Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTION OF VAPORIZED AEROSOLS
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
100011 This application claims the benefit of priority to
U.S. Nonprovisional Application Serial
No. 17/001,994, filed on August 25, 2020, and entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR
DETECTION OF VAPORIZED AEROSOLS," which claims the benefit of priority to U.S.
Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 62/929,888 filed on Nov. 3, 2019 and
entitled "Cloud
Enabled Sensor." This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S.
Nonprovisional Application
Serial No. 17/072,892, filed on October 16, 2020 and entitled "VAPORIZED
AEROSOL
DETECTION NETWORK," which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional
Patent
Application Serial No. 62/929,893 filed on November 3, 2019 and entitled
"Distributed Cloud
Enabled Device Network."
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to the
field of detection of vaporized aerosols. In
particular, the present invention is directed to a system and method of
sensors and signals to detect
substances of interest and alert one or more users to its detection.
BACKGROUND
[0003] The proliferation of Electronic Nicotine Delivery
Systems (ENDS) and Electronic Non-
Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENNDS) requires the detection of the products of
those systems in
certain indoor areas and/or vehicles. Currently, some systems for the
detection of vaporized aerosols
are used in limited settings. Further these systems are limited by their power
management and lack
of adaptability.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
100041 In an aspect, a vaporized aerosol detection system
includes a motion sensor configured
to detect movement in an environment and generate a detection signal in
response to detected
movement in the environment, a particle sensor electronically coupled to the
motion sensor and
configured to detect a particle count of the environment in response to the
generation of the detection
signal, and a housing configured to enclose at least a portion of the motion
sensor and particle
sensor.
100051 In another aspect, a method for vaporized aerosol
detection includes detecting, by a
motion sensor, movement in an environment, generating, by the motion sensor, a
detection signal in
response to detected movement in the environment, detecting, by a particle
sensor electronically
coupled to the motion sensor, a particle count of the environment in response
to the generation of the
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detection signal, and wherein a least a portion of the motion sensor and at
least a portion of the
particle sensor are enclosed in a housing.
100061 In yet another aspect, a vaporized aerosol,
panicle, and gas detection network is
presented. The network includes an entry unit disposed at a first location of
an environment. The
entry unit includes a trigger sensor configured to detect a triggering event
in the first location of the
environment and generate a detection signal in response to the detected
triggering event in the first
location of the environment. The entry unit also includes an entry unit
housing configured to enclose
at least a portion of the trigger sensor. The network further includes a
detection unit
communicatively connected to the entry unit. The detection unit includes a
particle sensor
configured to detect a particle count of the environment in response to the
generation of the detection
signal and a detection unit housing configured to enclose at least a portion
of the particle sensor.
100071 These and other aspects and features of non-
limiting embodiments of the present
invention will become apparent to those skilled in the an upon review of the
following description of
specific non-limiting embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
100081 For the purpose of illustrating the invention, the
drawings show aspects of one or more
embodiments of the invention. However, it should be understood that the
present invention is not
limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown in the
drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a vaporized aerosol detection system,
according to
embodiments;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an aerosolized substance detection
system, according to
embodiments;
FIG. 3A is an isometric view illustrating a housing for a vaporized aerosol
detection system,
according to embodiments;
FIG. 3B is an isometric cutaway view illustrating a housing for a vaporized
aerosol detection system,
according to embodiments;
FIGS. 4A-B are block diagrams illustrating architectures for an aerosolized
substance detection
system, according to example embodiments;
FIG. 5 is a graphical user interface on a user device for an aerosolized
substance detection system,
according to an example embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for vaporized aerosol detection,
according to
embodiments;
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FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method of power management of a
vaporized aerosol detection
system, according to embodiments;
FIG. 8 is a graph representing example graphical thresholding values,
according to an example
embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a computing system that can be used to implement
any one or more of
the methodologies disclosed herein and any one or more portions thereof.
The drawings are not necessarily to scale and may be illustrated by phantom
lines, diagrammatic
representations, and fragmentary views. In certain instances, details that are
not necessary for an
understanding of the embodiments or that render other details difficult to
perceive may have been
omitted.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0009] At a high level a system of sensors and components
to detect particles in a vaporized
aerosol is provided. System may include a device disposed in an environment
where a substance
such as a vaporized aerosol containing chemical particles may be present and
may be connected to at
least one of a plurality of servers. In an aspect, a housing may encapsulate
at least a portion of the
system components. Housing may be disposed in an environment having a
vaporized aerosol
present. Particles may be present and have a microscopic or macroscopic size,
a distribution, and a
count. Devices of system may enter a low power consumption mode to extend
component and
battery life.
[0010] In embodiments, system may alternatively or
additionally include an entry device and a
detection device disposed at respective, distinct locations in an environment
where a substance such
as a vaporized aerosol containing chemical particles may be present and
wherein the entry device
and detection device may each be connected to at least one of a plurality of
servers. In an aspect,
each device may include a housing, which may encapsulate at least a portion of
each of the entry
device and detection device system components. The housing may be disposed in
an environment
having a vaporized substance of interest present. Substances of interest may
be present and have a
microscopic or macroscopic size, a distribution, and a count. Devices of the
system may enter low
power consumption modes to extend component and battery life.
[0011] Referring now to FIG_ 1, vaporized aerosol
detection system 100 is configured to detect
substances 112 within environment 104 and generate an alarm based on detected
particles.
Substances 112 may include aerosolized particles, substances of interest (such
as smoke from
tobacco, smoke from drug use, or the like), gasses, gaseous clouds, gaseous
chemicals, biologicals
(such as viruses, bacteria, pathogens, or the like) or any combination thereof
Further, vaporized
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aerosol detection system 100 may be configured to transmit and store a signal
indicating an alarm
and/or data relating to the detected particles to at least one server of a
plurality of servers 156 A¨C.
Any and all signals generated by vaporized aerosol detection system 100 may be
additionally or
alternatively stored onboard in a memory (discussed below) or remotely on
servers 156 A¨C.
100121 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 1, vaporized aerosol detection
system 100 may include a motion sensor 116, a sensor suite 160 (including
particle sensor 120,
chemical sensor 124, temperature sensor 128, humidity sensor 132, or any
combination thereof), an
alarm 148, a battery 144, an electronics stack 140, a tamper sensor 136, a
housing 152, or any
combination thereof
100131 In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 1, motion sensor 116 includes one
or more sensors, each configured to detect motion, proximity, and/or presence.
Motion sensor 116 is
configured to detect motion, proximity, and/or presence of one or more objects
108 A, B within
environment 104. For example, and without limitation, motion sensor 116 may
include light sensors
(such as infrared sensors, passive infrared sensors, area reflective type
sensors, etc.), microwave
sensors, ultrasound sensors, vibration sensors, dual technology sensors, or
any combination thereof,
to name a few. Objects 108 A, B may include people, animals, vehicles,
inanimate objects, or any
combination thereof, to name a few examples. For example, motion sensor 116
may be configured to
detect motion of a person in environment 104. According to embodiments, motion
sensor 116 may
be configured to detect when objects 108 A, B enter or leave environment 104
such as by observing
motion, proximity, and/or presence of objects 108 A, B.
100141 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, environment 104 may
comprise an area of interest in which vaporized aerosols are prohibited or
discouraged. For example,
environment 104 may include areas of a school (such as classrooms, halls,
bathrooms, school yards,
gymnasiums, school buses, or any combination thereof, to name a few), rental
vehicles (such as
rental cars, moving trucks, rented recreational vehicles, etc.), business
vehicles (such as company
cars, vans, tractor-trailer trucks, etc.), rideshare vehicles, areas of an
airplane, train, and/or bus (such
as cockpits, cabins, bathrooms, or any combination thereof, to name a few),
residences, rental
homes, rental apartments, hotels (such as hotel rooms, hotel conference rooms,
ballrooms, etc.),
motel rooms, workplaces (such as offices, factories, warehouses, parking
structures, or any
combination thereof, to name a few), hospitals, correctional facilities, or
any combination thereof.
100151 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG 1, when
motion sensor 116 detects motion,
proximity, duration, speed, size, and/or presence of objects 108 A, B, motion
sensor 116 may be
configured to generate a detection signal. A detection signal may include an
analog and/or digital
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signal indicating a motion, proximity, and/or presence of objects 108 A, B
within environment 104
According to embodiments, motion sensor 116 may be configured to generate a
detection signal
when it detects an object 108 A, B entering environment 104, In embodiments, a
detection signal
may indicate a time, size, speed, duration, and/or quantity of objects 108 A,
B within and/or entering
environment 104.
100161 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, motion sensor 116 may be
electronically and/or communicatively coupled to electronics stack 140 Motion
sensor 116 may be
configured to provide a detection signal to electronics stack 140 when the
detection signal is
generated. Electronics stack 140 may include analog and/or digital circuitry
configured to condition,
analyze, and/or transform received signals. For example, electronics stack 140
may include a
microprocessor, a microcontroller, a power microcontroller, a processor, an
analog-to-digital
converter, a digital-to-analog converter, logic circuitry, a memory (e.g.
flash memory, hard disk
drive, solid state memory, random-access memory, programmable read-only
memory, electronically
erasable programmable read-only memory, or any combination thereof, to name a
few), or any
combination thereof, to name a few. According to embodiments, electronics
stack 140 may be
configured to store received signals from motion sensor 116 in a memory.
00171 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 1,
electronics stack 140 may be configured to
determine if an object 108 A, B has entered environment 104 by analyzing a
received detection
signal, Analyzing a detection signal may include comparing a level of the
detection signal to a
movement threshold value, comparing a time indicated by the detection signal
to a time threshold,
comparing a duration indicated by the detection signal to a duration
threshold, comparing a size
indicated by the detection signal to a size threshold, or any combination
thereof, to name a few.
1011181 According to embodiments, and with continued
reference to FIG. 1, a user may set,
adjust, cancel, or otherwise manipulate these threshold levels from a user
device, whether those
thresholds are stored within electronics stack 140 or remotely in servers 156
A¨C.
100191 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 1,
electronics stack 140 may be electronically
coupled to battery 144. Battery 144 may include one or more battery elements
in parallel and/or
series; battery elements may be configured to provide power to any component
and/or element of
system 100, including without limitation motion sensor 116, sensor suite 160,
alarm 148, electronics
stack 140, tamper sensor 136, or any combination thereof. For example, battery
144 may include one
or more lithium-ion batteries, alkaline batteries, lead-acid batteries,
aluminum-ion batteries, flow
batteries, magnesium-ion batteries, metal-air electrochemical cells, nickel-
ion batteries, zinc-ion
batteries, or any combination thereof, to name a few. According to
embodiments, battery 144 may
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include an alternative power source such as an alternating current ("AC")
power source, direct
current ("DC") power source, power over ethernet (PoE), a solar photovoltaic
cell, a wind turbine, or
any combination thereof, and/or power electronics such as a half-bridge
rectifier, full-bridge
rectifier, inverter, maximum-point power tracker, power converter (such as a
buck converter, boost
converter, buck-boost converter, flyback converter, transformer, etc.), or any
combination thereof, to
name a few. In embodiments, if battery 144 includes PoE, a DC power source,
and/or an AC wall
outlet power, operation of motion sensor 116, particle sensor 120, chemical
sensor 124, temperature
sensor 128, humidity sensor 132, tamper sensor 146, electronics stack 140,
alarm 148, or any
combination thereof may remain powered at all times.
100201 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, battery 144 is configured
to provide power to at least a portion of sensor suite 160, alarm 148,
electronics stack 140, and/or
tamper sensor 136 based upon electronics stack 140. In embodiments,
electronics stack 140 may
include power management circuitry including, for example, a power
microcontroller, switches,
relays, transistors, linear regulators, power converters, or any combination
thereof, to name a few.
Power management circuitry of electronics stack 140 may be configured to
provide power from
battery 144 to at least a portion of sensor suite 160, alarm 148, and/or
tamper sensor 136 based upon
a received detection signal from motion sensor 116, or another sensor
configured to act as a trigger
for the power management circuitry, and in embodiments may comprise particle
sensor 120,
chemical sensor 124, and/or a real time clock configured to keep track of
time. According to
embodiments, electronics stack 140 may be configured to provide power from
battery 144 to at least
a portion of sensor suite 160, alarm 148, and/or tamper sensor 136 according
to the size, duration,
time, and/or quantity of detected objects 108 A, B indicated by a detection
signal, according to a
time the detection signal is received, or any combination thereof. For
example, when a detection
signal indicates that an object 108 A, B has entered environment 104,
electronics stack 140 may be
configured to provide power to particle sensor 120 such that particle sensor
120 is adequately
powered to take measurements. As another example, electronics stacks 140 may
be configured to
provide power from battery 144 to sensor suite 160 when a detection signal
indicating an object 108
A, B of a predetermined size has entered environment 104. Electronics stack
140 may also be
configured to calibrate and/or trim any and all sensors that may be present
within vaporized aerosol
detection system 100 and/or coupled to the system remotely. Calibration of
sensors and systems may
include zeroing a sensor after a reading, power cycle, malfunction, or the
like.
100211 In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 1, electronics stack 140 may be
configured to monitor a power and/or battery level of battery 144 and generate
a signal including
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data representing a current power and/or battery level of battery 144. Data
representing a current
power and/or battery level of battery 144 may represent a current, historical,
or projected power
and/or battery level of battery 144 and may be expressed as a percentage, a
value (such as in amp
hours), graphically, or any combination thereof According to embodiments,
electronics stack 140
may be configured to compare the data representing a current power and/or
battery level of battery
144 to a predetermined low-battery threshold which may be stored in
electronics stack 140 or servers
156 A¨C. In embodiments, electronics stack 140 may be configured to generate a
low-battery alert
when a current power and/or battery level of battery 144 is equal to or less
than a low-battery
threshold value. A low-battery alert may include a signal including
representing that battery 144 is at
low power and may be configured to be displayed on a display or user device.
