Marine Vessel State Display for Rental Departure Checks

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Solution Overview

Problem

In marine vessel rental businesses, staff members must visually confirm the state of vessels upon departure and return, which is time-consuming and burdensome, requiring manual documentation and communication with users.

Innovation Solution

A marine vessel management system that includes a portable terminal device for users, which receives and displays the vessel's state information via an information processing apparatus, allowing users and staff to assess the vessel's condition digitally, reducing the need for visual confirmation and manual documentation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If staff members perform visual confirmation of vessel state manually, then accurate state assessment is achieved, but operational burden and time consumption increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestate confirmation accuracyVSAvoidtime for state confirmation
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual visual inspection with an automated image recognition system using cameras and AI processing. The system captures images of the vessel, automatically analyzes them to detect damage or abnormal states, and generates reports without requiring staff to physically inspect each vessel, thereby eliminating time-consuming manual verification while maintaining accurate state assessment.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates digital copies (images) of the vessel state and processes these copies automatically through image recognition algorithms. Instead of staff directly observing and recording vessel conditions, the system captures visual data, processes it digitally, and generates automated assessments, significantly reducing the time required for state confirmation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Loss of information

If staff members manually document and communicate vessel state, then complete information recording is achieved, but operational complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation completenessVSAvoiddocumentation process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces manual documentation processes with automated systems that capture vessel images, automatically analyze them using image recognition, and generate structured reports. This eliminates the need for staff to manually write down observations and communicate with users, reducing operational complexity while ensuring complete information recording through systematic automated documentation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs self-service by automatically capturing, analyzing, and documenting vessel states without requiring staff intervention for each vessel inspection. The image recognition system independently processes images, identifies issues, and generates reports, freeing staff from repetitive documentation tasks while maintaining comprehensive information recording.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Productivity

If automated image recognition is implemented, then operational efficiency increases, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinspection efficiencyVSAvoidsystem structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements automated image recognition systems with cameras, processors, and AI algorithms to replace manual inspection processes. While this increases operational efficiency by enabling rapid automated analysis of multiple vessels, it also introduces system complexity through the integration of hardware and software components. The system automatically captures images, processes them through recognition algorithms, and generates reports without human intervention.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary layer of automated image recognition technology between the vessel inspection process and the final documentation output. This intermediary system handles the complex tasks of image capture, analysis, and report generation, allowing the overall system to achieve high productivity while managing complexity through specialized intermediate processing components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4216121A1Marine vessel management system
Publication Date: 2023.07.26 YAMAHA MOTOR CO LTD
  • EP4216121A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4216121A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4216121A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A marine vessel management system that is able to reduce the burden on a marine vessel rental business operator is provided. The marine vessel management system includes a marine vessel, an information processing apparatus, and a portable terminal device possessed by a marine vessel user. When the marine vessel is leaving a port and/or when the marine vessel is returning to the port, the portable terminal device receives information about a state of the marine vessel via the information processing apparatus, and further displays the received information about the state of the marine vessel.