EP3489126A1

EP3489126A1 - Lighted marker buoy

Info

Publication number: EP3489126A1
Application number: EP17203021.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jeremy Grayson; Matthew Tang
Original assignee: Rapala Vmc Corp
Current assignee: Rapala Vmc Corp
Priority date: 2017-11-22
Filing date: 2017-11-22
Publication date: 2019-05-29

Abstract

A marker buoy comprises a buoyant marker body, at least one lighting member, energy means for providing current for the at least one lighting member, water detecting means for detecting the buoyant marker body being in contact with water, and light detecting means for detecting the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy. The lighting member, energy means, water detecting means and light detecting means are connected to one another in such a manner that the lighting member is arranged to be switched on only when the buoyant marker body is in contact with water and when the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy is below a predetermined limit.

Description

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to marker buoys, and more particularly to a lighted marker buoy and a method for controlling lighting of such a lighted marker buoy.
Different kinds of marker buoys are known. Such marker buoys may be used for marking locations and underwater objects, for example. They may comprise for instance a bright colour to improve the visibility of the marker buoy in the water. It is also known to provide different kinds of buoys with light(s), such that they can also be seen in the dark. However, it is usual that either they are constantly lighted or switching the light on and off requires actions from the user. One of the disadvantages associated with the above arrangement is that the light is on even when it would not need to be, which consumes the battery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

An object of the present invention is thus to provide a new lighted marker buoy and a method for controlling lighting of such a lighted marker buoy. The objects of the invention are achieved by a method and an arrangement, which are characterized by what, is stated in the independent claims. The preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.
The invention is based on the idea of enabling switching on of a light of a buoy only when it is needed. In other words, the light is switched on when the buoy is in the water and it is dark such that lighting is actually needed.
An advantage of the method and arrangement of the invention is that less user involvement is needed and energy is not wasted in lighting the buoy when it is not needed and the buoy may be provided with a smaller battery and/or the battery needs to be changed or recharged less frequently.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following the invention will be described in greater detail by means of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached [accompanying] drawings, in which

