JPH0517077B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a method and device for controlling the tilt angle of an outboard motor, and particularly to a method for controlling the tilt angle of an outboard motor equipped with a hydraulically driven power tilt mechanism. and its apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

In general, for relatively large outboard motors, a power tilt mechanism that employs hydraulic drive has become indispensable in consideration of increased weight.
This is because by using this power tilt mechanism, it is possible to easily raise and lower the inclination angle (also called tilt angle) of the outboard motor body relative to the hull within a vertical plane, and also to rotate freely. ,
This is because trim control of the hull during sailing can be performed accurately.

This situation is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows a case where the outboard motor 1 is raised relative to the hull 2 and the trim angle (θ ₁ ) of the hull with respect to the water surface 3 is relatively large. Further, FIG. 2 shows a case where the outboard motor 2 is lowered and the trim angle (θ ₂ ) is made small to be approximately parallel to the water surface 3. here,
The power tilt mechanism 4 is installed at a predetermined position between the outboard motor main body 1A and the rear of the hull 2.

Therefore, the driver can reduce the sailing resistance by determining the environmental conditions such as waves and wind, and the loading situation, and controlling the trim of the hull 2 as described above. This makes it possible to save on fuel consumption, etc., and also makes it extremely easy to raise the outboard motor body to a high position, which is necessary for maintenance inspections or for detecting shallow waters during cruising.

On the other hand, a method and device for controlling the inclination angle of an outboard motor equipped with the power tilt mechanism 4 have already been proposed by the present applicant in Patent Application No. 59-133866 of 1981.

In this proposal, the control unit automatically controls the outboard motor in the direction of increasing or decreasing the heel angle based on output information from the accelerator sensor and boat speed sensor installed at predetermined positions. , and employs a method of compensating control for the delay in control response by increasing or decreasing the inclination angle corresponding to this, thereby automatically obtaining the optimum value of the inclination angle of the outboard motor body. The configuration allows for and,
According to this, the operability and control accuracy are further improved.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the above conventional technology, after changing the heel angle, the resulting ship speed is determined via each control system and the next control is determined, so there is a delay in the hull trim operation and control Considering the response delay of the system, it was necessary to operate the power tilt mechanism relatively slowly and at low speed. Therefore, in this state, it is necessary to immediately raise the outboard motor to a high angle in case of danger such as in shallow water (hereinafter simply referred to as "tilt raising").
Even if it was necessary to do so, due to the low speed, the tilt-up could not be done in time and there was a possibility that the ship would run aground. In addition, setting the power tilt mechanism to high-speed operation so that it can operate quickly is effective in preventing groundings, but automatic control of the tilt angle does not provide accurate control due to hunting phenomena. There were conflicting inconveniences.

The present invention improves the disadvantages of the conventional example and provides a method and device for controlling the tilt angle of an outboard motor, which can perform both a low-speed tilt angle control operation and a high-speed tilt raising operation as needed. Its purpose is to provide.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in the present invention, an outboard motor having a power tilt mechanism is installed in the hull, and when the hull is sailing,
When the hull speed and the accelerator position of the outboard motor engine are maintained at a constant value, the control unit immediately detects this and, in accordance with a program pre-installed in the control unit, controls the outboard motor. A predetermined number of control loops are provided as necessary, in which a predetermined signal pause time is provided every time a control signal that increases or decreases the heel angle is output for a predetermined period of time, and it is determined whether the hull speed increases or decreases due to the increase or decrease in the heel angle. Repeatedly, the power tilt mechanism is driven and controlled so that the hull speed reaches approximately the maximum value at the constant accelerator position, thereby achieving the objective. It is something to do.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

FIG. 1 shows the circuit configuration. This circuit configuration is used to power up the outboard motor as shown in Figure 2, which will be described later.
This invention relates to a tilt angle control device that performs down control.

In this FIG. 1, 12 indicates a control section, and 1
4 indicates a power tilt mechanism controlled by this control section 12. Further, 16 indicates an automatic control stop section for canceling automatic control of the power tilt mechanism 14.

