NETWORK SYSTEM FOR VESSEL INSTRUMENTS

• US 20090099764A1
• Filed: 08/29/2008
• Published: 04/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Furuno Electric Co, Ltd
• Original Assignee: Furuno Electric Co, Ltd
• Inventors: Hase, Suenobu, NINOMIYA, Akira, Tsudaka, Kentaro
• Granted Patent: US 7,706,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 49/00 Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids nautical measuring instruments G01C; radio navigation, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 79/15 for monitoring environmental variables, e.g. wave height or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: B63J 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/462 LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/40286 the transportation system being a waterborne vessel
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A network system where vessel instruments including sensors are connected through a communication network is provided. The sensors generate the same type of navigation data. The system includes a first network for realizing one-to-many communication, a first group instruments connected with each other through the first network, and a second group instruments connected to the first network with a different protocol from the first network. The first group instrument is an input/output gate between the second group instruments and the first network. At least one of the first group instruments has a server function. The first group instruments obtain identification information and types of navigation data of the second group instruments using the first group instruments as the gates, and the server-function instrument obtains identification information and types of navigation data of the instruments. The server function instrument selects one of the sensors generating the same type of navigation data, and outputs a sharing instruction of the data of the selected sensor, through the first network. The first group instrument provides the sharing instruction to the second group instruments using the first group instrument as the gate.

Claims

1. A vessel instrument network system in which a plurality of vessel instruments including a plurality of sensors are connected through an electrical communication network, the plurality of sensors generating the same type of navigation data, the vessel instrument network system comprising:

a first communication network for realizing one-to-many communication;

a first group of the plurality of the vessel instruments connected with each other through the first communication network; and

a second group of the plurality of the vessel instruments connected to the first communication network with a protocol that is different from that of the first communication network, the vessel instrument of the first group being a data input/output gate between the vessel instruments of the second group and the first communication network;

wherein at least one of the vessel instruments of the first group has a server function;

wherein the vessel instruments of the first group obtain identification information and types of outputable navigation data of the vessel instruments of the second group that use the vessel instruments of the first group as the data input/output gates, and the instrument having the server function obtains identification information and types of outputable navigation data of the vessel instruments;

wherein the instrument having the server function selects one of the sensors generating the same type of the navigation data, and outputs an instruction to share the navigation data of the selected sensor, through the first communication network; and

wherein the vessel instrument of the first group provides the sharing instruction to the vessel instruments of the second group that use the vessel instrument of the first group as the data input/output gate.

2. The vessel instrument network system according to claim 1, wherein, if the vessel instrument of the first group transmits the same type of the navigation data as the sensor instructed to be shared, through the first communication network, the vessel instrument of the first group stops the transmission of the navigation data;

and

wherein, when the vessel instrument of the first group detects that the sensor instructed to be shared is the vessel instrument of the second group that use the vessel instrument of the first group as the data input/output gate, the vessel instrument of the first group transmits the navigation data from the sensor instructed to be shared through the first communication network.

3. The vessel instrument network system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the vessel instruments including the instrument having the server function includes an operation input module for accepting a user'"'"'s operation input of a selection of the sensors;

wherein, when the operation input module accepts the operation input selecting one of the sensors generating the same type of the navigation data, the operation input module causes the at least one of the vessel instruments having the server function to obtain the sensor selecting information; and

wherein the at least one of the vessel instruments having the server function instructs the sharing based on the obtained sensor selecting information.

4. The vessel instrument network system according to claim 1, wherein the instrument having the server function includes a navigation data quality detecting module for detecting qualities of the same type of the navigation data;

and

wherein the instrument having the server function instructs to share the navigation data with the highest quality.

5. The vessel instrument network system according to claim 1, wherein the instrument having the server function monitors the navigation data from the sensor instructed to be shared, and, if the instrument having the server function cannot obtain the navigation data over a predetermined time period, the instrument having the server function switches the sensor from the sensor instructed to be shared to another sensor generating the same type of the navigation data as a new sensor instructed to be shared.

6. The vessel instrument network system according to claim 5, wherein the instrument having the server function selects the another sensor instructed to be shared, from the vessel instruments of the second group other than the group to which the previous sensor instructed to be shared belongs.