In embodiments, a
low-battery alert may include a signal configured to induce a change in the
color of a display such as
an LED. For example, a low-battery alert may be configured to switch an LED
from green to red.
[0022] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 1, electronics stack 140 may be
configured to provide and/or transmit a signal including data representing a
current power and/or
battery level of battery 144 to servers 156 A¨C. Servers 156 A¨C may be
configured to compare
data representing current power and/or battery level of battery 144 to a
predetermined low-battery
threshold. In embodiments, servers 156 A¨C may be configured to generate a low-
battery alert when
a current power and/or battery level of battery 144 is equal to or less than a
low-battery threshold
value.
[0023] Continuing to refer to FIG. 1, any of servers 156
A¨C may include any computing
device as described in this disclosure, including without limitation a
microcontroller,
microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP) and/or system on a chip (SoC)
as described in this
disclosure Each of one or more servers 156 A¨C may include, be included in,
and/or communicate
with a user device such as a mobile telephone or smartphone. Any server of one
or more servers 156
A¨C may include a single computing device operating independently, or may
include two or more
computing devices operating in concert, in parallel, sequentially or the like;
two or more computing
devices may be included together in a single computing device or in two or
more computing devices.
Any server of one or more servers 156 A¨C may interface or communicate with
one or more
additional devices as described below in further detail via a network
interface device. Network
interface devices may be utilized for connecting a server to one or more of a
variety of networks, and
one or more devices Examples of a network interface device include, but are
not limited to, a
network interface card (e.g., a mobile network interface card, a LAN card), a
modem, and any
combination thereof Examples of a network include, but are not limited to, a
wide area network
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(e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network (e.g., a
network associated with an
office, a building, a campus or other relatively small geographic space), a
telephone network, a data
net-work associated with a telephone/voice provider (e.g., a mobile
communications provider data
and/or voice network), a direct connection between two computing devices, and
any combinations
thereof A network may employ a wired and/or a wireless mode of communication.
In general, any
network topology may be used. Information (e.g., data, software etc.) may be
communicated to
and/or from a computer and/or a computing device. Any server of one or more
servers 156 A¨C may
include but is not limited to, for example, a computing device or cluster of
computing devices in a
first location and a second computing device or cluster of computing devices
in a second location.
Any server of one or more servers 156 A¨C may include one or more computing
devices dedicated
to data storage, security, distribution of traffic for load balancing, and the
like. Any server of one or
more servers 156 A¨C may distribute one or more computing tasks as described
below across a
plurality of computing devices, which may operate in parallel, in series,
redundantly, or in any other
manner used for distribution of tasks or memory between computing devices. Any
server of one or
more servers 156 A¨C may be implemented using a "shared nothing" architecture
in which data is
cached at the worker, in an embodiment, this may enable scalability of system
100 and/or 156 A¨C.
00241 Further referring to FIG. 1, any device, unit,
and/or server described in this disclosure
may be designed and/or configured to perform any method, method step, or
sequence of method
steps in any embodiment described in this disclosure, in any order and with
any degree of repetition.
For instance, any device, unit, and/or server may be configured to perform a
single step or sequence
repeatedly until a desired or commanded outcome is achieved; repetition of a
step or a sequence of
steps may be performed iteratively and/or recursively using outputs of
previous repetitions as inputs
to subsequent repetitions, aggregating inputs and/or outputs of repetitions to
produce an aggregate
result, reduction or decrement of one or more variables such as global
variables, and/or division of a
larger processing task into a set of iteratively addressed smaller processing
tasks. Any device may
perform any step or sequence of steps as described in this disclosure in
parallel, such as
simultaneously and/or substantially simultaneously performing a step two or
more times using two
or more parallel threads, processor cores, or the like; division of tasks
between parallel threads
and/or processes may be performed according to any protocol suitable for
division of tasks between
iterations. Persons skilled in the art, upon reviewing the entirety of this
disclosure, will be aware of
various ways in which steps, sequences of steps, processing tasks, and/or data
may be subdivided,
shared, or otherwise dealt with using iteration, recursion, and/or parallel
processing.
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[0025] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 1, a user may set, adjust, cancel, or
otherwise manipulate a low-battery threshold level from a user device, whether
the low-battery
threshold is stored within electronics stack 140 or remotely in servers 156
A¨C.
[0026] In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 1, when power is provided to
sensor suite 160 from battery 144, sensor suite 160 may be configured to
detect substances 112 in
environment 104. Substances 112 may include one or more substances, gases,
and/or particles that
have been aerosolized in at least a portion of environment 104. For example,
substances 112 may
include chemical particles from a nicotine vaping device, a cannabinoid vaping
device, a
tetrahydrocannabinol vaping device, a chemical spill (such as dimethyl
sulfate, toluene
diisocyanate), hazardous gas clouds (such as arsine, dimethyl sulfate,
toluene, hydrogen azide,
hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide), animal excrement (such as ammonia),
tobacco smoke, carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, methamphetamine, fentanyl, anhydrous ammonia, or any
combination
thereof, to name a few. Sensor suite 160 may be configured to detect a
quantity (i.e. particle count),
density, size, structure, and/or dispersion of substances 112 and may include
particle sensor 120,
chemical sensor 124, temperature sensor 128, humidity sensor 132, or any
combination thereof In
embodiments, sensor suite 160 may be electronically and/or communicatively
coupled to electronics
stack 140. Communicative coupling may include a connection sufficient to
transfer data back and
forth between sensor suite 160 and electronics stack 140. Communicative
coupling may be a wired
or wireless connection that may employ electronic buses, ethernet, internet,
WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular
network, or another undisclosed method alone or in combination. Additionally,
or alternatively,
sensor suite 160 may be communicatively coupled to at least a server 156 A¨C.
This communicative
coupling, as disclosed, is a connection sufficient for transferring data
between sensor suite 160 and
at least a server 156 A¨C and can include WiFi, ethernet, cellular networks,
Bluetooth, NB-IoT, Lit
CAT1, LTE-M1, CAT NB1, long-range (LoRA) communication connects, or any
combination
thereof, to name a few.
[0027] In an embodiment, and still referring to FIG. 1,
sensor suite 160 may include particle
sensor 120. Particle sensor 120 may include one or more sensors that are
configured to detect a
quantity (i.e. particle count), size, structure, dispersion, or any
combination thereof, of substances
112. In embodiments, particle sensor 120 may be configured to differentiate
ambient particles
present in environment 104 to substances of interest that may trigger an alert
within the system. For
example, particle sensor 120 may be configured to compare a historical reading
of particles in
environment 104 to a detection of substances 112 to determine what particles
within substances 112
are ambient in environment 104 and which particles may be substances of
interest. According to
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embodiments, particle sensor 120 may be configured to measure or otherwise
detect the quantity (i.e.
particle count), size, structure, dispersion, or any combination thereof, of
particles present in
substances 112 and may be configured to translate those readings into
electronic signals. According
to embodiments, particle sensor 120 may be electronically and/or
communicatively coupled to
electronics stack 140 and can be configured to send signals including data
representing the quantity
(i.e. particle count), size, structure, dispersion, or any combination
thereof, of particles present in
substances 112 to electronics stack 140.
100281 In embodiments, and continuing to refer to FIG. 1,
sensor suite 160 may include
chemical sensor 124. Chemical sensor 124 may include one or more sensors
configured to detect the
structure, size, shape, and/or composition of particles in order to determine
the chemical composition
of substances 112 in environment 104. Chemical sensor 124 may include a
printed electrochemical
sensor, Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) circuit, metal oxide,
nano-tube, micro
cantilever, micro hot plates, mobility spectrometer (ion or differential),
mass spectrometer, infrared
spectrometer, or any combination thereof, to name a few examples In
embodiments, chemical
sensor 124 may be configured to differentiate ambient chemicals present in
environment 104 to
chemicals of interest that may trigger an alert within the system. For
example, chemical sensor 124
may be configured to detect a plurality of chemicals and/or gaseous or
aerosolized particles, some of
which may include nicotine, cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinoids, particles
from a chemical spill
(such as dimethyl sulfate, toluene diisocyanate), particles in hazardous gas
clouds (such as arsine,
hydrogen azide, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide), particles from animal
excrement (such as
ammonia), tobacco smoke, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide,
ozone, nitrogen
dioxide, respiratory irritants, indicators of indoor air quality, or any
combination thereof Chemical
sensor 124 may translate readings it collects to an electronic signal
including data representing the
structure, size, shape, and/or composition of particles. In embodiments,
chemical sensor 124 may be
electronically and/or communicatively coupled to electronics stack 140.
Chemical sensor 124 may
be configured to send a signal including data representing a structure, size,
shape, and/or
composition of particles to electronics stack 140.
100291 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 1, sensor suite 160 may include
temperature sensor 128. Temperature sensor 128 may include one or more sensors
configured to
determine a temperature of environment 104. Temperature, for the purposes of
this disclosure, is an
amount of heat energy present in environment 104 One of ordinary skill in the
art would appreciate
that temperature is truly the amount of kinetic energy present in an
environment on the atomic level,
and for the purposes of this disclosure, temperature as it affects
electronics, humans, objects, and/or
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gaseous elements may be measured in Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin and/or the
like. According to
embodiments, temperature sensor 128 may determine a temperature of environment
10410 help
assess the dispersion, density, and/or composition of substances 112 in
environment 104.
Additionally, temperature sensor 128 may determine the temperature of
environment 104 to assess
the health of the electronics and sensors present within vaporized aerosol
detection system 100. In
embodiments, temperature sensor 128 may be configured to generate a signal
including data
representing a detected temperature of environment 104 and provide this signal
to electronics stack
140, at least a first server 156 A¨C, or a combination thereof. In
embodiments, this signal may also
include data alerting a user of a change in temperature of environment 104
over or under certain
thresholds or to alert a user of aerosolized particles evidenced by a change
in temperature. According
to embodiments, temperature sensor 128 may translate readings it collects into
electronic signals
including data representing the detected temperatures. Temperature sensor 128
may be electronically
and/or communicatively coupled to electronics stack 140 and may be configured
to provide such
signals to electronics stack 140.
100301 In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 1, sensor suite 160 may include
humidity sensor 132. Humidity sensor 132 may include one or more sensors
configured to determine
an amount of humidity present in environment 104. Humidity, for the purposes
of this disclosure, is
a quantity of vaporized water in a gaseous area, in this case air of
environment 104. Humidity sensor
132 may be further configured to measure humidity in one of three general
methods: absolute,
relative, and specific. Absolute humidity describes the water content of air
and is expressed in either
grams per cubic meter or grams per kilogram. Relative humidity may be
expressed as a percentage
and indicate a present state of absolute humidity relative to a maximum
humidity given the same
temperature (as determined by temperature sensor 128). Specific humidity is
the ratio of water vapor
mass to total moist air parcel mass. Humidity sensor 132 may be configured to
determine humidity
of environment 104 in order to detect a change in air density, which may be
due to the presence of
substances 112. Humidity sensor 132 may additionally or alternatively be
configured to determine
humidity of environment 104 in order to ascertain the optimal range of
humidity for the complement
of other sensors present in sensor suite 160, in an embodiment. Humidity
sensor 132 may translate
readings it collects into electronic signals including data representing the
humidity in environment
104. In embodiments, humidity sensor 132 may be electronically and/or
communicatively coupled to
electronics stack 140 and may be configured to provide such signals to
electronics stack 140.
100311 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, electronics stack 140 may
include equipment necessary to receive signals generated from any disclosed or
undisclosed sensor
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present within vaporized aerosol detection system 100. Electronics stack 140
may include analog
and/or digital circuitry configured to condition, analyze, and/or transform
received signals For
example, electronics stack 140 may include a microprocessor, a
microcontroller, a power
microcontroller, a processor, an analog-to-digital converter, a digital-to-
analog converter, logic
circuitry, or any combination thereof, to name a few.
100321 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 1,
electronics stack 140 may be configured to
determine if substances of interest are present. Substances of interest may
include any particles that
may be a cause of concern for environment 104. For example, substances of
interest may include
substances that are disallowed in environment 104 (such as nicotine,
cannabinoids,
tetrahydrocannabinoids, tobacco smoke, etc.), substances that are hazardous
(carbon monoxide,
carbon dioxide, arsine, hydrogen azide, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide,
viruses, bacteria,
pathogens, etc.), undesirable substances for environment 104 (tobacco smoke,
nicotine,
cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinoids, ammonia from pet excrement, etc.), or
any combination
thereof, to name a few. According to embodiments, determining whether
substances of interest are
present in environment 104 may include comparing levels of signals received
from sensor suite 160
to various, predetermined threshold values. For example, electronics stack 140
may be configured to
receive a signal including data representing a detected structure, size,
shape, and/or composition of
substances 112 and compare one or more levels included in this signal to
predetermined threshold
values in order to determine what chemicals (i.e. types of particles) are
present in substances 112.
According to embodiments, a user may set, adjust, cancel, or otherwise
manipulate threshold levels
from a user device, whether those thresholds are stored within electronics
stack 140 or remotely in
servers 156 A¨C.
100331 Still referring to FIG 1, according to embodiments,
these predetermined threshold
values may include a level or measure of a detected structure, size, shape,
and/or composition of
substances 112. According to embodiments, these predetermined threshold values
may be stored in a
memory such as a memory of electronics stack 140.