First, the configuration of the control section 12 will be explained. The output side of a pitot tube 16 (see Figure 2) as a speed sensor installed at a predetermined position on the bottom of the ship is connected to a central processing unit (hereinafter simply referred to as "CPU") as a main control unit via an A/D converter 17. ) reaches 20. Further, the output of a potentiometer-type accelerator position sensor 18 that detects the opening degree of the accelerator is also connected to the CPU 20 via an A/D converter 19. this
The CPU 20 employs a C-MOS type one-chip microcomputer that includes predetermined programs, memory, etc., and is designed to be compact and power efficient.

The output path from the CPU 20 is branched into two circuits, one on the up side of the inclination angle and the other on the down side.
That is, the up side is connected to the buffer 24 via the resistor 22.
The output side of this buffer 24 is connected to a resistor 26,
NPN for switching through each of 28 in series.
It is connected to the base of a type transistor 30.
The collector of this transistor 30 is connected to a predetermined _VB power supply via a parallel circuit consisting of the relay coil 32A of the up-side relay 32 and a back electromotive force suppressing diode 34, and the remaining emitter is grounded. has been done.

Further, the down side of the CPU 20 is similarly connected to the base of a switching NPN transistor 42 via a resistor 34, a buffer 36, and resistors 38 and 40 in series. The collector of this transistor 42 is connected to the _VB power supply through a parallel circuit of the relay coil 44A of the down-side relay 44 and the diode 46, and the emitter is grounded.

Further, a manual switch 47 for manually operating the power tilt mechanism 14 is connected within the control section 12 . This manual switch 47 is constructed so that two switches 47A and 47B are interlocked, each having two normally open contacts. The common terminal C of the power supply side switch 47A is connected to a predetermined power supply _VD , and one contact
are connected between the down side resistors 38 and 40, respectively. Further, the common terminal C' of the earth side switch 47B is grounded, and of the two contacts X' and Y', X' is connected to the input path of the down side buffer 36, and Y' is connected to the input path of the up side buffer 36. They are respectively connected to the input paths of the buffer 24.

On the other hand, in the power tilt mechanism 14, 5
Reference numeral 1 denotes a DC motor (not shown) for driving a hydraulic pump. The field coil 51A of this motor 51 has its middle point grounded, and both ends connected to the control section 12.
It is connected to the _VB power supply via contacts 32B and 44B of the relays 32 and 44 in the inside, respectively. Furthermore, although illustrations of the hydraulic pump, cylinders, etc. of the power tilt mechanism 14 are omitted here, they have already been proposed by the applicant of the present invention.
The same one as described in Publication No. 140696 is adopted.

The input terminals of the up-side buffer 24 and the down-side buffer 36 in the control section 12 are connected to the diodes 48 and 4 in the automatic control stop section 15.
9 anodes, respectively. The cathodes of these diodes 48 and 49 are grounded via an automatic trim stop switch 50, thereby forming an automatic trim stop section 15.

Further, FIG. 2 shows how the outboard motor 52 and the hull 54 according to this embodiment are attached, and the above-mentioned inclination angle control device is installed at a predetermined position thereof.
The two clamp brackets 56, 56 are bolted to the transom 54A of the hull 54, and these clamp brackets 56,
A swivel bracket 60 is provided which is rotatable via a tilt shaft 58 of 56. The outboard motor main body 52A is fixedly mounted on the rear side of the swivel bracket 60, and inside there are cylinder groups (not shown) that constitute the aforementioned power tilt mechanism 14.
is equipped with. By the expansion and contraction of this cylinder group, the outboard motor main body 52A is configured to move up or down within a predetermined angle, as shown in the figure. Here, 62 is a power unit attached to the side of one clamp bracket 56,
The aforementioned DC motor 51 and a hydraulic pump (not shown) are built-in.

