WO2007088258A1

WO2007088258A1 - System and method for collecting information for submarines

Info

Publication number: WO2007088258A1
Application number: PCT/FR2007/000094
Authority: WO
Inventors: Eric Pierron
Original assignee: Bilbo Marine Technique Industrie
Priority date: 2006-02-03
Filing date: 2007-01-18
Publication date: 2007-08-09
Also published as: EP1980040A1; FR2897214A1; FR2897214B1

Abstract

System for collecting information (1) for submarines (2) comprising: a buoy (3); at least one antenna (4) for receiving RF signals (5), linked to the said buoy (3); means for electronically processing signals (6) received by said at least one antenna, these means being electrically linked to said at least one antenna (4) and comprising means (7) for the underwater transmission of some at least of said processed signals. The electronic processing means (6) are suitable for processing signals (5) received by the antenna and containing position information and identity information for ships (9) and for retransmitting this information underwater (8), thus enabling a submarine (2) to collect position and identity information emitted by ships (9).

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COLLECTING INFORMATION FOR

SUBMARINES

The present invention relates generally to the field of submarine information gathering systems as well as submarine information gathering methods.

More particularly, the invention relates to a submarine information gathering system comprising:

- buoy ; at least one radio signal receiving antenna connected to said buoy;

electronic signal processing means received by said at least one antenna, these means being electrically connected to said at least one antenna and comprising means for transmitting underwater certain at least said processed signals.

The means of communication between a submarine and its environment are mainly sonars that allow wireless communication in the water and radio systems by antennas connected to the submarine that allow communication exclusively by air.

Typically, the antennas for radio signals are either directly attached to the structure of the submarine or fixed on releasable buoys of the submarine, these buoys being connected to the submarine by a communication means such as a transmission cable of data between submarine and buoy. The submarine communication system using a buoy is particularly useful if it is desired to establish communication with air entities (aircraft, ship, a microwave antenna of another submarine) while maintaining the submarine in diving.

A submarine information collection system of the previously defined type, allowing the submarine to receive information while it is underwater, is described, for example, in US Pat. No. 4,203,109. submarine to send and receive messages while still diving.

In this context, the present invention aims to provide a system allowing the submarine to reduce the risk of collision with ships 1 'surrounding.

To this end, the submarine information collection system of the invention, which moreover conforms to the generic definition given in the preamble defined above, is essentially characterized in that the electronic processing means are adapted to processing signals received by the antenna and containing position information and ship identities and retransmitting this information underwater, thereby allowing a submarine to collect position and identity information issued by ships . For the same purpose, the invention also relates to a method for collecting information for a submarine, essentially characterized in that it consists in:

- receive radio signals using an antenna connected to a buoy floating on the surface of a body of water, these radio signals containing position information (s) and identity (s) of less one ship;

- Processing the radio signals using electronic signal processing means electrically connected to said at least one antenna and retransmitting by submarine said position information (s) and ship (s) identity (s) .

The device and method of the invention thus allows a submarine to collect information on the position and identity of ships issued by these vessels, which allows a submariner to better know his environment without having to have to surface. This results in greater safety because the risk of collision with ships surrounding the submarine is reduced. The fact that the AIS (Automatic Identification System) standard requires surface vessels to issue information about them further enhances the surface safety of the navigation zones. The invention makes it possible to increase this security by making this information available to one or more submarines (s).

For example, it can be ensured that the electronic processing means are furthermore adapted to processing and retransmitting signals containing information concerning said vessels and included in the group of information of course, speed, course, turn, type of cargo, origin and destination of said vessels.

In the same direction it can be ensured that according to the method of the invention is retransmette by means of electronic processing means and underwater signals containing information about the ship (s) and included in the group of information on the route, speed, heading, turning, type of cargo, origin and destination of the said vessels. Knowing this information (transmitted in accordance with the AIS standard defined below) aboard a submarine is particularly interesting because it allows for example to quickly visualize (the time of a collection of a radio signal can be a few seconds) the roads taken by different vessels on the surface without having to observe them for a long time, it also makes it possible to know the risks potentially represented by the cargoes of the ships which makes it possible to maintain a suitable safety distance compared to these ships. Preferably, the radio signals picked up by the antenna are signals coming from a transmitter operating according to the standard of "automatic identification system" of AIS type implanted on surface ships. The characteristics of the AIS standard are described in resolution 917 (22) of the International Maritime Organization as well as in IMHA Recommendations ITU-R M.1371-1 - AISM. This AIS standard is a standard for identifying vessels within a range of up to 50 KM, particularly in areas of high maritime traffic density.