100341 In embodiments, and with further reference to FIG.
1, electronics stack 140 and/or
servers 156 A¨C may be configured to determine if a detection event has
occurred in environment
104. A "detection event," for the purposes of this disclosure, is a detection
of substances, particles,
or chemicals of interest in substances 112 within environment 104. For
example, a detection event
may indicate that a nicotine vaporizer device has been used in environment
104, a chemical spill has
occurred in environment 104, smoke is present in environment 104, animal
excrement is present in
environment 104, or any combination thereof, to name a few examples. According
to embodiments,
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a detection event may further indicate that a quantity, particle density,
and/or dispersion of
substances of interest within environment 104 have exceeded a predetermined
threshold. For
example, a detection event may indicate that the particle density of
aerosolized vape has exceeded a
threshold value in environment 104.
100351 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 1,
these predetermined threshold values may
include a level or measure of a particle density, dispersion, and/or
composition of particles that are
disallowed, hazardous, or otherwise undesired in environment 104. According to
embodiments,
these predetermined threshold values may be stored in a memory such as a
memory of electronics
stack 140.
100361 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, electronics stack 140 may
include equipment necessary for wireless transmission of electronic signals to
a plurality of servers
156 A¨C. Servers 156 may include one or more computers, sewers, computing
clouds, processors,
microprocessors, a memory (e.g. flash memory, hard disk drive, solid state
memory, random-access
memory, programmable read-only memory, electronically erasable programmable
read-only
memory, or any combination thereof, to name a few), or any combination thereof
For example,
electronics stack 140 may include a transceiver and may be configured to be
communicatively
coupled to a server 156 by a cellular phone network(s), wireless local area
network (WLAN),
wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless wide area networks (WWAN),
wireless sensor
networks, satellite communication networks, terrestrial microwave networks,
Bluetooth, WiFi,
ZigBee, low-power long range wide area network (LoRaWan and LoRa), internet,
ethernet, a
wireless ad-hoc network also known as a wireless mesh network, and/or any
combination thereof. In
embodiments, these predetermined threshold values may be stored within servers
156 A¨C.
100371 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG 1,
processing of signals to determine
detection events may be additionally or alternatively handled by remotely
located sewers 156 A¨C.
According to embodiments, servers 156 may be configured to determine what
particles are present in
environment 104 and whether a detection event has occurred by comparing levels
of signals received
from electronics stack 140 to various, predetermined threshold values. For
example, servers 156 A¨
C may be configured to receive a signal including data representing a detected
structure, size, shape,
and/or composition of substances 112 and compare one or more levels included
in this signal to
predetermined threshold values in order to determine what chemicals (i.e.
types of particles) are
present in substances 112.
100381 According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 1, electronics stack 140 may
be configured to trigger an alert based on a detection event by electronics
stack 140 and/or servers
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156 A¨C. In embodiments, when electronics stack 140 and/or servers 156 A¨C
have detected that a
detection event has occurred, electronics stack 140 may then generate an alert
signal and/or provide
power to alarm 148 from battery 144. Alert signal may include an electrical
signal configured to
activate alarm 148. Alarm 148 may include an auditory alarm or signaling
device (such as a buzzer,
siren, horn, etc.), a visual alarm or signaling device (such as an LED, strobe
light, laser, LED screen,
LCD screen, etc.), tactile alarm or signalizing device (such as a vibration
alarm, motor, etc.), or any
combination thereof. Activating alarm 148 may include sending an electronic
signal to alarm 148 to
induce an audible alert (such as, for example, a chime, chirp, siren, beep, or
otherwise artificial
noise), a visual alert (such as, for example, flashing lights, a display, a
strobe, color lights, etc.), a
tactile alert (such as vibration, shaking, etc.), and/or any alert sufficient
to alert that a detection event
has occurred in environment 104. A user may adjust alarm volume, alarm sound,
alarm light display,
and disable alarm through user device and/or server 156 A¨C.
100391 In an embodiment, and still referring to FIG. 1,
vaporized aerosol detection system 100
may also include tampering sensor 136. Tampering sensor 136 may include one or
more sensors
disposed within or on housing 152 and may be configured to detect a tampering
event. A tampering
event may include someone breaking open vaporized aerosol detection system
100, someone moving
vaporized aerosol detection system 100, someone touching vaporized aerosol
detection system 100,
someone hitting vaporized aerosol detection system 100, someone shaking
vaporized aerosol
detection system 100, someone disconnecting vaporized aerosol detection system
100, or any
combination thereof According to embodiments, tampering sensor 136 may be
configured to detect
a tampering event by detecting that an object in close proximity to vaporized
aerosol detection
system 100, movement of vaporized aerosol detection system 100, integrity of
housing 152, or any
combination thereof. For example, tampering sensor 136 may include one or more
sensors
configured to detect a tampering event when a person is attempting to move or
break open vaporized
aerosol detection system 100.
100401 According to embodiments, and further referring to
FIG. 1, tamper sensor 136 may be
configured to generate a tamper alarm when a tampering event is detected. A
tamper alarm, as used
in this disclosure, is an electronic signal configured to induce an audible
alert, a visual alert, a tactile
alert, and/or any alert sufficient to alert a tamper event from alarm 148. In
other embodiments,
tamper sensor 136 may generate signals including data representing that an
object is in close
proximity to vaporized aerosol detection system 100, movement of vaporized
aerosol detection
system 100, integrity of housing 152, or any combination thereof Tamper sensor
136 may be
electronically and/or communicatively coupled to electronics stack 140 and
configured to provide
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said signals to electronics stack 140. In embodiments, electronics stack 140
may be configured to
detect that a tampering event has occurred based upon the received signals
including data
representing that an object is in close proximity to vaporized aerosol
detection system 100,
movement of vaporized aerosol detection system 100, integrity of housing 152,
or any combination
thereof Electronics stack 140 may be configured to generate a tamper alarm
when a tampering event
has occurred. A user may enable, disable, or otherwise manipulate a tamper
alarm from a user device
and/or server 156 A¨C. Tamper alarm may also be disabled through, for example,
an interlock such
as a magnetic switch disposed in or on housing 152, which may be engaged, for
example, by a
magnetic key fob held by a potential maintainer or user.
100411 In embodiments, and still referring to FIG. 1, at
least a portion of motion sensor 116,
sensor suite 160, tamper sensor 136, electronics stack 140, battery 144, alarm
148, or any
combination thereof, may be enclosed or encased with housing 152. Housing 152
may include a
shape having a number of sides or faces, where each side may include opposite,
opposing surfaces
with a thickness between them According to embodiments, a first surface of a
side may form a
portion of an outer wall of housing 152 and a second, opposing and opposite
surface of the side may
form a portion of an inner wall of housing 152. For example, in the
illustrated embodiment of claim
1, housing 152 may include a hollow three-dimensional prism with an outer mold
line with a
thickness. In embodiments, housing 152 may be one continuous shape or may be
mechanically
fastened smaller individual pieces configured to encase or enclose at least a
portion of motion sensor
116, sensor suite 160, tamper senor 136, electronics stack 140, battery 144,
alarm 148, or any
combination thereof
100421 According to embodiments, and with further
reference to FIG. 1, housing 152 may be
configured to snap together non-permanently such that housing 152 may be
pulled apart by a user for
allowed access to interior components. Housing 152 may include injection
molded plastics like high-
density polyethylene (HDPE) or Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), stamped
or otherwise
machined metal like aluminum, steel alloys, tin, or other alloys. Housing 152
may include a back
plate which may be permanently or temporarily mechanically fastened to a cover
through screws,
nails, snap connectors, epoxy, glue, double-sided tape, rivets, or another
undisclosed method alone
or in combination. In embodiments, housing 152 may, in a hollow space within,
enclose or encase at
least a portion of motion sensor 116, sensor suite 160 (including particle
sensor 120, chemical sensor
124, temperature sensor 128, humidity sensor 132, or any combination thereof),
alarm 148, battery
144, electronics stack 140, tamper sensor 136 or a portion of any which may
allow its optimal
operation. Housing 152 may include cut-throughs and/or openings where a sensor
may need access
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to an air sample of environment 104 or where a vaporized aerosol may enter
housing to reach any
internal component.
100431 In embodiments, and continuing to refer to FIG. 1,
vaporized aerosol detection system
100 may include a display such as, for example, a light-emitting diode (LED)
display, liquid crystal
display (LCD), electronic ink display, cathode ray tube (CRT) display, organic
LED display, or any
combination thereof. According to embodiments, a display may be configured to
display one or
more alerts, measures and/or levels detected by sensor suit 160, battery level
(especially low
battery), a temperature of environment 104, a humidity of environment 104,
general health
information, or any combination thereof.
100441 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 1, motion sensor 116 may include
one or more cameras communicatively coupled to electronics stack 140 and/or
servers 156 A¨C.
One or more cameras may include, for example, video cameras, still cameras,
SLR cameras, DSLR
camera, closed circuit networks, or any combination thereof, to name a few. In
embodiments,
electronics stack 140 may be configured to provide power from battery 144 to a
camera of motion
sensor 116 when a detection event is detected. In response to being provided
power and/or when a
detection event is detected, a camera of motion sensor 116 may be configured
to capture one or more
images of environment 104, such as photographs and/or video footage of
environment 104.
100451 In embodiments, and further referring to FIG. 1,
captured videos and/or photographs (i.e.
images) may be provided to electronics stack 140 and/or servers 156 A¨C.
According to
embodiments electronics stack 140 and/or servers 156 A¨C may each, or in
tandem, be configured to
analyze, process, and compress the captured video and/or photographs. For
example, electronics
stack 140 and/or servers 156 A¨C may include facial recognition software
configured to identify
persons present in captured videos and/or photographs. Further, electronics
stack 140 and/or servers
156 A¨C may be communicatively coupled with an organizational identification
database for the
purposes of facial recognition. In embodiments, analyzing captured video
and/or photographs may
occur in real-time or may be delayed.
100461 Referring now to FIG. 2, an aerosolized substance
detection system is configured to
detect substances of interest 204 within environment 208 and generate an alarm
based on detected
substance and/or particles. Substances of interest (also referred to herein as
"substances") 204 may
include any substances as described above in reference to FIG. 1. Further,
aerosolized substance
detection system 200 may be configured to transmit and store a signal
indicating an alarm and/or
data relating to detected substances to at least one server of a plurality of
servers 212a-c. Any and all
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signals generated by aerosolized substance detection system 200 may be
additionally or alternatively
stored onboard in a memory (discussed below) or remotely on servers 212a-c.
[0047] With continued reference to FIG. 2, aerosolized
substance detection system 200 includes
an entry unit 216 disposed at a first location within environment 208. Entry
unit 216 is configured to
generate a detection signal in response to a detected triggering event within
environment 208. For
detecting a triggering event, entry unit 216 may include a trigger sensor such
as motion sensor 220,
particle sensor, chemical sensor, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, camera,
and/or a tamper
sensor. A "triggering event", as used in this disclosure, is an event of
interest that occurs within or
proximate to one or more locations within environment 208 such as detected
movement, detected
predetermined substances of interest, detected particle counts, detected
particle densities, detected
temperatures, detected objects within a video and/or image, detected humidity,
a detected tamper
event, or any combination thereof
100481 For example, entry unit 216 may include a motion
sensor 220 configured to detect
movement in and/or proximate to its location within an environment 208 and
generate a detection
signal in response to detected movement in the environment 208. Motion sensor
220 may include
any motion sensor suitable for use as motion sensor 116 as described above.
100491 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 2, environment 208 may include
an area of interest in which vaporized aerosols are prohibited or discouraged,
for instance as
described above regarding environment 104,
[0050] In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 2, when entry unit 216 detects a
triggering event such as motion, proximity, duration, speed, size, detection
of predetermined
substances of interest, a tampering event, and/or presence of objects 224a-b
within environment 208,
entry unit 216 may be configured to generate a detection signal. A detection
signal may include an
analog and/or digital signal indicating details of a triggering event such as
the location, area, motion,
proximity, and/or presence of objects 224a-b within a location of environment
208, a particle count
at a location within environment 208, detection of a tampering event, or any
combination thereof.
According to embodiments, entry unit 216 may include a motion sensor 220
configured to generate a
detection signal when it detects an object entering, within, or proximate to
an entry unit's location
within environment 208. In embodiments, a detection signal may indicate a
time, size, speed,
duration, and/or quantity of objects 224a-b entering, within, or proximate to
an entry unit's location
within environment 208.
[0051] According to embodiments, and with further
reference to FIG. 2, sensors such as motion
sensor 220 of entry unit 216 may be electronically and/or communicatively
coupled to an entry unit
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electronics stack 228 and may be configured to provide a detection signal to
entry unit electronics
stack 228, which may be implemented in any manner suitable for electronics
stack 140 as described
above, when the detection signal is generated. In embodiments, entry unit
electronics stack 228 may
be proximate to motion sensor 220 while in other embodiments entry unit
electronics stack 228 may
be remote from motion sensor 120. According to embodiments, entry unit
electronics stack 228 may
be configured to store received signals from motion sensor 220 in a memory.
[0052] In embodiments, and with continued reference to FIG
2, entry unit electronics stack 228
may be configured to determine a triggering event (such as if an object has
entered environment 208,
a predetermined substance has been detected, etc.) by analyzing a received
detection signal.
Analyzing a detection signal may include comparing a level of the detection
signal to a
predetermined threshold value. For example, analyzing a detection signal may
include comparing a
level of the detection signal to a movement threshold value, comparing a time
indicated by the
detection signal to a time threshold, comparing a duration indicated by the
detection signal to a
duration threshold, comparing a size indicated by the detection signal to a
size threshold, or any
combination thereof, to name a few. In embodiments, these predetermined
thresholds may be stored
within entry unit electronics stack 228 while in other embodiments they may be
stored remotely.