In addition, the predetermined angle for up and down is approximately 70 degrees, of which during normal tilt angle automatic control, it is variable controlled within about 15 degrees from the vicinity of the vertical line, and the remaining tilt angle is necessary when raising the tilt. be.

The outboard motor 52 equipped with the control device configured as described above rotates the propeller 64 (see FIG. 2) in the forward or reverse direction using the driving force of an engine (not shown), thereby allowing the hull 54 to move forward or backward. It is structured like this.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The automatic control in this embodiment is based on a try-end error method, and a control program is set in advance and stored in the ROM of the CPU 20.

Further, the operating speed of each component (DC motor, hydraulic pump, cylinder, etc.) of the power tilt mechanism 14 is set for high speed during the tilting operation.

First, only the up and down operations of the power tilt mechanism 14 will be explained.

In the case of UP, the control signal from the CPU 20 is amplified to a predetermined level by the buffer 24 and output, so that the base potential of the transistor 30 rises and the transistor 30 is turned on. By turning on, the relay coil 32A of the relay 32 is energized, and the relay contact 32B in the power tilt mechanism 14 is turned on.
is closed, and the field coil on the up side of the DC motor 51 is energized and excited. Therefore, the motor 5
1 rotates in the normal direction, causing the hydraulic pump linked to this motor to rotate in the normal direction. As a result, the cylinder group extends a predetermined amount, and the outboard motor main body 52A is controlled to move in the upward direction at high speed as shown in FIG. Then, the hull 54 travels with a trim based on the new inclination angle subjected to the above-mentioned inching control.

Also, in the case of down, the control signal of the CPU 20 is output to the buffer 36, and in the same manner as described above, the DC motor 51 is reversed and the hydraulic pump is reversed, so the cylinder rod of the cylinder group is reduced and the inclination angle is It is made to bring down.

Furthermore, the overall operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIG.

First, when the engine of the outboard motor 52 is started, the automatic control is also started. When the cruise starts, the speed signal from the speed sensor 16 is converted into a digital signal by the A/D converter 17 and output to the CPU 20. Furthermore, the accelerator signal from the accelerator position sensor 18 is also constantly outputted to the CPU 20 as a digital signal via the A/D converter 19. Therefore, this CPU 20 waits while checking the sensor signals of the speed and the accelerator position until they reach a steady state according to the control timing of a predetermined control program.

In other words, input the accelerator signal (70 in Fig. 3),
It is determined whether the accelerator position is constant (72 in the same figure).
If the determination 72 is NO (if the accelerator position has not yet become constant), the accelerator signal is input again (70 in the same figure) and the above-described control is repeated.

If the above judgment 72 is YES (if the accelerator position has become constant), a speed signal is input (74 in the same figure), and it is determined whether the boat speed is constant (76 in the same figure). If the determination 76 is NO (if the boat speed is not constant due to the effects of waves, wind, etc.), the speed signal is input again (74 in the same figure) and the above-mentioned control is repeated.

If the above judgment 76 is YES (if the boat speed becomes constant), it is judged that a steady state has been reached, and the CPU 20 transmits the TTL level inclination angle up signal to the up side circuit according to a predetermined control program. is output for a predetermined period of time (78 in the same figure). The predetermined time for this output is here t ₁ second, as shown by U1 in FIG. This t ₁ second is shorter than the conventional one, and as a result, the power tilt mechanism 14 is moved in increments as will be described later. And the CPU
20 performs a signal pause for _t2 seconds as shown in FIG. 4 (FIG. 3 80). During this signal pause, the tilt angle up signal output activates the power tilt mechanism 14 as described above, and a new speed is determined.