For example, it can be ensured that the system comprises electronic reception means implanted in a submarine and adapted to receive the signals transmitted by the electronic processing means and to memorize said information concerning said ships.

Preferably, it can be arranged that the system comprises listening means installed in said submarine and connected to the reception means, the listening means being adapted to provide the reception means with sound information on the environment of the receiver. submarine, the receiving means being further adapted to correlate at least some of said information retransmitted by the electronic processing means with at least some of said sound information (in this case at least the sound signature of a ship) received by listening means, the system further comprising a database for storing said correlated information. In the same sense, according to the method of the invention, it is also possible to ensure that, by means of listening means, sound information is collected on the environment of the submarine and correlated with the least some of said information retransmitted by the electronic processing means with at least some of said sound information collected by the listening means, and then stored in a database said correlated information.

Thanks to these characteristics, the system of the invention makes it possible to generate in a database a correspondence table between information received at the surface via said antenna and underwater sound information received by listening means. implanted in said submarine (these listening means being for example a sonar). Such a database is particularly useful for recognizing ships near the submarine. Indeed, each ship generates when it sails underwater noises that constitute a signature unique to this ship and which allow to recognize it. If the correlation between sound information from a ship (ie its sound signature) and its "air" signature has already been made and has already been recorded in the database, then it is possible to know the identity of said ship with a simple listening to recognize the only sound signature in the database and therefore the identity of the ship. If, on the other hand, there is no correlation memorized in the database between the sound signature of a ship received by the listening means and the identity of the vessel being listened to, then it is possible to drop a buoy to receive vessel identity information transmitted by radio signals and picked up by the antenna. Identity information .

of the ship transmitted by radio signals are then correlated with the sound information picked up by the listening means and this correlated information is then recorded in the database, thereby enriching the database with a new sound signature of the ship correlated to the identity of this ship.

Thanks to these characteristics, it is possible to have, in a submarine equipped with the system of the invention, reliable information on the identity and the position of the surface ships situated in the vicinity of the submarine without having for it to surface, which would take time would pose risks of navigation and signal on the surface the presence of the submarine.

It is also possible to ensure that the underwater transmission means comprise a wire connection extending between the buoy and said electronic reception means implanted in said submarine.

Preferably, the buoy is equipped with an automatic scavenging device or remotely controlled by the submarine and to remove the buoy from the surface of the water once the collection of radio signals made. This scuttling device makes it possible to have disposable buoys, which are released from the submarine only when the submarine wishes to identify a ship, for example to enrich its database and / or to recalibrate its position relative to the satellite positioning system. . This kind of Buoy makes it possible not to have to modify the submarine to give it a buoy recovery function after use.

It can also be ensured that the wired link is constituted by an optical fiber or by at least one copper cable such as a cable with an isolated copper pair.

Preferably the buoy is deployed by the submarine using a cable connecting buoy and submarine, this cable incorporating the wired connection of the submarine transmission means.

It can also be ensured that the underwater transmission means comprise acoustic communication means comprising an acoustic transmitter connected to the buoy and an acoustic receiver located on the submarine. The use of acoustic communication means for passing the signals and information of the buoy to the submarine. Preferably, the submarine transmission between buoy and submarine will be carried out using a wired link which has the advantage of being discrete with respect to an acoustic communication. For reasons of cost and robustness, it will preferentially use a connection by a copper cable.

