JPH03218488A - Picture searching device for ship - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain total submarine information by providing an azimuth sensor for ship, ship speed information generating means, submarine transmitter/ receiver, display device, point setting switch to store and set the corresponding position of the ship, and a central control unit. CONSTITUTION:An azimuth sensor 1 generates a Sin output or a COS output to be changed corresponding to the current azimuth of the ship and this output is inputted through an A/D converter 2 to a central control unit CPU. The CPU connects a speed sensor (ship speed information generating means) 3 and an input device 4, etc., equipped with the point setting switch. A data ROM 9 for seashore topographical map, etc., control program ROM 10 and arithmetic data RAM 11 are connected. As an external output device, a display device 6 is connected through a RAM 7 for display and a display control part 8. A transmission/reception circuit 13 and a transmitter/receiver 12 are connected and information from the sensor 1 are decoded by the program of the CPU. Then, the current azimuth of the ship is decided and the current position, etc., of the ship to be changed with the passage of time is calculated from the sensor 3 and the current azimuth.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application J] The present invention relates to an image detection device for a ship that sequentially displays underwater information as images as the ship navigates. [Advanced technology 1] Various image detection devices have been proposed that obtain underwater information by beaming a transducer onto the ocean floor for purposes such as fish detection. A common example is one that uses a fixed transducer to display underwater information longitudinally as the ship navigates. However, with such a configuration, it is not possible to obtain drought information around the ship from a wide angle. Therefore, as a way to obtain wide-angle information, a system has been proposed in which the transducer is rotated horizontally and underwater information in the forward direction of the ship is displayed on a flat surface corresponding to the rotation angle. [Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] By the way, in the structure in which the above-mentioned transducer is rotated continuously, the transducer is rotated around a specific point (ship), and the underwater It displays information, and because a new display is made every time the transducer moves and the previous information is not stored, the information lacks continuity and it is not possible to comprehensively grasp the underwater situation. ．． For this reason, there were limits to how the image information could be used. In addition, to ensure navigation safety, it is necessary to avoid submerged rocks and reefs, but with conventional image detection devices, the position of rocks on the image is transmitted and received as the ship's direction changes. Because the detection by wave instruments changed each time, it was difficult to read the relative positional relationship between the ship and the rock, and there was a risk of making incorrect decisions. Furthermore, in the case of a small boat used for fishing, when the image of a fish is detected by an image detection device, there are cases where the user wishes to return to the position and fish. However, even if you find a fishing spot where a school of fish lives, once the boat passes that location, the information is erased, so it is difficult to return to that spot, and you have to use an image detection device to find the fish again. Must explore. In addition, for example, when a person falls overboard from a ship, there are cases where it is impossible for the person to return to the position where he or she fell. As described above, conventional image detection devices cannot accumulate underwater information, making it difficult to comprehensively understand the ocean, making it insufficient to collect underwater information, and not necessarily ensuring the safety of ship navigation. There were limits to its usefulness, as it was not sufficient and could not be easily returned to the specified position, making it unsuitable for fishing or man-made disasters. An object of the present invention is to provide an image detection device for a ship that can easily obtain comprehensive underwater information and can easily return to a desired position based on this information. [Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention comprises: a direction sensor that detects the current direction of a ship; a ship speed information generation means that outputs speed information of the ship; and an underwater sensor that continuously rotates and scans in the horizontal direction. The current position of the ship is calculated sequentially as the ship navigates from a transducer, a display device, a point setting switch for storing and setting the relevant position of the ship, an azimuth sensor, and a ship speed information generating means, and Undersea information around the ship is created sequentially using signals from the wave transducer, and based on the calculated ship position and undersea information, the current ship position image is displayed on the display device through coordinate conversion, and the undersea information image is overlaid on the previous image. A central