Patent ID: 8674853
Filing Date: 2014-03-18
Classification: B63B,G08B

Abstract:
1. A method for automatic distress alerting at sea, the method comprises: installing a plurality of sensors on a ship; installing a processor device on the ship; detecting a distress situation by the plurality of sensors; sending a distress signal to the processor device; initiating an alarm for a pre-defined time by the processor device; confirming the distress situation detected in the ship by a responsible officer; generating a distress alert package by the processor device, and wherein the generated distress alert package comprises a type of the emergency situation and an event received from the plurality of sensors installed on the ship, a situation of a distressed craft received from a global positioning system, an emergency declaration time received from the global positioning system, an international maritime organization (IMO) number or unique identification number (CALL SIGN) or maritime mobile service identity (MMSI) received from an automatic identification system, a type of a dangerous cargo received from the automatic identification system, and a satellite contact number of the distressed craft from one or more satellites; sending the distress alert package to a main transmitter device by the processor device; transmitting the distress alert package to one or more satellites in the highest orbit of an earth by the main transmitter device; transmitting the distress alert package directly to one or more satellites in the highest orbit of an earth through an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPRIB) device, when the ship is sunk, and wherein the EPIRB device is released from a package when the ship is sunk and wherein the EPIRB device comes to a water surface automatically after going under the water and the pressure on the EPIRB device is increased; transmitting the received distress alert package to a plurality of terrestrial stations by one or more satellites; informing a nearest maritime search and rescue coordination center by the plurality of terrestrial stations after receiving the distress alert package; and sending one or more rescue teams to a location based on a data provided in the distress alert package, displaying an information from electronic navigational charts (ENC) and an integrated position information from a Global Positioning System (GPS) and a plurality of navigational sensors, on an electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS) installed on the ship, and wherein the plurality of navigational sensors include Radar and automatic identification systems (AIS); displaying an alert message transmitted by a transmitter positioned on a distressed craft on an ECDIS map to indicate to the responsible officer that a distress alert package is transmitted from the ship by the transmitter devices, and wherein the ECDIS IS an electronic chart data comprising a plurality of vector charts with standardized content, structure and format, issued for use with ECDIS on the authority of government authorized hydrographic offices, and a plurality of raster charts, and wherein the plurality of raster charts are raster navigational charts produced by converting paper charts to digital image by a scanner; identifying a direction of an alert message transmitted from a distressed ship and observing a location of the distressed ship on the ECDIS device by providing the ECDIS device with a Direction finder of Very High Frequency/Medium Frequency/High Frequency (VHF/MF/HF frequencies), and wherein the direction finder further includes a radio direction finding and wherein the direction finder works by comparing the signal strength of a directional antenna pointing in different directions, and wherein the ECDIS further displays additional navigation-related information and wherein the additional navigation-related information includes sailing directions and a Fathometer reading; wherein the distress alert is removed from a transmission process when the alarm is detected to be false and the responsible officer does not confirm the distress situation and wherein a distress alert process is continued automatically and the processor device confirms the distress situation when the responsible officer neither confirms nor denies the distress situation for a pre-determined time.