According to embodiments, a user may set, adjust, cancel, or otherwise
manipulate these threshold
levels from a user device, whether those thresholds are stored within entry
unit electronics stack 228
or remotely in sewers 212a-c.
[0053] According to embodiments, entry unit electronics
stack 228 may be configured to send a
detection signal to a communications hub 272, which may be configured to
analyze the received
detection signal according to predetermined threshold values stored on
communications hub 272.
Communications hub 272 may further be configured to transmit a received
detection signal to
servers 212a-c which may be configured to analyze the received detection
signal according to
predetermined threshold values stored on servers 212a-c.
[0054] In embodiments, and further referring to FIG. 2,
entry unit electronics stack 228 may be
electronically or communicatively coupled to an energy storage device, such as
a battery 232, which
may be implemented in any manner suitable for a battery 144 as described
above. Battery 232 may
power any element and/or component of entry unit 216. For instance, a battery
232 and/or energy
storage device may be configured to provide power to at least a portion of
entry unit 216, detection
unit 244, communication hub 272, repeater node 276, camera 280, or any
combination thereof based
upon an electronics stack. In embodiments, an electronics stack may include
power management
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circuitry including, for example, a power microcontroller, switches, relays,
transistors, linear
regulators, power converters, or any combination thereof, to name a few.
100551 Still referring to FIG. 2, power management
circuitry of entry unit electronics stack 228
may be configured to provide power from a battery 232 to at least a portion of
sensor suite 248, entry
unit electronics stack 228, tampering sensor 240, communication hub 272,
repeater node 276,
camera 280, or any combination thereof based upon a received detection signal
from motion sensor
220, or another sensor configured to act as a trigger for the power management
circuitry, and may
include a real time clock configured to keep track of time. According to
embodiments, entry unit
electronics stack 228 may be configured to provide power from battery 232 to
at least a portion of
sensor suite 248, and/or tampering sensor 240 according to a size, duration,
time, and/or quantity of
detected objects 224a-b indicated by a detection signal, according to a time
the detection signal is
received, or any combination thereof. For example, when a detection signal
indicates that an object
has entered environment 208, entry unit electronics stack 228 may be
configured to provide power to
a detection unit 244 as described below, such that detection unit 244 is
adequately powered to take
measurements.
100561 According to embodiments, providing power from a
battery 232 to at least a portion of
sensor suite 248, entry unit electronics stack 228, tampering sensor 240,
communication hub 272,
repeater node 276, camera 280, or any combination thereof may include
generating a wake-up
signal. For example, a wake-up signal may be generated when movement is
detected by movement
sensor 220. A wake-up signal may comprise an analog or digital signal
configured to switch at least
a portion of sensor suite 248, entry unit electronics stack 228, tampering
sensor 240, communication
hub 272, repeater node 276, camera 280 from a sleep, low-power mode, and/or
standby mode to an
active or armed mode.
100571 In embodiments, and continuing to refer to FIG. 2,
entry unit electronics stack 228 may
be configured to monitor a power and/or battery 232 level of battery 232 and
generate a signal
including data representing the current power and/or battery 232 level of
battery 232; this may be
implemented, without limitation, as described above in reference to FIG. 1.
100581 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 2, entry unit electronics stack 228
may be configured to provide and/or transmit a signal including data
representing current power
and/or battery level of battery 232 to other devices and/or units in vaporized
aerosol detection
system 200, and/or to one or more servers 212a-c; such devices, units, and/or
servers 212a-c may be
configured to compare data representing current power and/or battery level of
battery 232 to a
predetermined low-battery threshold. In embodiments, devices, units, and/or
servers 212a-c may be
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configured to generate a low-battery alert when a current power and/or battery
level of battery 232 is
equal to or less than a low-battery threshold value. According to embodiments,
a user may set,
adjust, cancel, or otherwise manipulate a low-battery threshold level from a
user device, whether the
low-battery threshold is stored within entry unit electronics stack 228 or
remotely in additional
devices, units, and/or servers 212a-c.
[0059] According to embodiments, and with further
reference to FIG. 2, entry unit electronics
stack 228 may include equipment configured to receive signals generated from
any disclosed or
undisclosed sensor present within vaporized aerosol detection system 200.
Entry unit electronics
stack 228 may include analog and/or digital circuitry configured to condition,
analyze, and/or
transform received signals. For example, entry unit electronics stack 228 may
include a
microprocessor, a microcontroller, a power microcontroller, a processor, an
analog-to-digital
converter, a digital-to-analog converter, logic circuitry, or any combination
thereof, to name a few.
[0060] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 2, entry unit electronics stack 228
may include equipment necessary for wireless transmission of electronic
signals to other devices,
units, and/or servers 212a-c. Servers 212a-c may be implemented without
limitation, in any manner
suitable for implementation of servers 156 A¨C as described above in reference
to FIG. 1. For
example, entry unit electronics stack 228 may comprise a transceiver and can
be configured to be
communicatively coupled to a server by a cellular phone network(s), wireless
local area network
(WLAN), wireless personal area networks (WPAN), wireless wide area networks
(WWAN),
wireless sensor networks, satellite communication networks, terrestrial
microwave networks,
Bluetooth, WiFi, ZigBee, low-power long range wide area network (LoRaWan and
LoRa), intemet,
ethernet, a wireless ad-hoc network also known as a wireless mesh network,
ancUor any combination
thereof. In embodiments, these predetermined threshold values may be stored
within servers 212a-c,
[0061] Still referring to FIG 2, entry unit 216 includes
an entry unit housing 236 configured to
enclose at least a portion of the trigger sensor, such as motion sensor 220;
housing may have any
form and/or composition suitable for a housing as described above in reference
to FIG. 1. In
embodiments, a housing may be one continuous shape or may be mechanically
fastened smaller
individual pieces configured to encase or enclose at least a portion of motion
sensor 220, a
tampering sensor 240, entry unit electronics stack 228, battery 232, or any
combination thereof
[0062] In an embodiment, and continuing to refer to FIG.
2, entry unit 216 may also include a
tampering sensor 240, which may include any tampering sensor as described
above in reference to
FIG. 1. For example, tampering sensor 240 may comprise one or more sensors
configured to detect a
tampering event when a person is attempting to move or break open entry unit
216. According to
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embodiments, tampering sensor 240 may be configured to generate a tamper alarm
when a
tampering event is detected; this may be implemented in any manner described
above in reference to
FIG. I.
[0063] With continued reference to FIG. 2, entry unit 216
may have a polling mode. In the
polling mode, entry unit 216 may be configured to periodically perform a
polling cycle which can
include powering on for a predetermined amount of time, checking for a
triggering event such as
motion, predetermined detection of a substance, a tampering event, etc., and
powering off/entering a
sleep or standby mode. In embodiments, the predetermined amount of time an
entry unit is powered
on during a polling cycle can include seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, or
any combination
thereof. According to embodiments, a polling cycle can be performed
periodically at predetermined
intervals which can include a predetermined amount of time such as seconds,
minutes, hours, days,
days of the week, dates, weeks, or any combination thereof. In embodiments, a
polling cycle may
further comprise transmitting any detected triggering, detection, or tampering
events to servers 212a-
c. According to embodiments, a polling cycle can comprise evaluating a
communicative connection
between entry unit 216 and one or elements of aerosolized substance detection
system 200 (such as,
for example, detection unit 244, communication hub 272, repeater node 276,
and/or servers 212a-c).
Evaluating a communicative connection can comprise evaluating a number of
packets sent from and
received by entry unit 216, locating IP addresses, receiving/transmitting
authentication signals, or
any combination thereof In embodiments, entry unit 216 can determine that a
communicative
connection between entry unit 216 and one or elements of aerosolized substance
detection system
200 has failed, such as, for example, when entry unit 216 is offline or a
local network has gone
down. When entry unit 216 has determined that a communicative connection has
failed, entry unit
216 may be configured to determine a failed detection signal. The failed
detection signal can
comprise a signal configured to indicate that entry unit 216 is offline and
can include an alert,
switching the color of an LED, inducing an audible alarm, or any combination
thereof¨to name a
few. In embodiments, entry unit 216 may be configured to transmit data to
communication hub 272
and/or servers 212a-c during a polling cycle such as data representing
detected triggering events,
battery levels, device health, diagnostic information, or any combination
thereof According to
embodiments, entry unit 216 may be configured to receive data from
communication hub 272 and/or
servers 212a-c during a polling cycle such as alerts, firmware updates,
software updates, threshold
values, or any combination thereof.
100641 According to embodiments, polling cycles for
entry unit 216 may be determined by a
watchdog timer. A watchdog timer can comprise hardware and/or software and a
power source
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configured to perform a polling cycle at predetermined intervals of time (such
as every 12 or 14
hours) and dictate the predetermined length or time of the polling cycles
(such as for 1-2 hours). In
embodiments, a watchdog timer may operate a duty cycle in which entry unit 216
is powered off,
except for the watchdog timer, for some proportion of a period, and powers on
briefly to check for
motion; duty cycle may, for instance, switch on entry unit 216 and/or motion
sensor 220 for 300 ms
every second or the like. In embodiments, polling cycles for entry unit 216
can be determined by a
clock timer. A clock timer can comprise software and/or hardware such as a
processor,
microprocessor, microcontroller, quartz crystal, power source, and/or memory
and can be configured
to perform a polling cycle at predetermined, variable intervals of time (such
as every 4 or 10 hours)
and dictate the predetermined, variable length or time of the polling cycles
(such as for 1-2 hours). In
embodiments, the predetermined, variable intervals of time and length or time
can be varied or set by
servers 212a-c or a user device.
100651 Entry unit 216 may have a scanning mode, in which
the entry unit 216 is configured to
communicate with a detection unit 244. Entry unit 216 may be configured to
enter the scanning
mode when a triggering event is detected such as when the motion sensor 220
detects motion; entry
unit 216 may remain in scanning mode until a cessation of the triggering event
such as when motion
is detected and/or until a scan for particles as described below has
completed. A timer such as a
watchdog timer or the like may count down from initiation of scanning mode, a
latest detected
motion, or the like, where count-down to zero may cause transition into
polling mode, and count-
down may be reset upon detection of motion, particles, or the like.
Transitions between modes may
be governed by a processor, finite state machine, or the like.
100661 According to embodiments any element of aerosolized
substance detection system 200
(such as detection unit 244, communication hub 272, camera 280, etc.) may have
a polling mode
similar or the same as entry unit 216.
100671 Still referring to FIG. 2, aerosolized substance
detection system 200 includes a detection
unit 244 communicatively connected to the entry unit 216. As used herein,
"communicative
connecting" is a process whereby one device, component, or circuit is able to
receive data from
and/or transmit data to another device, component, or circuit. In an
embodiment, communicative
connecting includes electrically coupling at least an output of one device,
component, or circuit to at
least an input of another device, component, or circuit Communicative
connection may be wired,
wireless, effected using magnetic and/or optical couplings, or the like;
communicative connection
may be performed according to any process and/or protocol for communication
between devices
and/or units as described in this disclosure. Detection unit 244 may include a
particle sensor 252
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configured to detect a particle count of the environment 208 in response to
the generation of the
detection signal. In embodiments, detection unit 244 may be disposed in a
different location from
entry unit 216 within environment 208.
[0068] In embodiments, and with further reference to FIG.
2, detection unit 244 may include a
sensor suite 248. Sensor suite 248 may include any element suitable for
inclusion in sensor suite 160
as described above; sensor suite 248 may detect any substance using any
process and/or technology
as described above with regard to sensor suite 160.
[0069] In an embodiment, and still referring to FIG. 2,
sensor suite 248 may include particle
sensor 252. Particle sensor 252 may include any device suitable for use such
as a particle sensor as
described above. According to embodiments, particle sensor 252 may be
electronically and/or
communicatively coupled to detection unit 244 electronics stack and may be
configured to send
signals including data representing the quantity (i.e. particle count), size,
structure, dispersion, or any
combination thereof, of particles present in substances 204 to detection unit
244 electronics stack.
[0070] In embodiments, and with continued reference to
FIG. 2, sensor suite 248 may include
chemical sensor 256. Chemical sensor 256 may include any component suitable
for use as chemical
sensor 124 as described above. In embodiments, chemical sensor 256 may be
electronically and/or
communicatively connected and/or coupled to detection unit 244 electronics
stack and may be
configured to send the signals including data representing the structure,
size, shape, and/or
composition of particles to detection unit 244 electronics stack.
[0071] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 2, sensor suite 248 may include
temperature sensor 260. Temperature sensor 260 may include any component
suitable for use as
temperature sensor 128 as described above. Temperature sensor 260 may be
electronically and/or
communicatively connected and/or coupled to detection unit 244 electronics
stack and may be
configured to provide such signals to detection unit 244 electronics stack.
[0072] In embodiments, and further referring to FIG. 2,
sensor suite 248 may include humidity
sensor 264. Humidity sensor 264 may include any component suitable for use as
humidity sensor
132 as described above. In embodiments, humidity sensor 264 may be
electronically and/or
communicatively connected and/or coupled to detection unit 244 electronics
stack and may be
configured to provide such signals to detection unit 244 electronics stack.
[0073] Continuing to refer to FIG. 2, detection unit 244
may include a detection unit housing
268 configured to enclose at least a portion of the particle sensor 252.
Detection unit housing 268
may be implemented in any manner suitable for entry unit housing 236.
