Gas cylinders monitoring by wireless tags

• US 7,619,523 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2007
• Issued: 11/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: American Air Liquide Incorporated (L'Air Liquide SA)
• Original Assignee: American Air Liquide Incorporated (L'Air Liquide SA)
• Inventors: Parias, Thomas, Durtschi, Franck-Stephane
• Primary Examiner(s): TWEEL JR, JOHN ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US11/778,483
• Publication Number:
  US 20080084306A1
• Time in Patent Office: 855 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/573.1, 340/505, 340/539.1, 340/568.1, 705/22, 705/23, 705/28
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2205/058 by Radio Frequency Identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders

Abstract

Embodiments of the present invention generally provide methods and systems for managing gas cylinders by using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. In one embodiment, each gas cylinder includes a RFID transponder configured to transmit a RFID signal. The RFID signal may include an identifier for the gas cylinder, as well as data such as gas pressure, temperature, flow rate, battery level, etc. The RFID signals are received by RFID receivers, and are transmitted to a server (e.g., via a computer network). In one embodiment, the gas cylinder data received by the server is collected in a database, and thereafter used by a gas cylinder management software application. The gas cylinder management application performs tasks including selectively generating alarms, locating specific gas cylinders, and replenishment of gas supplies.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring gas cylinders, comprising:

receiving, at one or more wireless receivers, a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless transponder fixed to a gas cylinder, wherein the wireless signal includes an identifier identifying the gas cylinder;

determining, based on one or more locations of the one or more wireless receivers, a location of the gas cylinder;

determining whether the location of the gas cylinder matches an intended location, wherein the intended location is retrieved from a database by using the identifier included in the wireless signal; and

upon determining that the location of the gas cylinder matches does not match the intended location retrieved from the database, generating an alert communicating that the gas cylinder is not in the intended location.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining a type of gas stored in the gas cylinder based on data retrieved from the database by using the identifier included in the wireless signal;

determining whether the gas stored in the gas cylinder is restricted from being stored within an area in which the gas cylinder is located; and

upon determining that the gas stored in the gas cylinder is restricted from being stored within an area, generating an alert communicating the presence of the restricted gas within the area.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

identifying one or more additional gas cylinders located in the area;

determining one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders;

determining whether the one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders are restricted from being stored in the same area as the gas stored in the gas cylinder; and

upon determining that the one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders are restricted from being stored in the same area as the gas stored in the gas cylinder, generating an alert communicating the restricted storage of gases within the same area.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal further includes one or more measurements of one or more properties of at least one of the gas cylinder and contents of the gas cylinder, and further comprising:

determining whether any of the one or more measurements of the one or more properties are outside one or more predetermined ranges of acceptable measurements; and

upon determining that any of the one or more measurements of the one or more properties are outside one or more predetermined ranges of acceptable measurements, generating an alert communicating the existence of an abnormal measurement of a property of the one or more properties.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the one or more properties are selected from gas pressure, temperature, and flow rate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal further includes an indication of available power in a battery powering the wireless transponder, and further comprising:

upon determining that the available power of the battery is below a predetermined threshold, generating an alert communicating a need to replace the battery of the wireless transponder.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal further includes an expiration date for contents of the gas cylinder, and further comprising:

upon determining that the expiration date is at least one of (i) passed, and (ii) within a predetermined period of being passed, generating an alert communicating the expiration date.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless signal further includes a safety inspection and certification date for the gas cylinder, and further comprising:

upon determining that the inspection and certification date is at least one of (i) passed, and (ii) within a predetermined period of being passed, generating an alert communicating the need to perform a safety inspection and certification on the gas cylinder.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to a query of the database for a location of the gas cylinder, returning the location of the gas cylinder.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless receivers include at least three wireless receivers that each receive the wireless signal, and wherein determining the location of the gas cylinder comprises triangulating the wireless signal based on locations of the at least three wireless receivers to determine location coordinates for the gas cylinder.

34. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wireless receivers include at least one wireless gateway receiver configured to detect a transfer of another gas cylinder through a gateway which provides an interface between at least two separate regions, and further comprising:

determining whether another wireless signal received by the at least one wireless gateway receiver indicates an intended transfer of the other gas cylinder according to transfer information retrieved from a database by using another identifier included in the other wireless signal; and

upon determining that the transfer is not the intended transfer, generating an alert communicating that the other gas cylinder has been improperly transferred.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

in response to detecting the transfer of the another gas cylinder through the gateway, storing transfer data describing the detected transfer in the database, wherein the transfer data includes a transfer time, an identifier for the gateway, and an identifier for the another gas cylinder.

10. A method for monitoring gas cylinders, comprising:

receiving, at one or more wireless receivers, a plurality of wireless signals transmitted by a plurality of wireless transponders, wherein each transponder is fixed to one of a plurality of gas cylinders, and wherein each wireless signal includes an identifier identifying the respective gas cylinder;

determining, based on the receipt of the plurality of wireless signals by the one or more wireless receivers, the available supplies of at least one type of gas at one or more locations;

determining whether the available supplies of at least one type of gas are less than one or more required minimum levels specified for the one or more locations and for the respective type of gas; and

upon determining that the available supplies of at least one type of gas are less than one or more required minimum levels specified for the one or more locations and for the respective type of gas, generating an alert communicating a requirement for additional supplies of the respective gas at the respective location.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein each wireless signal further includes a measurement of gas pressure in the respective gas cylinder, and wherein determining the available supplies of at least one type of gas at one or more locations is further based on the gas pressures of each gas cylinder.

12. A computer-readable storage medium storing a program which, when executed by a processor, performs a process for managing gas cylinders, the process comprising:

receiving, at one or more wireless receivers, a wireless signal transmitted by a wireless transponder fixed to a gas cylinder, wherein the wireless signal includes an identifier identifying the gas cylinder;

determining, based on one or more locations of the one or more wireless receivers, a location of the gas cylinder;

determining whether the location of the gas cylinder matches an intended location, wherein the intended/proper location is retrieved from a database by using the identifier included in the wireless signal; and

upon determining that the location of the gas cylinder matches does not match the intended location retrieved from the database, generating an alert communicating that the gas cylinder is not in the intended location.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the process further comprises:

determining a type of gas stored in the gas cylinder based on data retrieved from the database by using the identifier included in the wireless signal;

determining whether the gas stored in the gas cylinder is restricted from being stored within an area in which the gas cylinder is located; and

upon determining that the gas stored in the gas cylinder is restricted from being stored within an area, generating an alert communicating the presence of the restricted gas within the area.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the process further comprises:

identifying one or more additional gas cylinders located in the area;

determining one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders;

determining whether the one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders are restricted from being stored in the same area as the gas stored in the gas cylinder; and

upon determining that the one or more types of gases stored in the one or more additional gas cylinders are restricted from being stored in the same area as the gas stored in the gas cylinder, generating an alert communicating the restricted storage of gases within the same area.

15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the wireless signal further includes one or more measurements of one or more properties of at least one of the gas cylinder and contents of the gas cylinder, and wherein the process further comprises:

determining whether any of the one or more measurements of the one or more properties are outside one or more predetermined ranges of acceptable measurements; and

upon determining that any of the one or more measurements of the one or more properties are outside one or more predetermined ranges of acceptable measurements, generating an alert communicating the existence of an abnormal measurement of a property of the one or more properties.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more properties are selected from gas pressure, temperature, and flow rate.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the wireless signal further includes an indication of available power in a battery powering the wireless transponder, and wherein the process further comprises:

upon determining that the available power of the battery is below a predetermined threshold, generating an alert communicating a need to replace the battery of the wireless transponder.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the wireless signal further includes an expiration date for contents of the gas cylinder, and wherein the process further comprises:

upon determining that the expiration date is at least one of (i) passed, and (ii) within a predetermined period of being passed, generating an alert communicating the expiration date.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the wireless signal further includes a safety inspection and certification date for the gas cylinder, and wherein the process further comprises:

upon determining that the inspection and certification date is at least one of (i) passed, and (ii) within a predetermined period of being passed, generating an alert communicating the need to perform a safety inspection and certification on the gas cylinder.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the process further comprises:

in response to a query of the database for a location of the gas cylinder, returning the location of the gas cylinder.

32. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more wireless receivers include at least three wireless receivers that each receive the wireless signal, and wherein determining the location of the gas cylinder comprises triangulating the wireless signal based on locations of the at least three wireless receivers to determine location coordinates for the gas cylinder.

36. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the one or more wireless receivers include at least one wireless gateway receiver configured to detect a transfer of another gas cylinder through a gateway which provides an interface between at least two separate regions, and wherein the process further comprises:

determining whether another wireless signal received by the at least one wireless gateway receiver indicates an intended transfer of the other gas cylinder according to transfer information retrieved from a database by using another identifier included in the other wireless signal; and

upon determining that the transfer is not the intended transfer, generating an alert communicating that the other gas cylinder has been improperly transferred.

21. A system for the management of gas cylinders, comprising:

a processor;

a database stored on a computer readable storage medium;

at least one wireless receiver disposed at a fixed position of a storage facility;

a plurality of gas cylinders stored in at least one location;

a plurality of wireless transponders, each fixed to a different gas cylinder of the plurality of gas cylinders, and each configured to transmit at least one wireless signal including an identifier identifying the respective gas cylinder; and

a gas cylinder management application which, when executed by the processor, is configured to receive the data included in the wireless transmissions, and to selectively generate alerts communicating the presence of gas cylinders in improper locations based on the received data.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating the storage, in one location, of two or more types of gases that are restricted from being stored in the same location.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of sensors, each fixed to a gas cylinder of the plurality of gas cylinders, and each configured to measure one or more properties of at least one of the respective gas cylinder and contents of the respective gas cylinder, wherein each wireless transponder is configured to include measurement data in the wireless signals, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating the existence of an abnormal measurement of a property of the one or more properties.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the one or more properties measured by the plurality of sensors are selected from gas pressure, temperature, and flow rate.

25. The system of claim 21, wherein each wireless signal further includes an indication of available power in a battery powering the respective wireless transponder, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating the need to replace the battery of the respective wireless transponder.

26. The system of claim 21, wherein each wireless signal further includes an expiration date for contents of the respective gas cylinder, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating the expiration of the contents of the respective gas cylinder.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein each wireless signal further includes a safety inspection and certification date for the respective gas cylinder, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating the need to perform a safety inspection and certification on the respective gas cylinder.

28. The system of claim 21, wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to calculate the available supplies of at least one type of gas stored in the plurality of gas cylinders at one or more locations, and to selectively generate alerts communicating that the available supplies of at least one type of gas are less than one or more required minimum levels specified for the at least one location and for the respective type of gas.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein each wireless signal further includes a measurement of gas pressure in the respective gas cylinder, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to calculate the available supplies of at least one type of gas based on the gas pressures of each gas cylinder.

30. The system of claim 21, wherein each wireless transponder is further configured to receive a wireless control signal, and in response, to perform a control action on the respective gas cylinder, wherein the control action is selected from closing a valve and opening a valve of the respective gas cylinder.

33. The system of claim 21, wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to determine the location of one gas cylinder of the plurality of gas cylinders based on triangulation of the at least one wireless signal including an identifier identifying the respective gas cylinder.

37. The system of claim 21, wherein the at least one wireless receiver includes one or more wireless gateway receivers configured to detect a transfer of a gas cylinder through a gateway, and wherein the gas cylinder management application is further configured to selectively generate alerts communicating an improper transfer of a gas cylinder.