UNSAFE WORK CONDITION TEMPERATURE ALERTS IN PORTABLE GAS DETECTORS

• US 20170154509A1
• Filed: 11/30/2016
• Published: 06/01/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Corrigan, Christopher, Prabhakar, Dileepa, Shankarananda, Pronitha, Hartel, Joel Andrew, Ivankovich, Dominic A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,074,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/005 Circuits arrangements for indicating a predetermined temperature fire detection G08B17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0075 for multiple spatially distributed sensors, e.g. for environmental monitoring transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/06 Electric actuation of the alarm, e.g. using a thermally-operated switch
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/16 Combustible gas alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence

Abstract

A gas detector includes environmental condition detection circuitry that includes one or more sensors, data processing circuitry, and wireless communication circuitry. The gas detector is configured to be carried by a user. The environmental condition detection circuitry detects the presence or lack of presence of a particular gas in a vicinity of the gas detector and further detects a temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector and communicates detection data to the data processing circuitry. In response to detection of a hazardous temperature condition, the data processing circuitry of the gas detector provides an alert notification to the user carrying the gas detector. Also disclosed is an alert system including multiple gas detectors in which a first gas detector communicates an alert to a second gas detector via wireless communication, and in response, the second gas detector transmits the alert to another gas detector or device via wireless communication.

Claims

1. A gas detector, comprising:

environmental condition detection circuitry that includes one or more sensors that detect the presence or lack of presence of a particular gas in a vicinity of the gas detector;

data processing circuitry; and

wireless communication circuitry,

wherein the gas detector is configured to be carried by a user,

wherein the environmental condition detection circuitry further includes a one or more sensors that detect a temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector and communicates temperature detection data to the data processing circuitry, and

wherein, in response to detection of a hazardous temperature condition, the data processing circuitry of the gas detector provides an alert notification to the user carrying the gas detector.

2. The gas detector of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature sensors is a biometric sensor configured to detect a body temperature of the user carrying the gas detector.

3. The gas detector of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more temperature sensors detects an ambient temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector.

4. The gas detector of claim 1, wherein the data processing circuitry detects a hazardous temperature condition when at least one of a body temperature of the user carrying the gas detector or an ambient temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector is beyond an upper and/or lower temperature limit.

5. The gas detector of claim 4, wherein the data processing circuitry detects a hazardous temperature condition when at least one of a body temperature of the user carrying the gas detector or an ambient temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector is beyond the upper and/or lower temperature limit for a period of time beyond a time limit.

6. The gas detector of claim 5, wherein the time limit varies depending on a magnitude of at least one of the detected body temperature of the user or the ambient temperature.

7. The gas detector of claim 5, wherein a sensory output of the alert notification provided to the user varies depending on an amount of time beyond the time limit in which the detected body temperature of the user or the ambient temperature is beyond the upper and/or lower temperature limit.

8. The gas detector of claim 5, wherein the environmental condition detection circuitry further includes one or more humidity sensors that detect a humidity in the vicinity of the gas detector, and wherein the time limit varies depending on a magnitude of the detected humidity.

9. The gas detector of claim 4, wherein the upper and/or lower temperature limit for the user'"'"'s body temperature is different than the upper and/or lower temperature limit for the ambient temperature.

10. The gas detector of claim 4, wherein a sensory output of the alert notification provided to the user varies depending on an amount of temperature by which the detected body temperature of the user or the ambient temperature is beyond the upper and/or lower temperature limit.

11. The gas detector of claim 4, wherein the environmental condition detection circuitry further includes one or more humidity sensors that detect a humidity in the vicinity of the gas detector, and wherein upper and/or lower temperature limit varies depending on a magnitude of the detected humidity.

