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

• TITLE PROCESS FOR LOCATING A SUBMERSIBLE DEVICE
• the present invention relates to a method of locating against the loss or even vandalism of a drifting submerged fishing gear.
• the object of the present invention is therefore to provide a method for locating drifting or drifting fishing gear, thus responding to the request of the FAO, by making it possible to quickly and easily locate said gear, whatever the relief of the seabed and / or weather conditions.
• the present invention relates to a method for locating a drifting device which is remarkable in that it comprises at least the following steps:
• said submerged beacon being provided with means ensuring its rise to the surface and comprising a housing containing a transceiver of a radio signal acoustic associated with a control unit coupled at least to one time measurement unit, and a release mechanism allowing said beacon to rise to the surface in response to the reception of a radio-acoustic code and an order to said control unit,
• the location step consists of the transmission by the transmitter-receiver of the submerged beacon of a radio-acoustic signal capable of being received by a transmitter-receiver probe of the owner of the drifting machine and in the transmission by said radio-acoustic code probe enabling the release mechanism to be triggered and said beacon to be raised 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 integral with the submerged beacon followed by the rise to the surface of the latter.
• the location step can also consist of the programmed triggering of the release mechanism allowing the rise to the surface of the submerged beacon.
• the location method advantageously comprises, before the step of mooring a submerged beacon, a step of entering into the control unit the periodicity and duration of the acoustic radio signal emitted by the submerged beacon and / or date and the time of the release of at least one tracking element and / or the triggering of the release mechanism allowing the rise to the surface of the submerged beacon.
• the location method preferably comprises, together with the location step, a complementary location assistance step by virtue of one or more location assistance devices attached to the submerged beacon and / or to the element. spotting.
• the invention further relates to a submerged beacon implementing the method of locating a drifting craft according to the invention, which is remarkable in that it comprises:
• - a housing consisting of two half-shells assembled together and having an outer shape having a hydrodynamic profile not very sensitive to marine currents, said housing containing a transceiver of a radio-acoustic signal associated with a control unit coupled at least a unit of time measurement, - a rope attached at one of its ends to a mooring point for the drifting craft,
• release mechanism enclosed in a hermetic tank constituting a reserve of buoyancy and resistant to predetermined pressures, said release mechanism allowing the rise to the surface of said beacon in response to the reception of a radio-acoustic code and a order of said control unit, and
• the submerged beacon advantageously comprises at least one locating element which can be released in order to rise to the surface, while remaining connected to it.
• the submerged beacon preferably comprises one or more locating aid members attached to its housing and / or the locating element.
• the present invention relates to a method for locating a drifting fishing gear connected only to one or more buoys floating on the surface or of a fishing gear connected to a moving boat and capable of drifting following a anomaly such as partial destruction or rupture of their connection with said vessel, said fishing gear being, for example, dredges, seines, longlines or even trawls. All these types of fishing gear, at least partially submerged, will be designated in the present application by “drifting gear”.
• the method of locating a drifting craft comprises a first step consisting in the mooring of a submerged beacon at one of the ends of the drifting craft that it is subsequently desired to locate, said submerged beacon being provided with means ensuring its rise to the surface and comprising a housing containing a transceiver of a radio-acoustic signal associated with a control unit coupled to the less to a unit of measurement of time, and a release mechanism allowing the rise to the surface of said beacon in response to the reception of a radio-acoustic code and of an order from said control unit.
• Said location method comprises a second step consisting in geolocating, using for example a GPS navigation assistant (Global Positioning System in English which can be translated into French by global positioning system), the place of departure of the drifting gear, in order to allow the fisherman to limit the location area by estimating the drift of his drifting gear from the place of departure so as to direct the search for said drifting gear in the estimated direction.
• GPS navigation assistant Global Positioning System in English which can be translated into French by global positioning system
• said submerged beacon further comprises:
• a housing consisting of two half-shells assembled together and having an external shape having a hydrodynamic profile, in the general shape advantageously of an ellipsoid of revolution, allowing it to be insensitive to sea currents, said housing containing a transceiver a radio-acoustic signal and a control unit,
• release mechanism enclosed in a hermetic tank constituting a reserve of buoyancy and resistant to predetermined pressures, said release mechanism being advantageously of the electromechanical type and comprising a motor provided with a brake, integrated or not, and being able to drive in rotating or blocking a winding drum around which said rope is wound, and
• At least one energy source providing the electrical energy necessary for proper operation, in particular said release mechanism.
• the submerged beacon is associated with a device for triggering the motor such as, for example, a remote control or a switch allowing to turn the motor to bring said submerged beacon to the predetermined setpoint depth.
