Automatic wireless data reporting system and method

• US 6,317,639 B1
• Filed: 06/08/1999
• Issued: 11/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Magee Scientific Corporation
• Original Assignee: Magee Scientific Corporation
• Inventors: Hansen, Anthony D. A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Grant, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bahta, Kidest
• Application Number:
  US09/328,054
• Time in Patent Office: 889 Days
• Field of Search: 700/3, 700/4, 700/9, 700/23, 700/90, 700/106, 700/275, 700/17, 700/15, 700/83, 340/853, 340/825.06, 731/522.9, 738/616.3, 702/1, 702/3, 702/6
• US Class Current: 700/83
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/02 Measuring two or more variables by means not covered by a single other subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]

Abstract

Instrumentation systems and methods for monitoring an environmental condition at a location are disclosed. Embodiments of the invention include wireless communication elements which can transmit pictorial image data from a location being monitored to a server computer. Persons at one or more client computers can view a pictorial image generated from the pictorial image data from any suitable location at any suitable time.

Claims

1. An instrumentation system for monitoring an environmental condition, the system comprising:

an electronic data collection device for collecting environmental data at a first location, wherein the environmental data comprises data of the concentration of a predetermined substance in the atmosphere;

a computer processor located at the first location and operatively coupled to the data collection device, the computer processor receiving the collected environmental data from the electronic data collection device;

an information storage medium operatively coupled to the computer processor and having a computer program for converting the collected data into pictorial image data;

a first wireless communication element operatively coupled to the computer processor for transmitting the pictorial image data as a radio frequency signal;

a second wireless communication element for receiving the signal transmitted by the first wireless communication element; and

a server computer at a second location operatively coupled to the second wireless communication element.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second wireless communication elements include transceivers.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer processor and the first wireless communication element are housed in a weatherproof housing.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the pictorial image is a graph.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the substance comprises carbon.

6. The system of claim 1 further comprising an Internet service provider, wherein the server computer and the client computer transmit data using the Internet service provider.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first and second locations are separated by at least about one mile.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the data collection device comprises a datalogger.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the data collection device comprises an aethalometer.

19. The system of claim 1 further comprising a client computer located at a third location for receiving the pictorial image data and displaying a pictorial image from the pictorial image data.

10. A method for monitoring an environmental condition, the method comprising:

electronically collecting environmental data values at a first location, wherein the environmental data comprises data of the concentration of a predetermined substance in the atmosphere;

electronically converting the collected environmental data values into pictorial image data;

transmitting the pictorial image data from a first wireless communication element to a second wireless communication element as a radio frequency signal;

transmitting the pictorial image data from the second wireless communication element to a server computer at a second location;

transmitting the pictorial image data from the server computer to a client computer optionally located at a third location; and

displaying a pictorial image from the pictorial image data.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and second wireless communication elements include transceivers.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein collecting environmental data includes collecting environmental data continuously, and wherein generating a pictorial image from the pictorial image data includes continuously generating pictorial images in response to the continuously collected data to provide real time environmental monitoring at the first location.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the pictorial image data is graph data, and the pictorial image is a graph.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising re-transmitting the pictorial image data from the first to the second wireless communication element.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein transmitting the pictorial image data from the server computer to a client computer occurs over the Internet.

16. The method of claim 10 wherein the first and third locations are separated by at least about one mile.

17. The method of claim 10 wherein collecting environmental data includes collecting environmental data with a datalogger.

18. The method of claim 10 wherein collecting environmental data includes collecting environmental data with an aethalometer.