Wearable electric field detector

• US 6,329,924 B1
• Filed: 03/17/2000
• Issued: 12/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: HD Electric Company (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: HD Electric Company (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: McNulty, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu, Daniel J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T.
• Application Number:
  US09/528,166
• Time in Patent Office: 634 Days
• Field of Search: 340/552, 340/649, 340/600, 340/660, 340/661, 340/662, 340/628, 364/449
• US Class Current: 340/660
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/0857 Dosimetry, i.e. measuring the time integral of radiation intensity; Level warning devices for personal safety use nuclear radiation dosimetry G01T
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/182 Level alarms, e.g. alarms responsive to variables exceeding a threshold

Abstract

A wearable electric field detector has a housing mountable on a user'"'"'s person and including a sensing circuit responsive to an electric field to generate a signal which varies in proportion to the strength of the sensed field, and an alarm circuit coupled to the sensing circuit for producing an intermittent audible alarm signal, which has a repetition rate varying in proportion to the strength of the field, and a visible alarm signal. A mute circuit is manually activatable for selectively muting the audible alarm and then automatically reenabling it after a predetermined time period. The detector includes a manually-actuatable test circuit. There is no on-off switch, the detector being disabled by being disposed in a shielded carrying case.

Claims

1. A wearable electric field detector comprising:

a housing adapted to be mounted on a user'"'"'s person,

a sensing circuit disposed in the housing and responsive to an electric field for generating a sense signal which varies in proportion to the strength of the sensed field,

an alarm circuit coupled to the sensing circuit for producing an indication of the sensed field;

said alarm circuit including an audio annunciator for producing an audible alarm signal in response to the sense signal; and

a normally disabled mute circuit coupled to the alarm circuit and enabled only when the alarm circuit is producing an indication of a sensed field, the mute circuit being selectively operable only when enabled for deactivating the audio annunciator without affecting the sensing circuit.

2. The detector of claim 1, and further comprising a manually-operable switch coupled to said mute circuit for selectively activating said mute circuit.

3. The detector of claim 2, wherein said mute circuit includes a deactivation circuit for automatically deactivating the mute circuit upon the occurrence of a predetermined condition after activation thereof.

4. The detector of claim 3, wherein the deactivation circuit includes a timing circuit for deactivating the mute circuit a predetermined time after activation thereof.

5. The detector of claim 1, and further comprising a clip carried by said housing for removably mounting the housing on a user'"'"'s article of clothing.

6. The detector of claim 1, and further comprising a band or loop coupled to said housing for encircling a portion of a user'"'"'s body.

7. The detector of claim 1, wherein said sensing circuit is responsive to only electric fields having a frequency in the range of from about 25 Hz to about 60 Hz.

8. The detector of claim 1, wherein said alarm circuit includes a visual annunciator for producing a visible alarm signal in response to the sense signal.

9. The detector of claim 1, and further comprising a test circuit coupled to said sensing circuit and to said alarm circuit for testing the operations thereof.

10. The detector of claim 1, wherein the alarm circuit includes circuitry for causing the audio annunciator to produce an intermittent audible alarm signal with a repetition rate which varies in proportion to the sensed signal.

11. In combination:

a wearable electric field detector,

said detector including a housing adapted to be mounted on a user'"'"'s person,

a sensing circuit disposed in the housing and responsive to an electric field for generating a sense signal which varies in proportion to the strength of the sensed field, and

an alarm circuit coupled to the sensing circuit for producing an indication of the sensed field; and

a carrying case adapted to receive the housing and including shield material for shielding the sensing circuit from electric fields when the detector is disposed in the carrying case.

12. The combination of claim 11, wherein said shield material is an electrically conductive fabric.

13. The combination of claim 12, wherein the shield material is woven of carbon impregnated fibers.

14. The combination of claim 11, wherein the carrying case includes attachment structure to facilitate mounting thereof on a user'"'"'s person.

15. The combination of claim 11, wherein the alarm circuit includes an audio annunciator for producing an intermittent audible alarm signal with a repetition rate which varies in proportion to the sensed signal.