Worker safety system

• US 10,568,019 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2017
• Issued: 02/18/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Industrial Scientific Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Industrial Scientific Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Crouthamel, L. Robert, Arunachalam, Raghu, Haas, Benjamin, Xin, Henry, McCracken, Lisa, Jubeck, Scott
• Primary Examiner(s): Truong, Lan-Huong
• Application Number:
  US15/491,311
• Publication Number:
  US 20170303187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,035 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10297 arrangements for handling protocols designed for non-contact record carriers such as RFIDs NFCs, e.g. ISO/IEC 14443 and 18092 cryptographic protocols H04L9/00; network security protocols H04L63/00; real-time communication protocols in data switching networks H04L65/00; network protocols for data switching network services H04L67/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/713 using frequency hopping
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/20 Master-slave selection or change arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A network for connecting a plurality of network nodes includes a leader node and a plurality of follower nodes. The leader node transmits a sync message to the plurality of follower nodes indicating a beginning of a network interval, wherein the leader node and the plurality of follower nodes transmit information during a transmission period and do not transmit information during a sleep period of the network interval, and wherein during a predetermined time of the transmission period of the network interval each of the follower nodes that received the sync message transmit a message advertising one or more properties of the leader node. The network nodes are environmental sensing devices that are part of a worker safety system.

Claims

1. A wireless mesh network for connecting a plurality of network nodes comprising:

a plurality of nodes comprising a single leader node, wherein the plurality of nodes are adapted to communicate with one another to determine the single leader node of the plurality of nodes within communication range and a plurality of follower nodes, wherein the single leader node transmits a sync message to the plurality of follower nodes indicating a beginning of a network interval, wherein the single leader node and the plurality of follower nodes transmit information during a transmission period and do not transmit information during a sleep period of the network interval, and wherein during a predetermined time of the transmission period of the network interval each of the plurality of follower nodes that received the sync message transmit a message advertising one or more properties of the single leader node;

a communications facility configured to;

transmit data from at least one of the plurality of nodes to a remote computer configured to monitor for a hazardous condition reported by any of the plurality of nodes; and

the communications facility further configured to receive an instruction from the remote computer to be propagated during a portion of the transmission period of the wireless mesh network.

2. The wireless mesh network of claim 1 wherein the single leader node is a gas sensor.

3. The wireless mesh network of claim 1 wherein the single leader node and plurality of follower nodes use less power in the sleep period than the transmission period, the plurality of follower nodes each comprising a timer, the timer adapted to time the transmission period and the sleep period of a plurality of future network intervals in an absence of continued receipt of the sync message from the single leader node during the plurality of future network intervals.

4. The wireless mesh network of claim 1 wherein when the plurality of follower nodes transmit the message advertising the one or more properties of the single leader node, the message is transmitted with a single hop such that a node receiving the message does not retransmit the message.

5. The wireless mesh network of claim 1 wherein the plurality of network nodes are environmental sensing devices.

6. The wireless mesh network of claim 5 wherein the information is assigned by reading a near field communication tag.

7. The wireless mesh network of claim 5 wherein the information relates to a concentration of gas.

8. The wireless mesh network of claim 5 wherein the information relates to an environmental attribute.

9. The wireless mesh network of claim 5 wherein the one or more properties is assigned by reading a near field communication tag.

10. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the instruction is a request to check a safety of a user of at least one of the plurality of nodes.

11. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the instruction is an evacuation instruction.

12. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the instruction is a risk mitigation instruction.

13. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the remote computer is further configured to display a location of the plurality of nodes in a map of a work area.

14. The wireless mesh network of claim 13, wherein the remote computer transmits the map for display on any of the plurality of nodes.

15. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the data is a sensed gas data.

16. The wireless mesh network of claim 15, wherein the hazardous condition is based on the sensed gas data exceeding a threshold.

17. The wireless mesh network of claim 15, wherein the remote computer is further configured to display the sensed gas data in a map of a work area.

18. The wireless mesh network of claim 17, wherein a size of a representation of the sensed gas data is proportional to a gas level.

19. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the remote computer is further configured to request an emergency response at a location of the at least one of the plurality of nodes.

20. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is activation of a panic button.

21. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is sensed data from an accelerometer.

22. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is sensed data from a thermometer.

23. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is sensed data from a particulate sensor.

24. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is sensed data from a biometric sensor.

25. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the information is sensed data from a GPS or location-sensing technology.

26. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of nodes are an IP68 water resistant standard or higher.

27. The wireless mesh network of claim 1, wherein the transmission period is divided into a plurality of sections, during which the plurality of nodes choose a turn to transmit messages to reduce a probability of collisions.

28. The wireless mesh network of claim 27, wherein messages of highest priority are transmitted first in the plurality of sections of the transmission period.

29. The wireless mesh network of claim 28, wherein all other messages are transmitted in a subsequent section of the plurality of sections of the transmission period, after the highest priority messages are transmitted.

30. The wireless mesh network of claim 27, wherein at least one of the plurality of sections of the transmission period is left to allow all messages to propagate the wireless mesh network.

31. A method of operating a wireless mesh network comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of nodes wherein each node is operable to perform as a leader node or a follower node, wherein only one node performs to identify itself as the leader node with respect to the other nodes within communication range and one or more other nodes operate as follower nodes;

wherein the leader node transmits a sync message to the follower nodes indicating a beginning of a network interval, wherein the leader node and the follower nodes transmit information during a transmission period and do not transmit information during a sleep period of the network interval, and wherein during a predetermined time of the transmission period of the network interval, follower nodes that received the sync message transmit a message advertising one or more properties of the leader node

transmitting data, using a communications facility, from at least one of the plurality of nodes to a remote computer configured to monitor for a hazardous condition reported by any of the plurality of nodes; and

receiving, by the communications facility, an instruction from the remote computer to be propagated during a portion of the transmission period of the wireless mesh network.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the leader node is a gas sensor.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the leader node and plurality of follower nodes use less power in the sleep period than the transmission period, the follower nodes each comprising a timer, the timer adapted to time the transmission period and the sleep period of a plurality of future network intervals in an absence of continued receipt of the sync message from the leader node during the plurality of future network intervals.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein when the follower nodes transmit the message advertising the one or more properties of the leader node, the message is transmitted with a single hop such that a node receiving the message does not retransmit the message.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein the transmission period is divided into sections, during which the plurality of nodes choose a turn to transmit information to reduce a probability of collisions.

36. A wireless mesh network for connecting a plurality of network nodes comprising:

a plurality of nodes, wherein the plurality of nodes are adapted to communicate with one another to determine a single leader node of the plurality of nodes within communication range and a plurality of follower nodes, wherein the single leader node transmits a sync message to the plurality of follower nodes indicating a beginning of a network interval, wherein the plurality of follower nodes transmit information during a transmission period and do not transmit information during a sleep period of the network interval, and wherein during a predetermined time of the transmission period of the network interval each of the plurality of follower nodes that received the sync message transmit a message advertising one or more properties of the single leader node; and

wherein during the transmission period, the single leader nodes listens for information advertising one or more properties of another leader node leader node, wherein when the single leader node receives information advertising one or more properties of another leader node, the single leader node ceases performing as a leader node and is adapted to begin a sequence to join the other leader node as a follower node

a communications facility configured to;

transmit data from at least one of the plurality of nodes to a remote computer configured to monitor for a hazardous condition reported by any of the plurality of nodes;

the communications facility further configured to receive an instruction from the remote computer to be propagated during a portion of the transmission period of the wireless mesh network.

37. The wireless mesh network of claim 36 wherein the leader node and plurality of follower nodes use less power in the sleep period than the transmission period, the plurality of follower nodes each comprising a timer, the timer adapted to time the transmission period and sleep period of a plurality of future network intervals in an absence of continued receipt of the sync message from the leader node during the plurality of future network intervals.

38. The wireless mesh network of claim 36, wherein the transmission period is divided into sections, during which the plurality of nodes choose a turn to transmit information to reduce a probability of collisions.