Preferably the system comprises means for receiving satellite positioning signals from the buoy (for example GPS system or Galileo system), at least some of the positioning signals of the buoy being transmitted to the submarine by the submarine transmission means. This feature of the invention allows the submarine to receive both ship positioning signals and positioning signals of the buoy, the system may further include positioning calculation means embedded in the submarine and / or mounted on the buoy and adapted to determine the position of the submarine relative to the surrounding ships using both the buoy positioning signals and the positioning signals of the ships. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge clearly from the description which is given below, by way of indication and in no way limiting, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a diving submarine equipped with of the system of the invention and receiving ship information and satellite positioning information; FIG. 2 represents a schematic view of the system of the invention showing various electronic modules necessary for its implementation; Figure 3 shows a schematic sectional view of a buoy for the implementation of the system of one invention. As previously announced, the invention relates to an information collection system 1 for a submarine 2 and a method of collecting information for submarine.

FIG. 1 shows a ship 9 traveling on the surface of a body of water 14 and radionavigation satellites.

The ship 9 transmits radio-frequency signals using an AIS transceiver, these signals containing information about the ship such as its identity, course, speed, heading, gyration, the nature of its cargo. , its origin and destination. The satellites when with them also emit radio signals allowing trails by ¹ satellite navigation system such as GPS, Galileo or other.

The submarine 2 which is diving deploys a buoy 3 floating on the surface of the body of water 14, with the aid of a cable / wired connection 13. An intermediate floating body 23 is placed on the cable 13, between the buoy 3 and the submarine 2, and closer to the submarine than the buoy, so that the cable 13 is still stretched over the submarine. The mode of attaching the buoy to the submarine is similar to the method of attachment presented in the patent application FR 2,298,472, which describes in particular the unwinding of a cable reel as and when the submarine. The buoy thus receives, via a UHF receiving antenna 4 carried by the buoy 3, radio signals 5 emitted from the ship 9. The buoy also receives, via a satellite antenna 15 carried by the buoy 3, signals 24 from the satellites. The buoy has a GPS or Galileo type receiver capable of calculating the position of the buoy and thus transmit this position to the submarine by the cable 13. The system of the invention thus allows an acquisition of a buoy position and a acquisition of ephemerides GPS, Galileo or other. The submarine thus has the opportunity to recalibrate its position, using the buoy position data and receive up-to-date ephemeris from the navigation satellites. In the case where the submarine is brought to surface, the fact of having current ephemeris makes it possible to reduce the time of acquisition of the point and consequently to limit the risk of detection.

FIG. 2 shows a detailed view of the system of the invention with the buoy 3 connected to the submarine 2 by means of a cable 13.

The buoy 3 carries a VHF reception antenna 4 which can be an active antenna and carries electronic processing means 6 of the signals received by the antenna 4.

These electronic processing means 6 comprise a UHF receiver and an AIS demodulator 6a.

The buoy also carries a satellite navigation antenna 15 connected to a navigation receiver 16. A processing module 17 equipped with a microcontroller receiving the data from the UHF receiver 6a and The navigation receiver 16 is also carried by the buoy 3. This processing module 17 ensures the shaping of the signals received for submarine transmission 8 to the submarine. A signal conditioning module 18 is connected to both the processing module 17 and the wire link 13. Finally, an electric accumulator 21 is also carried by the buoy and allows the supply of the signal processing means 6, these signal processing means being of course protected in a sealed zone of the buoy.

The signals transmitted to the submarine can be in a so-called NMEA standard allowing the direct operation on board the submarine or in another proprietary format allowing the reduction of the size of the messages to be transmitted.

At the other end of the wire link 13 constituting a submarine transmission means 7 are electronic reception means 10 implanted in the submarine and having an edge interface. These means 10 make it possible to adapt the level of the received signals to make them usable in a standard format, such as by a serial link 19. The submarine also comprises listening means 11 such as a sonar for listening sound information 12 produced by the environment of the submarine. These listening means 11 are connected to the electronic means implanted in the submarine so as to: to allow the identification of a ship from its sound signature, by correspondence between this sound signature listened to and a sound signature of the previously identified ship, the latter having been stored in a database; allow the recording in a database of the sound signature 12 of a vessel listened to by the means 11 and allow the recording in this same database of a link between the sound signature of the vessel being listened to and the identity of this ship received by the antenna 4.

