Marine vessel monitoring system

• US 6,816,088 B1
• Filed: 09/20/2001
• Issued: 11/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Yacht Watchman International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Yacht Watchman International, Inc.
• Inventors: Dalrymple, Melvin L., Williams, William D., Knoska, James J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass, Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US09/957,136
• Time in Patent Office: 1,146 Days
• Field of Search: 340/984, 340/540, 340/603, 340/632, 340/539, 340/980, 340/995, 340/987, 340/461, 340/438, 340/973, 340/459
• US Class Current: 340/984
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 17/00 Testing of vehicles testing fluid tightness G01M3/00; testing elastic properties of bodies or chassis, e.g. torsion-testing, G01M5/00; testing alignment of vehicle headlight devices G01M11/06; testing of engines G01M15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

The marine vessel monitoring system of the present invention enables marine vessel owners to monitor their vessels when they are unable or unavailable to personally do so. The system of the present invention provides an efficient method for inspecting and repairing a designated marine vessel at periodic intervals and for reporting the results of such inspections and repairs to the vessel'"'"'s owner in a timely manner for the owner'"'"'s review and consideration.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring a marine vessel comprising:

means for storing inspection data based on a manual inspection of the vessel;

a sensor adapted to monitor a component or system on board the marine vessel;

a telemetry unit adapted to receive input from said sensor and transmit a telemetry signal including data representing a state of the component or system monitored by the sensor;

at least one contingency instruction identifying an action to be performed when the state of the component or system monitored by the sensor reaches a predefined state;

a central monitoring station adapted to receive and process the data contained in the telemetry signal and display data representing the state of the component or system monitored by the sensor, including displaying said at least one contingency instruction when the monitored state of the component or system monitored by the sensor reaches said predefined state;

a network operations center for receiving the telemetry signal from the telemetry unit and forwarding the data contained in the telemetry signal to the central monitoring station over a computer network;

an archival database for storing event logs, and status reports and inspection reports relating to said vessel; and

an internet web server for transmitting a web page to an owner or designated representative of the owner of the vessel via the internet, said web page including data stored in said archival database relating to the past and present condition of said vessel.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein an alarm event occurs when the component or system monitored by the sensor enters an undesired state, and wherein the telemetry unit is configured to transmit the telemetry signal when the alarm event occurs.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the central monitoring station is adapted to forward an alarm event to a responsible entity designated for the vessel when a sensor reaches a predefined state.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a smoke and fire sensor.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes an intrusion sensor.

6. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a hydrocarbon and combustible gas sensor.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes an equipment tampering sensor.

8. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a bilge pump cycle count sensor.

9. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a bilge pump power sensor.

10. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a high bilge water sensor.

11. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a battery voltage level sensor.

12. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a shore cord and power disconnect sensor.

13. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor includes a hatch entry sensor.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the contingency instruction includes a command to contact a designated entity when the alarm event occurs.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the telemetry unit is configured to transmit the telemetry signal at regular fixed intervals.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said central monitoring system is adapted to generate a marine vessel status report based on the telemetry data received from the telemetry unit at each regular fixed interval, said web server making said marine vessel status report available to the owner or designated representative of the owner of the vessel via the internet.

17. The system of claim 1, where said telemetry unit includes a cellular telephone control system radio transceiver adapted to transmit the telemetry signal over a wireless link.

18. A system for remotely monitoring the status of a boat, the system comprising:

a central monitoring station including a network server, a display and an archive database for storing status reports relating to said vessel;

a means for storing inspection data based on visual inspection of the vessel;

a plurality of sensors mounted on the boat;

a telemetry unit for transmitting data from the sensors to a network operations center over a wireless link, the network operations center providing a gateway whereby the sensor data received over the wireless link is forwarded to the central monitoring station network server over a computer network;

wherein the central monitoring station is configured to display at least one procedure for responding to a condition on the boat when said sensor data or said inspection data indicate a condition on said boat necessitating a response, and said network server is adapted to transmit data from said archive database to the owner or designated representative of the owner of the vessel.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the central monitoring station further includes a database for storing a plurality of records, each record associated with one of a plurality of boats to be monitored by the system.

20. The system of claim 19, which includes an alarm initiated when the sensor detects an undesirable condition existing on the boat, the telemetry unit adapted to communicate the alarm to the central monitoring station through the network operations center.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the central monitoring station is further configured to maintain a log of alarms received at the central monitoring station.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the instruction includes a command to call a designated authority and includes the telephone number of the designated authority.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the telemetry unit includes a cellular telephone control system transceiver for transmitting the sensor data to the network operations center.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the central monitoring station is configured to make the sensor data available to a boat owner over a secure internet web site.

25. A system for remotely monitoring the condition of a marine vessel, the system comprising:

a central monitor located remotely from the vessel and adapted to receive data from the marine vessel including sensor data and inspection data;

at least one contingency instruction to be performed in response to a predefined data set received by the central monitor representing an abnormal condition on the marine vessel;

a display for displaying the data from the marine vessel received by the central monitor and for displaying said at least one contingency instruction when said predefined data set is received by the central monitor;

an archive database for storing status reports relating to said vessel based on said sensor data and inspection data; and

a web server for transmitting data from said archive database to a designated representative of the vessel owner via a network.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein said at least one contingency instruction includes raising an alarm.

27. The system of claim 25, which includes means for contacting a designated entity, said at least one contingency instruction including identifying the abnormal condition represented by the data set received by the central monitor, identifying a designated party to contact in response to said abnormal condition.

28. A system for monitoring a marine vessel comprising:

means for storing inspection data based on a visual inspection of the vessel;

a sensor adapted to monitor a component or system on board the marine vessel;

a control unit adapted to receive input from said sensor and transmit a control signal including data representing a state of the component or system monitored by the sensor; and

a central monitoring station adapted to receive and process the data contained in the control signal and display data representing the state of the component or system monitored by the sensor and to display a contingency response procedure when the state of the component or system monitored by the sensor reaches a predefined value;

an archive database for storing status reports and inspection reports relating to said vessel; and

a web server for transmitting data from said archive database to a designated representative of the vessel owner via a network.