Abstract: A monitor and alarm system is provided for a marine vessel having a rotatable propeller drive shaft supported by one or more water-cooled bearings contained in strut barrels mounted on struts extending from the vessel hull or in stern tube assemblies. A heat sensor on the hull senses the ambient temperature of the water surrounding the vessel and one or more sensors on one or more bearings sense the temperature of the bearings. The sensed temperatures are electrically communicated via wires or wirelessly to gauges for monitoring and to a processing unit. The processing unit compares the sensed temperatures and generates a signal to an alarm device to initiate a bearing overheat warning or alarm if the differential between the bearing temperature and the ambient water temperature exceeds a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A monitor and alarm system is provided for a marine vessel having a rotatable propeller drive shaft supported by one or more water-cooled bearings contained in strut barrels mounted on struts extending from the vessel hull or in stern tube assemblies. A heat sensor on the hull senses the ambient temperature of the water surrounding the vessel and one or more sensors on one or more bearings sense the temperature of the bearings. The sensed temperatures are electrically communicated via wires or wirelessly to gauges for monitoring and to a processing unit. The processing unit compares the sensed temperatures and generates a signal to an alarm device to initiate a bearing overheat warning or alarm if the differential between the bearing temperature and the ambient water temperature exceeds a predetermined amount.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining position and rotational orientation of an object within a predetermined area is disclosed. Position markers, encoded with their identity, are viewed with a camera, images are captured and processed, and the position and rotational orientation of the object are calculated. Three embodiments are disclosed; the first having a camera mounted on the movable object while position markers bearing linear bar codes are fixed in location, the second having a camera mounted on the movable object while position markers bearing two-dimensional bar codes are fixed in location, and the third having a position marker of either type affixed to the object while the camera is fixed in location.