control unit CPLJ is equipped with a program that outputs an underwater detection plane screen that is sequentially displayed and displays a point image at the corresponding coordinate position on the underwater detection plane screen by pressing a point setting switch. This is an image detection device for ships that is characterized by: [Function J The position of the ship after a predetermined time from the predetermined position is specified by information from the direction sensor and the ship speed information generating means. This identified ship position is then displayed as a ship position image on the display. In other words, the ship's position image changes every moment on the display as it navigates, showing its track. On the other hand, underwater information from the transducer is overlaid on the display centering on the ship's position at the time of reading. This overpainted position information has image continuity because it is specified information, excluding moving objects such as schools of fish. For this reason, the display shows continuous figures such as the seabed around the ship as the ship navigates, and it is also possible to read moving objects and their movements. In this way, you can grasp the surrounding situation comprehensively, and
It also makes it easier to avoid obstacles and return to the desired position. Furthermore, by pressing the point setting switch, the corresponding position of the ship can be written as a point stamp on the underwater information image, making it easy to return the ship to the specified position. 1 Embodiment 1 An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the overall configuration will be explained using the block diagram shown in Figure 1. A direction sensor 1 is connected as an input device to the central control unit CPU via an A/D converter 2 that converts an analog signal from the sensor I into a digital signal, and a speed sensor (ship speed information generating means) is connected to the central control unit CPU as an input device. ) 3, a key manual device 4, etc. including a point setting switch 4a is connected. Also connected are data ROM 9 such as coastline topographic maps, control program ROMIO, and calculation data RAM II. As an external output device, the display device 6 is used for display R.
It is connected via AM7 and display control unit 8. Also, a wave transmitting/receiving circuit l3 and a wave transmitting/receiving device l2 are connected, and it is possible to obtain underwater information corresponding to the ship's position based on information from the direction sensor l. An automatic steering device may also be connected to enable automatic steering. The configuration of the azimuth sensor l includes, for example, an azimuth sensor of a type in which a magnet is rotated by earth's magnetism and a Hall element detects the rotation angle of the magnet as a change in magnetic flux, a flux gate sensor, or a gyro sensor. Orientation sensors such as the following can be applied.
This orientation sensor l is made to detect the earth's NViA based on the north pole of the earth's magnetic field for magnet sensors and fluxgate sensors, and the initially set earth axis orientation for gyro sensors. It is installed at an appropriate location on the ship so that the direction is parallel to the bow direction. Such an orientation sensor l produces a sin or cos output that varies in response to the ship's current orientation, and this output is . The information is input to the central control unit CPU via the A/D converter 2, and is decoded by the program of the central control unit CPU to determine the current heading of the ship. This calculation calculates the ship's current position, which changes every moment. Further, the key manual device 4 consists of a numeric keypad or the like. Other input devices include a navigation device l5 such as a Loran receiver, an Omega receiver, or a GPS receiver;
It may also be connected to a drive command device l4 that reads and operates the information. As this drive command device l4, in addition to a key human power device (key human power device 4 can be used) that issues a drive command every time the key is turned on, there is also a timer that reads and activates it at predetermined time intervals, and a control device that reads and activates every predetermined cruising distance. Conceivable. The reason why the navigation device 15 is read at predetermined intervals using a timer or the like is because errors accumulate when navigating for a long time when calculating the position using the direction sensor 1 and speed sensor 3. Obtain absolute position information, use this information as a starting point, and use the direction sensor 1 to calculate position information while navigating.
This is to ensure that there are no errors, and furthermore, to ensure that this error correction occurs automatically, regardless of switch input. If the absolute position of the ship is specified in this way, the coastline S
(See FIG. 2), the use of the data 110M9 such as a topographic map becomes easy and accurate, and the relationship between the ship and the coastline can be accurately displayed on the display device 6. Note that even if the navigation device 15 is not provided, there is no problem in implementing the present invention, and the data ROM 9 can be used as long as the absolute position of the ship's starting point is known.

