Unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy, drifting substance monitoring system, and drifting substance monitoring method
US8983780B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 11, 2010 |
| Grant date | Mar 17, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 27, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB63B2035/007
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy (10) is thrown into a water area where a drifting substance is present, thereby tracking and monitoring the drifting substance. The unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy (10) detects, by a detecting section, a relative location of the drifting substance on the water surface with respect to the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy (10), and measures, by a measuring section, directions and strengths of a wind and a tidal current. Then, the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy (10) tracks the drifting substance by adjusting, based on the relative location of the drifting substance detected by the detecting section and on the directions and the strengths of the wind and the tidal current measured by the measuring section, a surface area and a direction of a sail (13) by an adjusting section. This achieves an unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy capable of tracking a drifting substance with small energy even when not only a tidal current but also a flow caused by a wind at the sea surface is large.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.