Integrated Vessel Monitoring and Control System

• US 20090187297A1
• Filed: 01/17/2008
• Published: 07/23/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sea-Watch Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Sea-Watch Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: McBryde, Lamar, Kish, Loretta
• Granted Patent: US 8,996,210 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/21
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/13 Plc programming
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2223/06 Remote monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0213 Modular or universal configuration of the monitoring system, e.g. monitoring system having modules that may be combined to build monitoring program; monitoring system that can be applied to legacy systems; adaptable monitoring system; using different communication protocols

Abstract

A vessel monitoring and control system. Data indicative of operational conditions for vessel systems is transmitted from the vessel to one or more remote sites and commands are received from the one or more remote sites for controlling the vessel systems. Multiple transmitting and receiving components are available on the vessel for communicating with a variety of different communications systems at the remote sites.

Claims

1. A vessel monitoring system for monitoring systems on a vessel and for communicating system condition information from the vessel to a remote site, the vessel monitoring system comprising:

sensors onboard the vessel, each sensor for monitoring one or more vessel systems and for providing system condition information in response thereto;

a main processor for providing a first control signal to one or more vessel systems responsive to the system condition information, the main processor further responsive to a second control signal sent from the remote site, the first and second control signals for controlling the vessel systems;

a first communications component aboard the vessel for communicating the system condition information to the remote site;

2. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising:

a second communications components onboard the vessel, the first and the second communications components each capable of communicating with the remote site according to a different communications methodology, the communications methodologies comprising a satellite modem, a radio frequency transmitter and receiver, a landline telephone, a landline telephone modem, a cellular telephone, a cellular telephone modem and a pager.

a communications controller for selecting one of the first and the second communications components that can close a communications link with the remote site, wherein the system condition information is communicated to the remote site using the selected communications component.

3. The vessel monitoring system of claim 2 wherein when the system condition information identifies an emergency condition the communications controller selects one of the first and the second communications components for dispatching assistance to the vessel.

4. The vessel monitoring system of claim 2 wherein the communications controller selects one of the first and the second communications components based on one or more of a location of the vessel, the system condition information and a cost of available communications methodologies.

5. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 the main processor for determining an incipient system fault.

6. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of displays at various location on the vessel for displaying the system condition information.

7. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of microphones at different locations on the vessel for use with a voice recognition system for controlling the vessel systems responsive to spoken commands.

8. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising an onboard wired or wireless network for communicating the system condition information from the sensors to the main processor, from the main processor or from the sensors to displays distributed about the vessel and to other devices capable of receiving information via the onboard wired or wireless network.

9. The vessel monitoring system of claim 8 wherein the onboard wired or wireless network provides network connectivity to a portable computer for communicating with the main processor for controlling the vessel responsive to user-entered commands on the portable computer and for receiving the system condition information.

10. The vessel monitoring system of claim 8 the onboard wired or wireless network providing connectivity to an Internet site through the first communications component.

11. The vessel monitoring system of claim 8 wherein the wired or the wireless network comprises a wired local area network or a wireless Ethernet network.

12. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a black box for storing the system condition information, wherein the system condition information is overwritten by newer system condition information.

13. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein when the vessel is docked the landline telephone provides access from the vessel to the Internet and when the vessel is at sea the satellite modem, the terrestrial radio frequency transmitter and receiver and the cellular telephone modem provide access from the vessel to the Internet.

14. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein entertainment programs or weather information is supplied to the vessel and an entertainment program is distributed to speakers or displays distributed at different locations on the vessel.

15. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the main processor controls one or more vessel systems to prepare the vessel for arrival of vessel passengers.

16. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein one of the vessel systems comprises a navigation system for creating a virtual geofence surrounding a present position of the vessel, and wherein the system condition information comprises an alarm when the vessel crosses the virtual geofence.

17. The vessel monitoring system of claim 16 wherein the virtual geofence continuously updates as the vessel follows a course.

18. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein a vessel user subscribes to a vessel monitoring service, the system condition information provided to a monitoring site and made available to the vessel user.

19. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein one of the sensors comprises a video camera, a still camera, a motion sensor or an infrared sensor.

20. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising an access control system including a database of authorized user identification information, wherein one of a plurality of access control sensors is responsive to unique identification information, the access control system for determining whether a person seeking to board the vessel is an authorized vessel user responsive to the authorized user identification information and responsive thereto permitting vessel entry.

21. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the remote site determines a maintenance action for the vessel system in response to the system condition information.

22. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a sensor concentrator for receiving and combining a plurality of sensor signals and providing a combined sensor signal to the communications controller.

23. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the system condition information is provided to the remote site through one or more of a website or an email transmission.

24. The vessel monitoring system of claim 23 wherein contents of an email comprise operating information of one or more of the vessel systems as determined by one or more of the sensors.

25. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the communications components comprises a sub-carrier authorization channel of an FM signal.

26. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein one of the sensors comprises a collision avoidance system for supplying an alarm to the remote site via the first communications component.

27. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising a digital dashboard for displaying system condition information regarding the plurality of vessel operating systems on multiple displays at various locations on the vessel.

28. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising an entertainment system responsive to a plurality of program sources for providing entertainment programming to vessel occupants.

29. The vessel monitoring system of claim 28 wherein the entertainment system comprises one or more of a video subsystem, an audio subsystem, a videodisc player, an antenna responsive to a terrestrial broadcast television signal, a satellite antenna responsive to a satellite television or a satellite radio signal, a still camera, a camcorder and a cable television signal.

30. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein a user determines operational condition thresholds, and wherein the first communications component communicates the system condition information to the remote site when one of the operational condition thresholds is exceeded.

31. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein a vessel location is tracked at the remote site and an alert is dispatched if the vessel enters an unauthorized region.

32. The vessel monitoring system of claim 1 wherein the sensors monitor engine systems, generator systems, bilge systems, cabin systems, helm systems and navigation systems.

33. A vessel monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of sensors onboard each of a plurality of vessels, each of the plurality of sensors for monitoring a vessel system to determine system condition information;

a main processor onboard each of the plurality of vessels for receiving and analyzing the system condition information, wherein a user supplies information to control analysis of the system condition information to determine incipient system faults and further to control the plurality of sensors to provide more frequent system condition information responsive to historical system condition information; and

a first communications component onboard each of the plurality of vessels for communicating the system condition information from the vessel to a remote site.

34. The vessel monitoring system of claim 33 wherein the remote site comprises a site for monitoring a plurality of vessels.

35. The vessel monitoring system of claim 33 further comprising;

a plurality of additional communications components, wherein each of the first and the plurality of additional communications components communicates with the remote site according to a different communications methodology; and

a controller for selecting one communications component from the first communications component and the plurality of additional communications components to communicate with the remote site, wherein a selected communications component is capable of establishing a communications link with the remote site, and wherein the system condition information is communicated to the remote site from the processor using the selected communications components.

36. The vessel monitoring system of claim 33 further comprising a two-wire system for connecting the main processor to each of the plurality of sensors, wherein power is supplied to the plurality of sensors over the two-wire system and the two-wire system provides a communications path between the main processor and each of the plurality of sensors.

37. The vessel monitoring system of claim 33 wherein the remote site transmits a query signal to the vessel for receiving system condition information therefrom responsive to the query signal.

38. A method for monitoring systems onboard one or more vessels and for communicating system condition information to a remote site, the method comprising:

producing signals indicating the system condition information;

sensors onboard the vessel, each sensor for monitoring one or more vessel systems and for providing system condition information in response thereto;

providing a first control signal to control one or more vessel systems responsive to the system condition information;

providing a second control signal to control one or more vessel systems; and

communicating the system condition information to the remote site.