functions of the elements disclosed herein can be performed using circuits or processing circuits, including general-purpose processors, dedicated processors, integrated circuits, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), conventional circuits, and / or combinations thereof, configured or programmed to perform the disclosed functions. A processor is considered a processing circuit or circuit because it includes transistors and other circuits. In this disclosure, a circuit, unit, or means is hardware that performs the enumerated functions, or hardware programmed to perform the enumerated functions. The hardware may be hardware disclosed herein, or other known hardware that is programmed or configured to perform the enumerated functions. If the hardware is a processor, which is considered a type of circuit, then the circuit, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software, and the software is used to configure the hardware and / or the processor.

[0015] The user interface 15 functions as an input and display and has a display screen. The user interface 15 is, for example, a touchscreen. However, instead of the winding radius calculation device 1 including the user interface 15, the winding radius calculation device 1 may have an input and a display electrically connected to it.

[0016] The communication interface 16 transmits and receives data between the mooring radius calculation device 1 and other devices via the communication network 2. In this embodiment, the other devices are the mooring line tension monitoring device 21 and the imaging device 3. The communication network 2 may include a ship's wireless LAN or wired LAN, or it may include the Internet. Instead of the communication network 2, the mooring radius calculation device 1 may be directly connected to the other devices by cable.

[0017] The mooring rope tension monitoring device 21 is electrically connected to a load cell incorporated into the mooring machine 5 shown in Figure 2. The mooring machine 5 includes a drum 51 around which the mooring rope 4 is wound, a pair of flanges 52 extending radially outward from both ends of the drum 51, and a support structure 53 that rotatably supports a rotating shaft that passes through the drum 51. A reduction gear is positioned on the opposite side of the drum 51 from the support structure 53, and the rotating shaft is connected to the output shaft of the reduction gear.

[0018] Furthermore, the mooring machine 5 includes a band brake positioned on the reduction gear side that allows or prohibits the rotation of the drum 51, and a motor that rotates the drum 51 via the reduction gear and the rotating shaft. The motor may be a hydraulic motor or an electric motor. The load cell described above is incorporated, for example, as a connecting pin to the deck bracket in the band brake.

[0019] The mooring radius calculation device 1 calculates the mooring radius R of the mooring rope 4 on the drum 51 and transmits the calculated mooring radius R of the mooring rope 4 to the mooring rope tension monitoring device 21 via the communication network 2. The mooring rope tension monitoring device 21 calculates the tension of the mooring rope 4 using the mooring radius R of the mooring rope 4 and the detected value of the load cell. Note that the mooring rope tension monitoring device 21 does not necessarily have to be a separate device from the mooring radius calculation device 1 and may be integrated with the mooring radius calculation device 1.

[0020] In this embodiment, the imaging device 3 is a portable device such as a smartphone or tablet that includes a camera. However, the imaging device 3 may be a fixed camera installed on each mooring machine 5, or it may be a fixed camera installed on the hull of the ship to photograph multiple mooring machines 5.

[0021] The crew member uses the camera 3 to photograph the mooring machine 5, as shown in Figure 3, so that the portion from which the mooring rope 4 extends and the rotation center 50 of the drum 51 are visible. The image 8, taken by the camera 3 and showing the portion from which the mooring rope 4 extends and the rotation center 50 of the drum 51, is transmitted to the winding radius calculation device 1 via the communication network 2.

[0022] The processing circuit 11 of the mooring radius calculation device 1 performs image processing on the image 8 to calculate the angle θ of the mooring rope 4 with respect to the horizontal line as shown in Figure 4, and uses the calculated angle θ of the mooring rope 4 to calculate the mooring radius R of the mooring rope 4 on the drum 51. The processing circuit 11 may also display the calculated mooring radius R of the mooring rope 4 on the display screen of the user interface 15.

[0023] In this embodiment, a bar 6 extending vertically is provided on the support structure 53. The bar 6 may be provided on the support structure 53 as a reinforcing rib (flat bar), or it may be provided on the support structure 53 as a cylindrical body rising from the support structure 53. The sailor photographs the mooring machine 5 so that the bar 6 is visible. In other words, the bar 6 is visible in the image 8. When the processing circuit 11 performs image processing on the image 8, it determines the horizontal line based on the bar 6. For example, the processing circuit 11 determines that the direction perpendicular to the center line of the bar 6 is the horizontal line.

[0024] However, the bar 6 does not necessarily have to extend vertically; a bar 6 extending horizontally may be provided on the support structure 53. Even in this case, the processing circuit 11 can determine the horizontal line based on the bar 6 when performing image processing on the image 8. Alternatively, the direction in which the bar 6 extends may be diagonal.

