Wireless terminal with gas leakage detection function, gas leakage detection system using the same, and gas leakage notification method

• US 20060114114A1
• Filed: 07/15/2005
• Published: 06/01/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Goto, Yasushi, Yokosawa, Koichi, Nakano, Sadaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,345,590 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/632
• 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 25/007 Details of data content structure of message packets; data protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence

Abstract

In a hydrogen gas station where a great number of sensors are installed, in case hydrogen leakage occurs, sensors in the vicinity of the leakage location start to transmit warning to an access point all at once. This causes channel capacity saturation and failure to transmit warning to the access point. Nodes and the access point are connected each other by an uplink channel and a downlink channel. The access point detects congested/uncongested status of the uplink channel by using a wireless transmitter module and notifies the nodes of the congested/uncongested status of the channel by means for transmitting onto the downlink channel. Meanwhile, each node controls its transmission operation, according to the hydrogen concentration level detected by its hydrogen sensor and the uplink channel congested/uncongested status notified from the access point. In this way, channel overflow due to access congestion in case of hydrogen leakage can be prevented.

Claims

1. A wireless terminal having a sensor, a microcomputer, and a wireless transceiver and provided with a transmitting function to transmit outward gas concentration detected by said sensor through said wireless transceiver, said wireless terminal including:

a transmission control unit to control a transmission process of said gas concentration through said wireless transceiver over a communication channel, according to the level of said gas concentration detected at the wireless terminal.

2. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein if said gas concentration is high, a high chance of using said communication channel is given to the wireless terminal.

3. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein said gas concentration is less than a predetermined value, said transmission is deferred.

4. The wireless terminal according to claim 1, wherein, when transmitting said gas concentration through said wireless transceiver, said wireless terminal controls the transmission process, according to the level of said gas concentration and the busy ratio of the communication channel over which the wireless terminal will transmit.

5. The wireless terminal according to claim 4, wherein if said gas concentration is high, a high chance of using said communication channel is given to the wireless terminal.

6. The wireless terminal according to claim 4, wherein, when transmitting said gas concentration through said wireless transceiver, if the busy ratio of said communication channel is high and said gas concentration is low, said wireless terminal defers the transmission or performs the transmission after waiting for a predetermined period of time.

7. The wireless terminal according to claim 4, wherein said sensor is a hydrogen sensor and said wireless terminal has a criterion pattern for transmission decision by which it determines said transmission process,

wherein said criterion pattern for transmission decision is defined by a relation between channel busy ratio R and hydrogen concentration level L and configured such that, the higher said hydrogen concentration level, preferential use of said communication channel will be allowed for up to a high value range of channel busy ratio R.

8. The wireless terminal according to claim 2, wherein said sensor is a hydrogen sensor and control is performed so that the higher the hydrogen concentration level, the shorter carrier sensing time will be.

9-19. -19. (canceled)