Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63C—LAUNCHING, HAULING-OUT, OR DRY-DOCKING OF VESSELS; LIFE-SAVING IN WATER; EQUIPMENT FOR DWELLING OR WORKING UNDER WATER; MEANS FOR SALVAGING OR SEARCHING FOR UNDERWATER OBJECTS
  • B63C7/00—Salvaging of disabled, stranded, or sunken vessels; Salvaging of vessel parts or furnishings, e.g. of safes; Salvaging of other underwater objects
  • B63C7/26—Means for indicating the location of underwater objects, e.g. sunken vessels
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B63—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; RELATED EQUIPMENT
  • B63B—SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING 
  • B63B22/00—Buoys
  • B63B22/04—Fixations or other anchoring arrangements
  • B63B22/06—Fixations or other anchoring arrangements with means to cause the buoy to surface in response to a transmitted signal

Definitions

• the object of the present invention is a method for locating against loss or vandalism drifting submerged fishing gear.
• This fishing gear is certainly very effective but has the major drawback of being liable to drift in an uncontrolled manner or being liable to become drifting gear when it is wholly or partly lost following an abnormality such as partial destruction thereof or rupture of the connection thereof with the associated boat, these being caused by poor meteorological conditions, the nature of the sea bed and/or various obstacles located on the sea bed or between two stretches of water such as for example flotsam, large fish or cetaceans.
• This major drawback runs counter to the recent requirements of the FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization), which is an intergovernmental organisation of the United Nations, one of the remits of which is to provide information and to harmonise standards in the fields of nutrition, agriculture, forests and fishing, in particular by means of its publications and its databases.
• the aim of the present invention is therefore to propose a method for locating fishing gear that is drifting or is liable to drift, thus complying with the requirement of the FAO, by making it possible to quickly and easily locate said gear, whatever the relief of the sea bed and/or the meteorological conditions.
• the object of the present invention is a method for locating drifting gear that is remarkable in that it includes at least the following steps:
• the location step consists of the transmission by the transceiver of the submerged beacon of a radio-acoustic signal able to be received by a transceiver sensor of the owner of the drifting gear and the transmission by the probe of the radio-acoustic code allowing triggering of the release mechanism and the rising of said beacon to the surface, when the radio-acoustic signal is received by the probe.
• the location step may also consist of the programmed release of at least one locating element secured to the submerged beacon followed by the rise of the latter to the surface.
• the location step may also consist of the programmed triggering of the release mechanism enabling the submerged beacon to rise to the surface.
• the location method advantageously includes, before the step of anchoring a submerged beacon, a step of inputting into the control unit the periodicity and the duration of the radio-acoustic signal transmitted by the submerged beacon and/or the date and time of the release of at least one location element and/or the triggering of the release mechanism enabling the submerged beacon to rise to the surface.
• the location method includes, preferably, conjointly with the location step, a complementary step of assisting location by means of one or more location-assistance members attached to the submerged beacon and/or to the location element.
• the invention furthermore relates to a submerged beacon implementing the method for locating drifting gear according to the invention, remarkable in that it includes:
• the submerged beacon advantageously includes at least one location element able to be released in order to rise to the surface, while remaining connected to it.
• the submerged beacon preferably includes one or more location-assistance members attached to its casing and/or the location element.
• the object of the present invention is a method for locating drifting fishing gear connected solely to one or more buoys floating on the surface and fishing gear connected to a moving boat and liable to drift following an abnormality such as partial destruction or rupture of the connection thereof with the boat, said fishing gear being for example drift nets, seine nets, long lines or trawls.
• drifting gear all these types of at least partially submerged fishing gear will be referred to as “drifting gear”.
• the method for locating drifting gear includes a first step consisting in anchoring a submerged beacon to one of the ends of the drifting gear that it is wished subsequently to locate, said submerged beacon being provided with means enabling it to rise to the surface and comprising a casing containing a transceiver for a radio-acoustic signal associated with a control unit coupled to at least one time-measuring unit, and a release mechanism enabling said beacon to rise to the surface in response to the reception of a radio-acoustic code and of an order from said control unit.
• Said location method includes a second step consisting in geolocating, by means for example of a GPS (Global Positioning System) navigation aid, the start point of the drifting gear, in order to enable the fisherman to limit the location zone by estimating the drift of his gear drifting from the start point so as to direct the search for said drifting gear in the estimated direction.
• GPS Global Positioning System
• said submerged beacon further includes:
• the submerged beacon is associated with a device for triggering the motor such as, for example, a remote control or a switch enabling the motor to be rotated in order to bring said submerged beacon to the predetermined set depth.
