Maritime alarm and rescue system and method for controlling said system

• US 9,330,554 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 05/03/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aeromarine, S.L.
• Original Assignee: Aeromarine, S.L.
• Inventors: Calvar Antn, Jos Mara, Vicente, Fernando Isasi
• Primary Examiner(s): Previl, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US14/112,908
• Publication Number:
  US 20140218217A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,684 Days
• Field of Search: 340/984, 340/985, 340/573.1, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/573.6, 340/7.5, 340/6.1, 340/539.26, 340/531
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B63C 2009/0017 characterised by making use of satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. the Global Positioning System [GPS]
• 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: B63C 9/08 Life-buoys, e.g. rings; Life-belts, jackets, suits, or the like non-sinkable swimsuits, drawers or trunks A41D7/001 ; equipment for swimming A63B, e.g. swimming aids other than life-buoys or life-belts A63B31/00, teaching frames for swimming, swimming boards A63B69/14
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/088 by monitoring a device worn by the person, e.g. a bracelet attached to the swimmer

Abstract

Particularly applicable to life jackets and suits, it makes it possible to provide a location and maximum safety of shipwrecked people who have fallen overboard, providing, in the event of a man overboard (MOB) situation, a fast and effective solution, as the alert system continues in its attempt to communicate until a vessel responds with a signal of acknowledgement. The alert system fundamentally stands out due to the location and communication achieved by the DSC calling device and the AIS identification device. For its part, the control process stands out as it allows performing a repetition of search in the localization of the vessels in the immediate vicinity of the own vessel (vessel that the crew member comes from), so that if said own ship does not respond to the emergency call of the shipwrecked person, it communicates with other adjacent vessels.

Claims

1. An alert and maritime rescue system for a shipwrecked person, designed to be incorporated in the life jacket or suit of the crew member of a vessel, and which comprises actuation means connected to a control unit that activates a GPS (Global Positioning System) location device in order to obtain an exact location of the shipwrecked person that wears said life jacket or suit, and a radio beacon adapted to emit a distress signal by radiofrequency,

the system comprising:

a DSC selective calling device, and

an AIS automatic identification device, wherein

both devices, DSC and AIS, being connected to the GPS device and to the control unit, in order to adapt, through the control unit, the DSC to make emergency calls exclusively to vessels, in the event of a man overboard (MOB) situation, not generating MAYDAY RELAY calls, and allowing the AIS reading and recording of MMSI data of nearby vessels, as well as the monitoring of the MOB situation and DSC and AIS devices having data and voice emission and reception capacity.

2. The alert and maritime rescue system of claim 1, wherein the DSC selective calling device further comprises voice recording and/or playing means, whereby it is possible to transmit a distress message.

3. The alert and maritime rescue system of claim 1, wherein the actuation means are manually triggered.

4. The alert and maritime rescue system of claim 3, wherein the manual actuation means comprise a button designed to be pressed by the shipwrecked person.

5. The alert and maritime rescue system of claim 1, wherein the actuation means are automatic.

6. The alert and maritime rescue system of claim 5, wherein the automatic actuation means comprise an electronic circuit equipped with moisture and/or temperature and/or pressure sensors.

7. A control process of an alert and rescue system for a shipwrecked person, said system designed to be incorporated in the life jacket or suit of the crew member of a vessel and comprising:

actuation means connected to a control unit that activates a GPS (Global Positioning System) location device in order to obtain an exact location of the shipwrecked person that wears said life jacket or suit, and a radio beacon adapted to emit a distress signal by radiofrequency

a DSC selective calling device adapted to make emergency calls exclusively to vessels, in the event of a man overboard (MOB) situation, not generating MAYDAY RELAY calls, and

an AIS automatic identification device which allows reading and recording of MMSI data of nearby vessels, as well as the monitoring of the MOB situation, both devices, DSC and AIS, being connected to the control unit and to the GPS device, and both having data and voice emission and reception capacity

the control process comprising the following stages;

a) immediate activation of an alert system through the actuation means connected to the control unit, after a MOB situation of man overboard occurring,

b) constant emission of an alarm signal in the 121.5/243 MHz frequency, by the radio beacon, alerting of the MOB situation to aircraft and vessels located within the range of said signal,

c) execution of a first emergency call to the vessel where the shipwrecked person comes from, by the (Digital Selective Calling) DSC selective calling device, alerting of the MOB situation,

d) emission of the position of the shipwrecked person and recording of MMSI data of vessels situated within the VHF zone, by the AIS automatic identification device,

e) execution of a second emergency call to the vessel where the shipwrecked person comes from, using the DSC device, after the exact position of the shipwrecked person has been acquired through satellites by the GPS location device, and

f) reception of an ACK confirmation signal, said confirmation signal being sent by the vessel where the shipwrecked person comes from, or by a vessel close to the shipwrecked person detected by the AIS automatic identification device, which have received some of the calls made by the DSC device;

final rescue of the shipwrecked person; and

manual switching off of the radio beacon, the DSC device and the AIS automatic identification device.

8. The control process of claim 7, wherein the calls made by the DSC device are exclusively vessel-to-vessel calls.

9. The control process of claim 7, wherein the calls made by the DSC device inform of the following data:

MMSI of the shipwrecked person,

report of the MOB situation,

possibility of monitoring by AIS device,

possibility of receiving confirmation by an ACK confirmation signal.

10. The control process of claim 7, wherein once where the vessel where the shipwrecked person comes from receives the first or second emergency call of the DSC device, it is possible to act in two ways:

i) allow periodical calls of the DSC device of the shipwrecked person, in the event that the vessel where shipwrecked person comes from performs the direct rescue, or

ii) cancel the emissions from the DSC device of the shipwrecked person, in the event that the vessel where shipwrecked person comes from responds to the emergency call by means of the DSC emitter of the ship with an ACK confirmation signal.

11. The control process of claim 7, wherein the vessel where shipwrecked person comes from does not respond to the DSC calls made by the shipwrecked person within a specific time period, the control process characterised by the control unit of the system beginning to select by order of proximity the MMSI of the closest vessels previously identified by the MS device, to later, through the DSC device, successively call each one of said vessel, vessel-to-vessel and through a communication channel.

12. The control process of claim 11, wherein the specific time period comprises a range between 5 to 10 minutes.

13. The control process of claim 7, wherein a certain time has passed since the falling of the man overboard occurred and the MS automatic identification device of the shipwrecked person has not read MMSI information of any nearby ship, the control process characterised by the DSC device of the shipwrecked person making a geographic call to all vessels within VHF range.

14. The control process of claim 13, wherein the geographic call is a “

SECURITE”

call, which does not activate the MAYDAY RELAY.

15. The control process of claim 7, wherein the shipwrecked person has received an ACK confirmation signal, in consequence bringing about the automatic switching off of the alert system and the shipwrecked person has still not been rescued after a time limit, then the control unit, the control process further comprising re-activating the DSC device of the shipwrecked person, with the entire control process restarting.

16. The control process of claim 15, wherein the time limit is 20 minutes.