Detection unit housing 268
may include cut-throughs and openings where a sensor may need access to an air
sample of
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environment 208 or where a vaporized aerosol may enter housing to reach any
internal component.
Detection unit 244 may include a tampering sensor, which may include any
component suitable for
use as entry unit 216 tampering sensor 240 above, including without limitation
a piezo-electric
vibration sensor used to measure unexpected vibrations in the device related
to device tampering, a
conductivity sensor triggered where conductivity is altered by alterations to
housing, and/or an
accelerometer or the like for detection of movement of housing and/or
components thereof. In some
embodiments, detection unit housing 268 housing can be configured to be
handheld and/or portable
while in other embodiments detection unit housing 268 can be configured to be
stationary, such as
when affixed/coupled to a surface.
100741 Further referring to FIG. 2, at least one of entry
unit housing 236 and detection unit
housing 268 may include venting openings. Detection unit housing 268 may be
configured to be
disposed inline in an air circulation system such as without limitation a
duct, vent, or the like.
Aerosolized substance detection system 200 may include an alarm configured to
produce an alert in
response to the detected particle count; alarm may be in a self-contained
unit, which may include
any elements and/or components of a unit as described in this disclosure, or
may be incorporated in
and/or communicatively connected to any unit as described in this disclosure,
including without
limitation entry unit 216, detection unit 244, communication hub 272, a mobile
device, and/or a
repeater. Aerosolized substance detection system 200 temperature sensor 260,
which may be
configured to detect a temperature of environment 208 in response to
generation of a detection
signal.
100751 Still referring to FIG. 2, detection unit 244 may
include any battery 232, energy storage
device, and/or energy source suitable for use with entry unit 216. Detection
unit 244 may include an
audible alarm, which may include any alarm suitable for use with entry unit
216; audible alarm may
provide local alarm to warn occupants and nearby staff that a detection event
or tampering was
detected. Detection unit 244 electronics stack may also be configured to
calibrate and/or trim any
and all sensors that may be present within aerosolized substance detection
system 200 and/or
coupled to the system remotely. Calibration of sensors and systems may
comprise zeroing a sensor
after a reading, power cycle, malfunction, or the like.
100761 Further referring to FIG. 2, detection unit 244 may
be configured to detect a detection
event as a function of the particle count Detection unit 244 may be configured
to detect the
detection event as a function of comparing the particle count to a
predetermined threshold. As a non-
limiting example, in embodiments, detection unit 244 electronics stack may be
configured to
determine if substances of interest 204 are present; this may be implemented,
without limitation, as
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described above in reference to FIG. 1. Detection unit 244 electronics stack
and/or servers 212a-c
may be configured to determine if a detection event has occurred within or
proximate to detection
unit's 244 location within environment 208. A detection event may include any
detection event as
described above in reference to FIG. 1 and may be detected in any manner
described above in
reference to FIG. 1. According to embodiments, detection unit 244 electronics
stack may be
configured to trigger an alert based on a detection event by detection unit
244 electronics stack or
servers 212a-c. In embodiments, when detection unit 244 electronics stack
and/or servers 212a-c
have detected that a detection event has occurred, detection unit 244
electronics stack may then
generate an alert signal and/or provide power to alarm from battery 232. The
alert signal may
include an electrical signal configured to activate the alarm. In embodiments,
the alert can comprise
data representing measurements taken during the detection event and may be
transmitted to
communication hub 272 and/or servers 212a-c.
100771 Still referring to FIG. 2, detection unit 244 may
have a low-power mode. When in low-
power mode, detection unit 244 may be configured to periodically power on,
check for
communication from entry unit 216, and power off. Low power mode may operate
at a duty cycle or
clock timer, governed by a timer such as a watchdog timer; this may be
implemented in any manner
suitable for implementation of polling mode for entry unit 216. During a duty
cycle of a low-power
mode, a detection device may check for a signal transmitted from entry unit
216; that is, detection
device may check whether entry unit 216 has entered scanning mode as described
above. Detection
unit 244 may have a detection mode, in which the detection unit 244 is
configured to detect a
particle count using particle sensor 252. Detection unit 244 may be configured
to enter detection
mode upon receiving a communication from entry unit 216.
100781 Still referring to FIG 2, aerosolized substance
detection system 200 may include a
communication hub 272 communicatively connected, as defined above, to entry
unit 216 and
detection unit 244, wherein the communication hub 272 is communicatively
connected to at least a
server. Communicative connection to one device may be affected via another
device; in other words,
connection to any one device may function as a connection to all devices in
system 200.
Communication hub 272 may include an electronics stack, which may include any
components
suitable for use in entry unit electronics stack 228. Communication hub 272
may include a housing,
which may include any housing suitable for use as entry unit housing 236.
Communication hub 272
may include a tampering sensor 240, which may include any device suitable for
use as an entry unit
216 tampering sensor 240 and/or detection unit 244 tampering sensor 240.
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100791 With continued reference to FIG. 2, communication
hub 272 may be configured to detect
a detection event as a function of a particle count; detection may be
implemented, without limitation,
according to any process described above for detection of detection events.
For instance, and without
limitation, communication hub 272 may be further configured to detect a
detection event as a
function of comparing a particle count to a predetermined threshold, for
instance as described above_
At least a server may be configured to detect a detection event as a function
of a particle count;
detection may be implemented, without limitation, according to any process
described above for
detection of detection events. For instance, and without limitation, at least
a server may be
configured to detect a detection event as a function of comparing a particle
count to a predetermined
threshold, for instance as described above. Communication hub 272 may be a
separate unit from
other units in vaporized aerosol detection system 200; alternatively or
additionally, any unit of an
aerosolized substance detection system 200 described in this disclosure may
function as
communication hub 272; for instance, communication hub 272 may be, include,
and/or be included
in at least one of entry unit 216 and detector unit In an embodiment,
operations that require more
power, such as communication to a cloud and/or at least a server, may be
relegated to the
communication hub 272, which may be powered directly via Power over Ethernet
(PoE), AC power,
or the like.
100801 In embodiments, and further referring to FIG. 2,
processing of signals to determine
detection events may be additionally or alternatively handled by remotely
located servers 212a-c.
According to embodiments, sewers 212a-c may be configured to determine what
particles are
present in environment 208 and whether a detection event has occurred by
comparing levels of
signals received from a respective electronics stack to various, predetermined
threshold values. For
example, servers 212a-c may be configured to receive a signal including data
representing a detected
structure, size, shape, and/or composition of substances 204 and compare one
or more levels
included in this signal to predetermined threshold values in order to
determine what chemicals (i.e.
types of particles) are present in substances 204.
100811 Still referring to FIG. 2, an aerosolized substance
detection system 200 may include a
repeater node 276. Repeater node 276 may include any signal reception and/or
transmission
elements suitable for use with communication hub 272, entry unit 216, and/or
detection unit 244,
incorporated in and/or connected to any electronics stack suitable for such
units and/or elements; for
instance, an electronics stack of repeater node 276 may provide Bluetooth,
cellular, and/or WiFi
communication to and from the other nodes and/or units and/or the
communication hub 272.
Repeater node 276 may be battery operated, wired, and/or powered via Power
over Ethernet
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depending on configuration of application environment 208. Repeater node 276
may include a
housing, which may be implemented in any way described above for a housing of
an entry unit 216.
Repeater node 276 may include a tampering sensor 240 to warn monitoring
personnel if the device is
disturbed; tampering sample may be implemented as described above for a
tampering sensor 240 of
entry unit 216. Repeater node 276 may be configured to receive a signal from
at least one of the
entry unit 216 and the detection unit 244 and transmit the signal to
communication hub 272.
[0082] With continued reference to FIG. 2, aerosolized
substance detection system 200 may
include at least a camera 280 communicatively connected to the entry unit 216
and the detection unit
244. For instance, and without limitation, data captured using sensor suite
248 and/or other
components may be combined with video or still camera 280 to provide
photographs of occupants
exiting an area after an alert occurs or entering an area before an alert
occurs. Alert metadata may be
used as input to a video/photo analysis package to select corresponding video
footage or photos from
a camera 280 storage system in a cloud or on communication hub 272 and/or a
local server. If video
is stored, footage may be converted to still photos. Video and/or still photos
may be cropped to focus
on faces of occupants; camera 280 information may be transmitted to an
application on an electronic
device. Alternatively, analyzed camera 280 footage stored on a local server
may be transmitted to an
application on an electronic device. Transmission may be performed in the form
of a text or email,
and/or may be transmitted to a software application located on an electronic
device. Alternatively,
facial photos/video footage may be categorized via facial recognition software
analysis to identify
occupants from an area by comparing camera 280 information to organizational
identification
databases. Alternatively, occupant faces may be tagged anonymously and/or
sorted according to
frequency of appearance. Processed footage transmission may be delayed or real-
time.
[OM] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 2, camera 280 may be
communicatively connected to a respective electronics stack and/or servers
212a-c. Camera 280 may
include, for example, video camera 280, still camera 280, SLR camera 280, DSLR
camera 280,
closed circuit networks, or any combination thereof, to name a few. Camera 280
may be
incorporated in and/or attached to an electronics stack of any element and/or
unit of vaporized
aerosol detection system 200. In embodiments, an electronics stack connected
to at least a camera
280 may be configured to provide power from a battery 232 to a camera 280 when
a detection event
is detected. In response to being provided power and/or when a detection event
is detected, a camera
280 may be configured to capture one or more images of environment 208, such
as photographs
and/or video footage of environment 208. In embodiments, camera 280 may be
part of an external
system to aerosolized detection system 200.
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100841 In embodiments, and with further reference to FIG.
2, captured videos and/or
photographs (i.e. images) may be provided to a respective electronics stack
and/or servers 212a-c.
According to embodiments, units and/or servers 212a-c may each, or in
combination, be configured
to analyze, process, and compress the captured video and/or photographs. For
example, a respective
electronics stack and/or servers 212a-c can include facial recognition
software configured to identify
persons present in the captured videos and/or photographs. Further, a
respective electronics stack
and/or servers 212a-c can be communicatively coupled with an organizational
identification
database for the purposes of facial recognition. In embodiments, analyzing the
captured video and/or
photographs may occur in real-time or may be delayed.
100851 With reference to FIG. 3A, an isometric view of
vaporized aerosol detection system
and/or detection unit 300, the similar or the same as vaporized aerosol
detection system 100, is
illustrated, according to embodiments. Vaporized aerosol detection system
and/or detection unit 300
may include motion sensor 316, sensor suite 340 (including particle sensor
320, chemical sensor
324, temperature sensor (not shown for clarity), humidity sensor (not shown
for clarity), and/or any
combination thereof), alarm 332, battery 328, electronics stack 336, tamper
sensor (not shown for
clarity), similar or the same as components hereinbefore described with
reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
100861 In embodiments, and with further reference to FIG.
3A, device housing 304, similar or
the same as housing 152 and/or detection unit housing 268, may be configured
to enclose any
element of system 200 and/or detection unit 244, including without limitation
at least a portion of
motion sensor 316, sensor suite 340 (including panicle sensor 320, chemical
sensor 324, temperature
sensor (not shown for clarity), humidity sensor (not shown for clarity), or
any combination thereof),
alarm 332, battery 328, electronics stack 336, tamper sensor, and has a shape
with at least one set of
opposite, opposing surfaces_ A shape of housing 304 may include any three-
dimensional shape
having one or more faces. In embodiments, a shape of housing 304 may be hollow
allowing housing
304 to enclose at least a portion of motion sensor 316, sensor suite 340
(including particle sensor
320, chemical sensor 324, temperature sensor, humidity sensor, or any
combination thereof), alarm
332, battery 328, electronics stack 336, and/or tamper sensor. For example, in
the illustrated
embodiment of FIGS. 3A and 3B, housing 304 may have a shape of a rectangular
prism or a hollow
box. According to embodiments, each face of a shape of housing 304 may form a
respective wall of
housing 304. A "wall," as used in this disclosure, is a piece of material
having opposite, opposing
surfaces (e.g. an inner surface and an outer surface) with a thickness between
them.
100871 According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 3A, a wall of housing 304 may
include venting 308, which may allow for air to travel within housing 304.
Venting 308 may be
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accomplished by any number or combination of methods including, but not
limited to slotting,
screens, perforations, cutouts, pass throughs, milled holes, or injection-
molded openings, to name a
few. By allowing air to travel within housing 304, vaporized aerosol
containing chemical particles
may be provided to the sensors enclosed with housing 304 for sampling. Venting
308 may be
disposed on any or all walls of housing 304 to allow for directed airflow.
100881 In embodiments, and further referring to FIG. 3A,
housing 152 may be configured to
enclose or encase one or more fans. Each fan may be disposed within housing
152 such that the fan
is configured to draw air into venting 308 and/or push air out of venting 308.
In embodiments, fans
enclosed within housing 152 may be configured to create a positive or negative
pressure within
housing 152 such that air is pulled into and/or forced out of venting 308.
According to embodiments,
creating a negative or positive pressure within device housing 152 may allow
for air to travel within
housing 152 so that it may be sampled by the sensors enclosed within housing
304. In embodiments,
power may be provided to the fans from the battery.