• This triggering device also makes it possible to disengage the brake and the motor, in order to make the winding drum free to rotate in the event of a problem during winding or to proceed with manual winding following a failure of the energy source or of one of the components of the release mechanism.
• the submerged beacon is advantageously equipped with a cable guide that makes it possible to correctly distribute said cable around the winding drum.
• the control unit of the submerged beacon in particular incorporates a pressure sensor and a time-measuring unit.
• the control unit may also incorporate a temperature sensor making it possible to correctly manage the discharge curves of the energy source and to trigger the submerged beacon in the event of a limit voltage.
• the submerged beacon advantageously includes at least one location element that, if needed, can be released in order to rise to the surface, while remaining connected to said submerged beacon, in order to communicate the position of the latter and of the associated drifting gear.
• Said location element advantageously includes one or more location-assistance members complying with current legislation and being such as, for example:
• the submerged beacon may also include one or more location-assistance members attached to its casing and being similar to those of the releasable location element previously described.
• This embodiment of the beacon has the advantage of no longer having to calculate the exact length of the cable to be deposited between the submerged beacon and the associated drifting gear, since the beacon is adjusted according to its actual depth with respect to the set depth by means of the pressure sensor, the control unit, the motor of the release mechanism and its associated brake, the variation in the actual depth being able to be related to the tidal range, to the current and to any reliefs on the seabed that might cause the drifting gear to fall, for example, to the bottom an undersea trench.
• the location method then includes a third step consisting in locating the drifting gear by means of the associated submerged beacon.
• a first solution consists in switching the transceiver of the submerged beacon into transmission mode in order to transmit a radio-acoustic signal, coded or not, able to be received by a transceiver probe composed generally of at least one transducer for the transmitting part and a hydrophone for the receiving part, and conventionally disposed under the boat of the fisherman owning the drifting gear, the power of said signal is next analysed so as to communicate to the fisherman the approximate direction and/or position of the submerged beacon and of the associated drifting gear. This is because it will be understood clearly that, the stronger the radio-acoustic signal received by the hydrophone of the probe of the boat, the closer is the submerged beacon.
• control unit coupled to the probe of the boat estimates that the radio-acoustic signal received is preferably optimum, i.e. sufficiently strong, it instructs the probe of the boat to go into transmission mode and to send with its transducer a specific radio-acoustic signal of sufficient power to be received by the submerged beacon and making it possible to trigger the release mechanism enabling said beacon to rise to the surface.
• the third step of the location method is such that the transmission of the radio-acoustic signal transmitted by the submerged beacon is advantageously not continuous but on the contrary the transmission is periodic and limited to a predetermined duration, for example of the order of a few minutes.
• a second solution uses a location element secured to the submerged beacon and able to be released to enable it to rise to the surface, while remaining connected to said beacon. Release of said location element is advantageously programmed to a predetermined date and time by the fisherman.
• a third solution consists in programming the measuring unit of the submerged beacon associated with the drifting gear so as to trigger, at a date and time predetermined by the fisherman, the release mechanism enabling the submerged beacon to rise to the surface, which, once on the surface, will, where necessary, activate one or more of its location-assistance members such as, for example, the transmitter connected to one or more systems for monitoring, detecting and identifying ships and/or the flash lamp permanently attached to its casing.
• Each solution envisaged for implementing the third step of the location method described above can be implemented alone or conjointly with at least one of the other two solutions.
• the third step of the location method according to the invention may, for example, consist of the release and rising to the surface of a location element provided with a geolocation antenna and the transmission of a radio-acoustic signal by the transceiver of the submerged beacon including in particular the coordinates of the geolocation of the latter and being able to be received by the transceiver probe of the owner of the drifting gear, the whole being followed by the rising of said submerged beacon to the surface.
• this configuration allows a quicker location of the submerged beacon and therefore of the associated drifting gear.
• the location method according to the invention is mainly used for locating drifting fishing gear.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ocean & Marine Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Measurement Of Velocity Or Position Using Acoustic Or Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
• Position Fixing By Use Of Radio Waves (AREA)
• Radar Systems Or Details Thereof (AREA)
• Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)

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• 2019
  • 2019-07-26 FR FR1908550A patent/FR3099128B1/fr active Active
• 2020
  • 2020-07-23 EP EP20744035.5A patent/EP4003828B1/fr active Active
  • 2020-07-23 ES ES20744035T patent/ES2960895T3/es active Active
  • 2020-07-23 CA CA3145183A patent/CA3145183A1/fr active Pending
  • 2020-07-23 WO PCT/EP2020/070868 patent/WO2021018738A1/fr active Search and Examination
  • 2020-07-23 US US17/630,071 patent/US20220266964A1/en not_active Abandoned

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