# US 2019/0377348 A1 · Control system for steerable towed marine equipment > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0377348 A1 - Document ID: US20190377348A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/436,780 - Filed: 2019-06-10 - Published: 2019-12-12 - Earliest claimed: 2018-06-10 - Assignees: ION Geophysical Corporation - Applicants: ION Geophysical Corporation - Inventors: Dale J. Lambert - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190377348A1 ## CPC - G05D 1/69: Coordinated control of the position or course of two or more vehicles - B63B 21/66: Equipment specially adapted for towing underwater objects or vessels, e.g. fairings for tow-cables ({paravanes for dragging fishing nets A01K73/02; } salvaging underwater vessels or objects B63C7/00; towed underwater vessels B63G8/42) - B63B 49/00: Arrangements of nautical instruments or navigational aids (nautical measuring instruments G01C; radio navigation, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) - G01V 1/3826: {dynamic steering, e.g. by paravanes or birds} - B63B 2211/02: Oceanography - G01V 2210/1293: Sea - G01V 2210/1423: Sea - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - B63B: SHIPS OR OTHER WATERBORNE VESSELS; EQUIPMENT FOR SHIPPING (arrangements of vessel ventilation, heating, cooling, or air-conditioning B63J2/00; floating substructures as supports of dredgers or soil-shifting machines E02F9/06) - G01V: GEOPHYSICS; GRAVITATIONAL MEASUREMENTS; DETECTING MASSES OR OBJECTS; TAGS (means for indicating the location of accidentally buried, e.g. snow-buried, persons A63B29/02) ## Abstract A control system provides steering control commands to a steering actuator of a steering device on a piece of towed marine equipment. A memory in the control system stores setpoint data including positional values for a desired position of the piece of towed marine equipment. A control module is configured to receive the setpoint data, receive process data representing a calculated actual position of the piece of towed marine equipment; and calculate a control command for the steering actuator of the steering device based upon the setpoint data and the process data. A disturbance adjustment calculation module is configured to combine a disturbance value based upon a measured disturbance with a value of the process data and output a disturbance adjustment value. A correction calculator module adds the disturbance adjustment value to the control command to create an adjusted control command for transmission to the steering actuator. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control system for providing steering control commands to a steering actuator of a steering device on a piece of towed marine equipment, the control system comprising a memory storing setpoint data including positional values for a desired position of the piece of towed marine equipment; a control module configured to receive the setpoint data; receive process data representing a calculated actual position of the piece of towed marine equipment; and calculate a control command for the steering actuator of the steering device based upon the setpoint data and the process data; a disturbance adjustment calculation module configured to combine a disturbance value based upon a measured disturbance with a value of the process data and output a disturbance adjustment value, wherein the measured disturbance is different than calculated positional data or measured positional data of the piece of towed marine equipment; and a correction calculator module that adds the disturbance adjustment value to the control command to create an adjusted control command for transmission to the steering actuator. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1 further comprising a disturbance feedback adjustment calculator configured to add the disturbance adjustment value to the process data to adjust the process data for input to a feedback loop providing additional data to the controller. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1 further comprising a process data calculation module configured to invoke a first mathematical model to calculate the calculated actual position of the piece of towed marine equipment based upon geographic positional data and the adjusted control command and to output the process data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1, wherein the disturbance adjustment value is a quotient with the disturbance value in the numerator and the process data value in the denominator. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1 further comprising a disturbance data calculation module configured to receive measured disturbance information; calculate an impact of the measured disturbance information on a course of the piece of towed marine equipment by invoking a second mathematical model; and output the disturbance value representative of the impact of the disturbance information. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1 further comprising a navigation system that determines a geographic position of the towed seismic equipment based, in part, upon the process data for comparison to the setpoint data; and an error correction calculator that compares the geographic position to the setpoint data to determine errors in position of the piece of towed marine equipment and forwards any error values to the controller for consideration in calculating the control command. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1 further comprising a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver configured to provide GPS location information to the navigation system for use in determining the geographic position. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The control system of claim 1, wherein the measured disturbance comprises one or more of the following: a heading of a vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of the vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed; or a direction of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed. ### Claim 9 A method in a control system for providing steering control commands to a steering actuator of a steering device on a piece of towed marine equipment, the method comprising accessing setpoint data including positional values for a desired position of the piece of towed marine equipment stored within a memory in the control system; receiving process data representing a calculated actual position of the piece of towed marine equipment; calculating a control command for the steering actuator of the steering device based upon the setpoint data and the process data within a controller; combining a disturbance value of a measured disturbance with a value of the process data to calculate a disturbance adjustment value; adding the disturbance adjustment value to the control command create an adjusted control command; and transmitting the adjusted control command to the steering actuator. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 further comprising adding the disturbance adjustment value to the process data to adjust the process data for input to a feedback loop providing additional data to the controller. ### Claim 11 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 further comprising calculating, using a first mathematical model stored within the control system, the calculated actual position of the towed marine equipment based upon geographic positional data and the adjusted control command to derive the process data. ### Claim 12 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the disturbance adjustment value is a quotient with the disturbance value in the numerator and the process data value in the denominator. ### Claim 13 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 further comprising calculating an impact of the measured disturbance on a course of the piece of towed marine equipment by invoking a second mathematical model; and outputting the disturbance value representative of the impact of the measured disturbance information. ### Claim 14 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9 further comprising adding the disturbance adjustment value to the process data to adjust the process data for input to a feedback loop providing additional data to the controller. ### Claim 15 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the disturbance adjustment value is a quotient with the disturbance value in the numerator and the process data value in the denominator. ### Claim 16 (depends on 9) The method of claim 9, wherein the measured disturbance comprises one or more of the following: a heading of a vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of the vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed; or a direction of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed. ### Claim 17 A method in a control system for providing steering control commands to a steering actuator of a steering device on a piece of towed marine equipment, the method comprising receiving setpoint data including positional values for a desired position of the piece of towed marine equipment; receiving measured disturbance data affecting a course of the piece of towed marine equipment, wherein the disturbance data is different than calculated positional data or measured positional data of the piece of towed marine equipment; calculating an impact of the measured disturbance data on a course of the piece of towed marine equipment as compared to the setpoint data by invoking a first mathematical model; and adjusting a control command to the steering actuator of the steering device based upon the calculated impact of the measured disturbance data. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17 further comprising calculating process data values representing a calculated actual position of the piece towed marine equipment based upon an input of the control command into a second mathematical model; combining the process data values with the calculated impact of the measured disturbance data to further adjust the control command. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The method of claim 18 further comprising combining measured positional data of the piece of towed marine equipment with the process data values and the calculated impact of the measured disturbance data to further adjust the control command. ### Claim 20 (depends on 17) The method of claim 17, wherein the measured disturbance data comprises one or more of the following: a heading of a vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of the vessel towing the piece of towed marine equipment; a speed of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed; or a direction of a current affecting the vessel or the piece of towed marine equipment in a body of water in which the vessel and piece of towed marine equipment are deployed.