The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Feb. 09, 2016
Filed:
Aug. 06, 2014
Medallion Instrumentation Systems, Llc, Spring Lake, MI (US);
Richard P. Bertalan, Norton Shores, MI (US);
Scott Douglas Frye, Muskegon, MI (US);
Medallion Instrumentation Systems, LLC, Spring Lake, MI (US);
Abstract
A ballast system and method use a situational adaptive approach to measure, control and monitor the level of liquid in an onboard ballast tank. A baseline level of liquid in the tank, established while the watercraft is static, is stored in memory associated with a controller. While the watercraft is moving, the controller monitors pump conditions, e.g., run time, flow, vacuum, etc., and extrapolates the amount of water added to or drained from the tank. The baseline level and extrapolated added/drained amount are added to accurately determine the true liquid level in the tank. That information is displayed to the watercraft operator. The system can automatically adjust watercraft attitude by adding/draining water from the ballast tank based on preset values to provide a desired wake. The system can display ballast levels in volume, percentage of full, and weight; and can provide estimated times to achieve preset levels, empty or full.