Systems and methods for determining a heading value of a marine vessel
First Claim
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1. A method for determining a heading value of a marine vessel, the method comprising:
- determining a speed of the marine vessel;
determining a first estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a first source that detects the direction of the marine vessel with respect to Earth'"'"'s magnetic field;
determining a second estimate of the direction of the marine vessel based on information from a second source that detects the direction of the marine vessel based on a vessel course over ground; and
inputting the speed, the first estimate, and the second estimate to a control circuit;
wherein the control circuit scales each of the first estimate and the second estimate and sums the scaled first estimate and the scaled second estimate together so as to determine the heading value;
wherein the control circuit weights the first estimate more heavily than the second estimate when the marine vessel is operating at a low speed, and weights the second estimate more heavily than the first estimate when the marine vessel is operating at a high speed; and
wherein the control circuit provides the heading value to a heading control section, which compares the heading value to a commanded heading in order to determine a corrective steering action and output a corrective steering command and orient the marine vessel at the commanded heading based on the corrective steering command.
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Abstract
A method for determining a heading value of a marine vessel includes determining a first estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a first source and determining a second estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a second source. The method includes inputting the first estimate and the second estimate to a control circuit, which scales each of the first estimate and the second estimate and adds the scaled estimates together so as to determine the heading value. A system for determining a heading value of a marine vessel is also disclosed.
99 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method for determining a heading value of a marine vessel, the method comprising:
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determining a speed of the marine vessel; determining a first estimate of a direction of the marine vessel based on information from a first source that detects the direction of the marine vessel with respect to Earth'"'"'s magnetic field; determining a second estimate of the direction of the marine vessel based on information from a second source that detects the direction of the marine vessel based on a vessel course over ground; and inputting the speed, the first estimate, and the second estimate to a control circuit; wherein the control circuit scales each of the first estimate and the second estimate and sums the scaled first estimate and the scaled second estimate together so as to determine the heading value; wherein the control circuit weights the first estimate more heavily than the second estimate when the marine vessel is operating at a low speed, and weights the second estimate more heavily than the first estimate when the marine vessel is operating at a high speed; and wherein the control circuit provides the heading value to a heading control section, which compares the heading value to a commanded heading in order to determine a corrective steering action and output a corrective steering command and orient the marine vessel at the commanded heading based on the corrective steering command. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for determining a heading value of a marine vessel, the system comprising:
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a speed sensor that determines a speed of the marine vessel; a compass that determines a compass heading of the marine vessel; a global positioning system receiver that calculates a course over ground of the marine vessel; an autopilot system that one of receives and determines a commanded heading of the marine vessel; and a control circuit that scales each of the compass heading and the course over ground and sums the scaled compass heading and the scaled course over ground together so as to determine the heading value; wherein the control circuit weights the compass heading more heavily than the course over ground when the marine vessel is operating at a low speed and weights the course over ground more heavily than the compass heading when the marine vessel is operating at a high speed; wherein the control circuit compares the heading value to the commanded heading in order to determine a corrective steering action and output a corrective steering command and orient the marine vessel at the commanded heading based on the corrective steering command. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification