Method, apparatus, and computer program products for alerting surface vessels to hazardous conditions
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus for alerting the user of a surface marine vessel of proximity to terrain, said apparatus comprising:
- an input for receiving signals representative of a position, speed, and a track of the surface marine vessel, and coupled to a data base of stored terrain information;
an output; and
a signal processing device coupled to said input and said output, for defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the surface marine vessel;
defining a first alert envelope indicative of a first level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the first alert envelope are determined as a first function of the track, look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
defining a second alert envelope indicative of a second level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the second alert envelope are determined as a second function of the track, look ahead distance, and the terrain floor boundary; and
outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of the first and second alert envelopes.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A navigational system for surface vessels that provides warning of impending grounding occurrences. A data base of bottom contours and submerged obstructions is compared to various indicators of the surface vessel'"'"'s position and motion to provide alerts and to display bottom hazards ahead of the vessel.
-
Citations
26 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for alerting the user of a surface marine vessel of proximity to terrain, said apparatus comprising:
-
an input for receiving signals representative of a position, speed, and a track of the surface marine vessel, and coupled to a data base of stored terrain information;
an output; and
a signal processing device coupled to said input and said output, for defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the surface marine vessel;
defining a first alert envelope indicative of a first level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the first alert envelope are determined as a first function of the track, look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
defining a second alert envelope indicative of a second level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the second alert envelope are determined as a second function of the track, look ahead distance, and the terrain floor boundary; and
outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of the first and second alert envelopes. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 23, 24)
-
-
8. A method for alerting the user of a surface marine vessel of proximity to terrain comprising the steps of:
-
accessing a database of terrain information;
receiving signals representative of a position, speed, and a track of the surface marine vessel;
defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the surface marine vessel;
defining a first alert envelope indicative of a first level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the first alert envelope are determined as a first function of the track, look ahead distance, and a terrain floor boundary;
defining a second alert envelope indicative of a second level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the second alert envelope are determined as a second function of the track, look ahead distance, and the terrain floor boundary; and
outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of the first and second alert envelopes. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25, 26)
-
-
14. A computer program product for alerting the user of a surface marine vessel of proximity to terrain, wherein the computer program product comprises:
-
a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code means embodied in said medium, said computer-readable program code means comprising;
first computer instruction means for accessing a database of terrain information;
second computer instruction means for receiving signals representative of a position, speed, and a path angle of the surface marine vessel;
third computer instruction means for defining a look ahead distance as a function of the speed of the surface marine vessel;
fourth computer instruction means for defining a first alert envelope indicative of a first level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the first alert envelope are determined as a first function of the path angle, look ahead distance;
fifth computer instruction means for defining a second alert envelope indicative of a second level of terrain proximity alert, wherein boundaries of the second alert envelope are determined as a second function of the track, look ahead distance, and the terrain floor boundary; and
sixth computer instruction means for outputting an alert signal when a subset of the stored terrain information is located within the boundaries of at least one of the first and second alert envelopes. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification