KR20120096715A - System and method for vessel monitoring - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A ship monitoring system and a method thereof are provided to flexibly combine information supplied from various kinds of devices with a monitoring device. CONSTITUTION: A ship monitoring device(300) converts the extracted data in a display type. The ship monitoring device transmits the data to a user terminal through a local area communication network. One or more user terminals include a local area wireless communication unit. The user terminal receives data which is converted from the ship monitoring device. The user terminal outputs the converted data.

Description

System and Method for vessel monitoring

The present invention relates to a ship monitoring system and method, and more particularly, when a ship monitoring device physically connected to a plurality of National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) equipment receives an NMEA 2000 message from at least one NMEA equipment, the NMEA A PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data are extracted by analyzing a 2000 message, and the corresponding NMEA equipment and display type are determined based on the extracted PGN, and the extracted data is outputted to the display type. The present invention relates to a ship monitoring system and method for outputting data through a touch screen and transmitting the same to a user terminal through a short range wireless communication network.

For efficient and safe operation of the ship, it is necessary to exchange, collect and manage the information of the devices by connecting and integrating various devices in the ship.

It is known that such a ship network generally has three hierarchies as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the 'Administrative Network' of the uppermost layer is responsible for communication and management information between ships and land or between ships and ships, and the centrally located 'Shipboard Control Network' is an integrated bridge. It has a middleware function that connects the main equipment of the ship such as engine control and monitor, and at the same time connects the upper administrative networks and the lower instrument networks. The lowest level 'Instrument Networks' is for exchanging commands and information between sensors and actuators. Most of the information exchanged in this layer network requires real-time processing.

This network includes the physical direct connection of the controllers connected to the network.

The communication method used in 'Instrument Networks' has evolved from the serial communication method such as RS-422 and RS-485 to NMEA0183, but it still has not escaped the scope of singletalker / multiple-listener, but also in terms of scalability. Due to constraints, a new concept of communication standards is required. As a result, the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) enacted the NMEA 2000, an instrument-level network standard in the form of multiple-talker / multiplelisteners, which ensures the proper communication speed and is inexpensive, and the IEC adopted it as IEC 61162-3.

With the advent of e-Navigation, NMEA2000 is becoming an important communication standard widely used in large vessels as well as small vessels such as yachts.

In particular, the large shipbuilding industry in western developed countries has declined, while the sales and employment of the small and medium-sized shipbuilding industry producing super yachts are continuously increasing. Many devices in this active superyacht are connected to the NMEA2000 communications standard.

GPS receivers, gyro compasses, and speed logs are data-providing devices (NMEA Talker). Most of these devices have dedicated indicators attached to the device itself, and some devices have separate indicators and separate cables in addition to their own indicators. It is attached to the front of the bridge (ship bridge) to help smooth sailing.

In addition, most navigation communication equipments have been using the NMEA data of GPS receivers for a long time, and recently installed AIS, ECDIS, VDR, etc. are devices that receive mainly NMEA data from various navigation communication devices (NMEA Listner).

However, they are all designed to identify information only in a limited place in the bridge. Each of them requires individual wiring and uses signals of individual specifications, which limits the use of expensive dedicated indicators. It would not be easy to add additional locations at the site, nor would it be possible to monitor many of these pieces of information at any location within the ship outside the bridge.

That is, in a 1: 1 or single-talker / multiple-listener communication environment, there are many limitations in collecting and processing information from multiple devices in one place. Therefore, a monitor or user interface had to be provided for each device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to collect information provided by various types of devices in a multiple-talker / multiple-listener communication environment such as NMEA2000 in one monitoring device. The present invention provides a ship monitoring system and method that can be organically combined and provided.

Another object of the present invention is a single vessel monitor device so that users can quickly and easily know the information required in small vessels such as yachts, such as navigation information, engine information, weather information such as wind direction, and main tank-related information The present invention provides a ship monitoring system and method that can provide a convenient interface using a touch screen.

It is still another object of the present invention to transmit NMEA data (data format of IEC61162-1 / 2/3 standard) of various navigation communication equipments to a user terminal in a ship using short-range wireless communication, and these information through standardized single hardware. By selectively displaying the desired NMEA data, the present invention provides a ship monitoring system and method for real-time monitoring of navigational information anywhere in the ship, including the bridge.

Still another object of the present invention is to make and distribute the NMEA data of several navigation communication equipment into a single serial data so that it can be transmitted to all areas of the ship by a single cable, and selectively display the necessary information among the transmitted information In order to provide a ship monitoring system and method that can be displayed sequentially.

Another object of the present invention is to develop a touch panel PC of the server concept that can be directly connected to the NMEA backbone network to directly transmit and receive NMEA2000 data, simplifying the existing hardware configuration and easy conversion to other communication protocols, such as WiFi To provide a ship monitoring system and method.

According to an aspect of the present invention to achieve the above objects, when physically connected to the vessel monitoring device installed in the vessel, a plurality of NMEA 2000 (National Marine Equipment Association 2000) message in real time to generate and transmit to the vessel monitoring device When an NMEA 2000 message is received from an NMEA device or at least one NMEA device, the NMEA 2000 message is analyzed to extract a parameter group number (PGN) and data, and the corresponding NMEA device and display type are based on the extracted PGN. After the determination, the extracted data is converted to be outputted to the display type and outputted, and at the same time, a vessel monitoring apparatus for transmitting to a user terminal through a near field communication network and a near field communication unit are provided to receive the converted data from the vessel monitoring apparatus. Output the converted data. Is provided a ship monitoring system comprising at least one user terminal.

The NMEA equipment may be equipment that provides data related to at least one of navigation, engines, tanks, weather information, and the like.

The plurality of NMEA equipment is physically connected to the vessel monitoring device by a CAN cable.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a local area wireless communication unit for communication with a user terminal through a local area network, a touch screen for detecting a user's touch input, and outputs NMEA data, interface with a plurality of NMEA equipment through a CAN cable When an NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device through the interface unit, an interface unit for analyzing the NMEA 2000 message to extract the PGN and data, the NMEA based on the extracted PGN A data converter configured to determine an equipment and a display type, convert the extracted data into the display type, and control the data converted by the data converter to be output through the touch screen, and at the same time, the short range wireless communication unit. Output control unit to be transmitted to the user terminal through The vessel monitoring device comprising is provided.

The vessel monitoring apparatus may further include a storage unit for mapping and storing the PGN extracted from the message analyzer and data.

The data converter extracts an NMEA device and a display type mapped to the extracted PGN from a previously stored display information table, and converts the extracted data to output the display type.

The vessel monitoring apparatus generates a data request message by the PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA equipment when the data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA equipment is input through the user terminal or the touch screen. The apparatus may further include a data request processing unit for transmitting to the NMEA equipment.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for monitoring a vessel by a ship monitoring device physically connected to a plurality of NMEA equipment, (a) when an NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA equipment, the NMEA 2000 message Extracting the PGN (Parameter Group Number) and the data, (b) determining the corresponding NMEA equipment and the display type based on the extracted PGN, and (c) outputting the extracted data to the display type. The ship monitoring method includes the step of converting, (d) outputting the converted data through a touch screen provided at the same time and transmitting to the user terminal through a short-range wireless communication network.

In the step (a), when a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input through the user terminal or the touch screen, generating a data request message by a PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA device. Transmitting the received data request message to the corresponding NMEA device to receive the corresponding NMEA 2000 message; and analyzing the NMEA 2000 message to extract a parameter group number (PGN) and data.

In addition, the step (a) includes receiving the corresponding NMEA 2000 message from the plurality of physically connected NMEA equipment in real time, and analyzing the NMEA 2000 message to extract PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data. do.

The vessel monitoring method may further include mapping and storing the analyzed PGN and data after the step (a).

As described above, according to the present invention, by expressing the NMEA2000 data through a single general purpose device device for ships, which is hardware / software standardized, the NMEA data is collected by existing hardware and directly attached to the navigation communication equipment, or only a dedicated display device is provided. By replacing expensive vessel equipment that can only be seen in a limited place, it can reduce costs and increase user convenience.

In addition, in a multiple-talker / multiple-listener communication environment such as NMEA2000, information provided by various different types of devices can be collected and organically combined in one monitoring device.

In addition, through a single ship monitor device, users can easily and quickly find the information required for small vessels such as yachts, such as navigation information, engine information, weather information such as wind direction, and main tank-related information. Meanwhile, a convenient interface may be provided using a touch screen.

In addition, NMEA data (data format of the IEC61162-1 / 2/3 standard) of various navigation communication equipments are transmitted to a user terminal in a ship using short-range wireless communication, and the desired NMEA of the information is provided through a single standardized hardware. By selectively displaying the data, you can monitor the navigation information in real time anywhere in the vessel, including the bridge.

In addition, NMEA data of several navigation communication equipments can be created and distributed as a single serial data so that it can be transmitted to all areas of the ship with a single cable, and the necessary information among the transmitted information can be selectively displayed, and if multiple information is displayed, Can be displayed as

In addition, by developing a touch panel PC with a server concept that can be connected to the NMEA backbone network to directly transmit and receive NMEA2000 data, it can simplify the existing hardware configuration and facilitate the conversion to other communication protocols such as WiFi.

