INSTRUMENTED LOCK ENTRY AND TRAVERSING SYSTEM

• US 20050090971A1
• Filed: 03/04/2004
• Published: 04/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Port of Pittsburgh Commission
• Original Assignee: Port of Pittsburgh Commission
• Inventors: Bulatao, Juana Victoria, Grace, Richard, Pan, Guogiang, van den Akker, Ty Leonard, Bravo, Enrique, Mukhopadhyay, Tridas, Cho, Min Cheol
• Granted Patent: US 7,280,914 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 79/10 using sensors, e.g. pressure sensors, strain gauges or accelerometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/38 Electronic maps specially adapted for navigation; Updating thereof

Abstract

An instrumented navigation system for aiding a towboat and barge configuration in the entry and traversal of a lock located on a waterway or for navigation around other structures, such as bridge piers or docks. The system consists of wirelessly linked computers on the towboat and the lock which display navigational charts showing the position of the tows as they approach and enter the locks. The computers are also linked to sensors which send information, such as the speed and position of the tows, to the computers for display.

Claims

1. A navigational aid for watercraft navigating a waterway comprising:

one or more sensors for determining the position of said watercraft with respect to nearby landmarks; and

a feedback device for updating a pilot of said watercraft as to said position.

2. The navigational aid of claim 1 wherein said feedback device is selected from a group consisting of a visual display and an audio device.

3. The navigational aid of claim 2 wherein said visual display displays a navigational chart showing a portion of said waterway being navigated by said watercraft.

4. The navigational aid of claim 3 further comprising a computer located in said watercraft, said computer generating said visual display and/or providing said audio feed back.

5. The navigational aid of claim 4 wherein said one or more sensors are coupled to said computer in said watercraft.

6. The navigational aid of claim 5 wherein said waterway is a river or a canal having a structure selected from a group consisting of a lock and dam, one or more bridge piers and a dock.

7. The navigational aid of claim 6 wherein said one or more sensors are coupled to said computer via a wireless network.

8. The navigational aid of claim 7 wherein said one or more sensors are coupled to said computer via a Bluetooth network.

9. The navigational aid of claim 8 wherein said wireless network is compliant with the 802.11(b) standard.

10. The navigational aid of claim 6 wherein said one or more sensors are coupled to said computer via a hard wired connection.

11. The navigational aid of claim 6 wherein at least one of said one or more sensors is a GPS receiver.

12. The navigational aid of claim 11 wherein said visual display includes said waterway and said structure and further wherein a representation of said watercraft is over-laid on said display with a graphical indication of the distance of one or more points on said watercraft from one or more portions of said structure.

13. The navigational aid of claim 12 wherein said overlaid representation of said watercraft represents the actual position and orientation of said watercraft with respect to said structure.

14. The navigational aid of claim 13 wherein distances from said watercraft to the banks of said waterway and distances from said watercraft to various points of said structure are displayed by said watercraft-based computer.

15. The navigational aid of claim 14 wherein said watercraft is a tow comprising a towboat and one or more barges.

16. The navigational aid of claim 12 wherein said display is automatically zoomed to show more detail as said watercraft gets closer to said structure.

17. The navigational aid of claim 10 wherein currents in said waterway are indicated by an arrow on the display showing the direction of said current, and further wherein the strength of said current is graphically represented.

18. The navigational aid of claim 17 wherein said graphical representation of said current strength is shown by providing a correspondence between said strength of said current and the thickness of said arrow indicating the direction of said current.

19. The navigational aid of claim 6 further comprising:

a land-based computer having a visual display;

a wireless network; and

one or more antennae.

20. The navigational aid of claim 19 wherein said watercraft are connected to said wireless network when in close enough proximity to said one or more antennae to receive a signal.

21. The navigational aid of claim 20 wherein said watercraft are connected automatically to said wireless network when in close proximity to said one or more antennae.

22. The navigational aid of claim 21 wherein said water-craft-based computer and said land-based computer are able to exchange information when said watercraft is connected to said wireless network.

23. The navigational aid of claim 22 wherein structure is a lock and dam and further wherein said watercraft-based computer can automatically generate and transmit a request for lockage to said land-based computer.

24. The navigational aid of claim 23 wherein said land-based computer can generate and transmit a clearance for lockage in response to a message from said water-craft-based computer.

25. The navigational aid of claim 22 wherein said information includes readings from said one or more sensors.

26. The navigational aid of claim 25 wherein said one or more sensors are connected directly to either said land-based or said watercraft-based computer or are in communication with said land-based or said watercraft-based computer via said wireless network

27. The navigational aid of claim 26 wherein said land-based computer is located at or near said structure and further wherein said land-based computer displays a visual representation of said waterway and said structure

28. The navigational aid of claim 27 wherein said land-based computer further displays representations of all watercraft connected to said wireless network overlaid on said representation of said waterway and said structure

29. The navigational aid of claim 28 wherein said representations of said watercraft correspond to the actual position of said watercraft with respect to said structure

30. The navigational aid of claim 29 wherein said land-based computer allows the entry of waterway and structure conditions and status information, and further wherein said information is transmitted to said watercraft-based computer via said wireless network for display thereon.

31. The navigational aid of claim 1 wherein said watercraft-based computer displays the position and speed information of said watercraft.

32. The navigational aid of claim 31 wherein said watercraft-based computer local displays weather information

33. The navigational aid of claim 32 wherein said watercraft-based computer provides audio feedback of said position and/or said speed information.

34. The navigational aid of claim 33 wherein said audio feedback are spoken words generated by a text-to-speech generator running on said watercraft-based computer.

35. The navigational aid of claim 34 wherein said position and speed information is transmitted to said land-based computer via said wireless network for display thereon.

36. An instrumented navigation system to aid a tow in traversing a lock and dam, comprising:

a watercraft-based computer having a visual display;

software, running on said watercraft-based computer, for displaying a navigational chart showing the position of said tow with respect to said lock and dam; and

one or more sensors for determining the speed and/or position of said tow and for sending said speed and/or position information to said watercraft-based computer for display on said visual display.

37. The instrumented navigation system of claim 36 further comprising:

a land-based computer located at or near said lock and dam having a visual display; and

software, running on said land-based computer, for displaying a representation of said lock and said tow.

38. The instrumented navigation system of claim 37 further comprising a wireless network for linking said watercraft-based computer and said land-based computer and for allowing the exchange of information therebetween

39. The instrumented navigation system of claim 38 further comprising one or more input modules for collecting information and for transmitting said information to either of said watercraft-based computer or said land-based computer.

40. The instrumented navigation system of claim 39 wherein at least one of said one or more ors is a GPS receiver.