FIG. 3 represents a buoy of the previously described type comprising an electrically conductive and pressure-resistant buoy body 20, ensuring the positive buoyancy of the buoy and the protection of the integrated electronic elements.

The buoy also contains a source of energy such as a battery or accumulator 21 placed at a low end of the buoy to ballast and stabilize it.

In this FIG. 3, the antenna 4 is of the VHF monopole type and is arranged so as to be placed above the water plane surface 14. This antenna is mounted on the buoy body 20 so as to be in contact with each other. with the electric ground plane of the buoy formed by water (sea water).

Preferably, the satellite signal receiving antenna 15 is placed above the VHF antenna. 4 receiving signals from ships, to ensure a satisfactory clearance above the surface of the water and allow good visibility by satellites. The assembly consisting of the two antennas 4 and 15 is protected by a dielectric radome 22.

Finally, the buoy is preferably constituted by a cylindrical body of dimensions adapted to the dimensions of the ejection means available on the submarines, and will preferably have a diameter of 76 mm or 101 mm.

Claims

1) Information collection system (1) for submarine (2) comprising:

- a buoy (3); - at least one reception antenna (4) of radio signals (5) connected to said buoy (3);

- means for electronic processing of signals (6) received by said at least one antenna, these means being electrically connected to said at least one antenna (4) and comprising means for transmitting by underwater means (7) some at least less of said processed signals, characterized in that the electronic processing means (6) are adapted to process signals (5) received by the antenna and containing information on positions and identities of ships (9) and to retransmit these information by underwater means (8), thus allowing a submarine (2) to collect position and identity information transmitted by ships (9).

2) Information collection system (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the electronic processing means (6) are further adapted to process and retransmit signals containing information concerning said ships (9) and included in the group of information on route, speed, heading, turning, nature of cargo, origin and destination of said ships. 3) Information collection system (1) according to any one of claims 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises electronic reception means (10) installed in a submarine and adapted to receive the transmitted signals by the electronic processing means (6) and memorize said information concerning said vessels (9).

4) Information collection system (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises listening means (11) installed in said submarine

(2) and connected to the reception means (10), the listening means (11) being adapted to provide the electronic reception means (10) with sound information (12) on the environment of the submarine, the means reception (10) being further adapted to correlate at least some of said information retransmitted by the electronic processing means (6) with at least some of said sound information (12) received by the listening means (11), the system ( 1) further comprising a database for storing said correlated information

5) Information collection system (1) according to any one of the preceding claims combined with claim 3, characterized in that the underwater transmission means (7) comprise a wired connection (13) extending between the buoy (3) and said electronic reception means (10) installed in said submarine (2). 6) Information collection system (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the wired connection (13) is constituted by an optical fiber or by at least one copper cable such as a cable of a pair of isolated copper.

7) Information collection system (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 combined with claim 3, characterized in that the underwater transmission means (7) comprise acoustic communication means comprising an acoustic transmitter connected to the buoy (3) and an acoustic receiver installed on the submarine (2).

8) Method for collecting information for a submarine (2), characterized in that it consists of:

- receive radio signals (5) using an antenna (4) connected to a buoy (3) floating on the surface of a body of water (14), these radio signals (5) containing information position(s) and identity(s) of at least one vessel (9);

- process the radio signals (5) using electronic signal processing means (6) electrically connected to said at least one antenna (4) and retransmit said position information (s) underwater (8). ) and identity(s) of vessel(s) (9).

9) Method for collecting information according to claim 8, characterized in that it is retransmitted to using electronic processing means (6) and underwater processing (8) of signals containing information concerning said vessel(s) and included in the group of route, speed, heading information, gyration, nature of cargo, origin and destination of said vessels.

10) Method for collecting information according to any one of claims 8 or 9, characterized in that using listening means (11), sound information (12) on the environment of the submarine (2) and in that at least some of said information retransmitted by the electronic processing means (6) is correlated with at least some of said sound information (12) collected by the listening means (11), the method being further characterized in that said correlated information is stored in a database.