12. An alert system, comprising:

a first gas detector according to claim 1, wherein the first gas detector is configured to be carried by a first user; and

a second gas detector according to claim 1, wherein the second gas detector is configured to be carried by a second user,

wherein, in response to detection of a hazardous temperature condition by the first gas detector, the data processing circuitry of the first gas detector provides an alert notification to the first user and communicates the alert to the second gas detector via the wireless communication circuitry of the first gas detector, and

wherein, in response to receipt of an alert from the first gas detector, the data processing circuitry of the second gas detector transmits the alert to another gas detector or device via the wireless communication circuitry of the second gas detector.

13. The alert system of claim 12, wherein, in response to detection of a hazardous temperature condition by the second gas detector, the data processing circuitry of the second gas detector provides an alert notification to the second user and communicates the alert to the first gas detector via the wireless communication circuitry of the second gas detector, and

wherein, in response to receipt of an alert from the second gas detector, the data processing circuitry of the first gas detector transmits the alert to another gas detector or device via the wireless communication circuitry of the first gas detector.

14. The alert system of claim 12, wherein the first gas detector broadcasts the alert in an ad hoc communication to the second gas detector without knowing that the second gas detector is in transmission range of the first gas detector.

15. The alert system of claim 12, wherein the first and second gas detectors communicate in a self-forming network that forms as the first and second gas detectors are carried within transmission range of each other.

16. The alert system of claim 12, wherein the second gas detector is a master device that is paired with the first gas detector and with additional gas detectors that each have environmental condition detection circuitry, data processing circuitry, and wireless communication circuitry according to claim 1, and are capable of providing an alert notification to users carrying the additional gas detectors.

17. The alert system of claim 12, wherein when communicating the alert to the second gas detector, the data processing circuitry of the first gas detector includes an indicator of a number of hops or levels of transmission of the alert with the communication, and

wherein, before transmitting the alert to another gas detector or device, the data processing circuitry of the second gas detector increments the indicator of the number of hops or levels of transmission of the alert and includes the incremented indicator with the transmission to the another gas detector or device.

18. The alert system of claim 17, further comprising additional gas detectors or devices that receive the alert from the first gas detector or the second gas detector with an indicator of the number of hops or levels of transmission of the alert, wherein each of the additional gas detectors or devices increments the indicator received with the respective alert before transmitting the alert to yet another gas detector or device.

19. The alert system of claim 18, wherein, in response to receipt of an alert, the data processing circuitry of the second gas detector and/or the additional gas detectors or devices determine whether to provide an alert notification to a user and/or transmit the alert to yet another gas detector or device based on at least one of a determined proximity to a gas detector or device that transmitted the alert, a determined duration of time from when a gas detector or device transmitted the alert, a determined severity of the hazardous environmental condition indicated by the received alert, or the indicator of the number of hops or levels of transmission of the received alert.

20. A method of communicating an alert in a network of gas detectors in wireless transmission range of one another, each gas detector being configured to be carried by a user and including environmental condition detection circuitry, data processing circuitry, and wireless communication circuitry, the method comprising, for each gas detector:

detecting an environmental condition in a vicinity of the respective gas detector, wherein the environmental condition includes a temperature in the vicinity of the gas detector;

communicating detection data based on the detected temperature to the data processing circuitry of the respective gas detector;

in response to detection of a hazardous temperature condition by a first gas detector, providing an alert notification to the user carrying the first gas detector and communicating the alert to one or more second gas detectors via the wireless communication circuitry of the first gas detector, and

in response to receipt of an alert from the first gas detector, transmitting the alert to yet another gas detector or device via the wireless communication circuitry of the respective second gas detector.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising including an indicator of a number of hops or levels of transmission of the alert when communicating the alert to the one or more second gas detectors, and

before transmitting the alert from the one or more second gas detectors to yet another gas detector or device, further incrementing the indicator of the number of hops or levels of transmission and including the further incremented indicator with the transmission.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising determining a sensory output of the alert notification based on at least one of a determined proximity to the gas detector or device that transmitted the alert, a determined duration of time from when a gas detector or device transmitted the alert, a determined severity of the hazardous temperature condition indicated by the received alert, or the indicator of the number of hops or levels of transmission of the received alert.