Patent ID: 8626365
Filing Date: 2014-01-07
Classification: B63H,G05D

Abstract:
1. An automatic steering control apparatus which is carried in a ship having a positioning device for measuring a position of the ship, and outputs a command rudder angle based on a deviation of a heading of the ship from a reference course, comprising: a user input device for inputting a desired turning center position and a desired turning radius; a memory for storing the desired turning center position and desired turning radius input by the input device; and a control unit for determining a set bearing so that a track of the ship draws an arc around a fixed desired turning center stored in the memory with the desired turning radius, wherein the set bearing is calculated based on a radius deviation between the desired turning radius and a current turning radius and a coefficient value which varies over time in association with the radius deviation, the current turning radius being a distance from the position of the ship measured by the ship's positioning device to the turning center, and a rudder angle output device for outputting a command rudder angle, wherein the rudder angle is determined based on a deviation angle between the set bearing and a current ship heading measured by a bearing sensor, wherein the coefficient value is continuously adjusted in predetermined time intervals depending on a required robustness of a control of the ship against extraneous factor such that the track of the ship does not substantially deviate from the arc around the fixed desired turning center.