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US 2008/0289558 A1Published application
Lasar Scanning for Mooring Robot
AssigneeCavotec MSL Holdings Limited
InventorPeter James Montgomery
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A profile scanner for locating a target zone on a profile of a vessel comprising an emitter adapted to progressively or instantaneously radiate towards the vessel; a receiver providing a signal indicative of radiation incident thereon; a controller or processor including stored instructions, for energising the emitter and receiving the signal, and adapted to determine the vertical location of the target zone relative to scanner.
Claims17
1:
- A profile scanner for locating a target zone on a profile of a vessel comprising:
- an emitter adapted to progressively or instantaneously radiate towards said vessel;
- a receiver providing a signal indicative of radiation incident thereon;
- a controller or processor including stored instructions, for energising said emitter and receiving said signal, and adapted to determine the vertical location of said target zone relative to scanner.
1 more element
2:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 wherein an associated mooring robot or other vessel anchoring systems are located according to said target zone.
3:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 2 wherein said mooring robot includes an attachment pad adapted to engage to said target zone.
4:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said emitter is a laser.
5:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said controller receives said signal and converts the polar coordinate data contained therein to rectangular coordinates.
6:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 5 wherein said rectangular coordinates comprise a cross sectional profile.
7:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 6 wherein said controller differentiates said rectangular coordinates to determine a derivative profile.
8:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 7 wherein said edges are defined as any portion of said derivative profile over a predetermined threshold.
9:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 8 wherein said target zone is between the uppermost edge and any significant intermediate edge.
10:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 8 wherein said target zone is a predetermined distance from said intermediate edge.
11:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 wherein said scanner updates said target zone location periodically.
12:
- The profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 wherein any one or more selected from the following are also determined from said signal:
- gunwale,
- rubbing strake, and
- tide level.
1 more element
13:
- The mooring robot mounted to a mooring facility, for mooring a floating vessel adjacent said mooring facility, said mooring robot including;
- a suction pad to locate onto the side of said floating vessel,
- actuators to move said suction pad relative to said mooring facility,
- a profile scanner as claimed in claim 1 to control said actuators to effect at least a controlled vertical positioning of said suction pad.
1 more element
14:
- The mooring facility for floating vessels, which includes at least one mooring robot as claimed in claim 13.
15:
- The method of mooring a floating vessel adjacent a mooring facility of a kind as claimed in claim 14 comprising
- operating the profile scanner to scan the hull of a vessel
- allowing any adjustment in the vertical position of said suction pad in response to the profile scanner
- engaging the suction pad to the hull of said vessel
- sucking the suction pad to the hull of said vessel.
2 more elements
16:
- The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein prior to the sucking of said suction pad, the profile scanner also scans the surface of water adjacent said mooring facility to determine the sea state, wherein the sucking of said suction pad is to a minimum suction pressure correlative to the sea state.
17:
- The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein prior to engaging said pad to said hull, the profile scanner also scans the surface of water of a tidal body of water adjacent the mooring facility, to allow determination of the state of the tide of said tidal body of water, wherein the vertical positioning of said suction pad is dependent on the state of the tide.