[0025] As a method for calculating the angle θ of the mooring rope 4, the processing circuit 11 may calculate the angle θ of the mooring rope 4 by counting the number of pixels from the horizontal line passing through the rotation center 50 to the mooring rope 4 in image 8. Alternatively, the processing circuit 11 may measure the heights H1 and H2 of two points at a distance L from the horizontal line passing through the rotation center 50 to the mooring rope 4 and calculate the angle θ of the mooring rope 4 using the following equation (1).

[0026] As shown in Figure 4, when the distance L is the distance from the outer edge of the flange 52 and the heights H1 and H2 are the heights to the center line of the mooring rope 4, the processing circuit 11 calculates the wrapping radius R using the following equations (2) and (3). In equation (2), D is the diameter of the flange 52.

[0027] When a crew member photographs the mooring machine 5 from directly in front of it, in the axial direction of the drum 51, the wrapping radius R of the mooring rope 4 can be accurately calculated using the method described above. In contrast, this embodiment employs a configuration that allows for the accurate calculation of the wrapping radius R of the mooring rope 4 even when a crew member photographs the mooring machine 5 from an oblique direction.

[0028] Specifically, on the flange 52 on the support structure 53 side where the bar 6 is provided, radial lines 7 are formed on the surface opposite to the drum 51, centered on the rotation center 50. The crew photographs the mooring machine 5 so that some of the lines 7 are visible. In other words, radial lines 7 are visible in image 8.

[0029] When processing the image 8, the processing circuit 11 determines the shooting direction based on the radial lines 7. After calculating the angle θ of the mooring rope 4 using the method described above, the processing circuit 11 corrects the calculated angle θ of the mooring rope 4 based on the determined shooting direction, and uses the corrected angle θ of the mooring rope 4 to calculate the winding radius R of the mooring rope 4 on the drum 51.

[0030] As for determining the shooting direction, if eight radial lines 7 are formed at 45-degree intervals as shown in Figure 2, and the mooring machine 5 is photographed from an oblique direction, the angular intervals of the radial lines 7 on the image 8 will include those smaller than 45 degrees and those larger than 45 degrees. In other words, the processing circuit 11 determines the shooting direction from the angular intervals of the radial lines 7 on the image 8.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, the winding radius R of the mooring rope 4 on the drum 51 can be calculated based on the angle θ of the mooring rope 4. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the processing circuit 11 determines the shooting direction based on the radial lines 7 formed on the surface of the flange 52, and corrects the calculated angle θ of the mooring rope 4 based on the determined shooting direction, so that the angle θ of the mooring rope 4 can be determined with high accuracy.

[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the camera 3 is a portable terminal, costs can be reduced because no additional equipment is required on the ship compared to the case where the camera 3 is a fixed camera installed on the mooring machine 5 or the like.

[0033] <Modifications> This disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0034] For example, as shown in Figure 5, instead of having a bar 6 on the support structure 53, a reference line 6A extending horizontally or vertically may be formed on the support structure 53, and the crew may photograph the mooring machine 5 so that the reference line 6A is visible. Even in this case, the processing circuit 11 can determine the horizontal line based on the reference line 6A when performing image processing on the image 8.

[0035] Alternatively, instead of having bar 6 or reference line 6A, the processing circuit 11 may determine the horizontal line from the contour of the support structure 53. However, if bar 6 is provided on the support structure 53 or reference line 6A is formed, the horizontal line can be easily determined.

[0036] <Summary> In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a winding radius calculation device that, from a first side view, performs image processing on an image captured by a camera device such that the portion of the mooring rope extending from a mooring machine including a drum and the rotation center of the drum are visible, calculates the angle of the mooring rope with respect to the horizon, and uses the calculated angle of the mooring rope to calculate the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum.

[0037] According to the above configuration, the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum can be calculated based on the angle of the mooring rope.

[0038] In a second embodiment, in the first embodiment, the mooring machine includes a support structure that rotatably supports a rotating shaft that penetrates the drum, the support structure is provided with a bar extending horizontally or vertically, or a reference line extending horizontally or vertically is formed thereon, the image is taken so as to show the bar or the reference line, and the processing circuit may determine the horizontal line based on the bar or the reference line when performing the image processing. With this configuration, the horizontal line can be easily determined.

[0039] As a third aspect, in the first or second aspect, the mooring machine includes a flange that protrudes radially outward from an end of the drum, and radial lines are formed on a surface of the flange on a side opposite to the drum. The image is taken so that the radial lines are reflected therein. When performing the image processing, the processing circuit determines a shooting direction based on the radial lines, corrects the calculated angle of the mooring rope based on the determined shooting direction, and calculates a winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum using the corrected angle of the mooring rope. According to this configuration, the angle of the mooring rope can be obtained with high accuracy.

