Wireless ballast water monitoring and reporting system and marine voyage data recorder system

• US 20030205187A1
• Filed: 02/13/2003
• Published: 11/06/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ultra Electronics Ocean Systems, Inc. (Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC)
• Original Assignee: Harris Acoustic Products Corporation
• Inventors: Baldasarre, Thomas J., Talukdar, Kushal K., Carlson, Robert F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,823,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 114/125
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 11/04 Constructional features of bunkers, e.g. structural fuel tanks, or ballast tanks, e.g. with elastic walls tanks for fuel or the like not forming subdivisions of the hull B63B17/0027; cleaning of tanks B63B57/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/802 Particular electronic circuits for digital processing equipment

Abstract

A ballast water monitoring and reporting system for seagoing vessels includes a sensor for monitoring a selected parameter of a ballast water system component and transmitting an electronic signal indicative of a condition of the parameter, a distal acoustic modem for receiving the signal from the sensor and for transmitting an acoustic signal equivalent to the electronic signal received, a shipboard metal structure extending substantially throughout the vessel and adapted to carry the acoustic signal, a proximal acoustic modem adapted to receive the acoustic signal from the metal structure and to transmit an electronic equivalent thereof, and a shipboard data acquisition computer adapted to receive the electronic signal from the proximal acoustic modem and to generate at least one of a display, a report relative to the selected parameter, and a recording of data relative to the selected parameter.

Claims

1. A ballast water monitoring and reporting system for seagoing vessels, the system comprising:

a sensor for monitoring a selected parameter of a ballast water system component and for transmitting an electronic signal indicative of a condition of the selected parameter;

a distal acoustic modem for receiving the signal from the sensor and for creating and transmitting an acoustic signal equivalent to the electronic signal received;

a shipboard metal structure extending substantially throughout the vessel and adapted to carry the acoustic signal;

a proximal acoustic modem adapted to receive from said metal structure the acoustic signal created and transmitted by said distal acoustic modem and to transmit an electronic equivalent thereof; and

a shipboard data acquisition computer adapted to receive the electronic signal from the proximal acoustic modem and to generate at least one of a display, a report on paper relative to the selected parameter, a report in data base relative to the selected parameter, and a recording of data relative to the selected parameter.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said data acquisition computer is adapted to receive inputs from a position system unit and to include data therefrom in the display, report, and recording.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said sensor comprises a selected one of a salinity sensor, a ballast pump activity sensor, a tank level sensor, a flow meter, a temperature sensor, a dissolved oxygen sensor, a pH measuring sensor, and a chlorine measuring sensor.

4. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said shipboard metal structure comprises at least one of the vessel hull, railings, beams, and decks.

5. The system in accordance with claim 2 wherein the position system unit comprises a selected one of a Global Positioning System unit and a Loran System unit.

6. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said distal acoustic modem transmits acoustic signals by sending sound pulses of about 20-200 kHz for about one second at intervals of a selected fraction of a second.

7. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said proximal acoustic modem is adapted to send an acoustic signal equivalent to a message generated by said data acquisition computer through said metal structure to said distal acoustic modem, and said distal acoustic modem is adapted to activate said sensor.

8. The system in accordance with claim 1 and further comprising additional sensors and distal acoustic modems for monitoring additional system components and transmitting electronic signals indicative of conditions of selected parameters of the components, and wherein each of said distal acoustic modems transmits an identifier for the transmitting distal acoustic modem.

9. The system in accordance with claim 1 wherein the ballast water system component comprises at least one of a ballast tank, a ballast pump, and a ballast transfer conduit.

10. A marine voyage data recorder system for seagoing vessels, the system comprising:

sensors disposed on the vessel in selected locations for monitoring selected parameters and for transmitting electronic signals indicative of conditions of the selected parameters;

first distal modems for receiving the signals from said sensors and for transmitting acoustic signals equivalent to the electronic signals received;

a shipboard metal structure extending substantially throughout the vessel and adapted to carry the acoustic signals transmitted by the distal acoustic modems;

a proximal acoustic modem adapted to receive the acoustic signals from the metal structure and to transmit electronic equivalents thereof; and

a voyage data recorder adapted to receive electronic signals from said proximal acoustic modem and to record data carried by the electronic signals from said proximal acoustic modem.

11. The system in accordance with claim 10 wherein said shipboard metal structure comprises at least one of the vessel hull, railings, beams, and decks.

12. The system in accordance with claim 11 wherein the selected parameters comprise selected ones of hull stress, hull openings status, watertight door status, fire door status, and ballast water status.

13. The system in accordance with claim 12 wherein the system further comprises a navigation position system unit, and said voyage data recorder is adapted to receive inputs from said position system unit and to record data therefrom in conjunction with recordal of the data from said proximal acoustic modem.

14. A substantially wireless monitoring and reporting system for structures having a metal structural component extending substantially throughout the structure, the system comprising:

a sensor for monitoring a selected parameter in a selected location in the structure and for transmitting an electronic signal indicative of a condition of the selected parameter in the selected location;

a distal acoustic modem for receiving the signal from the sensor and for transmitting an acoustic signal equivalent to the electronic signal received, along with an identifier for said distal acoustic modem, to the metal structural component and through the metal structural component;

a proximal acoustic modem adapted to receive the acoustic signal transmitted through the metal structural component and to transmit an electronic equivalent thereof; and

a data acquisition computer adapted to receive the electronic signal from the proximal acoustic modem and to generate at least one of a display, a paper report relative to the selected parameter, an electronic report relative to the selected parameter, and a recording of data relative to the selected parameter.

15. The system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the structure comprises a seagoing vessel and the metal structural component comprises at least one of a hull portion of the vessel, railings, beams and decks.

16. The system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said sensor comprises a selected one of a hull stress monitor, a hull openings status monitor, a watertight door status monitor, and a fire door status monitor.

17. The system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said sensor comprises a selected one of a salinity sensor, a ballast pump activity sensor, a tank level sensor, a flow meter, and a temperature sensor.

18. The system in accordance with claim 15 wherein said system further comprises a navigational position system unit, and said data acquisition computer is adapted to receive inputs from said position system unit and to include data therefrom in the display, report, and recording.

19. The system in accordance with claim 14 wherein the structure comprises a building and the metal structural component comprises a metal skeletal structure.