System for reducing disaster damage

• US 6,266,579 B1
• Filed: 02/12/1998
• Issued: 07/24/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seismotech IP Holdings Incorporated, Seismotech Safety Systems, Inc., Smart Disaster Response Technologies, Inc., Smart Disaster Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Mohammad Reza Baraty
• Inventors: Baraty, Mohammad Reza
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gain, Jr., Edward F.
• Application Number:
  US09/022,667
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 700/292, 700/275, 700/293, 340/628, 340/690
• US Class Current: 700/275
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/10 responsive to calamitous events, e.g. tornados or earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H02H 5/00 Emergency protective circuit arrangements for automatic disconnection directly responsive to an undesired change from normal non-electric working conditions with or without subsequent reconnection using simulators of the apparatus being protected H02H6/00; specially adapted for specific types of electric machines or apparatus or for sectionalised protection of cable or line systems H02H7/00

Abstract

A system monitors and controls external utilities interacting with a site to mitigate hazards during disaster or other emergency situations. Upon the occurrence of a disaster or other emergency event, the system disconnects the external utilities from the site to drive the site into a simplified safe state. With the site thus stabilized, the system then carefully attempts to reconnect any utility that does not threaten the site.

Claims

1. A system for affecting the interaction of a set of member utilities interacting with the environment of a site, each member of the set of utilities being created externally from the site and being conducted into the site through an input port having at least one access state wherein the input port facilitates access to the site and at least one restriction state wherein the input port restricts access to the site and being conducted out of the site through an output port having at least one egress state wherein the output port facilitates egress from the site and at least one restriction state wherein the output port restricts egress from the site, the system comprising:

(i) means for generating a first fault signal in response to a condition that threatens to degrade the environment of the site, wherein the means for generating the first fault signal includes;

(a) means for detecting whether each member of the set of utilities, as measured at its input port, is faulty,

(b) means for detecting whether each member of the set of utilities, as measured at its output port, is faulty, and

(c) means for detecting whether each member of the set of utilities, as measured within the site, is faulty;

(ii) means for ensuring that the input port for each member of the set of utilities is in a predetermined safe state in response to the first fault signal, the safe state being either an access state or a restriction state; and

(iii) means for selectively restoring the input port for certain members of the set of utilities to predetermined operating states in response to a change in the first fault signal, the operating state being either an access state or a restriction state.

2. A system as in claim 1 wherein a member of the set of utilities is designated faulty if said member has one or more of the following characteristics:

(1) it exists in the wrong quantity; and

(2) it is of a wrong quality.

3. A system as in claim 2 further comprising means for receiving at predetermined intervals:

(a) the results of the input port detection means,

(b) the results of the output port detection means, and

(c) the results of the within-site detection means, whereby a measurement dataset is formed from the detection results for each member of the set of utilities and the time the results were received.

4. A system as in claim 3, further comprising means for recording each measurement dataset to form a measurement dataset history database.

5. A system as in claim 4, further comprising an expert rules database correlating measurement dataset histories to preferred access states or restriction states for the input port of each member of the set of utilities and preferred egress states or restriction states for the output port of each member of the set of utilities.

6. A system as in claim 5, wherein the means for generating the first fault signal includes means for comparing the measurement dataset history database to the expert rules database to determine the preferred access state or restriction state for the input port of each member of the set of utilities and the preferred egress state or restriction state for the output port of each member of the set of utilities.

7. A system as in claim 6, further comprising means for recording at predetermined intervals the first fault signal whereby a signal dataset history database is formed.

8. A system as in claim 7, wherein the expert rules database further correlates signal dataset histories to preferred access states or restriction states for the input port of each member of the set of utilities and preferred egress states or restriction states for the output port of each member of the set of utilities.

9. A system as in claim 8, wherein the means for generating the first fault signal also compares the signal dataset history database to the expert rules database.

10. A system as in claim 9, further comprising a set of sensors for generating a set of signals in response to a set of conditions that threaten to degrade the environment of the site.

11. A system as in claim 10, further comprising means for recording at predetermined intervals the set of signals from the set of sensors, whereby an environment dataset history database is formed.

12. A system as in claim 11, wherein the expert rules database further correlates environment dataset histories to preferred access states or restriction states for the input port of each member of the set of utilities and preferred egress states or restriction states for the output port of each member of the set of utilities.

13. A system as in claim 12, wherein the means for generating the first fault signal also compares the environment dataset history database to the expert rules database.

14. A system as in claim 13, further comprising means for combating a threat to the environment of the site, the combating means having at least one operating state and at least one standby state, the current state being determined in response to a third signal.

15. A system as in claim 14, wherein the expert rules database correlates measurement dataset histories, signal dataset histories, and environment dataset histories to preferred operating states and standby states for the combating means.

16. A system as in claim 15, further comprising means for generating the third signal by comparing the measurement dataset history database, signal dataset history database, and environment dataset history database to the expert rules database.

17. A system as in claim 16, further comprising means for recording at predetermined intervals the third signal, whereby a combating means dataset history database is formed.

18. A system as in claim 17, wherein the expert rules database further correlates combating means dataset histories to preferred access states or restriction states for the input port of each member of the set of utilities, preferred egress states or restriction states for the output port of each member of the set of utilities and preferred operating states and standby states for the combating means.

19. A system for affecting the interaction of a set of member utilities interacting with the environment of a site, each member of the set of utilities being created externally from the site and being conducted into the site through an input port having at least one access state wherein the input port facilitates access to the site and at least one restriction state wherein the input port restricts access to the site and being conducted out of the site through an output port having at least one egress state wherein the output port facilitates egress from the site and at least one restriction state wherein the output port restricts egress from the site, the system comprising:

(i) means for generating a first fault signal in response to a condition that threatens to degrade the environment of the site,

(ii) means for ensuring that the input port for each member of the set of utilities is in a predetermined safe state in response to the first fault signal, the safe state being either an access state or a restriction state; and

(iii) means for selectively restoring the input port for certain members of the set of utilities to predetermined operating states in response to a change in the first fault signal, the operating state being either an access state or a restriction state, wherein the restoring means sequentially restores the input port for each member of the set of utilities to a predetermined operating state, and wherein the input port for an emergency water utility is the first port operated on by the restoring means.

20. A system as in claim 19, wherein the input port for a main water utility is operated on by the restoring means after the input port for the emergency water utility.

21. A system as in claim 20, wherein the input port for a gas utility is operated on by the restoring means after the input port for the main water utility.

22. A system as in claim 21, wherein the input port for a electrical utility is operated on by the restoring means after the input port for the gas utility.

23. A system as in claim 21, further including:

(a) means for generating a third fault signal in response to a condition under which the input port of a first designated member of the set of utilities should not be restored to its predetermined operating state; and

(b) means responsive to the third fault signal for pre-empting the restoring means from restoring the input port of the first designated member of the set of utilities to its predetermined operating state.

24. A system as in claim 21, further including:

(a) means for generating a fourth fault signal in response to a fault condition in a second designated member of the set of utilities; and

(b) means responsive to the fourth fault signal for forcing the input port of the second designated member of the set of utilities into its predetermined safe state.