Ship Control Joystick With Rotational Throttle Adjustment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ship control systems using joysticks face difficulty in adjusting propulsion force due to limited joystick motion range, making it hard for users to achieve desired propulsion force.
Innovation Solution
A ship control device that sets a throttle position based on the tilt state of an operation device, adjusts an upper limit value of the throttle position based on the rotational state, and generates a throttle command signal using a processing circuitry to facilitate easy adjustment of propulsion force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If propulsion force is adjusted by the amount of inclination of the joystick, then the control method is simple, but the range of motion of the joystick is limited making it difficult to achieve desired propulsion force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces rotation as a new dimension to the joystick operation. Instead of only tilting the joystick in one direction to adjust propulsion force, the operator can now rotate the joystick around its axis. This rotational movement provides an additional degree of freedom, effectively expanding the control range from a single-dimensional tilt to a multi-dimensional operation, thereby solving the limitation of restricted motion range while maintaining simple control.
2Measurement precision
If the joystick range of motion is increased to achieve desired propulsion force, then the control precision is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the existing joystick multi-functional by enabling it to perform both tilting and rotation operations. The same joystick structure is used for two different control dimensions: tilting controls the propulsion force magnitude while rotation provides additional control capability. This approach achieves enhanced control precision without requiring separate control devices, thereby avoiding increased device complexity while still improving measurement and control precision.
Data Source
AI summary
The ship control device includes processing circuitry. The processing circuitry sets a throttle position based on a tilt state of an operation device operated by a user, sets an upper limit value of the throttle position based on a rotational state of the first operation device, and generates a throttle command signal based on the throttle position and the upper limit value, to easily adjust a propulsion force while using a joystick.