Watercraft Cruise Control Thrust Adjustment for Velocity Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing watercraft control methods struggle to maintain constant velocity due to external factors like waves and turning, leading to temporary decreases in vessel velocity, especially when towing or navigating specific regions, requiring manual intervention.
Innovation Solution
An automatic cruise control system that adjusts thrust based on the difference between target and actual vessel velocities, with the ability to modify thrust magnitude when predetermined interruption conditions, such as significant steering angle changes, are met, to prevent vessel velocity decreases during turns and maintain stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If feedback control is performed to maintain constant vessel velocity, then velocity control accuracy is improved, but temporal velocity decreases occur during turning maneuvers
Solution Approach 1:
The control system performs preliminary action by detecting steering angle changes in advance and proactively increasing thrust before velocity decrease occurs. When the steering angle changes exceed a threshold, the system anticipates the upcoming turn and adjusts thrust upward beforehand, preventing the velocity drop that would otherwise occur during the maneuver.
Solution Approach 2:
The steering angle serves as an intermediary parameter that mediates between the operator's turning intent and the thrust control. By monitoring steering angle changes, the system detects turning maneuvers indirectly and uses this information to adjust thrust accordingly, creating a bridge between steering input and propulsion response.
2Ease of operation
If automatic cruise control maintains constant thrust, then operation simplicity is improved, but manual intervention is required in specific regions
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from GPS position data to continuously monitor whether the watercraft is in a specific region. When the detected position matches a predefined specific region, the system automatically adjusts thrust magnitude without requiring manual intervention, thereby maintaining both operational simplicity and regional adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The automatic cruise control system performs multiple functions: it maintains constant velocity during normal cruising and automatically adapts thrust in specific regions. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate manual control modes while maintaining simplicity for the operator.
Data Source
AI summary
In a first step of a watercraft control method, a command signal to activate an automatic cruise function is received. In a second step, a target vessel velocity of a watercraft is set. In a third step, an actual vessel velocity of the watercraft is obtained. In a fourth step, a command signal is generated that is a signal to perform an automatic cruise control to control a thrust of the watercraft such that a difference between the target vessel velocity and the actual vessel velocity falls in a predetermined range of values. In a fifth step, it is determined whether or not a predetermined interruption condition has been established. In a sixth step, a command signal is generated that is a signal to perform the automatic cruise control with the thrust having a different magnitude from the thrust to be generated under normal circumstances without establishment of the interruption condition when the interruption condition has been established.