APPARATUS, SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR A PORTABLE PERSONAL AIR QUALITY MONITOR

• US 20180082566A1
• Filed: 09/16/2016
• Published: 03/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nypro Incorporated (Jabil Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Jabil Circuit Incorporated (Jabil Inc.)
• Inventors: Semanoukian, Edouard, Petker, Jason
• Granted Patent: US 10,467,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0031 comprising two or more sensors, e.g. a sensor array
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/0062 concerning the measuring method or the display, e.g. intermittent measurement or digital display
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/12 responsive to undesired emission of substances, e.g. pollution alarms

Abstract

Apparatuses, systems and methods of providing a personal air quality monitor. The personal air quality monitor may include a housing suitable for physical association with a person; an air inlet capable of providing air flow from an environment outside the housing to a chamber within the housing; a plurality of sensor resident within the chamber, suitable for receiving the airflow and measuring air quality factors associated with the airflow; and a communication system suitable for processing the air quality factor measurements and communicating the processed air quality factor measurements to a user interface cognizable to the person.

Claims

1. A personal air quality monitor, comprising:

a housing suitable for physical association with a person;

an air inlet capable of providing air flow from an environment outside the housing to at least one chamber within the housing;

a plurality of sensors, including at least one particulate sensor and at least one electrochemical sensor discrete from the at least one particulate sensor, resident within the at least one chamber, suitable for receiving the airflow and measuring air quality factors associated with the airflow;

a remote monitoring system capable of monitoring at least particulate and chemical environmental features of at least one remote environment remote from the person; and

a communication system suitable for processing the air quality factor measurements and communicating the processed air quality factor measurements and the environmental features of the remote environment to a user interface cognizable to the person.

2. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the housing at least partially forms a bracelet.

3. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the physical association comprises integration with a garment.

4. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the housing is integrated with a mobile communications device.

5. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the housing is comprised of at least one selected from the group consisting of plastics, polymers, polycarbonate, rubber, metal, silicone, neoprene, and fabrics.

6. The monitor of claim 1, further comprising a second communication system suitable for remotely communicating the processed air quality factor measurements.

7. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises a display screen.

8. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises at least one light emitting diode.

9. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the user interface comprises alerts regarding the processed air quality factor measurements.

10. The monitor of claim 9, wherein at least one of the alerts refers the person to view a secondary device'"'"'s user interface.

11. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the communication system comprises at least one of hard wiring, Bluetooth, near field communication, wifi and internet of things (IoT) connectivity.

12. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the sensors comprise partially, substantially or fully miniaturized sensors.

13. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the sensors comprise at least one selected from the group consisting of printed gas sensors, substrate level sensors, MEMS and MOS sensors, temperature sensors, pressure sensors, integrated circuit sensors, electrochemical sensors, printed electrochemical sensors, humidity sensors, chemiresistive sensors, and optical sensors.

14. The monitor of claim 1, wherein at least ones of the sensors comprise noncontinuously operating sensors.

15. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a disposable housing and a power source.

16. The monitor of claim 1, wherein the processed air quality factor measurements comprise levels of at least one of CO2, particulate, pollen, UV, mold, dust, CO, NO2, SO2, O3, particle pollution PM 2.5, particle pollution PM 10, and lead.

17. A method of monitoring air quality, comprising:

providing, through an air access point, air to at least two air quality factor sensors, comprising at least a particulate sensor and a discrete electrochemical sensor, of a personal, portable air quality monitor;

reading an air quality factor indicated by each of the air quality factor sensors;

processing the data from the sensors into at least one indication of air quality;

displaying the at least one indication of air quality, and at least one indication of a remote air quality in a remote environment, to a person associated with the personal, portable air quality monitor.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising uploading the at least one indication of air quality to a remote shared site.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein said displaying and said uploading comprise a single communications system.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising making available to other persons in an environment other than the environment having the air the uploaded at least one indication of air quality of the air as the at least one indication of the remote air quality in a remote environment.