Alternatively, instead of the navigation device 15 and the drive command device 14, the absolute position of the ship may be manually input using a key human power device, and the track line may be drawn using this position information as a starting point. With this input means, it is sufficient to read the absolute position from a nautical chart at a berth or the like and input it manually.

Next, the output mode of the display device 6, which is instructed to display by a program incorporated in the central control unit CPU, which is a main part of the present invention, will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 2, on the left screen of the display device 6,
An underwater detection plane screen 20 is displayed based on the input information from the transducer l2, and this screen 20 displays the submarine topography G, fish shadows F, etc. in a two-dimensional manner. The underwater detection plane screen 20 includes a target azimuth axis 2l, a boat-shaped ship position image 22 showing the current traveling direction and position with respect to the target azimuth axis 2l, and an undersea information image 24 centered on the ship position image 22. is displayed. In addition, the target azimuth axis 2l is set along the target azimuth of the ship,
The target direction is calculated from the latitude and longitude of the destination (target point) and the latitude and longitude of the current location. This target azimuth axis 2l allows the ship to easily return to the target azimuth even if it meanders. Furthermore, by setting a new target direction toward a school of fish, etc., it is possible to make the underwater detection flat screen 20 an easy-to-see screen that points toward the target. The target azimuth axis 2l can be easily set in a program by pointing the ship toward the target azimuth and turning on the target azimuth setting switch. That is, depending on the azimuth setting, the ship position image 22 is displayed with the ship's tip facing upward on the target azimuth axis 2l, and the ship position image 22 changes every moment as the ship is steered, and then the wake line 23 is drawn. It will be. The fluctuation of the image position of the ship with respect to the target azimuth axis 2l is determined by the central controller CP based on the calculation formula described later.
Calculated by U. In addition, the underwater detection plane screen 20 may digitally display the current position of the ship and the current direction of the ship. The ship position image 22 is calculated by the central control unit CPU using the direction sensor 1 and the speed sensor 3 according to the following equation. In other words, the coordinates (x, y) of the ship position image 22 are as follows. Here, t is the elapsed time from the start of reading,
θ (tl indicates the ship's azimuth (deviation angle) with respect to the target azimuth. This relationship is shown more clearly in Figure 3. Each data is input as a digital value and calculated every dt. Therefore, since the current position (Xy) is calculated by accumulating the propulsion distance per unit time (dt), it can be expressed as follows: x = Cd t 3:.''■,' sinθn +
X oy=Cd t 31” vn- cosθn+3
'oHere, N indicates the current reading count value, and ■
,,・sinθ1 and Vn'CO! l+00 indicates the value at the nth reading count. Also, since dt is constant, it can also be expressed as The azimuth (azimuth deviation angle between the target azimuth and the current azimuth) θ can be used as control information for the automatic steering system. In this case, the I/O port,
This becomes possible by connecting the automatic steering device to the central control unit CPU via an output buffer, connector, cable, etc. In addition, the central control unit itcPU can be connected to various devices other than automatic steering systems, such as printers.
It is possible to use the above information effectively. Then, the ship position images 22 are sequentially plotted as shown in Figure 2.3 p (actually, only the ship position images 22 and the track line 23 are drawn). Since this ship position image 22 includes a wake line 23, it is sufficient to display only the current ship position, and therefore only the latest ship position image is displayed. Also, the plots in the figure are exaggerated, and dt is a minute unit of time.On the actual screen, the ship position image 22 slides smoothly, and its wake, Ii! 23 is a gentle line with no knots. In other words, as time passes, on the underwater detection plane screen 20,
According to the above formula, the ship position image 22 is displayed while changing every moment as the ship navigates, and a track line 23 that is a precise line segment is drawn. If the above-mentioned starting point (xa+yo) is equipped with a navigation device 15, the absolute position is set by reading it, and the movement of the ship position image 22 thereby indicates the absolute position. As mentioned above, errors accumulate in the position information obtained by the direction sensor l and speed sensor 3 due to long navigation, but the drive command device l4 described above sets a new starting point ( x o * y
o) is required. Next, the means for displaying the underwater information image 24 will be explained. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, a transducer l2 is installed at the rear of the ship. This transducer l2 has 2 protective cases 3
It is sealed in 3 liters of silicone oil in the 0, and is rotated and oscillated in a continuous reciprocating manner in the horizontal direction about a shaft 33 by a horizontal control motor 32 consisting of a pulse motor. This rotation mode may be full rotation in addition to reciprocating rocking.
Also, it is rotated vertically about the shaft 35 by a vertical control motor 34 having a central shaft 35 on the shaft 33. The wave transmitting/receiving direction of this transducer l2 is directed diagonally downward, and its depression angle β is adjusted by the vertical control motor 34. As shown in the figure, since the direction of the wave transmission and reception is directed forward from the ship's position in accordance with the angle of depression β, the distance to the detection point 0 detected by the transducer l2 is Then, the horizontal distance L from the ship can be found by L = f2 cos β. Note that the distance mβ is determined by the echo reflection time T of the transducer l2 as follows: e=noise cT (c: speed of sound in water). Then, the above-mentioned horizontal distance L is calculated by the calculation program of the central control unit CPU, and this data is stored in the display RAM 7.
Based on the following formula, the target direction axis 2l
The detected point 0 is plotted at a position similar to the distance L on the screen with . That is, in FIG. 3, the transducer l2 at time t
The relative angle of the wave transmission/reception direction with respect to the target azimuth axis 2l is A
(tl), Aftl=θ(11 α(11 Here, θIt) indicates the ship's orientation at time t with respect to the target orientation axis 2l, as described above, and is determined by the orientation sensor l.Also, α(1) is the ship's orientation at time t. The horizontal control motor (pulse motor)
It is determined by the control of 32. Then, the echo reflection data from the submarine topography G or the fish school F at time t is stored in the display RAM 7 as data at a point K on the direction line A, which is a horizontal distance L from the transducer l2 determined by the above formula. It will be done.

