GB2565169A

GB2565169A - Sensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2565169A
Application number: GB1720349.8A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Wilson Stuart
Original assignee: DW Windsor Ltd
Current assignee: DW Windsor Ltd
Priority date: 2017-07-31
Filing date: 2017-12-06
Publication date: 2019-02-06
Anticipated expiration: 2037-12-06
Also published as: GB2565169B; GB201712271D0; GB201720349D0

Abstract

A sensing apparatus 100 is provided for an item of street furniture 50 such as a street light, utility cabinet, parking meter, manhole cover. The street furniture 50 comprises a housing enclosing electrical components 75. The sensing apparatus 100 comprises a processor 105 and a sensor 101 for determining a condition of the housing. The sensor 101 may comprise a light sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. The sensor 101 is arranged to provide at least one signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the processor 105. The housing condition may be the condition of a door or access panel 25 of the housing. The processor 105 is configured to communicate with a remote system 900. The processor 105 is configured to report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the remote system 900 for use in monitoring whether the electrical components 75 are effectively protected by the housing.

Description

Sensing apparatus

Field of the invention

The present disclosure relates to a sensing apparatus, and in particular a sensing apparatus for an item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture. The present disclosure also relates to a method of monitoring an item of street furniture.

Background

There are around 8 million Street Lights within the UK, with each of them being served by electricity. Typically, these present no danger to the public as the electricity services are housed within the sealed column and are only accessed by authorised personnel with the relevant training and skill set and hence are inherently safe when the column is well maintained and the electricity supply is fully protected by a secured door.

However, health and safety of the public and animals is compromised when these doors become dislodged, are corroded or are maliciously removed, thereby exposing the electrical service. When a door-off situation is reported to an Authority (when the lighting column is publicly owned and operated), it is usually re-fitted or replaced by an “emergency call-out” operative to make safe but this is only attended after a report has been made, usually by a concerned member of the public. The same situation may occur in privately owned and maintained column stock in, for example, car-parks; indeed, low-speed vehicle impact of lighting columns in car parks is not uncommon and this may result in doors being dislodged or removed exposing car-park users to the electricity supply.

There are also other critical infrastructure assets situated within the highway such as BT® (Openreach® Cabinets) and CATV Cabinets as used by Virgin Media®, containing electrical components such as communication and other equipment. There is a clear desire for the companies who own or operate them to identify if the doors are open to be able to prevent vandalism or adverse weather exposure.

Summary of the invention

Aspects of the invention are as set out in the independent claims and optional features

-2are set out in the dependent claims. Aspects of the invention may be provided in conjunction with each other and features of one aspect may be applied to other aspects.

Drawings

Embodiments of the disclosure will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through a section of an example item of street furniture containing an example sensing apparatus;

Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of a plurality of example items of street furniture, such as the item of street furniture shown in Fig. 1, in communication with a central management system, CMS;

Fig. 3 show a cross-section through a section of an example item of street furniture containing another example sensing apparatus;

Fig. 4 shows a flow chart of an example method of monitoring an item of street furniture, for example the item of street furniture of any of Figs. 1 to 3; and

Fig. 5 shows another cross-section through a section of an example item of street furniture containing another example sensing apparatus.

Specific description

As shown in Fig. 1, embodiments of the claims relate to a sensing apparatus 100 for an item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture 50, for example where the item of street furniture 50 comprises a housing enclosing electrical components 75. The sensing apparatus 100 comprises a processor 105 having at least one input and at least one output, and a housing condition sensor 101 such as a light sensor or an ultrasonic sensor, or a combination of both, for determining a condition of the housing, wherein the sensor 101 comprises at least one output for providing a signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the processor 105. The at least one input of the processor 105 is coupled to the output of the housing condition sensor 101, and the at least one output of the processor 105 is configured to communicate with a remote system, such as a central management system, CMS, 900 for the item of street furniture 50. The processor 105 is configured to process the signal or signals based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 received from the housing

-3condition sensor 101 and report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the remote system (such as the CMS 900) for use in monitoring whether the electrical components 75 are effectively protected by the housing.

As shown in Fig. 4, embodiments of the claims relate to a method of monitoring an item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture 50, the item of street furniture 50 comprising a housing enclosing electrical components 75. The method comprises receiving from a sensor 101 coupled to the item of street furniture 50, at least one signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50, and sending a signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 from the item of street furniture 50 to a remote system such as a central management system, CMS, 900 for the item of street furniture 50.

