US 2026/0249966 A1 · AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION SHIP

Abstract

An autonomous navigation ship includes a hull, a fore-and-aft sail, an information collection device, a control device, a positioning device, an autonomous navigation device, and a wing sail. The fore-and-aft sail is stretched on a mast erected on the hull. The information collection device collects weather information and ocean information around the hull. The control device controls the direction of the fore-and-aft sail such that the propulsive force of the hull is maximized, based on the weather information and the ocean information The positioning device measures a position of the hull. The autonomous navigation device controls a rudder to navigate the hull from a current position to a destination point, based on the position of the hull. The wing sail is provided on both sides of the hull, and floats the hull by applying lift force to the hull during navigation.

Claims11

Dependent claims

An autonomous navigation ship comprising:

a hull;
a fore-and-aft sail stretched on a mast erected on the hull;
an information collection device that collects weather information and ocean information around the hull;
a control device that controls a direction of the fore-and-aft sail such that a propulsive force of the hull is maximized, based on the weather information and the ocean information collected by the information collection device;
a positioning device that measures a position of the hull;
an autonomous navigation device that controls a rudder to navigate the hull from a current position to a destination point, based on the position of the hull measured by the positioning device;
and
a wing sail that is provided on both sides of the hull and floats the hull by applying a lift force to the hull during navigation.

5 more elements

An autonomous navigation ship comprising:

a hull;
a fore-and-aft sail stretched on a mast erected on the hull;
a wing sail that is provided on both sides of the hull and floats the hull by applying a lift force to the hull during navigation;
an electric drive device that causes the wing sail to perform a flapping motion;
an information collection device that collects weather information and ocean information around the hull;
a control device that controls operations of the fore-and-aft sail and the wing sail such that a propulsive force of the hull is maximized, based on the weather information and the ocean information collected by the information collection device;
a positioning device that measures a position of the hull;
and
an autonomous navigation device that controls a rudder to navigate the hull from a current position to a destination point, based on the position of the hull measured by the positioning device, wherein
the autonomous navigation device
predicts a first arrival time to the destination point in a case of navigating without the wing sail driven and a second arrival time to the destination point in a case of navigating with the wing sail driven, and
if the first arrival time is earlier than a third arrival time specified in advance to the destination point, the autonomous navigation device controls, by the control device, the electric drive device to navigate without the wing sail driven.

9 more elements

An autonomous navigation ship comprising:

a hull;
a fore-and-aft sail stretched on a mast erected on the hull;
a wing sail that is provided on both sides of the hull and floats the hull by applying a lift force to the hull during navigation;
an electric drive device that causes the wing sail to perform a flapping motion;
a battery that supplies electric power to the electric drive device;
an information collection device that collects weather information and ocean information around the hull;
a control device that controls operations of the fore-and-aft sail and the wing sail such that a propulsive force of the hull is maximized, based on the weather information and the ocean information collected by the information collection device;
a positioning device that measures a position of the hull;
and
an autonomous navigation device that controls a rudder to navigate the hull from a current position to a destination point, based on the position of the hull measured by the positioning device, wherein
the autonomous navigation device
predicts a remaining amount of the battery at a time of arriving at the destination point by navigating with the wing sail driven based on the weather information and the ocean information, and controls, if the autonomous navigation device determines that the remaining amount of the battery is greater than or equal to a predetermined remaining amount, the control device to maximize the output of the electric drive device.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Autonomous navigation ship

Life of this patent

Autonomous navigation ship

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11