Maritime overboard detection and tracking system

• US 8,810,436 B2
• Filed: 03/06/2012
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/10/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Security Identification Systems Corp. (ACRE LLC)
• Original Assignee: Security Identification Systems Corp. (ACRE LLC)
• Inventors: Zagami, Anthony, Carvalko, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): MULLEN, THOMAS J
• Application Number:
  US13/412,826
• Publication Number:
  US 20120229282A1
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 340/984, 340/573.6, 340/557, 701/32.2, 441/80, 441/89, 342/27, 342/28, 342/357.55, 367/131, 348/148, 348/169
• US Class Current: 340/984
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 9/0005 by means of alarm devices for persons falling into the water, e.g. by signalling, by controlling the propulsion or manoeuvring means of the boat alarms responsive to presence of persons in a body of water in general G08B21/08
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/183 by interruption of a radiation beam or barrier
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19647 Systems specially adapted for intrusion detection in or around a vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19697 Arrangements wherein non-video detectors generate an alarm themselves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/086 by monitoring a perimeter outside the body of the water
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/18 Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast

Abstract

A process and system for detecting the presence of a person overboard including: setting the perimeter of an area to scan, scanning the area 180 degrees in azimuth utilizing a laser beam for receiving a reflection of the laser beam off the person, detecting the reflection and playing back a video recording of the trajectory of the person, wherein the area above and below the perimeter of an area to scan is continuously video recorded and wherein upon detecting the target, one or more of audio and visual alarms alert that crew, and wherein an alarm with location is sent to PDA system with GPS coordinates time and date. Additionally a launcher deploys a device to track the person overboard, and allows persons on the ship or in a control center to ascertain the location of the person overboard.

Claims

1. A process for detecting a person falling overboard from a ship into a body of water comprising:

setting the perimeter of an area to scan beyond the hull of the ship, scanning said area utilizing a laser beam transmitter mounted in the proximity of the hull for illuminating the person falling overboard as the person intercepts a laser beam, receiving a reflection of said laser beam from the person falling overboard utilizing a laser beam receiver mounted in the proximity of the hull for detecting the reflection of the laser beam, recording a video of the person falling overboard during a period of time while the person falls from the ship, and upon detecting the reflection of the laser beam from the person falling overboard, playing back the video recording of the person falling overboard, wherein the area to scan beyond the hull of the ship extends, in one dimension, less than fifty feet from the laser beam transmitter mounted in the proximity of the hull, and wherein the person falling overboard falls, at an angular velocity, relative to the distance at which the person falling overboard intercepts the beam, within the range of 0.2 radians per second to 0.02 radians per second.

2. The process in claim 1, further including, upon detecting the person falling overboard as the person intercepts the beam, alarming ship personnel using one or more of (a) audio alarming, (b) visual alarming, and (c) electronic alarming.

3. The process in claim 1, further including, upon detecting the person falling overboard as the person intercepts the beam, one or more of (a) transmitting an alarm to a PDA, (b) transmitting a GPS coordinate to a PDA, and (c) transmitting the time and date to a PDA.

4. The process in claim 1, further including, upon detecting the reflection of the beam from the person falling overboard, signaling to launch a tracking device to track the person overboard.

5. The process in claim 1, further including, launching at least one or more of (a) a visible marker dye on the body of water surface, (b) a floatable smoke device, (c) a floatable sound signaling device, (d) a floatable electronic transmission device, (e) a floatable light device, and (f) a water-activated rescue strobe.

6. The process in claim 5, wherein the floatable electronic transmission device is an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (“

EPIRB”

) that signals maritime distress.

7. The process in claim 1, including transmitting a radio emergency signal.