Also as shown, for example, in Fig. 4, embodiments of the claims also relate to a method of monitoring an item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture 50, the item of street furniture 50 comprising a housing enclosing electrical components 75. The method comprises receiving, at a remote system such as a central management system, CMS 900, a signal from the item of street furniture 50, for example a signal from the sensing apparatus 100 in the item of street furniture 50, based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50. The method also comprises determining whether the item of street furniture 50 needs repair and/or maintenance based on the received signal.

It will be appreciated from the discussion above that the embodiments shown in the Figures are merely exemplary, and include features which may be generalised, removed or replaced as described herein and as set out in the claims.

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section through a section of an item of infrastructure which in this example is an item of street furniture 50. In the example shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 the item of street furniture 50 is a lighting column, although in other examples the item of street furniture 50 may be a cabinet, a feeder pillar, a parking machine or an illuminated sign post, for example. The item of street furniture 50 comprises a housing enclosing electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50. The electrical components 50

-4may be related to the function performed by the item of street furniture 50. In the example shown in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5 the item of street furniture 50 is a lighting column, and the electrical components 75 comprise power cables supplying the luminaire on the lighting column. In the examples shown, the housing of the item of street furniture 50 comprises an access panel for providing access to the electrical components 75 enclosed by the housing of the item of street furniture 50, for example for the purposes of maintenance or servicing.

The sensing apparatus 100 is provided in a self-contained enclosure contained within the housing of the item of street furniture 50. In the examples shown, the sensing apparatus 100 is implemented as a self-contained, single unit within the housing of the item of street furniture 50.

The sensing apparatus 100 comprises a processor 105 having at least one input and one output. The sensing apparatus 100 also comprises a housing condition sensor 101 comprising at least one output for providing a signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the processor 105. The at least one input of the processor 105 is coupled to the at least one output of the housing condition sensor 101. The self-contained enclosure of the sensing apparatus 100 contains the housing condition sensor 101 and processor 105.

In the example shown, the sensing apparatus 100 further comprises a wireless transmitter 107, and the output of the processor 105 is coupled to the wireless transmitter 107 for transmitting an output signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 wirelessly to a remote system, which in this example is a central management system, CMS 900. Communicating with the remote system may comprise communicating via a node coupled to (for example affixed to) the item of street furniture 50. For example, the wireless transmitter 107 may be configured to communicate with the CMS 900 via a CMS node 901 (as shown in the example of Fig. 2). The CMS node 901 itself may communicate wirelessly with the CMS 900, and/or it may communicate via a physical wired connection with the CMS 900. The CMS 900 may additionally or alternatively be accessed via the Internet. It will of course be understood that in some examples the sensing apparatus 100 does not require a

-5wireless transmitter 107, and the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to communicate with a remote system directly, for example via a physical wired connection, and/or via a node coupled to the sensing apparatus 100 via a physical wired connection.

In the example shown in Fig. 1, the sensing apparatus 100 comprises a power source 103 for powering the sensing apparatus 100, so that the self-contained enclosure of the sensing apparatus 100 contains the power source 103. The power source 103 may be a battery. The power source 103 may be rechargeable, for example via solar panels on the item of street furniture and/or by drawing power from the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50. The sensing apparatus 100 may comprise one power source 103, or in other examples the sensing apparatus 100 may comprise separate, respective power sources 103 for the housing condition sensor 101 and the processor 105 such that the sensing apparatus 100 comprises two or more power sources 103.

In the example shown in Fig. 1, the sensing apparatus 100 is mounted to an internal wall of the housing of the item of street furniture 50. The mounting could be via a removable mounting, such as via screws or bolts, an adhesive pad, or via a detachable clip, for example. The sensing apparatus 100 may be mounted inside the housing of the item of street furniture 50 such that the housing condition sensor 101 is located proximal to the access panel of the item of street furniture 50, for example on a frame for the door or access panel. In the example shown the housing condition sensor 101 comprises a light sensor configured to determine the degree of light inside the housing of the item of street furniture 75, such as a photodiode, a photoresistor or a phototransistor. In some examples the housing condition sensor 101 additionally or alternatively comprises a proximity sensor such as an electromagnetic sensor or an ultrasonic sensor configured to determine the degree of distance from the sensing apparatus 100 and/or the housing condition sensor 101 to the access panel of the housing of the item of street furniture 50. The ultrasonic sensor may comprise an ultrasonic transducer similar to a parking sensor comprising an ultrasonic transmitter and an ultrasonic receiver and may determine the distance from the sensing apparatus 100 and/or the housing conditions sensor 101 to the access panel using sound waves. In examples where the housing condition sensor 101 comprises both a light sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, each of the light sensor and the ultrasonic sensor may have respective power supplies.

