Cap-lamp and communications support system

• US 8,542,114 B2
• Filed: 02/12/2012
• Issued: 09/24/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Stolar Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Stolar Incorporated
• Inventors: Stolarczyk, Larry G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US13/371,470
• Publication Number:
  US 20130157713A1
• Time in Patent Office: 590 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 3405721-5729, 340/10.1, 340/573.1, 455/404.2
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0291 Housing and user interface of child unit
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2208 associated with components used in interrogation type services, i.e. in systems for information exchange between an interrogator/reader and a tag/transponder, e.g. in Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] systems methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns G06K7/00; record carrier for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2291 used in bluetooth or WI-FI devices of Wireless Local Area Networks [WLAN] H01Q1/241 takes precedence; WLAN in general H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/44 using equipment having another main function to serve additionally as an antenna , e.g. means for giving an antenna an aesthetic aspectH01Q1/27 - H01Q1/34 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/30 Combinations of separate antenna units operating in different wavebands and connected to a common feeder system
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0062 in RFID [Radio Frequency Identification] Systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0068 in transponders
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/0081 with antenna coils loop aerials H01Q7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/26 using coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/45 Transponders
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/77 for interrogation
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/026 Details of the structure or mounting of specific components

Abstract

An underground radio communications and personnel tracking system uses a cap-lamp worn by a miner when underground in a mine. A cap-lamp transceiver provides voice and text communication on ultra-low frequency (ULF) to ultra-high frequency (UHF) carrier frequencies and modulation adapted by programming of a software defined radio to making selective and agile radio contacts via through-the-earth, conductor/lifeline, coal seam, tunnel, and ionosphere/earth-surface waveguides for transmission of electromagnetic waves. These waveguides comprise layered earth coal and mineral deposits, and manmade mining complex infrastructures which serendipitously form efficient waveguides. Ultra-Low Frequency F1/F1 repeaters are placed underground in the mine, and providing for extended range of communication of the cap-lamp transceiver with radios and tracking devices above ground of the mine.

Claims

1. A cap-lamp and communications support system, comprising:

a hard plastic miner'"'"'s helmet shell (1502) with a brim, on which are directly mounted a light emitting diode (LED) lamp (1504) and a rechargeable battery (1506);

a software definable radio transceiver (1508) mounted to the hard plastic miner'"'"'s helmet shell and powered by the rechargeable battery, and configured for text messaging, voice communication, and passive radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking with RFID tags installed at regular intervals in a mine;

an air-core vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna (1510) mounted to said brim and connected to the radio transceiver and configured to wirelessly couple digital voice and/or digital packet communication radio signals into a mine communications network (1516) and any surface operation centers; and

a passive RFID disk transponder (1512) for providing electronic, wireless identification of a miner previously registered and associated with the particular cap-lamp.

2. The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising:

a transponder reader (1518) configured for querying the passive RFID disk transponder (1512) such that any miners wearing the cap-lamp that pass by can be automatically identified and transparently logged in.

3. The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, wherein is provided a multi-network cap-lamp with a multi-mode transceiver for voice, synthetic voice, and text messaging via a coal seam waveguide, a conductor/lifeline waveguide, a tunnel waveguide, other radio communication medium and pathway channels, and configured to be automatically selected and preferred according to their current ability to support a particular communication session.

4. The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising:

a mine management controller (104) configured for automatic mutual communication through various ever-changing media channels available to them including an ionosphere-earth waveguide (106), a layered earth waveguide (107), a coal seam waveguide (108), a conductor/lifeline waveguide (109), and a tunnel waveguide (110);

wherein, the cap-lamp transceiver (1508) is further configured for voice and text communications on ultra-low frequency (ULF) to ultra-high frequency (UHF) carrier frequencies using kinds of modulation that instantaneously favor at least a particular one of the ionosphere-earth waveguide (106), layered earth waveguide (107), a coal seam waveguide, a conductor/lifeline waveguide, a tunnel waveguide, other radio communication medium and pathway channels automatically selected.

5. The cap-lamp and communications support system of claim 1, further comprising:

an intrinsically safe (IS) vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna and Fl/F1 through-the-earth (TTE) transceiver repeater, wherein a phase coherent array of resonant VMD antenna elements are configured to each have a circuit-Q of less than unity, and thereby inherently limit currents to safe levels.

6. A cap-lamp and communications support system, comprising:

a hard plastic shell (1502) on which are directly mounted an LED lamp (1504) and a rechargeable battery (1506);

a radio transceiver (1508) mounted to the hard plastic shell and powered by the rechargeable battery, and configured to provide two-way voice, data, and SMS text communications underground in a mine;

a brim-mounted, air-core vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna (1510) connected to the radio transceiver and capable of coupling radio signals into a mine communications network (1516);

a passive RFID disk transponder (1512) for providing electronic, wireless identification of a registered miner associated with the cap-lamp; and

a plurality of passive RFID disk transponders (1514) for stationing at fixed, surveyed locations throughout a mine and which are encoded with location information that can be read-in through the VMD antenna and transceiver, wherein such information is interpretable to inform a miner wearing the cap-lamp where they are in the mine.

7. A cap-lamp and communications support system, comprising:

a hard plastic shell (1502) on which are directly mounted an LED lamp (1504) and a rechargeable battery (1506);

a radio transceiver (1508) mounted to the hard plastic shell and powered by the rechargeable battery, and configured to provide two-way voice, data, and SMS text communications underground in a mine;

a brim-mounted, air-core vertical magnetic dipole (VMD) antenna (1510) connected to the radio transceiver and capable of coupling radio signals into a mine communications network (1516); and

a passive RFID disk transponder (1512) for providing electronic, wireless identification of a registered miner associated with the cap-lamp;

wherein, the transceiver (1508) is configured to periodically burst a radio wave to power-up and then listen to a reply from nearby passive reverse radio frequency identification (RFID) tags (1514) integrated with a lifeline waveguide (109); and

said periodic bursts are detectable by Fox Hunter direction finding antennas when locating downed and trapped miners.