Patent ID: 8255102

Claim:
A method of operation of a steering unit ( 1 ) for a steer-by-wire ship control system, in which the steering unit comprises a steering wheel ( 3 ), a controller ( 11 ) that is connected to an electronic controller of the ship control system (ECU) via a CAN bus, a sensor ( 10 ) for detecting an angular position of the steering wheel ( 3 ), and an electric motor ( 6 ) for generating mechanical resistance in the steering wheel, the method comprising the steps of: when an auto-pilot device is unactivated, producing the mechanical resistance of the steering wheel via the electric motor ( 6 ) as a function of a speed upon actuation of the steering wheel ( 3 ) by an operator; and increasing the resistance by increasing speed up to a default limit value, and when the auto-pilot device is activated, the mechanical resistance assuming a constant large value at any speed.