Multi-sense environmental monitoring device and method

• US 10,557,839 B2
• Filed: 12/13/2016
• Issued: 02/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Scientific Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Industrial Scientific Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Arunachalam, Raghu
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US15/376,823
• Publication Number:
  US 20170102369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0006 Calibrating gas analysers
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0031 comprising two or more sensors, e.g. a sensor array
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0063 using a threshold to release an alarm or displaying means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/14 Toxic gas alarms G08B21/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/16 Combustible gas alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/16 Security signalling or alarm systems, e.g. redundant systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/24 Self-calibration, e.g. compensating for environmental drift or ageing of components
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/26 by updating and storing reference thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/22 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission

Abstract

Environmental monitoring devices for detecting and warning users of unhealthy levels of a given substance are disclosed having more than one sensor for each substance to be detected. A processing unit, wirelessly coupled to the sensors in the devices can be configured to receive each of the output signals from the sensors, determine a detection signal for the substance based on the output signals, determine a gain of a majority of the sensors, and generate a calibration action responsive to the output signals deviating by a threshold amount, wherein the calibration action comprises adjusting a gain of a deviating sensor to correspond with the gain of the majority of sensors.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a plurality of monitoring devices, wherein each of the plurality of monitoring devices comprises at least one sensor configured to detect a substance and to generate an output signal indicative of a concentration of the substance in response to a detection of the substance, wherein the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices is configured to detect a same substance, wherein an amount of the substance has not been determined prior to the detection of the substance;

a processing unit, wirelessly coupled to the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices, configured to;

receive each output signal from each of the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices in response to the detection of the sub stance;

generate a detection signal for the substance indicative of the amount of the substance based on the output signals from the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices;

determine a corresponding gain of each of the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices and an overall gain of a majority of the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices based on the determined corresponding gains;

generate a calibration action responsive to any of the output signals deviating by an amount from the detection signal, wherein the calibration action comprises only adjusting a corresponding gain of a corresponding deviating sensor to correspond with the determined overall gain of the majority of the at least one sensor in each of the plurality of monitoring devices;

determine a weight of each of the at least one sensor configured to indicate a reliability of each of the at least one sensor, wherein the weight for each of the at least one sensor is determined based on at least one of a span reserve of the at least one sensor, a historic calibration performance of the at least one sensor, or a historic bump test performance of the at least one sensor; and

determine an aggregate substance concentration reading by aggregating the output signals from each of the at least one sensor biased toward output signals from sensors indicated as being more reliable based on the weight.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising, an alarm operably coupled to the processing unit, the alarm configured to be activated responsive to the detection signal deviating from a level that corresponds to a predetermined concentration of the substance.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of monitoring devices are configured to wirelessly communicate with one another.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising, a display operably coupled to the processing unit configured to display a reading for the substance in accordance with the output signals.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the reading is at least one of a maximum, a minimum, a mean, a median, or a mode of the output signals.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the reading is based on artificial intelligence (AI) logic that takes into account at least one of the output signals from the sensors, a historic sensor performance data, a span reserve of the sensors, a gain of the sensors, or a temperature.