Wearable low pressure warning device with audio and visual indication
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorsSwapnil Gopal Patil, Garaga Phani Kumar, Swan Tuffery
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments relate generally to low pressure warning devices which may be worn with encapsulated protective suits and hoods by a user and may provide audio and visual alerts. In an embodiment, a low pressure warning device may comprise an earpiece operable to be retained to the ear of a user, wherein the earpiece may comprise a control system operable to sense the pressure inside the encapsulated protective suit or hood and activate the audio and/or visual alerts when necessary. In an embodiment, the low pressure warning device may be equipped with short range wireless communication capabilities.
Claims20
A low pressure warning device used with an encapsulated protective suit or hood comprising:
- a pressure sensor;
- an alert system;
- and
- a processor in communication with the pressure sensor and the alert system,
- wherein:
- the elements listed above are encased in an earpiece operable to attach to a user's ear,
- the processor initiates the alert system when the pressure sensor indicates a pressure lower than a predetermined minimum value,
- the predetermined minimum value is chosen to ensure that the pressure inside the encapsulated protective suit or hood is greater than the pressure outside the encapsulated suit or hood,
- the processor is operable to communicate with a monitoring station via a wireless connection;
- and
- the pressure sensor is separate from the protective hood.
An earpiece worn with an encapsulated protective suit or hood comprising:
- a casing;
- a battery located within the casing;
- a pressure sensor located within the casing and powered by the battery;
- an alert system located within the casing and powered by the battery;
- and
- a processor in communication with the pressure sensor and the alert system,
- wherein the processor initiates the alert system when the pressure sensor indicates a pressure lower than a predetermined minimum value, wherein the predetermined minimum value is greater than the pressure of the environment outside the encapsulated protective suit or hood;
- and
- wherein the pressure sensor of the earpiece is separate from the protective suit or hood.
A method of using a low pressure warning device worn with an encapsulated protective suit or hood comprising:
- setting a minimum pressure limit of the low pressure warning device, wherein the minimum pressure limit is greater than the pressure of the environment outside the encapsulated protective suit or hood;
- activating a pressure sensor of the low pressure warning device;
- sensing the pressure of the environment inside the encapsulated protective suit or hood by the low pressure warning device;
- comparing the sensed pressure by the low pressure warning device with the minimum pressure limit;
- and
- activating an alert system if the sensed pressure by the low pressure warning device is below the minimum pressure limit, wherein the low pressure warning device is a wearable device;
- wherein the low pressure warning device is a pressure sensor encased in an earpiece and is from the protective suit or hood.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.