Then, the CPU 20 inputs the speed signal in the new state (82 in the same figure) and determines whether or not the speed has been increased (84 in the same figure). If this judgment 84 is YES (ship speed has increased), the optimum value of the heel angle is still on the up direction side, so the heel angle up signal is output again (78 in the same figure) and the ship is decelerated. Repeat the same control until the

If the above judgment 84 is NO (ship speed decreases), the heel angle has passed the optimum value, so the CPU 20 outputs a control signal for reducing the heel angle to the down side route for a predetermined period of time (same time). Figure 86). The output time of this down control signal is
As shown by D1 in FIG. 4, the signal is for t ₁ second, and the signal is paused for t ₂ seconds after the output, as in the case of UP (FIG. 3 88). Then, the CPU 20 inputs the speed signal again (90 in the same figure) and determines whether or not the speed should be increased (92 in the same figure). If the answer is yes (ship speed increases), the heel angle down signal is output again for t ₁ second (86 in the same figure), and the same control is repeated until deceleration occurs.

If the determination 92 is NO (in the case of deceleration), the CPU 20 outputs an inclination angle up signal to the up side in accordance with the control program to compensate for the response delay of the control system (FIG. 4, 94). As shown by U ₂ in FIG. 4, this output is small for t ₃ seconds. As a result, the outboard motor main body 52A
is set at a substantially optimum value, and accordingly, the trim of the hull 54 is also maintained at a substantially optimum value, making economical cruising possible.

Thereafter, an accelerator signal is input at regular intervals (96 in FIG. 3), and it is determined whether the accelerator position is held constant (98 in the same figure). If this judgment is no (if the accelerator position has changed)
Since the driver has changed the accelerator position, the control from the beginning to the above is repeated again.

If the determination 98 is YES (the accelerator position remains unchanged), a speed signal is input (100 in the same figure), and it is determined whether the ship speed is constant (102 in the same figure). If the determination 102 is YES (vessel speed is constant), then the vessel is still sailing at the optimum value of the heel angle, so the accelerator signal is input (96 in the same figure) and the above-mentioned steady state control is repeated.

If the determination 102 is NO (ship speed has changed), the accelerator position remains unchanged, but the ship speed has changed due to surrounding external conditions. In this case, the process returns to the above-mentioned automatic control in which the tilt angle up signal is output again for t ₁ seconds (78 in the same figure).

Next, a specific example of the above-mentioned overall operation will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

The CPU 20 outputs the first heel angle up signal when the ship speed becomes constant at V _A after t _A seconds from the start of the cruise.
U ₁ is output for t ₁ second (FIG. 3, 78), and the power tilt mechanism 14 is moved in the upward direction as described above. Thereafter, the CPU 20 suspends signal output for t ₂ seconds (80 in the same figure). This t ₂ is t ₂ >t _X , and this t _X is the response delay of the control system including the response delay of the speed sensor. Then, when the signal pause time t ₂ has elapsed and the time t _B has arrived, the speed signal is input (82 in the same figure),
The speed V _B at this time is determined.

In other words, since V _B < V _A , the decision as to whether or not to increase the speed (84 in the same figure) is made in the direction of NO, and after t _X seconds, the tilt angle down signal D ₁ is output for t ₁ seconds (86 in the same figure). ).
After that, the signal is paused again for t ₂ seconds (Fig. 8).
8), input the speed signal and check (90,
92). If the ship speed at this time is V _C , then V _C > V _B
Therefore, the answer is yes in judgment 92, and again
After t _X seconds, the tilt angle down signal D ₂ is output for t ₁ seconds (86 in the same figure).

Such control continues for (t _{1 +}
It is carried out in cycles of t ₂ ) seconds. That is, in FIG. 4, the velocity V _E after t _E seconds from the start of control is V _E <
When V _D is reached, the CPU 20 outputs a compensating tilt angle up signal U ₂ for t ₃ seconds (FIG. 3, 94), and sets the tilt angle to a substantially optimal value. Therefore, the ship speed also becomes V _F after t _F seconds, and becomes approximately the optimum speed V _MAX .

In this way, when automatically controlling the tilt angle, the control period is (t ₁ + t ₂ ), and by providing this signal pause time t ₂ , the power tilt mechanism 1
Even if the operation speed of No. 4 is set to a high-speed operation for raising the tilt, the tilt angle can be automatically controlled, and both can be achieved. Also, speed sensor 1
Even if the response speed of sensor 6 is somewhat slow, by setting _t2 large, matching can be easily achieved to ensure sufficient sensor capability.