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a marker buoy in perspective;
Figure 2 illustrates the marker buoy of Figure 1 from top;
Figure 3 illustrates the marker buoy of Figure 1 from a side; and
Figure 4 illustrates schematically an embodiment of a marker buoy from top.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a marker buoy in perspective; Figure 2 illustrates the marker buoy of Figure 1 from top; and Figure 3 illustrates the marker buoy of Figure 1 from a side.
A marker buoy 1 may comprise a buoyant marker body 2. A marker body 2 is buoyant when the buoyancy exerted by water and the downward force applied by gravity on the marker body 2 is equal in such a manner that the marker body floats in the water. The marker body 2 may, for instance, be formed of a material with a lower density than water and/or the marked body 2 may be formed hollow. The marker body 2 may comprise, for instance, at least one of the following: polybutylene (PB-1), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) and acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS).
According to an embodiment, the marker body 2 may comprise a first end 4a and a second end 4b at the end opposite to the first end 4a of the marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the marker body 2 may comprise a middle section 5. The middle section 5 may be provided between the first end 4a and the second end 4b of the marker body 2. According to a further embodiment, the middle section 5 may be narrower than the ends, namely the first end 4a and the second end 4b, of the buoyant marker body 2 on both sides of the middle section 5. According to an embodiment, the first end 4a and the second end 4b of the marker body 2 may comprise a rounded shape in at least one dimension. According to an embodiment, the first end 4a and the second end 4b may comprise a rounded shape in all three dimensions, namely seen from the top, from the side and from an end of the marker buoy 1.
According to an embodiment, the marker body 2 may comprise a top side 2a and a bottom side 2b on opposite sides of the marker body 2. In this context, the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b thus refer to the opposite sides of the marker body 2, one of which is facing the water and one of which is facing up in the air when the marker buoy 1 is at rest in the water. It is clear for a person skilled in the art that either one of the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b of the marker body 2 may be facing the water at a given point of time, when the marker buoy 1 is at rest in the water and these are just names given to the sides to refer to them. The marker buoy 1 being at rest in the water refers to the marker body 2 floating in the water without spinning around the longitudinal axis B of the marker buoy 1 extending between the first end 4a and the second end 4b of the marker body 2. The marker buoy 1 may rotate around a vertical axis C even when it is considered being at rest in the water in the sense of this description. It is also clear for a person skilled in the art that the marker buoy 1 may not be at rest at all times the marker buoy 1 is in the water, but may for instance spin around the longitudinal axis B depending on the circumstances.
The marker buoy 1 may further comprise at least one lighting member 3 attached to the marker body 2 for lighting the marker buoy 1. Depending on the embodiment, the lighting member may be provided inside and/or outside of the marker body 2. In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, two lighting members 3 are shown inside the marker body 2 indicated by a dashed line. The positioning of the lighting members is shown as an example only and the positioning of the lighting member(s) 3 is not restricted to such an example.
According to an embodiment, the at least one lighting member 3 may be provided inside the marker body 2 and at least a part of the marker body 2 may be formed as at least partly transparent to such an extent that the light emitted by the lighting member 3 is visible through the marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may comprise at least two lighting members. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may comprise at least one lighting source at both the first end 4a and at the second end 4b of the marker body 2. Preferably, the one or more lighting members 3 are arranged to emit visible light upwards from the water regardless of the position of the marker buoy when the marker buoy 1 is placed in water. According to an embodiment, the lighting member 3 may comprise at least one LED as a light source. According to an embodiment, the lighting member 3 may comprise a plurality of LEDs.
The marker buoy 1 may further comprise energy means 6 for providing current for the at least one lighting member 3. According to an embodiment, the energy means 6 may comprise at least one primary cell, also called primary battery, in other words a battery that is not intended to be recharged with electricity and reused. Such primary cells, primary batteries or disposable batteries are thus designed to be used once and discarded. According to an embodiment, the energy means 6 may comprise at least one secondary cell, in other words a rechargeable battery or accumulator. Such secondary cells may be recharged with electricity and reused, whereby a lower total cost of ownership and environmental impact can be achieved. According to an embodiment, the energy means 6 may comprise two or more primary cells and/or secondary cells. According to an embodiment, the energy means 6 may comprise an even number of primary cells or secondary cells. According to an embodiment, the primary cells or secondary cells may be placed symmetrically within the marker buoy 1 at least seen from the top of the marker buoy 1 such as in Figure 2. This contributes to the balance of the marker buoy 1, which is beneficial especially when the marker buoy is placed in water. In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, two pieces of energy means 6 are shown inside the marker body 2 indicated by a dashed line. The positioning of the energy means is shown as an example only and the positioning of the energy means 6 is not restricted to such an example.
The marker buoy 1 may further comprise water detecting means 7 for detecting the buoyant marker body 2 being in contact with water. The water detecting means 7 may be arranged to detect presence of water. Thereby, the water detecting means 7 may be arranged to detect the marker buoy 1 being placed in water. According to an embodiment, the water detecting means 7 may comprise a water detection sensor. According to another embodiment, the water detecting means 7 may comprise at least one of the following: an electric circuit completed by the water present and a float mechanism. Such a float mechanism may comprise for instance a float pushable by water present in such a manner that the float completes an electric circuit and/or causes a signal to be generated. The float may for instance act as a switching member connecting connectors of such an electric circuit and/or the float may affect a mechanical switch when pushed by the water present.
