Wearable sensor for tracking worksite events including sensor removal

• US 10,325,229 B2
• Filed: 01/30/2017
• Issued: 06/18/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Triax Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Triax Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Morgenthau, Justin J., Eppler, Jr., William G., Hollingsworth, William D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jarrett, Scott L
• Application Number:
  US15/419,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20170270464A1
• Time in Patent Office: 869 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/063114 Status monitoring or status determination for a person or group
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/103 Workflow collaboration or project management
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/04 responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons G08B21/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/188 Data fusion; cooperative systems, e.g. voting among different detectors
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0216 using a pre-established activity schedule, e.g. traffic indication frame
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A system and associated interfaces are provided that permit the monitoring of workers within the workplace environment. In one aspect, a monitor having various sensing capabilities may be assigned to a monitored subject that records various parameters that are personal to the worker. For instance, it is appreciated that there may be sensor that can be attached to the monitored subject that is adapted to monitor certain parameters associated with the worker'"'"'s environment. For instance, a sensor assigned to the monitored subject may be capable of determining the location of the subject, along with motion, impacts, altitude, and other environmental parameters that could affect the health or other condition of the worker.

Claims

1. A sensor comprising:

an element that is adapted to attach the sensor to a monitored subject;

an element that is adapted to sense if the sensor is removed from the monitored subject;

an accelerometer and/or a gyroscopic element; and

a processor adapted to detect one or more false events, wherein detecting the one or more false events comprises;

receiving monitoring data including accelerometer data from the accelerometer and/or gyroscope data from the gyroscopic element, the monitoring data comprising a first portion corresponding to a first time period and a second portion corresponding to a second time period subsequent to the first time period;

determining, based at least on the first portion, whether the sensor experienced an acceleration greater than a first threshold amount;

determining, based at least on the second portion, whether the sensor experienced a first rotation having a peak angular velocity greater than a second threshold amount;

determining that the sensor experienced a sensor throw event based on, during the first time period, the acceleration being greater than the first threshold amount; and

determining that the sensor experienced a sensor drop event based on, during the second time period, the first rotation having a peak angular velocity greater than the second threshold amount.

2. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the element adapted to sense includes a proximity sensor.

3. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the element adapted to sense includes a switch integrated into the element adapted to attach the sensor to the monitored subject.

4. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to detect a plurality of workplace events occurring to the monitored subject within a workplace.

5. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor further comprises

a pressure sensor.

6. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further adapted to store event data relating to the sensed removal of the sensor from the monitored subject.

7. The sensor according to claim 6, wherein the processor is further adapted to send an event message including the event data to an event monitoring entity.

8. The sensor according to claim 7, wherein the event monitoring entity is adapted to send an alert responsive to receipt of the event message.

9. The sensor according to claim 5, wherein the sensor further comprises an altimeter and a proximity sensor.

10. The sensor according to claim 9, wherein the sensor, in determining if the sensor is removed from the monitored subject, employs one or more of a group comprising:

jump detection;

motion integration;

altimeter analysis; and

impact detection.

11. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the sensor is assigned to a specific monitored subject, and the sensor is adapted to detect if the sensor is attached to a subject other than the specific monitored subject.

12. The sensor according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring data comprises a third portion corresponding to a third time period subsequent to the second time period.

13. The sensor according to claim 12, wherein detecting the one or more false events comprises determining, based at least on the third portion, whether the sensor experienced a second rotation having a peak angular velocity less than a third threshold amount.

14. The sensor according to claim 13, wherein detecting the one or more false events comprises determining that the sensor experienced the sensor drop event based on,

during the second time period, the first rotation having a peak angular velocity greater than the second threshold amount, and

during the third time period, the second rotation having a peak angular velocity less than the third threshold amount.