CA1213982A - Process and device for indicating and evaluating environmental parameters - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A multiplicity of environmental parameters, such as composition of the ambient atmosphere, temperature and air pressure, are concurrently measured with a portable device and registered to-gether with information giving time and location of each measure-ment. The readings are interrelated parameters, e.g. temperature and relative humidity, may be jointly evaluated with adjustment of the stored values in light of one another; they may also be sub-jected to other corrections such as linearization, averaging or logarithmic conversion. A keyboard on the device enables the instantaneous readout of a selected parameter on a common display panel; detection of dangerous concentrations of noxious gases, e.g.
firedamp in a coal mine, sets off an alarm.

Description

1~3~
PROC~SS A~D DEVICE FOR ~DIC~TING Pl~D
VALU TIN El~V R_E~TAL P~ETER S

81?ECIPICa~I0~7 F~eld of the Invention ____ My pre~ent inventlon relate~ to a proces~ for ç~atherln ln~ormatlon on envlronmental condit~on~ as well a~ to a portable devlce adaptcd to measure 6elected par~et~r~ pertain1n~ to these conditlon~s.

5'h~ m~3a~!;ur1ng of environmental pa~ameters, either for i~n-me~lat~ ob6ervatlon or for ~;ubsequent evaluat~on, i~ lmportant ln many inf;tance~. q'hus, for exam~le, the atmospher~ of a coal mlne must be nnon~tc)r~d contlnuously ~or poYsible concentration~ of flr~
damp or other noxloul3 ga~as while ~ recorsl ~hould al~o be kept of condltlon6- ~xistln~ at various t~mes on a p~rtlcular ~it~ Thi~
rQcordin~ ~a~ h~reto~ore ~enQrally b&en done by hand, ln a mln~ log ~estalnln~ to a glv~n locatlon, ox ~ub~eque~t rev~ew and com~arl~on with ex~sting ~tan~ard~ to enable the in~tltution o~ measure~ for improvlng oparations (a. g. by providin~ better ~entllation) an~
pxeventlng po~ible accident~. ~he immediate ob~ervatlon of ~uch data, o~ cour~a, prov~de~ a timely warning o~ lmpendin~ dan~er.
Situations exi~t when the readln~ of a mer~ numerlc~l value of ~ ~lven param~er does not 6upply 6ufflc~ent lnformat~on ~or de-t~rminln~ wh~th~r opex~tln~ conditions ~re satisfactory or not~
~hu8, for ~xample, ambient tempersture alone ~ 8 not neces~arily 13~

a mea~ur~ of comfor~ or alscomfort since rela~vs hllmldlty and w~nd-chill ~Eactor ought tc~ be ta~;en ~nto acs:oun~- Al80, ~arometrlc pressure may have to be rsferred ~o elevatlon above ~iea level in ordex to be relevant. Dev~atl~n~3 ~rom a norm ln, 8a~, ~he mea~ure~
c:onc:erltrat~on of ~ certain g~a~ may be du~ to a locall:~ed varlat~on so thalt such read~ngs may h~}ve to ~e averaged over a ~ertaln time p~rlod andJor for d l f f ~rent locatlon~.

An ~mport~nt ob~ct of my pr~ent lnv~nt~on, there~ore, 1 to prov~de a proce~ or gatilering such data wlth t~e aid of ~
~rta~l~ instrw~ent in a mam~ ur2lishin~ not only lnformation lmmedl~tely available but ~leo a recor~ for &ub~ nt evalua~ion, preferably wlth ths aid of a ~rsces~;or.
A related ob~ect 1~ to provide a ~evice for lmpement~ng thls proc~

