Detecting hazardous conditions in underground environments

• US 7,715,983 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2006
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: X Corp. (f/k/a Twitter, Inc.) (X Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ferenczi, John L., Barrus, William G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui; Bryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): TEIXEIRA MOFFAT, JONATHAN CHARLES
• Application Number:
  US11/564,975
• Publication Number:
  US 20080129525A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 702/2
• US Class Current: 702/2
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

A method of detecting hazardous conditions within an underground environment can include obtaining acceleration information at a plurality of communication nodes distributed throughout the underground environment and propagating the acceleration information among selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes to an analysis node. An indication of a hazardous condition within the underground environment can be identified from the acceleration information collected over a period of time. If an indicator is identified, a notification of the hazardous condition can be provided.

Claims

1. A method of detecting hazardous conditions within an underground environment comprising:

obtaining acceleration information via an accelerator included in each of a plurality of communication nodes, each of said communication nodes being positioned at known locations throughout the underground environment;

propagating the acceleration information among selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes to an analysis node;

identifying, from the acceleration information collected over a period of time, an indication of a seismic activity within the underground environment;

if a seismic activity is identified, providing a notification of a hazardous condition;

interrogating passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags associated with persons located within the underground environment at selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes and detecting selected ones of RFID tags that activate in consequence of the interrogation;

propagating RFID tag information specifying detected RFID tags among selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes to the analysis node;

indicating which persons have been detected by at least one of the communication nodes according to the RFID tag information;

including an RFID reader and an RFID tag within each of the plurality of communication nodes;

interrogating, via the RFID reader, the RFID tag disposed within that communication node;

receiving an identifier of the interrogated RFID tag within the communication node; and

propagating the identifier of the communication node to the analysis node as a secondary means of identifying which of the plurality of communication nodes sent transmitted data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying an indication of a seismic activity further comprises indicating that a hazardous condition has occurred responsive to determining that data is not being received from at least one of the plurality of communication nodes.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that data is not being received from at least one communication node of the plurality of communication nodes;

providing a notification that a hazardous condition in the underground environment has occurred;

identifying a selected communication node from which data is received that is nearest to the communication node from which data is not being received; and

determining that the hazardous condition is located between the selected communication node from which data is received and the communication node from which data is not received.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

charging the RFID tag within the communication node via a current moving into or out of the accelerometer.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

propagating information obtained from a peripheral device that is communicatively linked with a specific communication node to the analysis node.

6. A computer readable storage device encoded with instructions, which when executed by a computer, causes the computer to perform a method for detecting hazardous conditions within an underground environment, said method comprising:

obtaining acceleration information via an accelerator included in each of a plurality of communication nodes, each of said communication nodes being positioned at known locations throughout the underground environment;

propagating the acceleration information among selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes to an analysis node;

identifying, from the acceleration information collected over a period of time, an indication of a seismic activity within the underground environment;

if a seismic activity is identified, providing a notification of a hazardous condition;

interrogating passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags associated with persons located within the underground environment at selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes and detecting selected ones of RFID tags that activate in consequence of the interrogation;

propagating RFID tag information specifying detected RFID tags among selected ones of the plurality of communication nodes to the analysis node;

indicating which persons have been detected by at least one of the communication nodes according to the RFID tag information;

interrogating, via an RFID reader located within the communication node, an RFID tag disposed within that communication node;

receiving an identifier of the interrogated RFID tag within the communication node; and

propagating the identifier of the communication node to the analysis node as a secondary means of identifying which of the plurality of communication nodes sent transmitted data.

7. The computer readable storage device of claim 6, wherein identifying an indication of a seismic activity further comprises indicating that a hazardous condition has occurred responsive to determining that data is not being received from at least one of the plurality of communication nodes.

8. The computer readable storage device of claim 6, further comprising:

determining that data is not being received from at least one communication node of the plurality of communication nodes;

providing a notification that a hazardous condition in the underground environment has occurred;

identifying a selected communication node from which data is received that is nearest to the communication node from which data is not being received; and

determining that the hazardous condition is located between the selected communication node from which data is received and the communication node from which data is not received.

9. The computer readable storage device of claim 6, further comprising:

charging the RFID tag within the communication node via a current moving into or out of the accelerometer.

10. The computer readable storage device of claim 6, further comprising:

propagating information obtained from a peripheral device that is communicatively linked with a specific communication node to the analysis node.

11. A system for detecting hazardous conditions within an underground environment, said system comprising:

a plurality of communication nodes configured to form a self-organized wireless network, each of said plurality of communication nodes being positioned at known locations throughout the underground environment and each of said communication nodes including

an accelerometer configured to provide acceleration information to be propagated throughout the wireless network,

an RFID tag configured to provide an identifier, and

a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader configured to interrogate passive RFID tags associated with persons located within the underground environment and the RFID tag located within the communication node, said RFID reader being further configured to propagate the identifier as a secondary means of identifying the communication node; and

an analysis node configured to collect and evaluate the acceleration information propagated throughout the wireless network over a period of time, and to identify an indication of a seismic activity within the underground environment, said analysis node being further configured to provide a notification of a hazardous condition in response to identifying a seismic activity,

wherein said RFID reader is further configured to propagate RFID tag information to said analysis node, and

said analysis node is further configured to indicate which person has been detected by at least one of the communication nodes according to the RFID tag information.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein said analysis node is further configured to indicate that a hazardous condition has occurred responsive to determining that data is not being received from at least one of the plurality of communication nodes.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein said analysis node is further configured to:

determine that data is not being received from at least one communication node of the plurality of communication nodes;

provide a notification that a hazardous condition in the underground environment has occurred;

identify a selected communication node from which data is received that is nearest to the communication node from which data is not being received; and

determine that the hazardous condition is located between the selected communication node from which data is received and the communication node from which data is not received.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of communication nodes includes a mote.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein a current moving into or out of the accelerometer is used to charge the RFID tag within the communication node.

16. The system of claim 11, wherein at least one selected communication node of the plurality of communication nodes comprises an expandable communication bus structure providing structural support for a peripheral device communicatively linked with the communication node such that information collected by the peripheral device is propagated through the wireless network.