Back to results
US 11,519,809 B2Granted
System and method for gas sensing and monitoring
AssigneeOperations Technology Development, Nfp
InventorChris Ziolkowski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system, device, and method for leak detection and monitoring. The system includes a plurality of gas sensors with wireless connectivity adapted to be distributed over an area of interest that contains a suspected gas leak. An aggregator aggregates leak detection data obtained from the plurality of gas sensors. At web-based user interface allow viewing of the data on any of various non-specific electronic devices. The user interface is simultaneously accessible on a plurality of wireless mobile devices. A wireless local area network, such as a mesh network with the sensors as nodes, interconnects each of the plurality of gas sensors and the aggregator.
Claims14
A system for leak detection and monitoring, the system comprising:
- a plurality of portable leak detection devices each adapted to be distributed in a device array of different spaced apart locations over an area of interest that contains a suspected gas leak, wherein when distributed and activated the plurality of leak detectors form an ad hoc local area mesh network over the area of interest, each of the plurality of portable leak detection devices comprising:
- a gas sensor;
- an aggregator for aggregating leak detection data obtained from the gas sensor of each of the plurality of leak detection devices;
- a peer-to-peer communication antenna configured to communicate wirelessly amongst and between the plurality of portable leak detection devices in the device array, and to receive leak detection data from all of the plurality of portable leak detection devices in the device array;
- and
- a user interface communication antenna configured to communicate wirelessly with mobile access devices, wherein each of the peer-to-peer communication antenna and the user interface communication antenna communicate wirelessly by a short-range communication protocol;
- and
- a display user interface to display and allow viewing of leak detection data of the device array, wherein the display user interface with leak detection data of all of the plurality of portable leak detection devices in the device array is directly accessible from any selected one of all of the portable leak detection devices by the mobile access devices at the area of interest by directly connecting, using the short- range communication protocol, to the user interface communication antenna of the selected any one of all of the plurality of portable leak detection devices, without a designated central or coordinator node;
- wherein the display user interface comprises a web browser displayable on each of the mobile access devices, and the display user interface is simultaneously accessible on the each of the mobile access devices from and through connection with the selected any one of the plurality of portable leak detection devices and also from direct connection to any other of the portable plurality of leak detection devices, and
- wherein the selected one of all of the portable leak detection devices is a closest one of the portable leak detection devices in proximity to a corresponding one of the mobile access devices at the area of interest.
7 more elements
A method for remote gas sensing in an area of interest, the method comprising:
- arriving at an area of interest that contains a suspected gas leak;
- distributing a plurality of portable gas sensors in different spaced apart locations on a ground surface over the area of interest that contains the suspected gas leak;
- activating the plurality of portable gas sensors to form an ad hoc local area mesh network over the area of interest;
- the plurality of portable gas sensors aggregating leak detection data obtained from the plurality of portable gas sensors over the ad hoc local area mesh network via wireless connectivity by a short-range communication protocol;
- accessing the leak detection data of all of the plurality of portable gas sensors with a mobile access device in wireless connection with one of the plurality of portable gas sensors;
- and
- displaying the aggregate data in a user interface via a web browser wherein the aggregate data is simultaneously accessible via a plurality of wireless mobile access devices at the area of interest from the one of the plurality of portable gas sensors and from a direct wireless connection with any one of the plurality of portable gas sensors, wherein each of the mobile access devices at the area of interest can connected directly to a closest one of the plurality of portable gas sensors at the area of interest.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.