SYSTEM AND METHOD OF MONITORING PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT

• US 20110006894A1
• Filed: 07/07/2009
• Published: 01/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Landry, Michel, Witwer, Robert
• Granted Patent: US 8,294,580 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: F16P 3/14 the means being photocells or other devices sensitive without mechanical contact
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons

Abstract

A multi-level equipment configuration monitoring system can include a plurality of RFID tags associated with respective user protective elements such as respirators, eye protectors, gloves boots, helmets and hearing protectors. A user communication unit can activate the tags and determine which elements are present. The determined elements can be compared to a pre-stored, approved list of elements to establish the state of a user'"'"'s complement of protective equipment. Missing equipment can be immediately identified and brought to the user'"'"'s attention. Information can be collected as to duration of use of the elements as well as duration of exposure of those elements to one or more predetermined hazardous conditions to schedule maintenance and replacement.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a plurality of personal protective elements where each member of the plurality carries a radio-frequency identifier-type tag;

a user communication unit in wireless communication with the members of the plurality where the user communication unit includes at least one computer readable storage unit and stores therein a plurality of indicia indicative of expected members of the plurality.

2. A system as in claim 1 where the communication unit includes circuitry to compare sensed members of the plurality to stored members of the plurality of indicia and circuits, responsive thereto, for emitting at least one of audible or visual indicia indicative of differences therebetween.

3. A system as in claim 1 where the communication unit is one of user wearable, or, user carriable.

4. A system as in claim 1 where the elements are selected from a class which includes at least respiration equipment, eye protectors, gloves, boots, helmets, hearing protectors and fire resistant clothing.

5. A system as in claim 1 which includes a configuration check point with at least an RFID tag that uniquely identifies that configuration check point.

6. A system as in claim 5 where reading of the RFID tag at the configuration checkpoint by the communication unit causes the communication unit to automatically initiate a configuration check.

7. A system as in claim 6 where communication unit includes circuitry, to carry out the configuration check by comparing sensed members of the plurality to stored members of the plurality of indicia and circuits, responsive thereto, for emitting at least one of audible or visual indicia indicative of differences there between.

8. A system as in claim 4 where the unit includes a display device to provide configuration information to a user.

9. A system as in claim 4 where the unit includes circuits to log at least one of, time intervals of usage of the elements, or, duration of exposure of the elements to a selected hazardous condition.

10. A monitoring apparatus comprising:

at least one supervisory monitoring device which includes a programmable processor and at least one computer readable storage unit which includes control software executable by the processor along with at least one of, selected, pre-stored combinations of personal protective equipment, duration of use of each member of a plurality of personal protective equipment and duration of exposure to predetermined environments;

a wireless transceiver coupled to the monitoring device; and

a multi-dimensional display device and associated graphical user software implemented, at least in part, by the processor where the interface presents visual information as to protective equipment configurations of selected individuals.

11. An apparatus as in claim 10 where the monitoring device, via the transceiver, communicates with members of a plurality of user communication units, each of which is associated with a different user, and provides at least one approved user equipment combination to at least some members of the plurality.

12. An apparatus as in claim 11 where at least one of the communication units compares the at least one approved user equipment combination to a sensed combination of user equipment, and responsive thereto emits one of an audible or a visual feedback indictor.

13. An apparatus as in claim 10 which includes a plurality of user communication units in wireless communication with the monitoring device.

14. An apparatus as in claim 13 where the user communication units receive at least one approved protective equipment list from a respective monitoring device and where the communication units include circuits to determine the equipment configuration associated with a respective user.

15. An apparatus as in claim 14 where the communication units include circuitry to compare the equipment configuration associated with the respective user with the received approved protective equipment list, and responsive thereto, to emit an audible or visual indicator thereof to the user.

16. An apparatus as in claim 15 where at least some of the communication units transmit results of the comparison to the monitoring device.

17. An apparatus as in claim 15 where at least some of the communication units log at least one of, time durations of use of respective personal protective equipment, or, time durations of exposure of respective personal protective equipment and forward such duration information to the monitoring device.

18. An apparatus as in claim 17 where the monitoring device stores received duration information from the communications units in the storage unit.

19. A multi-level equipment configuration monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of RFID tags associated with respective user protective gear selected from a class which includes at least respiration equipment, eye protection equipment, gloves, boots, helmets and hearing protection equipment;

at least one user carriable communication unit which can activate at least some of the tags and determine which of the members of the class are responding, where the unit includes a pre-stored approved combination of class members, and circuitry, responsive to the responding class members and the stored class members for determining if the responding class members are the same as the members of the stored combination of class members;

a display device, coupled to the communication unit wherein the unit can activate the display device to emit indicia indicative of differences between the responding class members and the pre-stored class members.

20. A system as in claim 19 which includes a control device, in wireless communication with the communication unit, the device includes a computer readable storage device to store information pertaining to duration of use of the class members and duration of exposure of class members to predetermined conditions.