MOORING SYSTEM AND MOORING BUOY

• US 20170158289A1
• Filed: 07/30/2015
• Published: 06/08/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jkp Marine Pty., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Jkp Marine Pty., Ltd.
• Inventors: ADAMS, Robert William
• Granted Patent: US 9,834,283 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 22/02 specially adapted for mooring a vessel
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 2201/20 Antenna or mast
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 2203/00 Communication means
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/063 using wireless information transmission between the vehicle and a fixed station identification of vehicles G08G
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 3/00 Traffic control systems for marine craft marking of navigational route B63B22/16, B63B51/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/34 Adaptation for use in or on ships, submarines, buoys or torpedoes for subaqueous use H01Q1/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence

Abstract

A mooring buoy comprising a buoyant body, an attachment point for attaching the buoy to a marine vessel, a controller, an RF communication device for receiving a vessel ID identifying the marine vessel and a movement sensor, wherein the controller is arranged to determine when the marine vessel is moored to the mooring buoy based on the received vessel ID and the movement sensor.

Claims

1. A mooring buoy comprising a buoyant body, an attachment point for attaching the buoy to a marine vessel, a controller, an RF communication device for receiving a vessel ID identifying the marine vessel and a movement sensor, wherein the controller is arranged to determine when the marine vessel is moored to the mooring buoy based on the received vessel ID and the movement sensor.

2. The mooring buoy of claim 1, wherein the buoyant body comprises an upper body portion and lower body portion, wherein the lower portion is arranged to be at least partially submerged in use and the attachment point is attached to the lower body portion and arranged to attach to the marine vessel.

3. The mooring buoy of claim 2, wherein a location of the attachment point causes the body of the mooring buoy to tilt in the water upon the mooring vessel being attached to the attachment point.

4. The mooring buoy of claim 1, wherein the RF communication device is arranged to receive the vessel ID associated with the marine vessel from a vessel RF communication device located on the marine vessel.

5. The mooring buoy of claim 1 further comprising a communication antenna arranged to communicate with an external booking system over a communication network.

6. The mooring buoy of claim 5, wherein the controller is further arranged to transmit a mooring buoy ID to the booking system and receive booking data from the booking system via the cellular antenna, wherein the booking data comprises at least one booking vessel ID associated with the mooring buoy ID.

7. The mooring buoy of claim 6, wherein the controller is arranged to activate the RF communication device to receive the vessel ID upon detecting via the movement sensor that the buoy is in a mooring position, and the controller is further arranged to compare the received booking vessel ID with the received vessel ID to determine whether the vessel ID is associated with the mooring buoy.

8. The mooring buoy of claim 5, wherein the controller is arranged to activate the RF communication device to receive the vessel ID upon detecting via the movement sensor that the buoy is in a mooring position, and the controller is further arranged to communicate the vessel ID to the booking system via the cellular antenna.

9. The mooring buoy of claim 8, wherein the antenna is further arranged to receive a signal from the booking system to indicate whether or not the vessel ID is associated with the mooring buoy.

10. The mooring buoy of claim 1, wherein the controller is arranged to activate the RF communication device to receive the vessel ID upon detecting via the movement sensor that the buoy is in a mooring position.

11. The mooring buoy of claim 10, wherein the RF communication device is further arranged to transmit the received vessel ID to a central RF communication device of a mooring buoy booking control system.

12. The mooring buoy of claim 11, wherein the RF communication device is further arranged to receive a signal from the central RF communication device of the mooring buoy booking control system to indicate whether or not the marine vessel has been booked for mooring to the buoy via a booking system.

13. The mooring buoy of claim 12 further comprising a visual and/or audible indicator arranged to emit a visual and/or audible signal, wherein the visual and/or audible indicator is arranged to emit the visual and/or audible signal upon the controller determining that the marine vessel moored to the buoy has not been booked for mooring to the buoy via the booking system.

14. The mooring buoy of claim 1 further comprising a visual and/or audible indicator arranged to emit a visual and/or audible signal to indicate a status of the mooring buoy, wherein the status comprises one, or a combination of, a marine vessel not being moored to the mooring buoy, a marine vessel being moored to the mooring buoy, the mooring buoy not having been booked by any marine vessel, the mooring buoy having been booked by any marine vessel, the vessel ID is associated with the mooring buoy and the vessel ID is not associated with the mooring buoy.

15. The mooring buoy of claim 1, wherein the movement sensor is arranged to detect when the buoyant body moves from a rest position to a mooring position, wherein the mooring position indicates that a marine vessel is moored to the mooring buoy.

16. The mooring buoy of claim 15, wherein the mooring position is obtained by a mooring line of a marine vessel being attached to the attachment point.

17. The mooring buoy of claim 16 further comprising a GPS device arranged to detect a position of the mooring buoy.

18. A mooring system comprising at least one mooring buoy as claimed in claim 1, a vessel RF communication device located on a marine vessel, and a booking system,

wherein the booking system is arranged to receive booking data comprising at least a vessel ID associated with the marine vessel,

wherein the vessel RF communication device is arranged to transmit the vessel ID to the RF communication device of the mooring buoy,

wherein the RF communication device of the mooring buoy is arranged to receive the vessel ID upon the movement sensor detecting a mooring position,

wherein the mooring buoy is further arranged to communicate with the booking system over a communication network to obtain at least one booking vessel ID from the booking system,

wherein the controller in the buoy is further arranged to determine whether the obtained booking vessel ID is associated with the at least one mooring buoy based on the received vessel ID.

19. The mooring system of claim 18, wherein the mooring buoy further comprises a visual and/or audible indicator, and, upon a negative determination, the visual and/or audible indicator is arranged to emit a visual and/or audible signal.

20. The mooring system of claim 18, wherein the at least one mooring buoy has a unique ID that is transmitted to the booking system on a periodic basis to obtain the at least one booked vessel ID from the booking system.