~b~ ~
A proce~ ~O: gatherin~ ln~or~ation or~ environm~ntal con-~it~on~ in accor~ance~with n~y presen'c invention, using a port~ble ~nstrur~ent 2~dapt~ to Ben~e var~iou8 pararnet~rs, comprlses th~ stepls of nl~asurlng a selected par~eter, di~;pl~in~ ~mB, enterlng tlme and plac~ of mea~uremQnt on a recordlng ~edlum along with t~e me~sured v~lue, and ~iubse~uently evaluating the t5ata e~o r~ ter~d.
For the rea60ns ~ u~sed above, it will be ds~slra~le ln many ln6tances to a~ub~ect th.~ mea~ured valu~ to a cetrta~n ad~u~t-Z5 ment befor~ di~playing or at l~ast b~fore recordlng ~t. Specif lc instances of such an adjustment involve a modification in light of other measured pararneters or a linearization of a curve interpolated from scattered values.
According to ano~her aspect of my invention, a device for aathering information of the type discussed above comprises a portable base carrying measuring means for detecting the magnitude of selected environmental parameters as well as chronometric means and storage means, the latter being coupled with the measuring and chronometric means for registexing a detected magnitude together with the time of detection on a recording medium. The base further carried coding means, such as a keyboard, for additionally register-ing on that recording medium the location bf the apparatus at the instant of detection. Advantageously, a keyboard used for this purpose is designed to command the registration of a detected magnitude only after registration of a location code on the record-ing medium.
More particularly, the keyboard may be operable to call forth the detected magnitude of a selected parameter and to display same visually whereupon the user can decide whether or not the dis-played value should be recorded. I further prefer to provide thedevice with threshold means coupled to the measuring means for emitting an alarm signal in response to a detected magnitude which e~ceeds a predetermined limiting value for the respective parameter.
Such an alarm signal could be emitted in response to or independently of any manual operation of a keyboard or other coding means to be handled by the user. ~lowever, in order to prevent an untimely ~ 3~
s~en~ratlon o~ an ~larm ae a resul ~ of ar~ erratle m~asur6raent, or one fa~linç~ to take ad~ltional factor~; lnto account. adjustment me~ns ~e~ned to modl~y a detect~ed ma~nl tude ILn light o~ o~h~
in~orma~.iorl may ~e lntarpo~ d b~t:w~ e mea~uring IllQanfi ~nà th~
threshsl~l mean~;.
At 'che ~nd of a ~layi or at s>ther a~pr;:~rlat~ ti~e~, ~ev~ral devices according ~o my ~ven~ion could be plugged ~nto a common proces~or for a ~int evaluation of <~ata r~tered on th~ir r2~?ect~v~3 record~n~ m~dla.

O ~ ~ _ The above and other feature~ of my in~ention will now bg}
de~cr~bed ~ n detail with reference to the accompanylng drawlnc~ in whic~h c P~LG. 1 1~ 3chematlc vle~J o~ a ~e~suring instrul;lent u~ed for the gatharing c~f inormatlon on e~nvironmental conditlon~ in E~ccor~ o w~ th n~ pre~;~nt inventlon FIG. 2 dlagrammatically lllustrate~ an ~ssembly oi~ ~ev~r~l ~vices according to my lnventlon. each includln~ an ln~trument a~
~ho~ in FI~. 1, coupled to ~ common procE~s~or for the ~ int ~0 ~valuation ~ their data ~ ~IG. 3 1~ a ~lock dlagram of a devlc~3 ~chematlcal~
lu~trat~d ~n FIG~ ~;
~IG~ 4 1B a mOre detailed ~ace view of ~uch a dev~ce;
an~ ....
FI~;S. 5 and 6 ar~3 graph~ rQpresent~ ible data modif~atlong in a d~v~ce accord~ to mv ~nv~ntlon.

3~

~pec ~ ~
FIG. 1 ~ichematlc:ally ~how~ a mea~3urinS~ trument 10 res~onslv~3 to a variet~ of amblent paxEImeter~ to ~ re~i~tf3red ~n a ~a.ta 8tor~3 13, Re~erence ~n thi8 cor-nectlon m~y b~ m~de, fox exampls, to Ge~man ~atent ~o . lS 9~ 5 20. The instrument 10 ha~ lnpult~
re~pect~vely c:~nne$:ted to ~ pl~lral~ty s) s~n~or~ l~g,, SensorE~ 1 and

2 mea~-lre ~e concentration ~f m~thane ln the atm~sphere on two different ~:cale ;or 1 givlng r~ad~ngs o~ o to 5% ~hil~ ;or 2 maai;ure~ between O an~ 100~ Senso,r 3 :3upæl 1e~ ercent~e of J o~ygen, ~ or 4 det~rmine~s the t:oncentration of carbon monoxide ln terms of volume per mlll~on, ~3en~30r 5 ~asur~3 d~ree~ C, ~en~or 6 , , rea~6 ~tmospheric pre~;~;ure in mi~ nsor 7 give~ the p~rcenta~e of r~latl~ hum~dity and ~;en60r 8 detec'cs alrf low ~n meters ~er ~econd.
Sensor ~ may mea~ur~ some other par~uneter re~utre~l for a particular ~eld of u~eO Time and place inforrr.ation are ~Eed into the in~trument, ln a manrler de~;crlbe~l her~lna~ter, as re~;pectlvely indlcat~a at 11 and 12.
Instrument 10 a~d data store 13 form p~rt o~ a device 100 two ~;uch de~ce~ 100', 100" with out~ut~ 14' and 14" are shown connec~ed ~n ~IG. 2 to an irl~erface 15 fee~n~ a c:~ntral proc~in~
unit 16 coupl~d to an external computer 17. Several ~eripheral ~nlt~
c~nnected to outputE~ o:f~ CP~J 16 ~nclu~e a ~?rinter ~. a recorder 19 and a u8er ters~inal 20. The data ~;tores 13 (F~G. 1 ) oP dev~s:es 100 ' and 100" and o~er~ conrlec:table to interface 15 should, o~ cour~e, b~ ~ult~bly pro~rammablç~ aæ i~ well ~nown in t~e mtcroproce~or art.