The coordinates (k.j) of this other point K are the ship position [(x
．． y>. It can be determined by the following formula from the wave transmitting/receiving direction Ait) and horizontal distance fiL determined by the above formula. k = L-sin A (tl + is added and stored in the display RAM 7 as pixel data at that coordinate.Then, based on the information stored in the display RAM 7, display pixel data (color CRT
(in the case of display, color information, etc.) is plotted as pixel data at that point, and based on this plot, the fish school F and seafloor topography G are determined in accordance with the swing angle a(t) of the transducer l2.
etc. will be drawn as an overpaint around the front of the ship position image 22. In other words, as the ship position image 22 moves, the underwater information image 2 whose fan angle is the oscillation angle αm changes depending on each position.
4 are sequentially displayed in an overpainted manner in synchronization with the oscillation of the transducer l2, as shown in Fig. 2, and a bird track map is drawn around the ship. Moreover, as mentioned above, the data ROM
9, a coastline S is drawn around the ship position image 22. Therefore, the underwater information image 24 becomes an image that is continuous with land, and a more accurate crow track map is drawn.

As shown in FIG. 5, the transducer/receiver 12 can be adjusted vertically about a shaft 35 by a vertical control motor 34. Therefore, the depression angle β in the radial direction of the transmitter/receiver l2 can be adjusted. 'By increasing this angle of depression β, it is possible to obtain an underwater information image 24 that is close to the ship, and since this reflection distance is short and the intensity of the reflected wave is large, a relatively clear figure can be obtained. On the other hand, if the depression angle β is made small, an underwater information image 24 that is far away and covers a wide range can be obtained. Therefore, the depression angle β may be set by controlling the vertical control motor 34 in accordance with the application. Furthermore, by moving the vertical control motor 34 only in the vertical direction, it is possible to obtain three-dimensional underwater information images by controlling underwater information vertically and horizontally, such as knowing the height of a reef, for example. In the above configuration, the hardness of the soil such as the seabed can be determined by the strength of the echo signal from the transducer l2. Therefore, if a color display is used, the intensity of the echo signal may be discriminated to classify the hardness, and the color of the plot may be changed accordingly. The colors may be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, etc. in descending order of intensity. Also, if the screen is monochrome, the brightness may be changed. By the way, not only the seabed but also fish shadows appear on the underwater information image 24. However, if the terrain pixels and fish school pixels are mixed, it is difficult to understand which one is shown on the screen. Therefore, the fish school F and the terrain G are distinguished, and the two are distinguished on the underwater detection flat screen 20 by color coding. In other words, by using different types of color matching, such as setting the pixel color of topography G indicating the ocean floor as lily and red as the pixel color of fish school F, it is possible to distinguish even if the two overlap. Alternatively, the search screen 20 can be divided into an image displaying only the seafloor topography G and an image displaying only the fish school F, and displayed by switching between the images. This makes it easy to distinguish between the two ministries even if they overlap. In this case, it is necessary to make the screen coordinates the same. Also, the coastline S is displayed in the same manner by the data ROM 9.

In the above case, the means for distinguishing between the terrain G and the school of fish F can be easily achieved by the following means.

That is, the echo signals from the transducer 12 of the corner group F and the submarine topography G, which are in the positional relationship shown in FIG. 6A, are as shown in FIG. That is, in the case of fish school F, the echoes differ for each sampling depending on the size, density, fish density, etc. On the other hand, the amplitude of the submarine topography G varies depending on the angle of incidence.

