Ship Steering Control Using Vehicle-Like Interface
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ship steering operations differ significantly from land vehicle manipulation, making it challenging for beginners to master ship handling effectively.
Innovation Solution
A ship equipped with an accelerator pedal, accelerator sensor, shift lever, and ship steering control device that controls propulsion units based on sensor inputs, allowing for vehicle-like manipulation by adjusting engine output and propulsion direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional ship steering operation is used, then ship control function is achieved, but operation complexity increases and ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by replicating familiar vehicle control interfaces (accelerator pedal, brake pedal, steering wheel, shift lever) on the ship bridge. This allows operators to use their existing knowledge of vehicle manipulation, eliminating the need to learn entirely new ship steering procedures while maintaining full ship control functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The control device serves multiple functions by integrating vehicle-like controls with ship-specific operations. The accelerator pedal controls engine output, the shift lever manages propulsion unit direction, and these universal vehicle controls are adapted to simultaneously perform ship steering, propulsion, and positioning functions
2Ease of operation
If vehicle-like controls are added to the ship, then ease of operation improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges vehicle control functions with ship control functions into a single integrated control device. The accelerator pedal, brake pedal, steering wheel, and shift lever are combined with ship-specific controls to operate the engine and propulsion units, reducing the number of separate systems while maintaining comprehensive functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The control device automatically manages the complexity of ship operations by processing sensor inputs and coordinating multiple propulsion units based on simple vehicle-like driver inputs. The system self-regulates engine output, propulsion direction, and ship positioning without requiring the operator to manage complex mechanical systems directly
Data Source
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AI summary
An object is to provide a technique enabling a ship to be manipulated as if it was a vehicle. A ship (100) includes: an out-drive unit (20) that exerts a propulsion force on a ship hull (1) by power from an engine (10); detection means (5) for detecting a current position, a bow direction, and a moving speed of the ship hull (1); a shift lever (41) that changes magnitude and direction of an output from the out-drive unit (20); a lever sensor (53) that detects a manipulation position of the shift lever (41); and a ship steering control device (30) that is connected to the out-drive unit (20), the detection means (5), and the lever sensor (53), the ship steering control device (30) being configured to acquire an operating status of the out-drive unit (20) and detection results obtained by the detection means (5) and the lever sensor (53), and to control the out-drive unit (20) based on the detection results. The manipulation position of the shift lever (41) includes at least four positions of a forward traveling position, a neutral position, a reverse traveling position, and a positioning position. The ship steering control device (30) performs a dynamic positioning control in a case where the manipulation position of the shift lever (41) detected by the lever sensor (53) is the positioning position.