Patent Application
20220315195
The present invention relates to the field of ballast systems for recreational boats, and, more particularly, to a defeat resistant ballast filtration system and associated methods.
Recreational sport boats are designed for towing a person when skiing or wakeboarding, for example. These types of watersports have grown in popularity over the years and advancements have been made to increase the features of the boat. This includes increasing the size of the wake from the boat in order to launch the rider high into the air. This is visually dramatic and allows the rider to perform additional tricks while airborne.
Accordingly, the larger the wake from the boat the larger the maneuvers for the user and more desirable. The wake can be increased by displacing more water by the boat and typically is achieved using ballast tanks. The ballast tanks may be positioned at the aft of the boat and in the bow. The ballast tanks are filled with water to make the boat heavier and sit lower in the water to increase the displacement and generate a larger wake. The ballast tanks may hold over two hundred gallons of water.
The water is pumped from the body of water where the boat is floating and into the respective ballast tanks. The ballast tanks are emptied in similar fashion. While the use of ballast tanks is an efficient means to increase the wake size, the ballast tanks are also responsible for the spread of aquatic invasive species.
The spread of the aquatic invasive species has resulted in significant damage to the environment, water treatment systems and power plants, for example. Often quagga and zebra mussel veligers are found in the ballast tanks or on the intake pipes. Accordingly, roadside inspections stations have been established to check for the invasive species in boats being transported on trailers to help stop the spread.
The roadside inspection stations have been helpful to stop the spread, but at the same time are incredibly inconvenient to the recreational boaters. The lines at the inspection station may be long and take several hours to complete the inspection process. There have been attempts to prevent the contamination of the ballast tanks with invasive species using filters. This would arguably alleviate the need for an inspection of the ballast tanks altogether and allow the boat owner to bypass the inspection stations.
However, the ability to circumvent these existing filters by simply removing the filtering element has led to skepticism and the failure of widespread acceptance by governing and regulating agencies. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved filtration system that is defeat resistant and can assure governing and regulatory agencies that quagga and zebra mussel veligers have not contaminated the ballast tanks.
In a particular embodiment, a defeat resistant ballast filtration system for a recreational boat is disclosed. The system includes a pump having an inlet and an outlet, where the inlet of the pump is configured to be in fluid communication with a water source from which to pump water. The system also includes a filter having an inlet and an outlet, where the inlet of the filter is in fluid communication with the outlet of the pump and the outlet of the filter is configured to be in fluid communication with an inlet port of a ballast tank of the boat. In addition, the system includes a pressure sensor that is configured to measure an upstream pressure at the inlet of the filter and to measure a downstream pressure at the outlet of the filter to determine a pressure differential. The system includes an electronic control unit (ECU) configured to determine when the pressure differential does not meet a minimum threshold, and in response to not meeting the minimum threshold, the ECU is configured to switch power off to the pump to make it inoperable to pump the water from the water source and into the ballast tank. This prevents the system from operating in case the filter element is removed or otherwise compromised
The system may include a power source coupled to the pump and the ECU, and a manual switch coupled to the ECU and configured to operate the pump. The pump is configured to pump the water into the ballast tank at a rate of 12 to 15 gallons per minute. The filter is configured to remove particles that are slightly smaller in size than a mussel veliger from the water, and the filter comprises a filter element that is replaceable. The pump, filter, pressure sensor, and the ECU may be integrated together within a housing.
In another aspect, method to prevent defeating a ballast filtration system is disclosed. The method includes measuring an upstream pressure at an inlet of a filter with the pressure sensor when the pump is pumping water into a ballast tank of a boat. The method also includes measuring a downstream pressure at the outlet of the filter with the pressure sensor, and determining a pressure differential between the measured upstream pressure and the downstream pressure using the electronic control module. In addition, the method includes switching off the power to the pump by the ECU in response to the pressure differential exceeding a threshold. This would be an indicator of a plugged filter element.
The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring now to
In addition, the systems 100a, 100b can be used with live wells, bait wells, wash down tanks, or any other type of storage that may be filled with the surrounding water and be contaminated with invasive species. Accordingly, the illustrative example of the systems 110a, 100b with a ballast tank is to be considered exemplary and not limiting.
