Patent Abstract:
A method is provided for operating a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, with at least one combustion engine that emits pollutants contained in an exhaust gas or wastewater. The current position of the vehicle is determined by a location determination. A closed-loop and/or open-loop control device is provided which sets or adjusts the quantity of at least one pollutant emitted by the combustion engine in a self-acting manner or automatically, in accordance with the determined position of the vehicle and with information on local pollutant regulations, in particular exhaust and/or water regulations.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims priority of DE 10 2014 017 789.0 filed Dec. 3, 2014, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, an apparatus for operating the vehicle, and to a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, for carrying out the method and/or having the apparatus. 
     Watercraft, in particular ships, regularly cross national frontiers and thus enter regions with different exhaust regulations applicable to watercraft. For example, there are significant differences between the pollutant emissions allowed on the open seas and the permissible pollutant emissions in inshore regions of North America and Europe (referred to as Emission Controlled Areas or ECA, for short). Thus, in certain ECAs, for example, it is currently the case that only a fuel with a sulphur content of 15 ppm to 1000 ppm can be used, while a sulphur content of 1.5% to 3% is permissible on the open seas. When a watercraft operated with a combustion engine enters such an ECA, the type of fuel is therefore usually switched over from high-sulphur fuel to low-sulphur fuel. Currently, this switch is performed manually, i.e., through active intervention by the crew. However, manual switching results in a high failure rate owing to incorrect operation. In addition, the timing of the switch is often not ideal, i.e., the switch is performed either too early or too late. While a premature switch when entering an ECA leads to economic disadvantages for the ship&#39;s operator, an excessively late switch leads to the ship entering the ECA with pollutant emissions that are too high. 
     Owing to ever stricter exhaust regulations, it is furthermore necessary to provide exhaust gas aftertreatment systems even on watercraft. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An object of the invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for operating a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, that satisfies the pollutant regulations in a simple, low-cost and reliable way. 
     The invention relates to a method for operating a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, wherein the vehicle has at least one combustion engine, in particular a combustion engine which emits pollutants contained in an exhaust gas and/or in wastewater, wherein the current position of the vehicle is determined by a location determination system, and wherein a closed-loop and/or open-loop control device is provided, that selectively sets or adjusts the quantity of at least one pollutant emitted by the combustion engine in a self-acting and/or automatic way, at least in accordance with the determined position of the vehicle and with information on local pollutant regulations, in particular exhaust and/or water regulations. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, compliance with pollutant regulations is ensured in a reliable manner since the quantity of the at least one pollutant is set and/or adjusted automatically by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device in accordance with the position of the vehicle and the pollutant regulations that apply in this position. In this way, a high failure rate in setting or adjusting the pollutant quantity emitted owing to incorrect manual operation can be avoided. The method according to the invention is also particularly low cost since the pollutant quantity emitted is automatically adapted to the stricter pollutant regulations, which usually lead to higher costs, only when the stricter regulations are in fact required. Moreover, the method according to the invention can be implemented in a particularly simple manner since vehicles, in particular watercraft, generally already have a position determination system for determining the current position of the vehicle. Systems for setting or adjusting the pollutant quantity emitted are also generally already provided on vehicles. 
     In this case, the position of the vehicle can be determined with satellite support, for example, by the GPS satellite system, the Galileo satellite system, the GLONASS satellite system or the Compass satellite system. As an alternative and/or in addition, however, it is also possible for the position of the vehicle to be determined terrestrially, for example, using radio signal transmission devices, in particular mobile phone transmission devices or W-LAN transmission devices. 
     In one embodiment, the self-acting and/or automatic setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity additionally takes place in accordance with the current vehicle speed, determined by a speed determination system, and the current vehicle direction of travel, determined by a direction of travel determination system. It is thereby possible, e.g., when entering an ECA, to determine the optimum time for the selective setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity emitted. The vehicle can thus always precisely comply with the respectively applicable pollutant regulations, e.g., when crossing an ECA boundary. The setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity emitted is/are therefore carried out neither too early nor too late. The applicable pollutant regulations can thus be satisfied in a particularly low-cost and reliable manner. 