1 is a diagram showing a general ship network structure.
2 is a view showing a ship monitoring system according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of a vessel monitoring apparatus according to the present invention.
4 is an exemplary view showing a display information table according to the present invention.
5 is a flow chart showing a vessel monitoring method according to the present invention.
6 is a flow chart illustrating a vessel monitoring method of the vessel monitoring apparatus according to the present invention.
7 is an exemplary view showing a screen for outputting data for each NMEA equipment by the ship monitoring device according to the present invention.

Details of the above-described objects and technical configurations of the present invention and the effects thereof according to the present invention will be more clearly understood by the following detailed description based on the accompanying drawings.

2 is a view showing a ship monitoring system according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the vessel monitoring system includes a plurality of National Marine Equipment Association (NMEA) equipment (100a, 100b,..., 100n, hereinafter referred to as 100) installed on a vessel, and the plurality of NMEA equipment 100 and a CAN cable. The ship monitoring device 200 is physically connected by a, and includes a user terminal 300 to communicate with the ship monitoring device 200 through a local area wireless communication network.

When each NMEA equipment 100 is physically connected to the vessel monitoring apparatus 200, the NMEA equipment 100 generates an NMEA 2000 message having its own measurement value as data and transmits the message to the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 in real time. Here, the NMEA 2000 message includes PGN and data defined in each NMEA equipment.

In addition, when a plurality of NMEA equipments 100 receives a data request message from the vessel monitoring apparatus 200, the plurality of NMEA equipments 100 generates an NMEA 2000 message having a current measurement value as data and transmits the same to the vessel monitoring apparatus 200. . Here, the data request message includes a PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA equipment. Therefore, the NMEA equipment determines whether it refers to itself based on the PGN included in the data request message, and if it refers to itself, generates an NMEA 2000 message including the current measurement value and the PGN and monitors the vessel monitoring device ( 200).

Each NMEA equipment is directly connected to the NMEA 2000 backbone (CAN cable) and the vessel monitoring device 200 is also directly connected to the NMEA 2000 backbone network through a built-in USB gateway to communicate with each other.

The NMEA equipment 100 performing the above role refers to equipment that provides data related to at least one of navigation, engines, tanks, and weather information. In other words, the NMEA equipment 100 refers to a variety of sensors such as GPS, GYRO COMPASS, wind direction / windometer, engine status, oil tank, rudder information, other NMEA protocols, and all available vessel equipment.

When the NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device, the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 extracts PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data by analyzing the NMEA 2000 message, and based on the extracted PGN, the NMEA. After determining the equipment and the display type, the extracted data is converted to be outputted to the display type and outputted to the user terminal 300 through the short range wireless communication network.

That is, the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 converts the data directly sent by the NMEA equipment into a form that can be primarily visualized and outputs it through a provided touch screen, and secondly converts the form directly into a form that can be transmitted through a TCP / IP network. To the user terminal 300 through a short range wireless communication network.

A detailed description of the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 performing the above operation will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

The user terminal 300 is provided with a short-range wireless communication unit when the converted data from the vessel monitoring device 200, and outputs the converted data. The user terminal 300 refers to terminals provided with a short range wireless communication unit such as a mobile communication terminal such as a smart phone and a wired communication terminal such as a PC.

Here, although only one user terminal 300 is displayed, it refers to a plurality of terminals capable of communicating with the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 through a short range wireless communication network.

3 is a block diagram schematically showing a configuration of a ship monitoring apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 4 is an exemplary view showing a display information table according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the vessel monitoring apparatus 200 may include an interface unit 210, a touch screen 220, a message analyzer 230, a data converter 240, and an output controller for interfacing with a plurality of NMEA equipment. 250, a short range wireless communication unit 260, a storage unit 270, and a data request processing unit 280.

The interface unit 210 is for performing an interface with a plurality of NMEA equipment through a CAN cable.

The touch screen 220 detects a user's touch input and outputs NMEA data. That is, the touch screen 220 serves as an input unit and an output unit. When a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input from a user, the touch screen 220 transmits the data request command to the data request processor 280. send. The data request command includes NMEA equipment information for which data is desired.

When the NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device through the interface unit 210, the message analyzer 230 analyzes the NMEA 2000 message and extracts PGN and data. In this case, the message analyzer 230 determines whether the message is correctly received by performing error detection of the received NMEA 2000 message and discards the message in which the error occurs. If the message is normal, check the PGN to see if it is a multiple packet or fast packet. Since multiple packets and fast packets are messages composed of at least two frames, they are stored in a temporary buffer and assembled in a message until all frames with the same PGN and sequence number are received. If a single frame, this step is skipped.

