Method and system for tracking ship engine emmissions as a function of geographical location

Abstract

The invention provides a method and system for monitoring engine emissions of a moving craft, such as a ship. The system comprises a communication receiver that is configured to receive positioning data. The system further comprises an emission monitor that is configured to sense the opacity of an engine. The system synchronizes the acquired data, and displays to a user emission and positioning data on a monitor. The system allows storage of the acquired data in a storage medium as a record for later retrieval.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A system for monitoring engine emissions of a moving craft, comprising: 
 a communication receiver configured to receive positioning data;    an emission monitor configured to sense the emissions of at least one engine;    a data analyzer configured to receive the positioning data from the communication receiver and the emission data from the emission monitor; and    a storage medium connected to the data analyzer capable of storing the data received by said data analyzer.    
     
     
         2 . The system of    claim 1   , further comprising a display monitor capable of displaying the data received by the data analyzer.  
     
     
         3 . The system of    claim 1   , wherein the emission monitor measures the light attenuated by the emissions of the engine.  
     
     
         4 . The system of    claim 1   , wherein the communication receiver is a global positioning system receiver.  
     
     
         5 . The system of    claim 4   , wherein the communication receiver provides longitudinal and latitudinal positions and GPS time to the data analyzer.  
     
     
         6 . The system of    claim 1   , wherein the data analyzer is a personal computer.  
     
     
         7 . The system of    claim 6   , wherein the data analyzer synchronizes the emission data and the positioning data as a function of time.  
     
     
         8 . The system of    claim 1   , further comprising an alarm when emission data exceeds a predetermined threshold.  
     
     
         9 . The system of    claim 8   , wherein the alarm is an audible alarm.  
     
     
         10 . The system of    claim 8   , wherein the alarm is a message alert displayed on the display monitor.  
     
     
         11 . The system of    claim 8   , wherein the data analyzer uses specified positioning data to activate the alarm.  
     
     
         12 . A method of monitoring engine emissions of a moving craft, comprising; 
 receiving positioning data from a receiver;    receiving emissions data from an emissions monitor that monitors the emissions of at least one engine;    synchronizing the positioning data and emission data as a function of time; and    storing the positioning data and emission data on a storage device.    
     
     
         13 . The method of    claim 12   , further comprising displaying the positioning data and emission data on a display screen.  
     
     
         14 . The method of    claim 12   , wherein the act of storing data includes correlating the positioning data and emission data.  
     
     
         15 . The method of    claim 12   , further comprising generating an alarm signal when emission data exceeds a predetermined threshold.  
     
     
         16 . The method of    claim 15    further comprising using the positioning data to generate the threshold level of emission data required to generate the alarm signal.  
     
     
         17 . A system for monitoring engine emissions of a moving craft, comprising; 
 means for receiving positioning data from a receiver;    means for receiving emissions data from an emissions monitor;    means for synchronizing the positioning data and emission data as a function of time; and    means for storing the positioning data and emission data on a storage device.    
     
     
         18 . The system of    claim 17   , further comprising means for of displaying the data received by the data analyzer on a display screen.  
     
     
         19 . The system of    claim 17   , further comprising means for generating an alarm signal when emission data exceeds a predetermined threshold.  
     
     
         20 . The system of    claim 17   , further comprising means for generating an alarm signal when emission data exceeds a predetermined threshold.  
     
     
         21 . The system of    claim 20   , further comprising using the positioning data to generate the threshold level of emission data required to generate the alarm signal.