MONITORING VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT OPERATIONS AT AN AIRPORT

• US 20090312899A1
• Filed: 06/11/2008
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Fletcher, Henry V.R. III, Mitchell, Bradley J., Roe, George M., Lim, Edwin C., Prince, Brock J.
• Granted Patent: US 8,335,608 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/33
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0104 Measuring and analyzing of parameters relative to traffic conditions

Abstract

A sensor network for monitoring vehicle operations comprises a set of wireless gateways, a plurality of wireless sensors, a plurality of wireless routers, and data processing system. The set of wireless gateways is capable of receiving emissions data from the sensor network. The plurality of wireless sensor units has sensors capable of monitoring vehicle emissions and is capable of generating the emissions data in response to monitoring the vehicle emissions. The plurality of wireless routers is capable of receiving emissions data received from the plurality of wireless sensor units and routing the emissions data received from the plurality of sensors to the set of wireless gateways. The data processing system is capable of receiving the operations data from the set of wireless gateways and capable of processing the operations data. The operations data may include data related to emissions from the vehicle or equipment.

Claims

1. A sensor network for monitoring vehicle emissions, the sensor network comprising:

a set of wireless gateways capable of receiving emissions data from within the sensor network;

a plurality of wireless sensor units having sensors capable of monitoring vehicle emissions and capable of generating the emissions data in response to monitoring the vehicle emissions;

a plurality of wireless routers capable of receiving emissions data from the plurality of wireless sensor units and routing the emissions data received from the plurality of sensors to the set of wireless gateways; and

a data processing system capable of receiving the emissions data from the set of wireless gateways and capable of processing the emissions data.

2. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein the data processing system is capable of processing the emissions data comprises at least one of exhaust pipe temperature, gas concentrations, ambient air temperature, and electrical current.

3. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein the emissions data further comprises at least one of a time stamp and a position of a vehicle.

4. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein a wireless sensor unit in the plurality of wireless sensor units comprises:

a set of sensors capable of measuring a set of physical quantities to form measurements and generating emissions data from the measurements;

a wireless transmitter capable of transmitting the emissions data;

a processor unit, capable of receiving the emissions data measured by the set of sensors and sending the emissions data to a wireless router in the set of wireless routers; and

a power source capable of providing power to the set of sensors, the wireless transmitter, and the processor unit.

5. The sensor network of claim 4, wherein the sensor unit further comprises:

a device capable of identifying a location of the wireless sensor unit and generating location information for inclusion in the emissions data.

6. The sensor network of claim 4, wherein the power source comprises at least one of a battery and an energy harvesting unit.

7. The sensor network of claim 6, wherein the energy harvesting unit is a solar cell.

8. The sensor network of claim 4, wherein the set of sensors comprises at least one of an electrical current sensor, a motion sensor, a vibration sensor, a thermistor, a thermocouple, an oxygen sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, and a nitrogen oxide sensor.

9. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of routers is located on top of a set of buildings in a facility in which the vehicles are operated.

10. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of routers is located at a set of refueling stations in a facility in which the vehicles are operated.

11. The sensor network of claim 1, wherein the plurality of vehicles comprises at least one of a fire truck, a shuttle bus, a fuel truck, a de-icing vehicle, a pushback tug, a catering vehicle, a cargo transportation vehicle, a ground power cart, a baggage loader, a work light, a fan, a pump, and a mobile air conditioning vehicle.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a set of wireless gateways capable of routing operations data to a data processing system;

a plurality of wireless sensor units capable of being attached to a plurality of fuel operated equipment, wherein the plurality of wireless sensor units have sensors capable of monitoring operations of the plurality of fuel operated equipment and generate the operations data in response to monitoring the operations of the plurality of fuel operated equipment; and

a plurality of wireless routers capable of receiving operations data from the plurality of wireless sensor units and routing the operations data received from the plurality of sensors to the set of wireless gateways.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

a data processing system capable of receiving the operations data from the set of wireless gateways and capable of processing the operations data.

14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a wireless sensor unit in the plurality of wireless sensor units comprises:

a set of sensors capable of measuring a set of physical quantities to form measurements and generating operations data from the measurements;

a wireless transmitter capable of transmitting the operations data;

a processor unit, capable of receiving the operations data measured by the set of sensors and sending the operations data to a wireless router in the set of wireless routers; and

a power source capable of providing power to the set of sensors, the wireless transmitter, and the processor unit.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the power source comprises an energy harvester and a rechargeable battery capable of providing power to the set of sensors, the wireless transmitter, and the processor unit.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the energy harvesting unit is a solar cell.

17. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the data processing system identifies emissions generated by the plurality of fuel operated equipment from the operations data.

18. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising:

the plurality of fuel operated equipment.

19. A method for monitoring operations for a plurality of vehicles at a facility, the method comprising:

monitoring the operations for the plurality of vehicles at the facility in real time using a plurality of wireless sensor units attached to the plurality of vehicles to generate operations data for the plurality of vehicles;

transmitting operations data for the plurality of vehicles from the plurality of wireless sensor units to a plurality of wireless routers located within the facility;

routing the operations data through the plurality of wireless routers to a wireless gateway; and

sending the operations data from the wireless gateway to a data processing system for processing.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

processing the operations data received by the data processing system to identify emission levels for the plurality of vehicles.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

storing the operations data received by the data processing system to form stored operations data; and

analyzing the stored operations data for the plurality of vehicles for a selected period of time to identify emissions generated by the plurality of vehicles during the period of time.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

analyzing the emissions and operations of the plurality of vehicles corresponding to the emissions during the period of time to form an analysis.

23. The method of claim 22 further comprising:

identifying changes to operations for the plurality of vehicles to reduce the emissions generated by the plurality of vehicles.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising:

analyzing the stored data over a period of time to identify changes in emission levels as a result of changes to the operations made within the period of time.