s~
E~ch ou~>ut 14 ~ " m~Ly compri~e, for example, a panel on on~ of ~3 mirlor slde~ of the rec~ansrular ba~e with a nulaber of socket~
lnto wh~ corx2E~pondlng C~nnector~ o~ ~nter~aC~ ~5 14ay be plu~ged.
F~G. 3 ~howe details og a ~en~rlc device ~ 03 whoE;e ba~e~
r~pre~ented ln ~hantom line~3, carry thf~ aforeml3n~i~ned data ~;tor~
13 along wit~ other comE~nent2~ wh~ch fonn par~ o~ the me~surin~
lnstrument lC of FIG. 1. 5ql~e compon~t~ lnclude a power 60urc~ 21, ~own sch~a~ically as a battQry, supplyirlg ~e data stOrQ 13 and tht3 r~ o~ the dQvis:~ wl~h op~atlng t:urr~nt. A qas analy~Qr 22, r~
presentative o~ th-3 v ~louEs E;Ç~n~0ro discu~e~ with s~f~ce ~o F:IG.
1, work~ via an ad~u~tex 25 ~ nto a thre6hold circuit 26 whic:h sner~eE
d~ alarm 30 wher~ out~put ~ nal o~ ~nalyzer ~2~ a~ modlfl~d by that adjus~ ~e~d6 a pr~dete~in~d f~a~ level. ~e ad~u~ter may be subdivided into a plurality of units a~signed to di:i~ferent paramet~
for individually {aodify~ng them; some, of course, could ~ t un-modified. !r}~e ~lgnal levels of analyzor 22, Rdjuster 25 and thresh~ld c~irGu~t 26 ~ay b~ manually aldju~;ted, po}~ ly w~th the aid of a com~on ~lpulator aE; ~chem~t~cally lnd$cated at 32, ln conform~ty w~th dlfferent operat~ng s:ond~t~on~. ~ k~y~oaxd ~3 wlth 1cey~ 24 ~erves ror the actlvation of a d~play unlt 27 which lncludel3 a ~ ltal ln~licator Z8 and a param~t~r ~el~ctor 29 ~n addltion to the alarm lamp 30. Analo~
~l~nal~ Xrom analyzer 22, an~ from othes sen~or~; (not ~hown ~ il. 3) inclu~led ~ mea~urin~ instrument~ ~r~ lti~ed wlthin ad~uF~ter 25.
Al~o s~30w~ i~ a clock 31 doliv~ring time information to data ~Etore 13.
~ce~board. 23 1F shown to h~v~ tw~31Ye ~csy8 24 wl~ fur~ctlo ~ ~ ~ 3~!~

indicated in Figure 4, ten of them bearina the digits from 0 through 9 along with other legends~ A function key at lower left and a numbers key at lower right enable a shift between the two markings, the function key F enabling a selection of a particular parameter to be read out from gas analyzer 22 or from one of the other sensors for display on indicator 280 The selec~ed parameter (e.g. Rc) appears in the field 29 of display 27. The symbol under digit "0"
calls for a repeat of the measurement, that under digit "1" commands a recording in data store 13, and the legends under the remaining digits correspond to some of those indicated in Figure 1.
When the numbers key # is depressed, the operator can dial a numerical code that identifies the location at which the measurement is being taken. The digital code is transmitted to the data store 13 via a line 33 (see Figure 3) while other lines 34 and 35 respectively carry the identity of the activated sensor and the digitized output signal thereof as modified by adjuster 25. Data store 13 is advantageously provided with circuitry enabling the reception of information over lines 34 and 35 only after the arrival of a location code fed in via line 33; the time of the event avail-able from clock 31 is also recorded. Thus, each data set registeredon a tape or other recording medium is accompanied by the necessary time and location identification.
As noted earlier, gas analyzer 22 and other sensors (e.g~ a temperature feeler) may also access the threshold circuit 26 independently of keyboard 23 to cause the emission of an alarm upon detection of a critical situation. Adjuster 25 may also be settable, 1~3~

