Marine Vessel Steering Phase Shift Correction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing marine vessel steering systems experience phase shifts between the steering wheel angle and the outboard motor turning angle, leading to inefficiencies and potential misalignment when power is cut off, as the prior art relies solely on electric control without mechanical coupling, resulting in phase shifts that need to be automatically corrected.
Innovation Solution
A marine vessel steering device with a turning mechanism, operation unit, steering angle detection, turning angle detection, phase shift determination, and a turning control delay unit that ensures the steering and turning angles are in phase before starting control, using a notification unit to inform the operator of phase shifts and allowing manual correction by the operator.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the outboard motor is turned exclusively by electric control without mechanical coupling, then the steering system can be simplified and easier to operate, but a phase shift occurs between the steering angle and the turning angle when power is cut off
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of phase shift between steering angle and turning angle before starting motor operation. The phase shift detection unit identifies any misalignment in advance, and the control unit pre-adjusts the turning angle to match the steering angle, eliminating the need for corrective action during operation and preventing the harmful effect of phase shift.
2Measurement precision
If the turning mechanism is automatically adjusted to eliminate phase shift, then the steering precision is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional control units and sensors
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs multiple functions: it controls the turning mechanism during normal operation, detects phase shift between steering and turning angles, and adjusts the turning angle to eliminate phase shift. By consolidating these functions into a single control unit, the system achieves high measurement precision without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses its own detection units to monitor phase shift and its own control capabilities to eliminate the detected phase shift. The steering system is self-diagnosing and self-correcting, reducing the need for external intervention and simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high precision.
3Reliability
If the phase shift is corrected by automatic turning of the outboard motor, then the steering reliability is improved, but unnecessary motor operation may occur and energy is wasted
Solution Approach 1:
The system detects and corrects phase shift before the motor starts operating. By eliminating phase shift in advance through preliminary adjustment of the turning angle, the motor can start immediately in the correct position without unnecessary operation, thereby preventing energy waste while ensuring steering reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The phase shift detection unit continuously monitors the relationship between steering angle and turning angle, providing feedback to the control unit. This feedback mechanism ensures that phase shift is detected and corrected only when necessary, preventing unnecessary motor operation and energy consumption while maintaining reliable steering control.
Data Source
AI summary
A marine vessel steering device includes a turning mechanism arranged to be attached to a marine vessel, an operation unit arranged to be operated by an operator to steer the marine vessel, a steering angle detection unit arranged to detect a steering angle of the operation unit, a turning angle detection unit arranged to detect a turning angle of the turning mechanism, a turning control unit arranged to control the turning mechanism according to a steering angle, a phase shift determination unit arranged to determine whether phases of the steering angle and the turning angle are shifted relative to each other, and a turning control delay unit. The turning control delay unit is arranged to start control of the turning mechanism by the turning control unit after waiting for elimination of the phase shift by an operation of the operation unit when the phase shift determination unit determines that the phases of the steering angle and the turning angle are shifted relative to each other when starting the turning control unit.