     The information on the local pollutant regulations is preferably stored in the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device in order to make available information in a simple and reliable manner. As an alternative and/or in addition, the information on the local pollutant regulations can be communicated to the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device by at least one external information system. The at least one external information system can be an environmental and/or public health agency, for example, which can be connected for data transmission to the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device by a wireless link. By virtue of the communication of the information on the local pollutant regulations from the external information systems, it is also possible to take significantly better account of changes to the local pollutant regulations, thus allowing automatic setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity emitted always to take place in accordance with updated or currently applicable local pollutant regulations. If, for example, stricter pollutant regulations apply in an ECA in the case of a weather inversion, these are then automatically taken into account by the closed-loop and/or open-loop device. The current pollutant emissions of the vehicle can then furthermore also preferably be communicated to an external information system by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device. 
     For selective setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity emitted by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device, at least one component of the vehicle which affects the pollutant quantity can preferably be adjusted to a plurality of operating modes, wherein the pollutant quantity emitted by the vehicle is different in each operating mode. The pollutant quantity can thus be set and/or adjusted selectively in a particularly simple and reliable manner. 
     For setting or adjustment of the pollutant quantity by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device, at least one parameter of the combustion engine is preferably adjusted and/or set in order to adjust and/or set the pollutant quantity emitted in a simple and effective manner. In this case, the at least one parameter can, for example, be the combustion air ratio and/or the number of injections and/or the exhaust gas quantity recirculated by an exhaust gas recirculation system and/or the injection pressure and/or the injection characteristic. 
     For setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device, at least one parameter of an exhaust gas aftertreatment system of the vehicle can also be adjusted and/or set as an alternative and/or in addition. This also allows the pollutant quantity to be set and/or adjusted in a simple and effective manner. The at least one parameter of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system can, for example, be the combustion air ratio and/or the supplied reducing agent quantity for an SCR catalyst of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system and/or the regeneration of a particulate filter of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system and/or an exhaust gas flow through a bypass device of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system. Moreover, the at least one parameter can also be the wastewater quantity passed through an exhaust gas scrubber of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system and/or the wastewater quantity passed into the body of water by the vehicle designed as a watercraft, in particular from an exhaust gas scrubber, and/or the pH of the wastewater passed into the body of water by the vehicle designed as a watercraft, in particular from an exhaust gas scrubber. 
     For setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device, it is furthermore possible, as an alternative and/or in addition, for the type of fuel supplied to the combustion engine to be set and/or adjusted. 
     To achieve the object already mentioned, an apparatus for operating a vehicle, in particular a watercraft, is furthermore proposed, wherein the vehicle has at least one combustion engine, in particular a combustion engine which emits pollutants contained in an exhaust gas and/or in wastewater, wherein a location determination system is provided, that determines the current position of the vehicle, and wherein a closed-loop and/or open-loop control device is provided, that selects and/or adjusts the quantity of at least one pollutant emitted by the combustion engine in a self-acting and/or automatic way, at least in accordance with the determined position of the vehicle and with information on local pollutant regulations, in particular exhaust and/or water regulations. 
     The advantages resulting from the apparatus according to the invention are identical with the already acknowledged advantages of the method according to the invention, and they will therefore not be repeated at this point. 
     A vehicle, in particular a watercraft, for carrying out the method according to the invention and/or having the apparatus according to the invention is furthermore claimed. The resulting advantages are likewise identical with the already acknowledged advantages of the method according to the invention, and therefore they too will not be repeated at this point. 