[0040] As a fourth aspect, in any one of the first to third aspects, the imaging device may be a portable terminal. According to this configuration, compared with the case where the imaging device is a fixed camera provided in a mooring machine or the like, additional equipment on the ship side is not required, so that the cost can be reduced.

[0041] As a fifth aspect, the present disclosure provides a winding radius calculation method in which image processing is performed on an image taken so that a mooring rope extending from a mooring machine including a drum and a rotation center of the drum are reflected therein from a second side surface, to calculate an angle of the mooring rope with respect to a horizontal line, and to calculate a winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum using the calculated angle of the mooring rope.

[0042] According to the above configuration, the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum can be calculated based on the angle of the mooring rope.

[0043] As a sixth aspect, in the fifth aspect, the mooring machine includes a support structure portion that rotatably supports a rotating shaft passing through the drum. A bar extending in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction is provided on the support structure portion, or a reference line extending in a horizontal direction or a vertical direction is formed. The image is taken so that the bar or the reference line is reflected therein. When performing the image processing, the horizontal line may be determined based on the bar or the reference line. According to this configuration, the horizontal line can be easily determined.

[0044] In a seventh embodiment, in the fifth or sixth embodiment, the mooring machine includes a flange extending radially outward from the end of the drum, with radial lines formed on the surface of the flange opposite to the drum, and the image is taken such that the radial lines are visible. During the image processing, the shooting direction may be determined based on the radial lines, the calculated angle of the mooring line may be corrected based on the determined shooting direction, and the winding radius of the mooring line on the drum may be calculated using the corrected angle of the mooring line. With this configuration, the angle of the mooring line can be determined with high accuracy.

[0045] In an eighth aspect, in any of the fifth to seventh aspects, the image may be taken with a mobile device. This configuration reduces costs because it eliminates the need for additional equipment on the ship compared to a fixed camera installed on a mooring machine or the like.

[0046] 1. Winding radius calculation device 11. Processing circuit 3. Shooting device 4. Mooring rope 5. Mooring machine 50. Rotation center 51. Drum 52. Flange 53. Support structure 6. Bar 6A. Reference line 7. Radial lines 8. Image

Claims

1. A mooring radius calculation device comprising a processing circuit that performs image processing on an image captured by a camera device so as to show the portion of the mooring rope extending from the mooring machine including the drum and the rotation center of the drum, calculates the angle of the mooring rope with respect to the horizon, and uses the calculated angle of the mooring rope to calculate the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum.

2. The mooring machine includes a support structure that rotatably supports a rotating shaft that penetrates the drum, the support structure is provided with a bar extending horizontally or vertically, or has a reference line extending horizontally or vertically formed thereon, the image is taken so as to show the bar or the reference line, and the processing circuit determines the horizontal line based on the bar or the reference line when performing the image processing, the winding radius calculation device according to claim 1.

3. The mooring machine includes a flange that extends radially outward from the end of the drum, with radial lines formed on the surface of the flange opposite to the drum, the image is taken such that the radial lines are visible, and the processing circuit, when performing the image processing, determines the shooting direction based on the radial lines, corrects the calculated angle of the mooring rope based on the determined shooting direction, and calculates the wrapping radius of the mooring rope on the drum using the corrected angle of the mooring rope, the wrapping radius calculation device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The winding radius calculation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the imaging device is a portable terminal.

5. A method for calculating the winding radius, comprising: performing image processing on an image taken so as to show the portion of the mooring rope extending from the mooring machine including the drum and the rotation center of the drum, to calculate the angle of the mooring rope with respect to the horizon, and using the calculated angle of the mooring rope to calculate the winding radius of the mooring rope on the drum.

6. The method for calculating the winding radius according to claim 5, wherein the mooring machine includes a support structure that rotatably supports a rotating shaft that penetrates the drum, the support structure is provided with a bar extending horizontally or vertically, or a reference line extending horizontally or vertically is formed thereon, the image is taken so as to show the bar or the reference line, and the horizontal line is determined based on the bar or the reference line when performing the image processing.

7. The method for calculating the wrapping radius according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the mooring machine includes a flange that extends radially outward from the end of the drum, radial lines are formed on the surface of the flange opposite to the drum, the image is taken so as to show the radial lines, and when performing the image processing, the shooting direction is determined based on the radial lines, the angle of the mooring line calculated based on the determined shooting direction is corrected, and the wrapping radius of the mooring line on the drum is calculated using the corrected angle of the mooring line.

8. The method for calculating the winding radius according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the image is taken with a mobile device.

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