Apparatus and method of vessel emission management

• US 7,603,210 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2005
• Issued: 10/13/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Glosten, Inc.
• Original Assignee: The Glosten Associates, Inc.
• Inventors: Hurley, William Lefevre Jr., Reynolds, Kevin John
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Olsen; Lin B
• Application Number:
  US11/042,290
• Publication Number:
  US 20050165518A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,723 Days
• Field of Search: 701/21, 114/125, 114/183.R, 114/182, 114/183.A, 114/198, 340/989, 440/88.N
• US Class Current: 701/21
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements

Abstract

An emission management system (200) for a vessel (100) adapted to travel on water. The emission management system includes a monitoring assembly (202) for monitoring an emission from the vessel. The monitoring assembly is adapted to automatically detect the emission from the vessel and generate a data set representative of a vessel location at a time the emission occurred. The emission management system also includes a data storage system (210) in communication with the monitoring assembly for recording the data set generated by the monitoring assembly.

Claims

1. An emission management system for managing emissions from a vessel adapted to travel on water, the emission management system comprising:

(a) a user interface adapted to receive from a user a proposed uptake location, proposed emission data, a proposed discharge location, and an actual discharge location, and further adapted to receive actual emission data;

(b) a regulation compliance system in communication with the user interface, the regulation compliance system adapted to receive the actual or proposed discharge location from the user interface and generate regulation compliance data indicating a set of regulations of the actual or proposed discharge location that govern the actual or proposed emission; and

(c) an emission management system processor in communication with the user interface and regulation compliance system, the emission management system processor adapted to receive the discharge location, the actual emission data, and the regulation compliance data and determine if the actual emission is in compliance with the set of regulations and further adapted to review the proposed emission data and proposed discharge location and determine if the proposed emission is in compliance with the regulations of the proposed discharge location.

2. The emission management system of claim 1, wherein the emission is ballast water, and wherein the user interface is adapted to receive uptake location data from a user indicating a location of an actual or proposed uptake of the ballast water, and wherein the emission management system is adapted to receive the uptake location data, the discharge location data, the emission data, and the regulation compliance data and determine if the emission is in compliance with the set of regulations.

3. The emission management system of claim 1, further comprising a form generator system coupled to the emission management system processor to generate forms for reporting emissions to a regulatory body.

4. The emission management system of claim 1, wherein the set of regulations pertains to a jurisdiction and the emission management system processor is in communication with a treatment device to receive data regarding the type and/or level of treatment and determine whether the emission was treated by a treatment device approved for the jurisdiction.