     The advantageous embodiments and/or developments of the invention which are explained above and/or described in the dependent claims can be used individually or in any combination with one another, apart from those cases of univocal dependency relationships or incompatible alternatives, for example. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The invention and the advantageous embodiments and developments thereof and the advantages thereof are explained in greater detail below, purely by way of example, by means of drawings, in which 
         FIG. 1  shows a ship heading for a coastal region in a schematic illustration from above, and 
         FIG. 2  shows a drive system of the ship in a schematic illustration. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     A vehicle designed as a ship  1  is shown by way of example in  FIG. 1 . Here, the ship  1  is on a body of water  3  in a position  5  and is moving towards a coast  9  in the direction of travel  7  at a speed v. In an inshore region of the body of water  3  there is an “Emission Controlled Area”  11  (ECA), which extends over a defined distance from the coast  9  to a boundary  13  indicated by a dashed line. In the illustration shown in  FIG. 1 , the ship  1  is still outside the ECA  11 , but is on the way into the ECA  11 . In the inshore ECA  11 , the applicable exhaust regulations for the ship  1  are stricter than outside the ECA  11  on the body of water  3 . In order to comply with the exhaust regulations in the ECA  11  and, at the same time, also to ensure economical operation of the ship  1 , a drive system  15  (indicated by the dashed lines in  FIG. 1 ) of the ship  1  has a closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  ( FIG. 2 ), by means of which the quantity of pollutants in an exhaust gas (arrow  35 ,  FIG. 2 ) from the drive system  15  can be set selectively to match the applicable local exhaust regulations. 
     The construction and operation of the drive system  15  is explained in greater detail below with reference to  FIG. 2 : 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the drive system  15  of the ship  1  has a combustion engine  19 , which is here coupled to a plurality of fuel tanks, here two fuel tanks  21  and  23  by way of example. In this case, fuel tank  21  contains a fuel with a high sulphur content, e.g. 1.5% to 3%, while fuel tank  23  contains a fuel with a low sulphur content, e.g. 15 ppm to 1000 ppm. Moreover, a multiway valve  25  is provided here, to which both the fuel tanks  23  and the combustion engine  19  are connected. In a first valve position of the multiway valve  25 , the fuel flow from fuel tank  21  to the combustion engine  19  is enabled, while the fuel flow from fuel tank  23  to the combustion engine  19  is shut off. In a second valve position of the multiway valve  25 , the fuel flow from fuel tank  21  to the combustion engine  19  is shut off, while the fuel flow from fuel tank  23  to the combustion engine  19  is enabled. 
     As can furthermore be seen from  FIG. 2 , the drive system  15  has an intake tract  27 , by means of which combustion air (arrow  29 ) is supplied to the combustion engine  19 . A continuously variable straightway valve, here a throttle valve  31  by way of example, which controls the supply of combustion air  29  to the combustion engine  19 , is arranged in the intake tract  27 . The drive system  15  furthermore optionally also has an exhaust gas recirculation system  33 , which can recirculate some of an exhaust gas emitted by the combustion engine  19  into the intake tract  27 . As seen in the direction of flow of the exhaust gas, the exhaust gas can be diverted from an exhaust line  39  of the drive system  15  downstream of the combustion engine  19  and upstream of a bypass device  37  and, as seen in the direction of flow of the air, can be introduced into the intake tract  27  of the drive system  15  downstream of the throttle valve  31  and upstream of the combustion engine  19 . To set the recirculated exhaust gas quantity, two continuously variable straightway valves  41  are provided here by way of example. In this case, one of the straightway valves  41  is arranged in the exhaust line  39  downstream of the exhaust gas recirculation system  33  and upstream of the bypass device  37 , as seen in the direction of flow of the exhaust gas. The other of the straightway valves  41  is arranged in the exhaust gas recirculation system  33 . 
     Moreover, at least some of the exhaust gas flow from the combustion engine  19  can be carried past an exhaust gas aftertreatment system  43  of the drive system  15  by means of the bypass device  37 . Here, the setting of the exhaust gas quantity guided past the exhaust gas aftertreatment system  43  is accomplished by two continuously variable straightway valves  45 , by way of example. Here, one of the straightway valves  45  is arranged in the exhaust line  39  downstream of the bypass device  37  and upstream of the exhaust gas aftertreatment system  43 , as seen in the direction of flow of the exhaust gas, while the other of the straightway valves  45  is arranged in the bypass device  37 . 