According to an embodiment, the water detecting means 7 may comprise water detection sensors or other means for detecting presence of water at two or more positions of the marker buoy 1, such as in two or more positions of the buoyant marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may comprise at least one piece of water detecting means 7 on both the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b of the marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may comprise at least one piece of water detecting means 7 on both the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b of the marker body 2 both at the first end 4a and the second end 4b of the marker body 2, in other words the marker buoy may in such an embodiment comprise at least four pieces of water detecting means 7. Embodiments wherein the marker buoy 1 comprises several pieces of water detecting means 7 at different positions in the marker body 2 are particularly beneficial as these ensure detecting the marker buoy 1 being placed in the water regardless of the current position of the marker buoy 1, for instance when the marker buoy 1 spins around its longitudinal axis B or about a vertical axis C.
The marker buoy 1 may further comprise light detecting means 8 for detecting the amount of light in the environment of marker buoy, such as the buoyant marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the light detecting means 8 may comprise a photodetector, such as a light-dependent resistor (LDR), a photodiode, a phototransistor or other suitable type of a photodetector. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may comprise at least two pieces of light detecting means 8, preferably positioned at different positions of the marker buoy 1, such as the marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 comprises at least one piece of light detecting means 8 on both the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b of the marker body 2. This is beneficial as the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy can be detected regardless of which of the top side 2a and the bottom side 2b is facing up from the water at a given point of time.
The lighting member 3, energy means 6, water detecting means 7 and light detecting means 8 are preferably connected to one another in such a manner that the lighting member 3 is arranged to be switched on only when the buoyant marker body 2 is in contact with water and when the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy is below a predetermined limit. According to an embodiment, this may be achieved by arranging the coupling of an electric circuit supplying current for the lighting member 3 to be disconnected when the marker buoy 1 is not in contact with water and/or when the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy is not below the predetermined limit. According to another embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may further comprise control means for receiving signals from the water detecting means and/or the light detecting means 8 and to control switching the lighting member 3 on and off based on the signals received from the water detecting means and/or the light detecting means 8 for instance using control signals or control commands.
According to an embodiment, the predetermined limit may be defined by selection of the light detecting means 8, namely by selecting the light detecting means 8 in such a manner that they provide a signal, stop providing a signal or switch an electric circuit on or off when the predetermined amount of light or an amount of light below it is detected. Depending on the type of the light detecting means 8, the light detecting means 8 may, thus, provide a signal or switch the electric circuit on when the amount of light received from the environment into the light detecting means exceeds or goes under a certain limit.
According to another embodiment, the light detecting means 8 may provide data or a signal describing the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy, such as a digital or analogue signal proportional to the amount of light, and the predetermined limit may be defined based on the signal value corresponding to the maximum amount of light at which the lighting member 3 is preferred to be switched on.
In other words, the at least one lighting member 3 may be arranged to switch on in response to the light detecting means 8 indicating an amount of light in the environment being below the predetermined limit. This indication may for instance be based on the light detecting means 8 providing a signal, the light detecting means 8 stopping providing a signal, the light detecting means 8 switching on or off an electric circuit and/or the light detecting means 8 providing a signal value corresponding to the amount of light in the environment being lower than the predetermined limit.
According to an embodiment, the marker buoy 1 may further comprise anchoring means 9 for anchoring the marker buoy 1. Figure 4 illustrates schematically an embodiment of a marker buoy with anchoring means 9. According to an embodiment, the anchoring means 9 may be attached to the middle section 5 of the buoyant marker body 2. According to an embodiment, the anchoring means 9 may comprise a line 10 attached to the buoyant marker body 2 and coilable around a middle part of the buoyant marker body 2 in a manner known as such. According to an embodiment, the anchoring means 9 may further comprise an anchor 11. The anchor may comprise any anchor known as such and suitable for marker buoys.
It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as the technology advances, the inventive concept can be implemented in various ways. For instance, the marker body 2 may comprise another shape suitable for use in marker buoys even though only one embodiment is shown in the figures. The invention and its embodiments are not limited to the examples described above but may vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

A marker buoy comprising
a buoyant marker body,
at least one lighting member attached to the marker body for lighting the marker buoy, and
energy means for providing current for the at least one lighting member, characterized in that the marker buoy further comprises
water detecting means for detecting the buoyant marker body being in contact with water,
light detecting means for detecting the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy, and
that the lighting member, energy means, water detecting means and light detecting means are connected to one another in such a manner that the lighting member is arranged to be switched on only when the buoyant marker body is in contact with water and when the amount of light in the environment of the marker buoy is below a predetermined limit.
A marker buoy according to claim 1, wherein the water detecting means comprises a water detection sensor.
A marker buoy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the light detecting means comprises a photodetector.
A marker buoy according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the lighting member comprises at least one LED as a light source.
A marker buoy according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the buoyant marker body comprises a middle section that is narrower than the ends of the buoyant marker body on both sides of the middle section and wherein the anchoring means are attached to the middle section of the buoyant marker body.
A marker buoy according to anyone of the preceding claims, wherein the marker buoy further comprises anchoring means for anchoring the marker buoy.
A marker buoy according to claim 6, wherein the anchoring means comprises a line attached to the buoyant marker body and coilable around a middle part of the buoyant marker body and an anchor.