The system 100a is configured to be connected to a ballast tank 104a installed within the recreational boat 102 on the port side. The ballast tank 104a has an inlet port 118a that is connected to an outlet of a pump 106a. The pump 106a has an inlet that is configured to be in fluid communication with a water source 120 from which to pump water to the fill the ballast tank 104a. In this non-limiting example, the system 100b is configured to be connected to a ballast tank 104b installed on the starboard side of the boat 102. The ballast tank 104b on the starboard side includes an inlet port 118b that is connected to an outlet of a pump 106b. The ballast tanks 104a, 104b may hold approximately two hundred gallons, for example. Each of the systems 100a, 100b also include a filter 112a, 112b that is interposed between the respective ballast tank 104a, 104b and the pump 106a, 106b so that the water from the water source 120 is filtered before reaching the ballast tanks 104a, 104b. The inlet of each of the filters 112a, 112b is in fluid communication with the outlet of the respective pumps 106a, 106b and the outlets of the filters 112a, 112b are in fluid communication with the inlet ports of the respective ballast tank 104a, 104b.
Referring now to
The filter elements 128a, 128b may be configured to remove particles that are slightly smaller in size than a mussel veliger from the water. In particular, the filter elements 128a, 128b remove quagga and zebra mussel veligers from the water before it is pumped into the ballast tanks 104a, 104b. The filter elements 128a, 128b are replaceable once they become entrained with particles and no longer can efficiently fill the ballast tank in the expected time.
The pressure sensors 114a, 114b are coupled to a respective electronic control unit (ECU) 108a, 108b comprising a processor coupled to a memory as those of ordinary skill in the art can appreciate. In addition, a power source 116 is coupled to the pumps 106a, 106b and the ECUs 108a, 108b as described in more detail below with respect to
Manual switches 110a, 110b are typically located at a control station 132 for the boat 102 and coupled to the ECUs 108a, 108b. The manual switches 110a, 110b are configured to turn the pumps 106a, 106b on to begin pumping water to fill the ballast tanks 104a, 104b. The pumps 106a, 106b may be configured to pump the water into the ballast tanks 104a, 104b at a rate of 12 to 15 gallons per minute, for example.
The ECUs 108a, 108b are configured to determine when the pressure differential exceeds a threshold, and in response to exceeding the threshold, the ECUs 108a, 108b are configured to switch power off to the respective pump 106a, 106b. The pumps 106a, 106b then are inoperable to pump the water from the water source 120 to fill the ballast tanks 104a, 104b.
The threshold pressure differential is set where it is likely that a filter element 124a, 124b of either or both of the filters 112a, 112b have been removed. Accordingly, if a user removes the filter element 124a, 124b, the ballast tanks 104a, 104b cannot be filled. Thus, a user is not able to circumvent the operation of the filtering system by removing the filter elements 124a, 124b so that the system 100a, 100b is defeat resistant. The systems 100a, 100b provide assurances to the governing and regulatory agencies that a boat 102 with the systems 100a, 100b installed are not contaminated with invasive species and the water within the ballast tanks were filtered.
Referring now to
In
If the ECUs 108a, 108b determine that the pressure differential does not meet or exceeds the thresholds, then the respective ECU 108a, 108b causes the switch 130a, 130b to open and cuts the power to the pumps 106a, 106b as shown in
Accordingly, as long as the pressure differential does not exceed the threshold, the filters 112a, 112b are presumed to be working to remove any invasive species that may be in the water and thereby preventing contamination of the ballast tanks 104a, 104b.
Referring now to
The method includes determining, at 206, whether the manual switch for the pump is turned on to begin pumping water into ballast tanks. If the switch is not turned on, at 206, then the method ends. If the switch is turned on, at 206, then the method continues, at 208, measuring an upstream pressure at an inlet of the filter with a pressure sensor when the pump is pumping water into the ballast tanks of the boat. Moving to 210, the method includes measuring a downstream pressure at an outlet of the filter with the pressure sensor, and determining a pressure differential, at 212, between the measured upstream pressure and the downstream pressure using the electronic control module (ECU).
The method includes determining whether the pressure differential exceeds a threshold, at 214, and if it does, then, at 216, the method includes switching off the power to the pump by the ECU in response to the pressure differential exceeding a threshold. The method then ends, at 218. However, if the pressure differential does not exceed the threshold, at 214, indicating that the filter is operating properly, then the pump continues to pump water to fill the ballast tanks and the method repeats until the pump manual switch is turned off, or the pressure differential exceeds the threshold.
Referring now to
Once enough water has recirculated so that the ECU 108a, 108b can determine whether the pressure differential is within the pre-determined range, ballast tank filling ports of the three-ways valves 115a, 115b are opened by the respective ECU 108a, 108 so that the water can fill the ballast tanks 104a, 104b and the recirculation ports are closed. In operation, the filling ports of the three-way valves 115a, 115b are closed to the ballast tanks 104a, 104b when the water begins to be pumped and the recirculation ports of the three-way valves 115a, 115b are opened so that the water is recirculated back to the inlets of the pumps 106a, 106b on start-up.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that modifications and embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.