By the way, the pixel information (information on coordinates and echo strength) that constitutes the underwater information image 24 is accumulated in the calculation data RAM II along with its sampling, and is statistically processed by a program as necessary.
2 does not have a value that is significantly different from the value at the time of previous sampling. Therefore, in this case, this is determined to be the ocean floor. On the other hand, the fish school F with the echo reflection time T, is sampled as a value that is far apart due to its movement, so it can be determined that it is the fish school F based on the change in the information. Then, based on the discrimination between the two, the display can be changed as described above. By the way, since schools of fish move, if they are overpainted in the same way, they cannot be distinguished from each other if the old fish school image F and the latest fish school image F2 are displayed with the same brightness as shown in FIG. Therefore, for this school of fish, its movement can be confirmed by processing to lower the brightness of old data. On the other hand, it has a point setting function using a block diagram built into the central control unit CPU. That is, the user searches for a school of fish while displaying the underwater detection screen 20 on the display device 6, and when the location where the school of fish lives is found, the point setting switch 4a is pressed. With this operation, the current position m (x, y) is set as the point position. Then, a point imprint 25 in the form of a circle in FIG. 2 is displayed at the coordinate position on the underwater detection plane screen 20 at the time of this suppression. The coordinate data of this point imprint 25 is stored in the calculation data RAM II, and remains displayed thereafter. Also, when the next fishing point is found, the point setting switch 4a is pressed in the same way. As a result, the coordinate data is also stored in the calculation control RAMII, and multiple point impressions 25 can be traced at any time! It becomes possible to display on I23. If the ship is to be returned to the point position after displaying the point image 25, the ship position image 22 may be moved toward the desired point image 25.

In this case, when the ship position image 22 matches the point image 25, an alarm function may be used to emit a sound to notify the arrival. Further, in order to more accurately visually confirm the positional relationship between the ship position image 22 and the point imprint 25, a zoom mechanism may be provided to enlarge and display a desired portion. On the right screen in FIG. 2, a vertical detection screen 40 for detecting vertically below the ship is displayed along with the underwater detection flat screen 20 described above. This vertical detection screen 40 shows the submarine topography G and the fish school F in a cross-sectional view, and the depth of the fish school F etc. can be clearly seen. In this way, the underwater detection plane screen 20 and the vertical detection screen 4
There are the following advantages by displaying o in parallel. In other words, if only the underwater detection flat screen 20 is used, the angle of depression β of the transducer is small and when the transducer is close to horizontal, distant information can be obtained. Since the angle is small, it is not possible to obtain enough.
By the way, by displaying the screens of the vertical detection screen 40 in parallel, it is possible to obtain supplementary underwater information at a deep position vertically below the ship. In this way, it becomes possible to capture the school of fish F from a distance and to confirm it directly below, thereby providing a functional image detection device for ships. Also, when using the point setting switch 4a, the vertical detection screen 40
By displaying the underwater detection screen 20, the usefulness of the point setting function can be increased. [Effect of the invention] In the present invention, the ship position image is changed every moment, and
The underwater information image is displayed in an overpainted manner in response to changes in the ship's position. For this reason, it is possible to easily draw a bird's-eye map as shown in Figure 2, which is effective for seabed exploration, and it is also possible to detect submerged rocks, reefs, etc. in advance, making safe navigation of ships easier. can be secured. Furthermore, it has excellent effects that can increase its usefulness, such as when the location where the fish school F lives is discovered or when a person falls into the water, it becomes easy to return to the location.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The accompanying drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a block diagram, FIG. 2 is a front view of the display device 116 on which the underwater detection flat screen 20 is displayed, and FIG. 3 is a displacement control means for the ship position image 22. Fig. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing capture control of the detection point O by transducer l2, Fig. 5 is a longitudinal side view showing an example of the transducer, and Fig. 6 A shows fish school F and the seabed. A conceptual diagram showing the capture of terrain G, the beginning of Figure 6 is the same waveform diagram. ■・・
- Orientation sensor 3... Speed sensor 6... Display device 7... Display RAM 9... Data ROM 12 for coastline topographic maps, etc.... Transmitter/receiver 20... Undersea detection flat screen 2l...・Target azimuth axis 22...Ship position image 24...Undersea information image 40...Vertical detection screen

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A direction sensor that detects the current direction of a ship, a ship speed information generating means that outputs speed information of the ship, an underwater transducer that continuously rotates and scans in the horizontal direction, and a display device. and a point setting switch that stores and sets the ship's position, and calculates the ship's current position one by one from the direction sensor and ship speed information generating means as the ship navigates, and calculates the ship's current position using the signal from the transducer. Undersea detection that sequentially creates surrounding underwater information, and based on the computed ship position and underwater information, sequentially displays the current ship position image on a display device through coordinate transformation, and overlays the previous image with an underwater information image. An image for a ship, characterized in that it is equipped with a central control unit CPU incorporating a program that outputs a flat screen and displays a point imprint at the corresponding coordinate position on the underwater detection flat screen by pressing a point setting switch. Detection device.