100891 According to embodiments, and with continued
reference to FIG. 3A, housing 304 may
include a flapper that allows air to pass through venting 308 such as during
sampling but does not
allow high pressure bursts of air to enter housing. In other words, a flapper
may be configured to
allow a low flow sampling (such as, for example <lm/s airflow) while
preventing higher flow rates
or bursts (such as, for example, >lm/s airflow). Flapper may be disposed near
venting 308 and
configured so that a sudden burst of air may force the flapper closed over at
least a portion of
venting 308 in order to protect the components enclosed within housing 304
from damage! Flapper
may be made of mylar, aluminum, various plastics, or another undisclosed
combination of
lightweight materials. A closure of the flapper may be communicated wirelessly
or through a wired
connection to electronics stack 140 and/or servers 156 A¨C for the purpose of
notifying a user that
sampling is taking place or the possibility that tampering was detected, for
example. Flapper, in
embodiments, may have an electrical connection-type sensor that may determine
if the flapper is
closed by the presence of a completed circuit within the sensor, this is
merely an example as any
contact sensor or grouping of sensors may accomplish this task.
100901 For example, and with further reference to FIG. 3A,
air may enter housing 304 and
travel over enclosed particle sensor 316 and/or chemical sensor 320 laminarly
so that particle sensor
316 and chemical sensor 320 may sample the air, "Laminar flow," as used in
this disclosure, is
defined as non-turbulent flow with smooth streamlines and little to no mixing
of layers of flowing
particles. According to embodiments, an arrangement of particle sensor 320,
chemical sensor 324,
and any other sensors that may be present alone or in combination fully and/or
partially enclosed
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within housing 304 may be sequential such that airflow is sampled by sensors
in the order in which
the sensors are reached by the airflow.
[0091] According to embodiments, and still referring to
FIG. 3A, housing 304 may include
mounting hardware 312 for mounting device 200 and/or detection unit 244 in a
plurality of
orientations and in a plurality of locations. Mounting hardware 312 may
include threaded holes,
clearance holes, hooks, slots, and/or other hardware interfaces that may
accept or interact with
standard hardware for mounting in a plurality of arrangements and
orientations. In the exemplary
embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A mounting hardware 312 may be arranged for
mounting on a wall
of a room. This is only an example and one of ordinary skill in the art would
understand mounting
hardware 312 may take another form for mounting device 200 and/or detection
unit 244 on a ceiling
or in a vehicle. Configuration of housing of entry unit 216, communication hub
272, repeater, and/or
other elements of system 200 may be affected similarly.
[0092] According to embodiments, and continuing to refer
to FIG. 3A, housing 304 and
enclosed components may also be configured in line with an air filtration
system, a vehicle air
system, an HI/AC system, an air conditioning system, or any system which
passes air and/or gaseous
fluid through it. In embodiments, vaporized aerosol detection system 300 may
be configured to be
only a subcomponent or process in a larger system such that it may detect
information about a
detection event and convey that to a larger system. These systems, both system
300 and the larger
HVAC-type system, may be disposed in or on residential or commercial
buildings, vehicles like
airplanes, cars, and/or trucks, or any combination thereof, to name a few.
Housing 304 may also
include a screen configured to provide general information about the system,
warnings, or alerts,
and/or health-related information configurable by a user or as reflected by
sensor data from the
system.
[0093] With reference to FIG. 3B, an isometric cutaway
view of device 200 and/or detection
unit 244 from FIG. 3A is shown. Disposition of previously shown sensors 316,
320, 324, may
alternatively be found within or on device as well. In FIG. 3B electronics
stack 336 is shown along
with battery 328 and alarm 332. One of ordinary skill in the art would
understand that the
arrangement of components within housing 304 are example embodiments and in
other
embodiments may take different forms allowing for different shaped housings,
airflow directions,
mounting arrangements, and environmental locations.
[0094] Referring again to FIG. 2, aerosolized substance
detection system 200 and/or any unit
thereof, including without limitation entry unit 216, detection unit 244,
communication hub 272,
repeater node 276, or the like may include a display such as, for example, a
light-emitting diode
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(LED) display, liquid crystal display (LCD), electronic ink display, cathode
ray tube (CRT) display,
organic LED display, or any combination thereof. According to embodiments,
display may be
configured to display one or more alerts, measures and/or levels detected by
sensor suit, battery level
(especially low battery), a temperature of environment 208, a humidity of
environment 208, general
health information, or any combination thereof
100951 In operation, entry unit 216, detection unit 244,
repeater node 276, and the
communication hub 272, may be configured to enable communication between any
of entry unit
216, detection unit 244, repeater node 276, and the communication hub 272.
This configuration may
form a network of sensors that may be distributed in a variety of
configurations best suited to the
detection application. Communication hub 272 may act as a gateway for
transmitting data to and
from the cloud to nodes. Data transmitted to the cloud may be delivered to
electronic device
applications used to provide alerts, view data, system status including
battery power, system
maintenance messages, user access, or thresholding. Repeater node 276, where
present, may receive
and re-transmit data to other nodes. Alternatively, some node configuration
files, such as firmware,
may be transmitted directly to the devices from the cloud as required.
100961 Still referring to FIG. 2, entry unit 216 may act
as a primary trigger for system 200.
When a triggering event such as movement is detected, entry unit 216 may send
a signal to detection
units 244 and/or units directly or via communication hub 272 and/or repeater
node 276 to wake up
sensors; detection unit 244 may then power on for some time and transmit data
to another element,
such as without limitation communication hub 272, server, and/or the cloud.
Signal may then be
transmitted from the cloud to an electronic device for processing. Signal from
sensors may be
compared to thresholds set in any unit of system 200, a server, and/or an
application operating on a
mobile device in communication with system 200, and if the signal exceeds the
threshold an alert
may be generated as a result. Thresholding algorithm may be stored, in a non-
limiting example, at
nodes and/or units of system 200 on firmware; in this case data processing may
be done locally. In
the above-described version only alerts may be transmitted to the cloud then
to servers 212a-c,
electronic device application, such as mobile device applications, or the
like. Algorithms to
determine alert states may also be more advanced to include smoothing, peak
picking, and/or second
derivative calculations or machine learning to train the sensors to an
environment 208. Any unit of
system 200, node of system 200, server, and/or mobile device in communication
therewith may also
receive warnings when a battery 232 in system 200 requires charging or if
systems200 is tampered
with or disabled for any reason.
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100971 With further reference to FIG. 2, baselines and/or
thresholds may be calculated and/or
dynamically set as at any unit of system 200 as follows. A timer such as a
watchdog timer, as
described above, may turn on entry unit 216, detection unit 244, and/or other
elements of system 200
at a configurable time to collect baseline data from sensors of sensor suite
248 at a regular interval,
such as each day; any such element or combination thereof may be powered on
for a configurable
period of time, which may as a non-limiting example fall between 10 minutes
and 60 minutes. A
mean from data of each sensor, excluding zeros, and a standard deviation from
the data of each
sensor may then be calculated. A threshold may be established by adding a
calculated mean value
from each sensor to a calculated standard deviation of that sensor. A
confidence factor may be
applied by multiplying a standard deviation by a factor as well.
Alternatively, a calculated mean
value may be multiplied by a configurable variable then added to a calculated
standard deviation to
reduce influence of environment 208 noise. A confidence factor may be applied
by multiplying
standard deviation by a factor as well. In a non-limiting example, confidence
factor may be
calculated according to the following equation:
Baseline Threshold = Particle Count-mean + (Variable x a)
Alternative Baseline Threshold= (Variable x Particle Countmean) + (Variable x
a)
A resulting value may be stored in the system until the next watchdog timer
event. In this
embodiment for 24 hours, and/or until the next configurable wakeup for
baseline collection.
100981 In an embodiment, detection unit 244 is a wearable
monitoring system for vaping,,
cigarette smoke, fire, and/or indoor air quality (e.g. CO2, CO, etc.). In this
embodiment the detection
unit 244 may be worn on a person and connected directly to an electronic
device such as a mobile
device, server, and/or communication hub 272 using any form of communicative
connection,
including via wireless connections such as WiFi, radar, ultrasonic, mesh,
ZigBee, or Bluetooth
and/or cellular connections such as 4G, LTE, 5G, RF point-to-point, or ultra-
wideband radio or the
like for data transmission monitoring and alerting. In embodiments, wearable
detection unit 244 may
be connected to the cloud via wireless or cellular connection then data is
transmitted from the cloud
via wireless or cellular to an electronic device for monitoring and alerting.
As a further non-limiting
example, detection unit 244 also may contain a Radio-frequency identification
(RF1D) tag that is
read by an electronic device such as a mobile phone or a separate RF1D
receiver. Alternatively,
detection unit 244 may contain a global positioning system (GPS) used to
monitor a location of
detection unit 244. Detection unit 244, when deployed as a wearable device,
may include any
element and/or component used in any unit of system 200 as described above.
Wearable detection
unit 244 may include, for instance, one or more vents, sensor suite 248,
electronics stack 228,
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camera 280, or the like. Wearable detection unit 244 may perform preconfigured
threshold
comparisons between sensed substances 204 and a preconfigured threshold to
identify detection
events. A wearable detection unit 244 can be used as an environment 208
surveillance tool in an area
such as an industrial building or a school. A bar code, serial number, device
name, QR code, or
similar technology, may be used to register wearable detection unit 244 to a
person wearing the node
and/or another system such as a personnel database or time management system.
Alerts generated
from detection unit 244 are received at the electronic device and include, but
are not limited to,
wearable device metadata, which may include any metadata as described above,
the person
registered with the detection unit 244, and location.
100991 FIGS, 4A and B illustrate example architectures 400
for vaporized aerosol detection
system 200, according to embodiments. Referring now to FIG. 4A, an example
architecture 400 can
include entry unit 416, the same or similar as entry unit 216; repeater unit
476, the same or similar as
repeater unit 276; detection units 444a,b each the same or similar as
detection unit 244; camera 480,
the same or similar as camera 280; communication hub 472, the same or similar
as communication
hub 272, or any combination thereof. In embodiments, architecture 400 can
include entry unit 416,
repeater unit 476, detection units 444a,b, camera 480, communication hub 472,
or any combination
thereof each disposed within environment 408 at two or more discrete locations
within environment
408, the same or similar as environment 208.
101001 Still referring to FIG. 4A, in an embodiment, entry
unit 416 may be disposed at a first
location within environment 408 and can be configured to detect when one or
more objects enter
environment 408. In response to detecting an object has entered environment
408, entry unit 416
may be configured to generate a detection signal and transmit the generated
detection signal to
communication hub 472 disposed at a second location within environment 408. In
embodiments,
entry unit 416 may transmit the detection signal to communication hub 472 via
WiFi, a LAN,
Bluetooth, ZigBee, ethernet, the internet, RF waves, near-field communication
(NFC), or any
combination thereof, to name a few.
101011 In response to receiving a detection signal,
communication hub 472 may be configured
to analyze, such as by an electronics stack, the detection signal by, for
example, comparing the
detection signal to a predetermined threshold value. In some embodiments,
communication hub 472
may transmit the detection signal to servers 412, the same or similar as
servers 212a-c, configured to
analyze the detection signal and transmit the result of the analysis to
communication hub 472
101021 Based upon the analysis, communication hub 472 may
further be configured to provide
power to at least a portion of detection unit 444a and camera 480 disposed at
a third location within
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environment 408 and detection unit 444b disposed at a fourth location within
environment 408. In
embodiments, providing power to at least a portion of detection units 444a,b
and camera 480 can
include transmitting one or more signals to power management circuitry
communicatively coupled
to detection units 444a,b and camera 480. In response, said power management
circuitry can be
configured to power at least a portion of detection units 444a,b and camera
480 from respective
batteries coupled to detection units 444a,b and camera 480. In embodiments,
providing power to at
least a portion of detection units 444a,b and camera 480 can include switching
each of detection
units 444a,b and camera 480 from a sleep mode to an active or armed mode.
101031 In embodiments, communication hub 472 can be
configured to send and receive one or
more signals to detection unit 444a and camera 480 via repeater unit 476.
Repeater unit 476 may act
as an intermediary between detection 444a/camera 480 and communication hub 472
such that
repeater unit 476 is configured to receive incoming signals from communication
hub 472, detection
unit 444a, and/or camera 480 and transmit these incoming signals to
communication hub 472,
detection unit 444a, and/or camera 480
101041 According to embodiments, once at least a portion
of detection units 444a,b is powered,
they may be configured to measure one or more particle counts proximate to
their respective
locations within environment 408. Further, detection units 444a,b, may be
configured to transmit
these measurements to communication hub 472.
101051 In embodiments, once at least a portion of camera
480 is powered, camera 480 may be
configured to capture one or more pictures and/or videos of an area within
environment 408
proximate to the respective location of camera 480. Further, camera 480 may be
configured to
transmit these pictures and/or video to communication hub 472.
101061 In some embodiments, in response to receiving
measures of one or more particle
counts, communication hub 472 may be configured to determine if a detection
event occurred
proximate either to the respective locations of detection units 444a,b.
Communication hub 472 may,
for example, determine if a detection event has occurred proximate to a
respective location by
comparing a measure of a particle received from a detection unit at the
respective location to a
predetermined threshold value. In other embodiments, communication hub 472 may
be configured to
transmit any received measures of particle counts to servers 412. Servers 412
may be configured to
determine if a detection event occurred proximate either to the respective
locations of detection units
444a,a. Servers 412, may for example, determine if a detection event has
occurred proximate to a
respective location by comparing a measure of a particle received from a
detection unit at the
respective location to a predetermined threshold value.
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101071 When communication hub 472 and/or servers 412 have
determined that a detection event
has occurred, communication hub 472 and/or servers 412 can be configured to
generate an alarm
signal. In embodiments, the alarm signal can be transmitted to an alarm
disposed near and/or
proximate to the detection unit 444 that took a measurement of a particle
count. The alarm signal can
comprise a signal configured to induce an audible, visual, and/or tactile
alert in said alarin.
