Systems and methods for determining a configuration of a barge complex

• US 7,336,349 B1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Issued: 02/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Burton, Charles E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ratcliffe; Luke D.
• Application Number:
  US11/558,165
• Time in Patent Office: 474 Days
• Field of Search: 356/139.03
• US Class Current: 356/139.03
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 35/28 Barges or lighters underwater-towed barges B63G8/42; for transporting logs B63B35/62
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S13/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations

Abstract

In one aspect, a system for determining the configuration of a plurality of barges in a barge complex is described. The system includes at least one target positioned on predetermined ones of the plurality of barges, an angular measurement device positioned in a line of sight with the at least one target, the angular measurement device configured to determine at least one of a horizontal and a vertical angle between the at least one target and the angular measurement device, and a ranging device coupled to the angular measurement device, the ranging device configured to determine a distance between the at least one target and the ranging device.

Claims

1. A system for determining the configuration of a plurality of barges in a barge complex, said system comprising:

at least one target positioned on predetermined ones of the plurality of barges;

an angular measurement device positioned in a line of sight with said at least one target, said angular measurement device configured to determine at least one of a horizontal and a vertical angle between said at least one target and said angular measurement device; and

a ranging device coupled to said angular measurement device, said ranging device configured to determine a distance between said at least one target and said ranging device.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein said ranging device comprises at least one of a light detection and ranging device (LIDAR), a radio detection and ranging device (RADAR), an optical ranging device, and a laser ranging device.

3. The system according to claim 1 wherein said angular measurement device is configured to measure at least one of a horizontal and a vertical angle between said at least one target and said angular measurement device.

4. The system according to claim 3 wherein the vertical angle comprises an angle from a reference axis at the elevation of said ranging device to the vector between said ranging device and said target, and a horizontal angle comprises an angle between the reference axis and a horizontal component of the vector between said ranging device and said target.

5. The system according to claim 1 wherein said ranging device further comprises global positioning system (GPS) capabilities, said capabilities comprising receiving coordinates from a GPS receiver and determining the coordinates of said at least one target.

6. The system according to claim 1 further comprising a computational device communicatively coupled to said ranging device, said computational device configured to determine a location of each of said at least one target using the distance between each said target and said ranging device, and the respective angles to each said target.

7. The system according to claim 6 wherein said computational device further comprises at least one of built-in GPS capabilities and a GPS device communicatively coupled to said computational device, said computational device configured to receive coordinates including at least one of a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude, and further configured to calculate coordinates of said at least one target.

8. The system according to claim 1 wherein said angular measurement device comprises at least one of an astronomical tripod, a protractor and a needle, an angle encoder, and a head tracking device.

9. The system according to claim 8 wherein said head tracking device is configured to measure at least one of a head roll, a pitch, and a yaw.

10. The system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one target is positioned on predetermined ones of the plurality of barges in a predetermined location.

11. The system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one target is positioned at a corner of the barge complex located along the periphery of the barge complex.

12. The system according to claim 1 wherein said at least one target comprises a predetermined portion of the plurality of barges including a reflective surface, wherein said reflective surface is configured to reflect at least one of light and radio waves.

13. A method for determining the configuration of a plurality of barges of a barge complex, said method comprising:

locating at least one target at predetermined positions on the plurality of barges;

directing an angular measurement device in a line of sight with the at least one target;

directing a range detection beam toward the at least one target from a ranging device and configuring the ranging device to determine a distance to at least one target;

receiving a reflection of the range detection beam at the ranging device; and

determining a position of the at least one target with respect to the position of the angular measurement device.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein directing an angular measurement device further comprises configuring the angular measurement device to measure at least one of a horizontal and a vertical angle to the at least one target.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein determining a position of the at least one target with respect to the position of the angular measurement device includes configuring a computational device to:

receive at least one distance from the ranging device;

receive a plurality of angles from the angular measurement device; and

perform calculations to identify the position of the at least one target with respect to the position of the angular measurement device.

16. The method according to claim 13 further comprising providing a coordinate output from a global positioning system (GPS) device to the computational device, the coordinate output including at least one of a latitude, a longitude, and an altitude, and configuring the computational device to calculate coordinates of each of the at least one target.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein locating at least one target further comprises configuring an automatic angular measurement device to continuously monitor the locations of the at least one target.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein configuring the automatic angular measurement device further comprises configuring at least one of the angular measurement device and the computational device to alert a user of a change in relative position of the at least one target.

19. A measurement system comprising a ranging device coupled to an angular measurement device, said system configured to locate a periphery of a barge complex from a single position.

20. The measurement system according to claim 19 wherein said angular measurement device is configured to measure at least one angle.

21. The measurement system according to claim 20 wherein the at least one angle said angular measurement device is configured to measure is an angle separating a longitudinal axis of the barge from the location of the corners of the barge complex.

22. The measurement system according to claim 19 further comprising a computational device in communication with said ranging device and said angular measurement device, said computational device configured to receive data from said ranging device and calculate a position of the corners of the barge complex with respect to the ranging device.

23. A measurement system according to claim 22 wherein the positions of the corners of the barge complex comprise a range component and at least one angular component.