Method for calculating the surface speed of at least one vessel and method for deducing each drift vector at every point on the path of said vessel

• US 9,958,276 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 05/01/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: e-Odyn SAS
• Original Assignee: e-Odyn SAS
• Inventors: Guichoux, Yann
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US15/032,996
• Publication Number:
  US 20160290812A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,266 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 71/00 Designing vessels; Predicting their performance
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 79/15 for monitoring environmental variables, e.g. wave height or weather data
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 79/20 using models or simulation, e.g. statistical models or stochastic models
• CPC Class Codes: B63B 79/30 for diagnosing, testing or predicting the integrity or performance of vessels
• CPC Class Codes: B63J 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/203 Specially adapted for sailing ships
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 5/00 Measuring speed of fluids, e.g. of air stream; Measuring speed of bodies relative to fluids, e.g. of ship, of aircraft application of speed-measuring devices for measuring volume of fluid G01F

Abstract

A method for calculating the surface vector of at least one vessel progressing under engine at cruising speed. When the vessel is in a defined position, the parameters of the vessel, including its position, its heading, its speed over ground and its course over ground, are obtained. Wind and/or current measurements in the proximity of the vessel are obtained using a device external to the vessel. The drift vector is determined from wind and/or current measurements. The over-ground vector is determined from the parameters selected from the position, the speed over ground and the course over ground of the vessel. The magnitude and the direction of the surface vector of the vessel is calculated.

Claims

1. A method for calculating surface vectors of a plurality of vessels, each vessel progressing under an engine at a cruising speed, in response to said each vessel in a predefined position, further comprising the steps:

obtaining parameters of said each vessel including its position, its heading, its speed over ground and its course over ground from a remote sensor external to said each vessel;

obtaining at least one of wind and current measurements in proximity to said each vessel using the remote sensor external to said each vessel;

determining a drift vector for said each vessel by processing said at least one of wind and current measurements by a computer of a remote land-based center;

determining an over-ground vector for said each vessel by processing at least one parameter selected from the position, the speed over ground and the course over ground of said each vessel by the computer of the remote land-based center; and

simultaneously calculating a magnitude and a direction of the surface vector of said each vessel of said plurality of vessels under operational conditions progressing in a maritime area by the computer of the remote land-based center to monitor a maritime traffic over the maritime area.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameters or said at least one of wind and current measurements are acquired in real time.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least one of wind and current measurements are acquired in non-real time from a database comprising measurement values.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising the step of obtaining the parameters or said at least one of wind and current measurements by the remote sensor during a time interval of at least two seconds.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising the step of obtaining the parameters or said at least one of wind and current measurements by the remote sensor during a time interval of at least two seconds.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the remote sensor is a coastal radar or automatic identification receiver external to said vessel.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein an optical system or a radar system comprises at least one coastal radar or at least one automatic identification receiver.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving the parameters over a telecommunication system by a receiver of the remote land-based center.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the telecommunication system is AIS, Iridium, Inmarsat or Argos.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of determining the over-ground vector for said each vessel by a computer located on another vessel.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of calculating the magnitude and the direction of the surface vector of said each vessel by summing the drift vector and the over-ground vector by the computer of the remote land-based center.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining a series of values of the speed over ground of said each vessel at various instants by the remote sensor, said values being calculated from at least two positions of said each vessel;

processing the series of values obtained at the various instants using a signal processing element to filter components of a signal due to a surface current or wind; and

calculating a value of a surface speed of said each vessel from the series of processed values by the computer of the remote land-based center.

13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the series of values of the speed over ground of said vessel consists of values corresponding to the various instants at which the surface vector of said each vessel is collinear with the over-ground vector.

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising the step of representing the drift vector of said each vessel or its components due to a wind or current in real time or in non-real time in a predefined space.

15. A method for calculating each drift vector at every point on a path of said plurality of vessels, said each vessel progressing under the engine at the cruising speed, comprising the steps of:

calculating the surface vector of said each vessel according to method as claimed in claim 1;

obtaining, at said every point on the path of said each vessel, the parameters including its position, its heading, its speed over ground and its course over ground by the remote sensor; and

calculating the drift vector by the computer of the remote land-based center at every point on the path of said each vessel by summing a norm of the surface vector and the over-ground vector calculated from the parameters for said each vessel.

16. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising a series of instructions to calculate surface vectors of a plurality of vessels, each vessel progressing under an engine at a cruising speed, in response to said each vessel in a predefined position, said series of instructions executed by a computer of a remote land-based center causes the computer to:

obtain parameters of said each vessel including its position, its heading, its speed over ground and its course over ground from a remote sensor external to said each vessel;

obtain at least one of wind and current measurements in proximity to said each vessel using the remote sensor external to said each vessel;

determine a drift vector for said each vessel by processing said at least one of wind and current measurements;

determine an over-ground vector for said each vessel by processing at least one parameter selected from the position, the speed over ground and the course over ground of said each vessel; and

simultaneously calculate a magnitude and a direction of a surface vector of said each vessel of said plurality of vessels under operational conditions progressing in an maritime area to monitor a maritime traffic over the maritime area.

17. The computer readable storage medium as claimed in claim 16, wherein said series of instructions executed by the computer of the remote land-based center further causes the computer to calculate each drift vector at every point on a path of said each vessel progressing under the engine at the cruising speed by:

obtaining, at said every point on the path of said each vessel, the parameters including its position, its heading, its speed over ground and its course over ground; and

calculating the drift vector at every point on the path of said each vessel by summing a norm of the surface vector and the over-ground vector calculated from the parameters for said each vessel.