101081 According to other embodiments, the alarm signal
can be transmitted to servers 412 and
can comprise a signal representing the location where the detection event
occurred, the time the
detection event occurred, measurements taken by one or more detection units
444, a chemical make-
up of the detection event, or any combination thereof. Servers 412 may be
configured to transmit the
alarm signal to one or more user devices 484 such that at least a portion of
the information
represented by the alarm signal is displayable on user device 382. User device
484 can comprise a
computer, a smartphone, a tablet, a processor, a smartwatch, or any
combination thereof, to name a
few.
101091 In embodiments, user device 484 can be configured
to generate and transmit one or more
threshold, activation, and/or deactivation signals to servers 412 and/or
communication hub 472.
Threshold signals can comprise signals configured to adjust, set, or modify a
predetermined
threshold used by entry unit 416, detection unit 444, camera 480,
communication hub 472, or servers
412. Activation signals can comprise signals configured to switch a respective
entry unit 416,
detection unit 444, camera 480, and/or alarm to an active and/or on mode.
Deactivation signals can
comprise signals configured to switch a respective entry unit 416, detection
unit 444, camera 480,
and/or alarm to a sleep, off, and/or debug mode. Servers 412 and/or
communication hub 472 may
transmit received threshold, activation, and/or deactivation signals to a
respective entry unit 416,
detection unit 444, camera 480, and/or alarm In embodiments, user device 484
can be configured to
transmit threshold, activation, and/or deactivation signals to a respective
entry unit 416, detection
unit 444, camera 480, and/or alarm via WiFi, ethernet, a LAN, Bluetooth,
ZigBee, NFC, Piconet,
RFID, or any combination thereof.
101101 Referring now to FIG. 4B, entry unit 416 disposed
at a first location within environment
408 may be configured to transmit a detection signal directly to camera 480
disposed at a second
location within environment 408 and/or detection unit 444 disposed at a third
location within
environment 408 Entry unit 416 may transmit the detection signal to camera 480
and/or detection
unit 444 by ad-hoc communications such as RF1D, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Piconet,
NFC, or any
combination thereof, to name a few examples.
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101111 In embodiments, when camera 480 and/or detection
unit 444 each receive a detection
signal, at least a portion of each camera 480 and/or detection unit 444 may be
powered by a
respective battery. Furthermore, each of camera 480 and/or detection unit 444
may be configured to
switch from a sleep or standby mode to an active mode when a detection signal
is received.
101121 According to embodiments, once at least a portion
of detection units 444 is powered, it
may be configured to measure one or more particle counts proximate to its
respective location within
environment 408 Further, detections unit 444 may be configured to transmit
these measurements to
communication hub 472. In embodiments, once at least a portion of camera 480
is powered, camera
480 may be configured to capture one or more pictures and/or videos of an area
within environment
408 proximate to the respective location of camera 480. Further, camera 480
may be configured to
transmit these pictures and/or video to communication hub 472.
101131 Referring now to FIG. 5, graphical user interface
(GUI) 500 for user device 484 is
presented, according to an example embodiment. GUI 500 can comprise an
interactive GUI 500 that
includes navigation buttons 504a-c, location selection 508, alert 512, and
current window 516.
101141 Navigation buttons 504a-c can comprise interactive
buttons having a shape (e.g. oval,
rectangle, circle, square, etc.) and a text representing one or more windows,
sites, and/or menus
associated with GUI 500. For example, navigation button 504a can include text
representing a
dashboard window, navigation button 504b can include text representing a
readings window, and
navigation button 504c can include text representing a settings window. In
embodiments, navigation
buttons 504a-c can each be configured to receive an interaction with GUI 500
such as a tap on a
touchscreen, a swipe on a touchscreen, a mouse click, a keyboard entry, or any
combination thereof,
to name a few. In response to receiving an action with navigation buttons 504a-
c, GUI SOO may be
configured to present a window in current window 516 according to which
navigation button 504
received an interaction For example, if navigation button 504b including text
representing a
readings window receives an interaction, GUI 500 may be configured to present
a readings window
in current window 516,
101151 Current window 516 may be configured to present
information related to a window
presented by GUI 500. For example, current window 516 may be configured to
present information
related to a dashboard window, a readings window, and/or a settings window.
Information related to
a dashboard window may comprise power levels of batteries associated with
entry units, detection
units, cameras, and/or communication hubs within a system vaporized aerosol
detection system 200,
alerts associated with entry units, detections units, cameras, and/or
communication hubs within a
system vaporized aerosol detection system 200, and/or maintenance alerts
associated with entry
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units, detections units, cameras, and/or communication hubs within a system
vaporized aerosol
detection system 200. Information related to a settings window can include
selectable, modifiable,
and/or interactive thresholds associated with entry units, detections units,
cameras, and/or
communication hubs within a system vaporized aerosol detection system 200;
selectable, modifiable,
and/or interactive activation signals generated with entry units, detections
units, cameras, and/or
communication hubs within a system vaporized aerosol detection system 200;
and/or selectable,
modifiable, and/or interactive deactivation signals associated with entry
units, detections units,
cameras, and/or communication hubs within a system vaporized aerosol detection
system 200.
101161 Information related to a readings window may
include measurements taken by one or
more detection units such as particle counts, chemical make-ups, particle
sizes, etc. Such
information can be presented as dials, graphs, numbers, animations, or any
combination thereof In
embodiments, the readings window can be configured to display measurements
associated with a
first location provided by a detection unit in or proximate to that location.
According to
embodiments, this first location may be indicated by location selection 508.
Location selection 508
can include interactive buttons, drop-down menus, lists, and/or sliders each
having text representing
one or more locations within an environment. Location selection 508 can be
configured to receive an
interaction with GUI 500 such as a tap on a touchscreen, a swipe on a
touchscreen, a mouse click, a
keyboard entry, or any combination thereof, to name a few. In response to
receiving an action with
location selection 508, GUI 500 may change the location indicated by location
selection 508
according to the received interaction. Such locations may include areas of an
environment such as
specific offices, classrooms, bathrooms, sectors, etc.
101171 Alert 512 can include a window presenting whether
an alert has occurred. For example,
alert 512 can include text representing that a detection event has occurred,
the time of the detection
event, the location of the detection event, and/or the frequency of a
detection event. In embodiments,
alert 512 may be configured only to present alerts for detection events that
occur in locations
indicated by location selection 508.
101181 With reference to FIG. 6, a flow chart illustrating
a method of vaporized aerosol
detection 600 is presented. At step 605, a trigger sensor, such as a motion
sensor, particle sensor,
chemical sensor, and/or real time clock similar or the same as motion sensor
116, particle sensor
120, or chemical sensor 124, respectively, may be active. According to an
embodiment, at 610, the
trigger sensor may be configured to detect a triggering event. For example, a
motion sensor 116 or
220 may be configured to determine whether motion has been detected by
detecting motion,
proximity, and/or presence of one or more objects 224a-b within an area. In
embodiments, detecting
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whether motion has been detected in an environment may include comparing a
detected motion,
proximity, presence, size, speed, or any combination thereof to a threshold
value. In this way, certain
types of motion (such as from small animals) may be filtered out while other
types of motion (such
as from a person walking) will be detected. In another embodiment, a similar
methodology may be
followed with a chemical sensor similar to or the same as chemical sensor 124
or 256. Chemical
sensor may additionally or alternatively be powered on and upon detection of a
substance of interest,
may provide similar signals as motion sensor 116 or 220 configured to power
system as described
below. In yet another example embodiment, a similar methodology may be
followed with a particle
sensor similar to or the same as particle sensor 120 or 252. Particle sensor
may additionally or
alternatively be powered on, and upon detection of a substance of interest,
may provide similar
signals as motion sensor 116 or 220 or chemical sensor 124 or 256 configured
to power the system
as described above. Additionally, or alternatively, a real time clock, which
may keep track of time,
may be used as a timer to power the system on and off at predetermined times
or intervals, for
instance to perform a polling cycle as discussed above.
101191 Further, at step 610, and still referring to FIG.
6, if a triggering event such as motion has
been detected, particles have been detected, chemicals have been detected,
and/or a predetermined
time has elapsed or arrived then system moves on to step 615, otherwise step
605 is repeated. At step
615, a portion of system, which may correspond to at least a portion of a
sensor suite similar or the
same as sensor suite 160 or 248, and/or which may be at a second location of
environment, is
activated; for instance, and without limitation, at least a detection unit 244
may be activated upon
receipt of a signal from entry unit 216. Step 615 may include powering a
portion of sensor suite and
arming constituent sensors. Arming of sensors at step 615 may also command
those sensors to begin
taking measurements. Arming of sensors may be irrespective of readings of any
sensors; in other
words, if motion is detected at step 610, the sensor suite may start taking
measurements with or
without the presence of vaporized aerosols.
101201 At step 620, and further referring to FIG. 6, a
particle count of the environment is
measured by sensor suite. Sensor suite may be configured to detect a quantity,
size, density,
composition, structure, dispersion, or any combination thereof, of aerosolized
particles in vaporized
aerosol in a certain area similar or the same as environment 104. In
embodiments, a sensor suite may
be configured to generate one or more signals including data representing a
quantity, size, density,
composition, structure, dispersion, or any combination thereof of aerosolized
particles. According to
embodiments, these signals may be sent to an electronics stack, the same as or
similar to, electronics
stack 140. Alternatively or additionally, these signals may be sent to another
device and/or
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component such as communication hub 272, one or more servers 212a-c, a mobile
device, or the
like.
101211 At step 625, and still referring to FIG. 6, the
system is configured to determine whether a
detection event has occurred. Determining whether a detection event has
occurred may include
determining a presence of substances of interest in an area. Substances of
interest may include any
substances that may be a cause of concern for an area. For example, substances
of interest may
include substances that are disallowed in an area (such as nicotine,
cannabinoids,
tetrahydrocannabinoids, tobacco smoke, etc.), particles that are hazardous
(carbon monoxide, arsine,
hydrogen azide, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide, viruses, bacteria,
pathogens, etc.), undesirable
particles for the area (tobacco smoke, nicotine, cannabinoids,
tetrahydrocannabinoids, ammonia
from pet excrement, etc.), or any combination thereof, to name a few.
According to embodiments,
determining a presence of substances of interest may include comparing,
respectively by an
electronics stack, entry unit 216, detection unit 244, communication hub 272,
and/or at least a server,
a detected size, structure, composition, density, and/or dispersion to a
threshold value. For example,
a detected size exceeding a threshold value may indicate that substances of
interest are present in the
area.
[0122] Further, and continuing to refer to FIG. 6, the
system may be configured to compare a
quantity, particle density, and/or dispersion of detected substances of
interest to one or more
predetermined threshold values in order to determine if a detection event has
occurred. For example,
the system may be configured to compare a detected particle density (such as
from a cloud of
aerosolized vape) to a threshold value and determine that the particle density
has exceeded the
threshold value indicating a detection event has occurred. If a detection
event has occurred then
system moves to step 630, otherwise the system repeats step 605,
[0123] At step 630, and further referring to FIG. 6, an
alarm signal is generated. An alarm
signal may include a signal configured to induce an alert from an alarm
similar or the same as alarm
148. Alert may include an auditory alert or signal (such as a buzzer, siren,
horn, etc.), a visual alert
or signal (such as an LED, strobe light, laser, LED screen, LCD screen, etc.),
tactile alert or signal
(such as a vibration alarm, motor, etc.), or any combination thereof
[0124] At step 635, and still referring to FIG. 6, alarm
signal may be transmitted to one or more
servers the same or similar as server 156 A¨C or a user device and
additionally stored. An alarm
signal may include data indicating that a detection event has occurred in an
area and may be
configured to display a particle count, density, size, composition, etc. as
well as the area in which the
detection event occurred on the user device. A user device may comprise a
computer, a processor, a
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server, a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop, or any combination thereof, to name
a few. In embodiments,
a user may disable an alarm from a user device, whether that alarm was
triggered by a detection
event or a tamper event.
[0125] With reference to FIG. 7, a flow chart illustrating
a method for power distribution in a
vaporized aerosol detection system 700 is presented. At step 705, trigger
sensor such as a motion
sensor, particle sensor, chemical sensor, or the like, which may be similar or
the same as motion
sensor 116, particle sensor 120, or chemical sensor 124, respectively, may be
active. At step 710, a
trigger sensor may be configured to determine whether a triggering event has
occurred. For example,
a motion sensor may be configured to determine whether motion has been
detected by detecting the
motion, proximity, and/or presence of one or more objects within an area.
Additionally, or
alternatively, at step 710, particle sensor or chemical sensor may be
configured to determine if
vaporized aerosols and/or chemicals are present within an area. In
embodiments, detecting whether
motion has been detected in an environment may include comparing a detected
motion, proximity,
presence, size, speed, or any combination thereof to a threshold value. In
this way, certain types of
motion (such as from small animals) may be filtered out while other types of
motion (such as from a
person walking) may be detected. In another example embodiment, a similar
methodology may be
followed with a chemical sensor similar to or the same as chemical sensor 124.
Chemical sensor may
be powered on, and upon detection of a substance of interest, may provide
similar signals as motion
sensor 116 configured to power the system as described below. In yet another
example embodiment,
a similar methodology may be followed with a panicle sensor similar to or the
same as particle
sensor 120. Particle sensor may additionally or alternatively be powered on,
and upon detection of a
substance of interest, may provide similar signals as motion sensor 116 or
chemical sensor 124
configured to power the system as described below. Additionally, or
alternatively, a real time clock,
which keeps track of time, may be used as a timer to power the system on and
off at predetermined
times or intervals.