On the other hand, when raising the tilt, the automatic trim stop switch 50 is turned on. With this on,
The up-side and down-side output paths of the CPU 20 become substantially grounded, and automatic control is stopped.

Therefore, at this time, when the manual switch 47 is turned to the UP side, the contact X' is grounded and the contact X receives power from the _VD power supply. In other words, the down side route is stopped, but
Since the transistor 30 on the up side is turned on,
Similarly to the above, the tilt raising operation is performed only while the manual switch is turned on. In addition, when raising the tilt, t ₁ continues for the time that the manual switch 47 is turned on, so the operating speed is approximately (t ₁ + t ₂ )/t for a predetermined angle setting compared to automatic control. ₁ faster.
In other words, the original power tilt mechanism 14
This enables high-speed operation, making it possible to quickly avoid grounding.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, as automatic control based on the try-end-error method, the tilt angle is first tried to increase and the result is determined, but this is exactly the same even if the tilt angle is decreased.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, an outboard motor having a power tilt mechanism is mounted on the hull, and the hull speed and the accelerator position of the outboard motor engine are maintained at constant values when the hull is traveling. In such a case, the control unit immediately detects this and outputs a predetermined signal every time a control signal for increasing or decreasing the inclination angle of the outboard motor is outputted for a predetermined period of time according to a program pre-installed in the control unit. Set up downtime,
A control loop for determining whether the hull speed increases or decreases due to an increase or decrease in the inclination angle is repeated a predetermined number of times as necessary, so that the hull speed reaches approximately the maximum value at the constant accelerator position. ,
Since a method such as driving and controlling the power tilt mechanism is adopted, by outputting a control signal at a predetermined signal pause time, the power tilt mechanism can be set at a high operating speed when raising the tilt. It is possible to provide an unprecedented and excellent method for controlling the tilt angle of an outboard motor, which is capable of performing automatic tilt angle control that operates at a relatively low speed.

Furthermore, it is possible to provide an excellent inclination angle control device for an outboard motor that is equipped with an automatic control stop section and can quickly and accurately perform a tilt-up operation that is immediately necessary when detecting shallow water.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Fig. 2 is a partially omitted side view showing the attachment of the outboard motor to the hull, Fig. 3 is a flow chart showing the overall operation, Fig. 4 is a timing chart showing a specific example of Fig. 3, and Fig. The figure is an explanatory diagram showing the inclination angle of the outboard motor and the trim of the hull. 12...control unit, 14...power tilt mechanism,
15... automatic control stop section, 16... pitot tube as a speed sensor, 18... accelerator position sensor,
20... Main control unit, 52... Outboard motor, 52A...
Outboard motor main body, 54...Hull, 62...Power unit as a power tilt mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. When an outboard motor having a power tilt mechanism is mounted on a hull and the hull speed and the accelerator position of the outboard motor engine are maintained at constant values while the hull is running, The control unit detects this and, in accordance with a program pre-installed in the control unit, sets a predetermined signal pause time every time a control signal for increasing or decreasing the inclination angle of the outboard motor is output for a predetermined period of time. A control loop is repeated a predetermined number of times as necessary to determine whether the hull speed increases or decreases due to an increase or decrease in the inclination angle, thereby bringing the hull speed to approximately the maximum value at the constant accelerator position. A method for controlling a tilt angle of an outboard motor, characterized in that the power tilt mechanism is drive-controlled so that the tilt angle of the outboard motor is reached. 2. The inclination angle control method for an outboard motor according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined signal pause time is longer than the response time of the control section. 3. A power tilt mechanism that is hydraulically driven and can vary the inclination angle of the outboard motor body relative to the hull in the up or down direction within a vertical plane; A tilt angle control device for an outboard motor, comprising: a control section that automatically controls the power tilt angle to a substantially optimum value; A tilt angle control device for an outboard motor, characterized by comprising a control stop section.