. ~. vla 1~ e 32, to pas~ the s~sed dat~ witl~out mod~c~tlon to indicator 2~, thr~6hold clrcu~ k 26 and data ~tore 13.
~ow~r ~;upp~y 21, whis:h prefe~ably i~ a re~ar~a}31e bnttery~
m~y se~ve a~i ~; principal e:urr~nt 60urce b~t could ~c~ bQ ulsed a~6 a ~y wh~ t~he net~or~ c~nn~ct~le ~o a utility s~utl~:t.
~dju~ter Z3, which m~ b~ a pro~ra~Nnable microprocessor, cou~d Qperate a~ 2~ inte~rator avera~ a ~;ucce~iorl ~ value~, a r,od~fiQr ta~ other ~arametexB ~ntC~ 8CCoun~ (e.5~. relative hur~ y ca~e oi~ mpera~uxe m~a~ m~ts), or a cc~nvert~r of al~olute values to a lo~ar~hmic ~ical~, for exa~pl~. A ~arSicular lnE~tanl:e repre~en~ed in FIG. 5 invol~e3 correctlon~; of f;ensitivity wl~:h rl~
conc~ntratlon of a sla&eous co~ponent belns~ Ea~pled, with multipl~ca-tion of a ~ea~ured value IW ~ay a corrective fac~or ~ = S~ J wh~re S~ is a Letpoin~ value to be read on ~he ~ndicator 2E3. ~I~. 6 ~hows the lineari~ation ~f an approxlmate: cur-re ~ynthe~i~ed fro~ a nu~er of s~p~rately r~ 13tered 6ample~.
~ proce&~3or 15, 16 ~llus~rated in ~IG. 2 co~ld a~o be uf~od for repro~rar..mi~ tha adju~st~rs 25 of t~e devic~s ? 00 ', lOû"
connec:ted ther E3to.

Claims (15)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A process for gathering information on environmental conditions with the aid of a portable instrument adapted to measure selected parameters, comprising the steps of:
(a) measuring a selected parameter;
(b) displaying the measured parameter;
(c) entering time and place of measurement on a record-ing medium along with the measured value; and (d) subsequently evaluating the data registered in step (c),

2. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein a measured value is subjected to adjustment prior to entry in step (c).

3. A process as defined in claim 2 wherein the adjust-ment involves a modification in light of other measured parameters.

4. A process as defined in claim 2 wherein the adjust-ment involves a linearization of a curve interpolated from scattered value.

5. A process as defined in claim 1 wherein the selected parameters include proportions of specified gases in the ambient atmosphere.

6. A device for gathering information on environmental conditions, comprising:
a portable base;
measuring means on said base for detecting the magni-tude of selected environmental parameters;

chronometric means on said base;
storage means on said base coupled with said measuring chronometric means for registering a detected magnitude together with the time of detection on a recording medium; and coding means on said base for additionally registering on said recording medium the location of the device at the instant of said detection.

7. A device as defined in claim 6 wherein said coding means is part of a keyboard operable to call forth the detected magnitude of a selected parameter from said measuring means.

8. A device as defined in claim 7, further comprising display means on said base for visually indicating a detected magnitude called forth by means of said keyboard.

9. A device as defined in claim 7 wherein said keyboard is operable to command the registration of a detected magnitude on said recording medium only after registration of a location code thereon.

10. A device as defined in claim 6, further comprising threshold means on said base coupled to said measuring means for emitting an alarm signal in response to a detected magnitude exceeding a predetermined limiting value for the respective parameter.

11. A device as defined in claim 10, further comprising adjustment means interposed between said measuring means and said threshold means for modifying a detected magnitude in light of other information.

12. A device as defined in claim 11, further comprising joint resetting means for said measuring means, said adjustment means and said threshold means.

13. A device as defined in claim 10 wherein said measuring means includes a gas analyzer.

14. A device as defined in claim 6, further comprising a power supply on said base for the energization of said measuring and storage means.

15. In combination, a plurality of devices as defined in claim 6, a processor, and an interface unit for coupling said devices to said processor for a joint evaluation of data registered by said storage means thereof.