[0126] Further referring to FIG. 7, at step 710, and in
separate or the same example
embodiments, if a triggering event has been detected, such as when motion has
been detected,
particles have been detected, chemicals have been detected, and/or a
predetermined time has elapsed
or arrived then the system moves on to step 715, otherwise 705 is repeated. At
step 715, a portion of
the system, such as one or more detectors and/or detection unit 244, may be
activated; this may
correspond to a sensor suite similar or the same as sensor suite 160. In
embodiments, activating a
portion of the system, such as a sensor suite and/or detection unit 244, may
include providing power
to one or more sensors within sensor suite from a battery the similar or the
same or battery 144. In
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embodiments, power from battery 1144 may be controlled and directed by
electronics stack the same
or similar as electronics stack 140 and/or 228. Electronics stack 140 and/or
228 may be configured
to provide power to one or more sensors of the sensor suite when motion,
panicles, chemicals, or in
general, substances of interest have been detected in the area. Further, in
embodiments, electronics
stack 140 and/or 228 may be configured to provide power from battery 144
and/or 232 to one or
more components of electronics stack 140 and/or 228 in response to motion
being detected in the
area
101271 Still referring to FIG. 7, at step 720, a particle
count of an environment is measured by
powered sensors within the sensor suite. Powered sensors may be configured to
detect the quantity,
size, density, composition, structure, dispersion, or any combination thereof,
of aerosolized panicles
in vaporized aerosol in a certain area similar or the same as environment. In
embodiments, powered
sensors may be configured to generate one or more signals including data
representing the quantity,
size, density, composition, structure, dispersion, or any combination thereof
of the aerosolized
particles. According to embodiments, these signals may be sent to an
electronics stack.
101281 At step 725, and with continued reference to FIG.
7, the system may be configured to
determine whether a detection event has occurred. Determining whether a
detection event has
occurred may include determining a presence of substances of interest in an
area. Substances of
interest may include any particles that may be a cause of concern in the area.
For example,
substances of interest may include particles that are disallowed in an area
(such as nicotine,
cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinoids, tobacco smoke, etc.), particles that are
hazardous (carbon
monoxide, arsine, hydrogen azide, hydrogen cyanide, nitrogen dioxide, viruses,
bacteria, pathogens,
etc.), undesirable particles for the area (tobacco smoke, nicotine,
cannabinoids,
tetrahydrocannabinoids, ammonia from pet excrement, etc), or any combination
thereof, to name a
few. According to embodiments, determining a presence of substances of
interest may include
comparing, respectively by an electronics stack and/or at least a server, a
detected size, structure,
composition, density, and/or dispersion to a threshold value. For example, a
detected size exceeding
a threshold value may indicate that substances of interest are present in the
area.
101291 Further referring to FIG. 7, system and/or network
is configured to compare a quantity,
particle density, ancUor dispersion of detected substances of interest to one
or more predetermined
threshold values in order to determine if a detection event has occurred. For
example, the system
may be configured to compare a detected particle density of carbon monoxide to
a threshold value
and determine that the particle density has exceeded the threshold value
indicating a detection event
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has occurred. If a detection event has occurred then the system moves to step
730, otherwise the
system may cease providing power to sensors and the system repeats step 705.
101301 At step 730, and still referring to FIG. 7, power
is provided from battery to a transceiver
within the electronics stack. Transceiver may be configured to transmit andVor
receive data from one
or more servers the same or similar to servers 156 A¨C and/or a user device
via, for example,
intemet, cellular networks, WIF1, Bluetooth, ZigBee, ethernet, wired
connections, or any
combination thereof. A user device may include a computer, a processor, a
server, a smartphone, a
tablet, a laptop, or any combination thereof, to name a few, such as without
limitation an electronics
stack of detection unit 244.
101311 At step 735, and continuing to refer to FIG. 7,
power is provided from battery to an
alarm the same or similar as alarm 148. In embodiments, alarm 148 is
configured to generate an alert
or signal when power is provided and/or an alarm signal is received. Such an
alert may include, but
is not limited to, an audible alert or signal (such as a buzzer, siren, horn,
etc.), a visual alert or signal
(such as an LED, strobe light, laser, LED screen, LCD screen, etc.), tactile
alert or signal (such as a
vibration alarm, motor, etc.), or any combination thereof.
101321 Referring now to FIG. 8, a graph 800 representing
example sensor signals 808, 816, 820,
824, and 828 and an example threshold 832 over particle count 804 vs time 812
is presented,
according to an example embodiment. Graph 800 demonstrates an example particle
count threshold
that, when exceeded, may trigger an alarm and/or alert. According to graph
800, it can be seen that
sensor signals 808, 816, 820, 824, and exceed threshold 832. Conversely,
sensor signal line 828 does
not exceed threshold 832 and would therefore not trigger an alarm and/or an
alert due to a detection
event that has occurred.
101331 It is to be noted that any one or more of the
aspects and embodiments described herein
may be conveniently implemented using one or more machines (e.g., one or more
computing devices
that are utilized as a user computing device for an electronic document, one
or more server devices,
such as a document server, etc.) programmed according to the teachings of the
present specification,
as will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the computer art.
Appropriate software coding can
readily be prepared by skilled programmers based on the teachings of the
present disclosure, as will
be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the software art. Aspects and
implementations discussed
above employing software and/or software modules may also include appropriate
hardware for
assisting in the implementation of the machine executable instructions of the
software and/or
software module.
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101341 Such software may be a computer program product
that employs a machine-readable
storage medium. A machine-readable storage medium may be any medium that is
capable of storing
and/or encoding a sequence of instructions for execution by a machine (e.g., a
computing device)
and that causes the machine to perform any one of the methodologies andVor
embodiments described
herein. Examples of a machine-readable storage medium include, but are not
limited to, a magnetic
disk, an optical disc (e.g., CD, CD-R, DVD, DVD-R, etc.), a magneto-optical
disk, a read-only
memory "ROM" device, a random access memory "RANI" device, a magnetic card, an
optical card,
a solid-state memory device, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and any combinations
thereof. A machine-
readable medium, as used herein, is intended to include a single medium as
well as a collection of
physically separate media, such as, for example, a collection of compact discs
or one or more hard
disk drives in combination with a computer memory. As used herein, a machine-
readable storage
medium does not include transitory forms of signal transmission.
101351 Such software may also include information (e.g.,
data) carried as a data signal on a data
carrier, such as a carrier wave. For example, machine-executable information
may be included as a
data-carrying signal embodied in a data carrier in which the signal encodes a
sequence of instruction,
or portion thereof, for execution by a machine (e.g., a computing device) and
any related information
(e.g, data structures and data) that causes the machine to perform any one of
the methodologies
and/or embodiments described herein.
101361 Examples of a computing device include, but are not
limited to, an electronic book
reading device, a computer workstation, a terminal computer, a server
computer, a handheld device
(e.g., a tablet computer, a smartphone, etc.), a web appliance, a network
router, a network switch, a
network bridge, any machine capable of executing a sequence of instructions
that specify an action
to be taken by that machine, and any combinations thereof. In one example, a
computing device may
include and/or be included in a kiosk
101371 FIG. 9 shows a diagrammatic representation of one
embodiment of a computing device
in the exemplary form of a computer system 900 within which a set of
instructions for causing a
control system to perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies
of the present
disclosure may be executed. It is also contemplated that multiple computing
devices may be utilized
to implement a specially configured set of instructions for causing one or
more of the devices to
perform any one or more of the aspects and/or methodologies of the present
disclosure. Computer
system 900 includes a processor 904 and a memory 908 that communicate with
each other, and with
other components, via a bus 912. Bus 912 may include any of several types of
bus structures
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including, but not limited to, a memory bus, a memory controller, a peripheral
bus, a local bus, and
any combinations thereof, using any of a variety of bus architectures.
101381 Processor 904 may include any suitable processor,
such as without limitation a processor
incorporating logical circuitry for performing arithmetic and logical
operations, such as an arithmetic
and logic unit (ALU), which may be regulated with a state machine and directed
by operational
inputs from memory and/or sensors; processor 904 may be organized according to
Von Neumann
and/or Harvard architecture as a non-limiting example. Processor 904 may
include, incorporate,
and/or be incorporated in, without limitation, a microcontroller,
microprocessor, digital signal
processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Complex Programmable
Logic Device
(CPLD), Graphical Processing Unit (GPU), general purpose GPU, Tensor
Processing Unit (TPU),
analog or mixed signal processor, Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a floating
point unit (FPU),
and/or system on a chip (SoC)
101391 Memory 908 may include various components (e.g.,
machine-readable media) including,
but not limited to, a random-access memory component, a read only component,
and any
combinations thereof In one example, a basic input/output system 916 (BIOS),
including basic
routines that help to transfer information between elements within computer
system 900, such as
during start-up, may be stored in memory 908. Memory 908 may also include
(e.g., stored on one or
more machine-readable media) instructions (e.g., software) 920 embodying any
one or more of the
aspects and/or methodologies of the present disclosure. In another example,
memory 908 may
further include any number of program modules including, but not limited to,
an operating system,
one or more application programs, other program modules, program data, and any
combinations
thereof
101401 Computer system 900 may also include a storage
device 924. Examples of a storage
device (e.g., storage device 924) include, but are not limited to, a hard disk
drive, a magnetic disk
drive, an optical disc drive in combination with an optical medium, a solid-
state memory device, and
any combinations thereof Storage device 924 may be connected to bus 912 by an
appropriate
interface (not shown). Example interfaces include, but are not limited to,
SCSI, advanced technology
attachment (ATA), serial ATA, universal serial bus (USB), IEEE 1394
(FIREWIRE), and any
combinations thereof. In one example, storage device 924 (or one or more
components thereof) may
be removably interfaced with computer system 900 (e.g., via an external port
connector (not
shown)). Particularly, storage device 924 and an associated machine-readable
medium 928 may
provide nonvolatile and/or volatile storage of machine-readable instructions,
data structures,
program modules, and/or other data for computer system 900. In one example,
software 920 may
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reside, completely or partially, within machine-readable medium 928. In
another example, software
920 may reside, completely or partially, within processor 904.
101411 Computer system 900 may also include an input
device 932. In one example, a user of
computer system 900 may enter commands and/or other information into computer
system 900 via
input device 932. Examples of an input device 932 include, but are not limited
to, an alpha-numeric
input device (e.g., a keyboard), a pointing device, a joystick, a gamepad, an
audio input device (e.g.,
a microphone, a voice response system, etc.), a cursor control device (e.g., a
mouse), a touchpad, an
optical scanner, a video capture device (e.g., a still camera, a video
camera), a touchscreen, and any
combinations thereof Input device 932 may be interfaced to bus 912 via any of
a variety of
interfaces (not shown) including, but not limited to, a serial interface, a
parallel interface, a game
port, a USB interface, a FlREWIRE interface, a direct interface to bus 912,
and any combinations
thereof. Input device 932 may include a touch screen interface that may be a
part of or separate from
display 936, discussed further below. Input device 932 may be utilized as a
user selection device for
selecting one or more graphical representations in a graphical interface as
described above.
101421 A user may also input commands and/or other
information to computer system 900 via
storage device 924 (e.g., a removable disk drive, a flash drive, etc.) and/or
network interface
device 940. A network interface device, such as network interface device 940,
may be utilized for
connecting computer system 900 to one or more of a variety of networks, such
as network 944, and
one or more remote devices 948 connected thereto. Examples of a network
interface device include,
but are not limited to, a network interface card (e.g., a mobile network
interface card, a LAN card), a
modem, and any combination thereof Examples of a network include, but are not
limited to, a wide
area network (e.g., the Internet, an enterprise network), a local area network
(e.g., a network
associated with an office, a building, a campus or other relatively small
geographic space), a
telephone network, a data network associated with a telephone/voice provider
(e.g., a mobile
communications provider data and/or voice network), a direct connection
between two computing
devices, and any combinations thereof A network, such as network 944, may
employ a wired and/or
a wireless mode of communication. In general, any network topology may be
used. Information
(e.g., data, software 920, etc.) may be communicated to and/or from computer
system 900 via
network interface device 940.
101431 Computer system 900 may further include a video
display adapter 952 for
communicating a displayable image to a display device, such as display device
936 Examples of a
display device include, but are not limited to, a liquid crystal display
(LCD), a cathode ray tube
(CRT), a plasma display, a light emitting diode (LED) display, and any
combinations thereof
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Display adapter 952 and display device 936 may be utilized in combination with
processor 904 to
provide graphical representations of aspects of the present disclosure. In
addition to a display device,
computer system 900 may include one or more other peripheral output devices
including, but not
limited to, an audio speaker, a printer, and any combinations thereof. Such
peripheral output devices
may be connected to bus 912 via a peripheral interface 956. Examples of a
peripheral interface
include, but are not limited to, a serial port, a USB connection, a FlREW1RE
connection, a parallel
connection, and any combinations thereof.
101441 The foregoing has been a detailed description of
illustrative embodiments of the
invention. Various modifications and additions can be made without departing
from the spirit and
scope of this invention. Features of each of the various embodiments described
above may be
combined with features of other described embodiments as appropriate in order
to provide a
multiplicity of feature combinations in associated new embodiments.
Furthermore, while the
foregoing describes a number of separate embodiments, what has been described
herein is merely
illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention.
Additionally, although
particular methods herein may be illustrated and/or described as being
performed in a specific order,
the ordering is highly variable within ordinary skill to achieve methods and
systems according to the
present disclosure. Accordingly, this description is meant to be taken only by
way of example, and
not to otherwise limit the scope of this invention!
101451 Exemplary embodiments have been disclosed above and
illustrated in the accompanying
drawings. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various
changes, omissions, and
additions may be made to that which is specifically disclosed herein without
departing from the
spirit and scope of the present invention.
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