     As is furthermore shown in  FIG. 2 , the exhaust gas aftertreatment system  43  has, here purely by way of example, a plurality of components. Thus, the exhaust gas aftertreatment system  43  here has an oxidation catalyst  47 , a particulate filter  49 , a first SCR catalyst  51 , a second SCR catalyst  53  and an ammonia barrier catalyst  55  arranged in series, as seen in the direction of flow of the exhaust gas. Here, the particulate filter  49  can be regenerated at a defined adjustable frequency and over a defined adjustable time interval, wherein the particles collected in the particulate filter  49  are burnt, for example. A container  57  filled with a reducing agent is in each case connected to the SCR catalysts  51  and  53 . By means of the reducing agent, the SCR catalysts  51  and  53  can reduce the nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas  35  in an effective manner. In this case, the reducing agent can be an aqueous urea solution, for example. To set the quantity of reducing agent introduced into the SCR catalysts  51  and  53 , continuously variable straightway valves  59  are provided here, for example. 
     The abovementioned closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  of the drive system  15  furthermore has a location determination system  61  indicated by dashed lines, by means of which the current position of the ship  1  can be determined. Here, the current position can be determined, for example, with satellite support with the aid of the GPS satellite system, the Galileo satellite system, the GLONASS satellite system and/or the Compass satellite system. However, the position of the ship  1  can also be determined terrestrially using a radio signal transmission device for example, e.g., mobile telephone masts or W-LAN transmission devices. The speed and direction of travel of the ship  1  can then also be determined by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  from the positions of the ship determined by the location determination system  61 . 
     Moreover, the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  here also has a transmitting and/or receiving device  63  indicated by dashed lines, which can receive information on local exhaust regulations, in this case, by way of example, the exhaust regulations in the ECA  11  and the exhaust regulations outside the ECA  11  on the body of water  3 , from external information systems, e.g., environmental or public health agencies. The information received is then transferred to and stored on a storage device  65  (likewise illustrated by dashed lines in  FIG. 2 ) of the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17 , the storage device  65  being coupled for data transmission to the transmitting and/or receiving device  63 . 
     The closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  is also coupled to said valve devices  25 ,  41 ,  45  and  59  in such a way in terms of signal engineering that these valve devices can be controlled by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17 . The closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  is likewise also coupled to the particulate filter  49  in terms of signal engineering, with the result that it is also possible to control the frequency and duration of regeneration of the particulate filter  49  by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17 . Here, the control of said components by the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  takes place by means of control signals  67  indicated by dashed lines in  FIG. 2 . 
     Depending on the position, speed and direction of travel of the ship  1  and depending on information on the local exhaust regulations, the closed-loop and/or open-loop control device  17  self-actingly or automatically determines the optimum time and suitable measures, i.e., suitable control by the control signals  67 , for the selective setting and/or adjustment of the pollutant quantity in the exhaust gas  35  emitted by the drive system  15 , and carries out this measure in a self-acting or automatic way. 
     LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS 
     
         
           1  ship 
           3  body of water 
           5  position 
           7  direction of travel 
           9  coast 
           11  ECA 
           13  boundary 
           15  drive system 
           17  closed-loop and/or open-loop control device 
           19  combustion engine 
           21  fuel tank 
           23  fuel tank 
           25  multiway valve 
           27  intake tract 
           29  combustion air 
           31  throttle valve 
           33  exhaust gas recirculation system 
           35  exhaust gas 
           37  bypass device 
           39  exhaust line 
           41  straightway valve 
           43  exhaust gas aftertreatment system 
           45  straightway valve 
           47  oxidation catalyst 
           49  particulate filter 
           51  SCR catalyst 
           53  SCR catalyst 
           55  ammonia barrier catalyst 
           57  container 
           59  straightway valve 
           61  location determination system 
           63  transmitting and/or receiving device 
           65  storage device 
           67  control signal

Technology Classification (CPC): 8