• This release 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 carry out a manual winding following a failure of the energy source or one of the components of the release mechanism.
• the submerged beacon is advantageously equipped with a trancanage which makes it possible to correctly distribute said rope around the winding drum.
• the control unit of the submerged beacon notably incorporates a pressure sensor and a time measurement unit.
• the control unit can also integrate 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 comprises at least one locating element which can, if necessary, 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 locating element advantageously comprises one or more localization assistance members complying with the legislation in force and being such as, for example:
• a flash lamp comprising at least one bulb arranged under a transparent protective block fixed to the top of a body containing an electronic card associated with a penumbra sensor and a pressure sensor, so that the flash lamp does not flash only when it is dark and the flashlight is out of the water, and / or
• a transmitter connected to one or more systems for monitoring, detecting and identifying vessels such as, for example, the AIS system (Automatic Identification System in English, Automatic Identification System in French), the VMS system (Vessel Monitoring System in English, Vessel Monitoring System in French) or the VDS system (Vessel Detection System in English, Vessel Detection System in French), and / or
• the submerged beacon may also include one or more locating aid members fixed to its housing and being similar to those of the releasable tracking element described above.
• This embodiment of the beacon has the advantage of no longer having to calculate the exact length of rope to be deposited between the submerged beacon and the associated drifting device, because the beacon adjusts according to its actual depth in relation to the setpoint depth thanks to the pressure sensor, the control unit, the motor of the release mechanism and its associated brake, the variation of the real depth being able to be related to the tidal range, to the current or to the accidents of the seabed which can cause drop the drifting craft, for example, at the bottom of a sea pit.
• the location method then comprises a third step consisting in locating the drifting craft using the associated submerged beacon.
• a first solution consists in switching the transceiver of the submerged beacon to transmission mode in order to emit a radio-acoustic signal, coded or not, capable of being received by a transmitter-receiver probe generally composed of of at least one transducer for the transmitting part and of a hydrophone for the receiving part, and arranged conventionally under the boat of the fisherman who owns the drifting gear, the power of said signal is then analyzed so as to communicate to the fisherman the direction and / or approximate position of the submerged beacon and the associated drifting craft.
• a transmitter-receiver probe generally composed of of at least one transducer for the transmitting part and of a hydrophone for the receiving part, and arranged conventionally under the boat of the fisherman who owns the drifting gear
• the control unit coupled to the boat's transducer commands the boat's transducer to switch to transmit mode and d 'send with its transducer a specific radio-acoustic signal of sufficient power to be received by the submerged beacon and to trigger the release mechanism allowing the latter to rise to the surface.
• the third step of the location method is such that the emission of the radio-acoustic signal emitted by the submerged beacon is advantageously not continuous but on the contrary l 'emission is periodic and limited to a predetermined duration, for example, of the order of a few minutes.
• a second solution uses a locating element integral with the submerged beacon and which can be released to allow it to rise to the surface, while remaining connected to said beacon. The release of said tracking element is advantageously programmed at a date and time predetermined by the fisherman.
• a third solution consists in programming the unit of measurement of the submerged beacon associated with the drifting craft so as to trigger, at a date and time predetermined by the fisherman, the release mechanism allowing the ascent to the surface of the vessel.
• the submerged beacon which, once on the surface, will activate, if necessary, one or more of its localization aids such as, for example, the transmitter connected to one or more monitoring and detection systems and identification of vessels and / or the flash lamp permanently attached to its housing.
• Each solution envisaged for carrying out the third step of the location method described above can be implemented alone or in conjunction with at least one of the other two solutions.
• the third step of the location method according to the invention may, for example, consist in the release and raising to the surface of a tracking element provided with a geolocation antenna and in the transmission of a signal.
• radio-acoustic by the transmitter-receiver of the submerged beacon comprising in particular the coordinates of the geolocation of the latter and being able to be received by the transmitter-receiver probe of the owner of the drifting device, the whole being followed by the ascent on the surface of said submerged beacon. It is well understood that this configuration allows a faster location of the submerged beacon and therefore of the associated drifting craft.
• the location method according to the invention is mainly used to locate drifting fishing gear.

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• 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)
• Control Of Position, Course, Altitude, Or Attitude Of Moving Bodies (AREA)
• Radar Systems Or Details Thereof (AREA)
• Position Fixing By Use Of Radio Waves (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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Citations (7)

Family Cites Families (1)

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

Patent Citations (7)

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