Here, data exchanged using NMEA 2000 is transmitted and received through a message format called a parameter group number (PGN). PGN improves network efficiency by dividing messages by collecting related data into one, managing them into parameter groups and numbering each parameter group.

The data converter 240 determines a corresponding NMEA device and a display type based on the PGN extracted by the message analyzer 230, and converts the extracted data to be output as the display type.

That is, the data converter 240 extracts the NMEA device and the display type mapped to the extracted PGN from the display information table as shown in FIG. 4, and converts the extracted data to output the display type.

Referring to FIG. 4 for the display information table, a display information table (ie, a monitored NMEA device), a PGN of each item, and a display type thereof are displayed. Accordingly, the data converter 240 may extract the NMEA equipment and the display type mapped to the extracted PGN from the display information table, and convert the extracted data to be outputted to the display type.

For example, when the PGN is '127250', the data conversion unit 240 may know through the display information table that the monitoring target item is 'Heading of navigation' and the display type is 'Rotating Compass'. Therefore, the data conversion unit 240 converts the data to be output in the form of Rotating Compass.

The output controller 250 controls the data converted by the data converter 240 to be output through the touch screen 220 and is transmitted to the user terminal through the short range wireless communication unit 260.

The short range wireless communication unit 260 communicates with a user terminal through a short range wireless communication network.

The storage unit 270 maps and stores the PGN and data analyzed by the message analyzer 230. That is, the storage unit 270 stores data sent by NMEA 2000 devices for a certain period of time.

When a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input through the user terminal or the touch screen 220, the data request processor 280 generates a data request message by a PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA device. To the corresponding NMEA equipment through the interface unit 210. That is, the user may input a data request command using a user terminal provided with a short range wireless communication unit, or may input a data request command using the touch screen 220.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a vessel monitoring method according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when each NMEA device is physically connected to the vessel monitoring apparatus by a CAN cable (S502), the NMEA 2000 message is transmitted to the vessel monitoring apparatus through the connected cable (S504). That is, when the NMEA equipment is physically connected to the vessel monitoring apparatus, the NMEA apparatus generates an NMEA 2000 message using the current measured value as data and transmits the message to the vessel monitoring apparatus.

When receiving a NMEA 2000 message from a plurality of NMEA equipment, the vessel monitoring device analyzes the NMEA 2000 message and extracts PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data (S506). In this case, the vessel monitoring apparatus maps and stores the analyzed PGN and data.

That is, since the NMEA 2000 message is composed of an identification number and data called PGN, the vessel monitoring apparatus may extract the PGN and data by analyzing the NMEA 2000 message.

After performing the operation S506, the vessel monitoring apparatus determines the corresponding NMEA equipment and the display type based on the extracted PGN (S508), and converts the extracted data to be output to the display type (S510).

After performing the S510, the vessel monitoring apparatus outputs the converted data through a touch screen provided with the converted data (S512) and simultaneously transmits the converted data to a user terminal through a short range wireless communication network (S514). Then, the same data as the data output on the touch screen provided in the vessel monitoring device is output to the user terminal.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a vessel monitoring method by the vessel monitoring apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a screen outputting data for each NMEA apparatus by the vessel monitoring apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the ship monitoring apparatus determines whether a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input through a user terminal or a touch screen (S602).

When the determination result data request command is input, the vessel monitoring device is

A data request message generated by the PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA device is generated (S604), and the generated data request message is transmitted to the corresponding NMEA device to receive the corresponding NMEA 2000 message (S606).

Then, the vessel monitoring apparatus analyzes the NMEA 2000 message to extract PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data (S608), and determines the corresponding NMEA equipment and display type based on the extracted PGN (S510).

Then the vessel monitoring apparatus converts the extracted data to be output to the display type (S612).

After performing the step S612, the vessel monitoring device outputs the converted data through the touch screen provided at the same time and transmits to the user terminal through a short-range wireless communication network (S614). Then, the same data as the data output on the touch screen provided in the vessel monitoring device is output to the user terminal.

If the data request command is not inputted as a result of the determination of S602, the vessel monitoring apparatus receives the corresponding NMEA 2000 messages from the plurality of NMEA equipments physically connected by CAN cables in real time (S616), and performs the S608.

That is, the vessel monitoring apparatus visualizes the value so that the user can recognize the data when the NMEA equipments send their data values by the defined PGN. In the case of graphs, dashboards, weather vanes, and gyros, the measured values are displayed in a display window that users can recognize.

