ES1278109U - Remote control bathymetric chart boat (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

I claim the design of the vessel named Sonar 1200 for which I attach photographs and dimensions, weight and related characteristics in the attached descriptive sheet. # 2. I claim the use of this named vessel (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

Remote control bathymetric chart boat

TECHNICAL SECTOR

The present invention refers to a remote control bathymetric mapping boat, which provides several advantages and alternatives to current and conventional underwater or bathymetric scanning systems. In particular, the advantage of this underwater mapping system compared to the current known systems is due to the use for this purpose of a small boat of only 1.2 meters in length controlled remotely by remote control and unmanned, called USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) stands for (Unmanned Surface Vehicle). It is linked via radio with a ground control station composed of a laptop, as described below.

The main function to which this invention is intended is to perform a scanning or bathymetry, that is, an underwater map in an automated way without the need for human intervention to guide this vessel, since this driving along the route through the aquatic surface performs a GPS-guided autopilot system.

It is a small easily transportable boat, requiring a single operator to carry out the work, and not the use of expensive manned vessels of tens of meters in length with several crew members on board.

Another function of this small electric propulsion boat is that it allows working on shallow water surfaces or those that enjoy some ecological protection, being totally harmless to the aquatic environment.

The application scenarios are varied, such as rivers, reservoirs, ports, mining ponds or any aquatic surface where it is interesting to know its underwater orography or calculation of the volume of water impounded, including the measurement of sediment from sludge accumulated in reservoirs for years.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of practical application of the invention, when carrying out bathymetric mapping processes, sonar equipment is used that are moved over the surface to be mapped in manned boats, which is a problem in which the following aspects:

• Vessels with capacity for crew members are required, which is a significant cost.

• The vessel must be manned, moving across the entire surface to be scanned, which is an arduous task, which entails significant execution times, with the possibility of failure or human errors when covering the entire surface to be scanned.

• It does not allow scanning shallow water, depending on the draft of the boat.

• These types of boats are not always allowed in certain ecologically sensitive areas or zones, such as reefs.

EXPLANATION OF THE INVENTION

The remote control bathymetric cartography boat that is recommended fully satisfactorily solves the aforementioned problem, based on a simple but effective solution.

For this, and more specifically, the boat of the invention is embodied in a small boat, only 1.2 meters in length, remotely controlled by remote control, unmanned and electric propulsion boat, in the that integrates a sonar that allows scanning, measuring and knowing the underwater orography and thus making a complete underwater cartographic map, whose data is collected and represented graphically on a laptop from the ground station.

Another novelty of this invention is that it allows, prior to the measurement, to program the points on the map with the mouse pointer as if they were pushpins, forming lines and covering the area of interest of the image of the aquatic environment that We see it represented on the laptop screen, so we can establish the route that the ship will then faithfully carry out; These points marked on the screen are called waypoints, they are points of GPS coordinates of geographical position of Longitude and Latitude in units of degrees, minutes and seconds.

Once we have finished plotting the route on the screen, we can transmit via radio from the ground station, through the antennas to the ship's autopilot equipment, which saves all the points in memory.

Once the boat is placed in the aquatic environment, it will begin to travel one after another all the marked points or waypoints in the same order in which they were marked by the operator on the computer screen.

In this way, the boat goes through each memorized waypoint, taking a reading with the sonar of the depth in meters and, in turn, saving the waypoints reached with the measured depth reading of each point in the autopilot's memory. In this way, a series of new points are generated with the information of longitude, latitude and depth, generating three-dimensional points.

With the information obtained from all these three-dimensional points or waypoints, being numerical data, we use a software or computer program installed on a laptop to create a three-dimensional map that graphically and visually allows us to appreciate the reliefs and orography of the underwater background object. of interest.

Likewise, volumetric calculations of dammed water capacities can be made, if it were a reservoir or wetland.

From this structuring, a system is obtained that allows savings in costs, operational execution, time, personnel and equipment cost, thus achieving the same purpose as with another of greater size and cost. As it is a small boat, only 1.2 m, weighing only 25 Kg, electric propulsion and all equipment can be transported by one person, being able to carry out studies with this equipment that would be impossible to carry out with conventional boats. , such as scanning work in shallow lagoons, reefs or those aquatic areas that have some ecological protection.

Due to all the above, the bathymetry boat proposed by the present invention is configured as a remarkable novelty within the field of application, since in accordance with its implementation and in an exhaustive way, the objectives previously indicated are satisfactorily achieved at a reduced cost.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is going to be made below and with the aim of helping a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of a practical embodiment thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. where, with an illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a schematic perspective view of the ground station for remote control and analysis of the data obtained from a ship for bathymetric mapping carried out in accordance with the object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- Shows a profile view of the boat for remote control bathymetric mapping object of the invention.

Figure 3.- Shows a rear elevation view of the boat of figure 2.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the outlined figures, it can be seen how the device of the invention is constituted from a small boat controlled remotely by remote control, an unmanned and electric propulsion boat, the one shown in Figures 2 and 3, and a remote control equipment, materialized in a laptop (3) with its corresponding communication antenna (2).

For its part, the boat will have a hull (5), with a length of the order of 1.2 meters, a hull in which a sonar (6) is integrated associated with an auto-pilot team (4) which is linked likewise to a GPS module (1) and to a communication antenna (2).

The auto-pilot equipment will also govern a pair of electric motors (7) through which to control the movement of the boat.

Well, from this structuring, the land station allows the remote control of the ship to be managed, as well as to receive the information registered by the same via radio.

For fear of said control station, the route to be carried out by the ship is established using waypoints or GPS route points.

It also controls communications between the control station and the ship and records all information on the operation.

For its part, the GPS (1) receives the coordinates of the satellites orbiting the earth and obtains geographical positions of the earth's surface, in this case an aquatic environment.

As for the helmet (5), it is built with very light and environmentally-friendly composite materials, integrating all the necessary components and devices.

As mentioned above, the sonar (6) is located at the bottom of the hull, outside, so that it sends sound waves and measures the return time to it and calculates the depth of each point in meters.

The electric propeller motors (7) mounted on the rear of the hull offer silent operation and allow the boat to steer, which, as can be seen in figures 2 and 3, will have a minimum draft according to the waterline (8 ) shown in these figures.

The boat thus described does not even need a rudder, since, by controlling the power supply of the two motors (7), increasing or decreasing the revolutions of one or the other motor allows changing the direction of advance of the boat, thus such as backing up, all of which will be carried out in a fully automated way by the auto-pilot equipment (4).

Claims (2)

1st.- Remote-controlled bathymetric cartography boat, which, constituting a device to develop bathymetric cartographies and underwater maps from the signals recorded by a sonar, is characterized by the fact that it is constituted from a small unmanned boat controlled remotely by programmable remote control from a laptop (3) with its corresponding communication antenna (2); having foreseen that the boat has a hull (5) in which a sonar (6) is integrated associated with an auto-pilot equipment (4) which is linked to a GPS module (1) and a communication antenna (2 ) with the laptop (3); with the particularity that the boat is propelled by means of a pair of electric motors (7). 2nd.- Boat for remote control bathymetric mapping, according to claim 1, characterized in that the hull (5) has a length with a length of the order of 1.2 meters and a weight of the order of 25 kilograms.