In addition, in the case of GPS, the vessel monitoring apparatus receives position information of the vessel and combines it with pre-built chart data to express the actual position of the vessel on the chart.

An example of a screen for outputting data for each NMEA device by the vessel monitoring apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 7.

First, refer to (a) for Navigation, Heading is Rotating Compass type, Rudder Angle / Order is Rudder Gauge type, Trip Log, Trip Log, Speed Through Water, Speed Over Ground, Course Over Ground, Water Depth, Time UTC Since the display type is determined by the Numeric type, it can be seen that the vessel monitoring apparatus displays the predetermined type as shown in (a) for each item.

It can be seen that the engines are outputted as the display type defined in the display information table of FIG. 4 as shown in (b), and the tanks engines are outputted as the display type defined in the display information table of FIG. 4 as shown in (c). Can be.

In addition, it can be seen that the weather information is output as shown in (d) as the display type defined in the display information table of FIG. 4.

Thus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. It is therefore to be understood that the embodiments described above are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the detailed description and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalents are to be construed as being included within the scope of the present invention do.

100: NMEA equipment 200: vessel monitoring device
210: interface unit 220: touch screen
230: message analysis unit 240: data conversion unit
250: output control unit 260: short-range wireless communication unit
270: storage unit 280: data request processing unit
300: user terminal

Claims (11)

A plurality of NMEA equipment generating a NMEA 2000 (National Marine Equipment Association 2000) message in real time and physically connected to the vessel monitoring apparatus installed in the vessel and transmitting the message to the vessel monitoring apparatus;
When the NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device, the NMEA 2000 message is analyzed to extract a parameter group number (PGN) and data, and after determining the corresponding NMEA device and display type based on the extracted PGN, A vessel monitoring apparatus for converting the extracted data to be output to the display type and outputting the converted data to a user terminal through a short range wireless communication network; And
At least one user terminal having a short range wireless communication unit and outputting the converted data when the converted data is received from the vessel monitoring apparatus;
Vessel monitoring system comprising a.
The method of claim 1,
The NMEA equipment is a vessel monitoring system, characterized in that the equipment for providing data related to at least one of navigation (Engines), (Tanks), tanks (Weather Information).
The method of claim 1,
The plurality of NMEA equipment is a ship monitoring system, characterized in that physically connected to the ship monitoring device by a CAN cable.
A short range wireless communication unit for communicating with a user terminal through a short range wireless communication network;
A touch screen that senses a user's touch input and outputs NMEA data;
An interface unit configured to interface with a plurality of NMEA devices through a CAN cable;
A message analyzer extracting PGN and data by analyzing the NMEA 2000 message when an NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device through the interface unit;
A data converter determining a corresponding NMEA device and a display type based on the extracted PGN, and converting the extracted data to be output to the display type; And
An output controller which controls the data converted by the data converter to be output through the touch screen and is transmitted to the user terminal through the short range wireless communication unit;
Vessel monitoring device comprising a.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And a storage unit for mapping and storing the PGN extracted from the message analyzer and data.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the data converter extracts the NMEA equipment and the display type mapped to the extracted PGN from a pre-stored display information table, and converts the form to output the extracted data to the display type.
The method of claim 4, wherein
When a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input through the user terminal or the touch screen, a data request message generated by a PGN defined in the corresponding NMEA device is generated and transmitted to the corresponding NMEA device through the interface unit. Ship monitoring device further comprising a data request processing unit.
In the vessel monitoring device physically connected to a plurality of NMEA equipment to monitor the vessel,
(a) extracting a parameter group number (PGN) and data by analyzing the NMEA 2000 message when an NMEA 2000 message is received from at least one NMEA device;
(b) determining a corresponding NMEA device and a display type based on the extracted PGN;
(c) converting the extracted data to be output to the display type; And
(d) outputting the converted data through a touch screen provided therewith and transmitting the converted data to a user terminal through a local area network;
Vessel monitoring method comprising a.
9. The method of claim 8,
The step (a)
Generating a data request message by a PGN defined in a corresponding NMEA device when a data request command for requesting data of a specific NMEA device is input through the user terminal or the touch screen;
Transmitting the generated data request message to a corresponding NMEA device to receive a corresponding NMEA 2000 message; And
Analyzing the NMEA 2000 message and extracting PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data.
9. The method of claim 8,
The step (a)
Receiving respective NMEA 2000 messages from the plurality of physically connected NMEA devices in real time; And
Analyzing the NMEA 2000 message and extracting PGN (Parameter Group Number) and data.
9. The method of claim 8,
After the step (a), further comprising the step of mapping and storing the analyzed PGN data.

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