-6The housing condition sensor 101 is configured to determine a condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50, and in the examples shown it is configured to determine a condition of the access panel of the housing of the item of street furniture. The condition of the access panel comprises at least one, for example at least two, of the access panel being closed, the access panel being open, the access panel being displaced, the access panel being damaged and the access panel being missing.

In the example shown, the at least one output of the processor 105 is configured to communicate with the central management system, CMS 900 for the item of street furniture 50. The processor 105 is configured to process a signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 received from the sensor 101 and report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the CMS 900 for use in monitoring whether the electrical components 75 are effectively protected by the housing. For example, the processor 105 is configured to receive signals from the sensor 101 to determine whether the access panel is open, displaced, damaged or missing, and report these to the CMS 900. However, it will be appreciated that in other examples, the determination of the state of the housing need not be performed by the processor 105, but instead may be performed remotely e.g. by the CMS 900, based on the signals received from the housing condition sensor 101 via the processor 105.

In the example shown, the processor 105 is configured to report the condition of the housing to the CMS 900 in response to the received signals from the housing condition sensor 101 indicating that the condition of the housing has changed. However, in other examples the processor 105 may be configured to send a “heartbeat” signal to the CMS 900, for example on a periodic basis - such as at least every 10 seconds, at least every 30 seconds, at least every minute, at least every 5 minutes or at least every 10 minutes. The “heartbeat” signal may indicate the condition of the housing to the CMS 900 based on the signals received from the housing condition sensor 101.

The sensing apparatus 100 can be used as part of a method of monitoring an item of street furniture, for example as shown in Fig. 4. For example, in use, the processor 105 receives 401 signals from the sensor 101. The signals from housing condition sensor

-7101 are based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50. For example, the signals are based on the condition of the access panel - for example, whether it is open, closed, displaced, damaged or missing.

The processor 105 may either process these received signals and make a determination 403 of the condition of the housing (for example, condition is that access panel is open or missing) and send 405 a signal based on this determination to the CMS 900 (optionally via a CMS node 901 that may be coupled to the item of street furniture 50, as described in more detail below in relation to Fig. 2), or the processor 105 may simply forward on the received signals to the CMS 900 (again optionally via a CMS node 901) without any determining step being made by the processor 105 (instead, a determining step may optionally be made by the CMS 900).

In examples where the processor 105 determines the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50, the processor then sends 405 a signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 from the sensing apparatus 100 inside the item of street furniture 50 to the CMS 900, optionally via CMS node 901.

In determining the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50, in examples where the housing condition sensor 101 comprises a light sensor, the processor 105 or CMS 900 (as appropriate) may analyse the level of detected light and make a determination of the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 based on the level of detected light. For example, the processor 105 and/or CMS 900 may be configured to determine whether the level of detected light falls within, above and/or below one or more selected thresholds. For example, if the level of detected light falls below a first threshold, this may indicate that the housing is in a good condition (even if the access panel is closed and in good condition, for example, some light may still enter through cracks or vents in the housing of the item of street furniture 50). If the level of detected light is above the first threshold but (optionally) below a second threshold, the condition of the access panel may be deemed to be damaged - for example the access panel may still be in place but not closing correctly. If the level of detected light is above a third threshold, the condition of the access panel may be determined to be very poor for example the access panel may be missing entirely. Of course, in other examples

-8there may be fewer thresholds, for example there may only be one threshold and if the level of detected light is below it the housing can be determined to be in a good condition, but if the level of detected light is above it the housing can be determined to be in a poor condition warranting maintenance and/or repair.

Similar thresholds may be used when the housing condition sensor 101 comprises an ultrasonic sensor. For example, the ultrasonic sensor may determine the distance from the sensing apparatus 100 to the access panel of the item of street furniture 50, and if the distance is outside a selected threshold, the condition of the access panel may be determined to be at least one of open, damaged, displaced or missing.

In examples where the housing condition sensor 101 comprises a light sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, combined use of the light sensor with the ultrasonic sensor will improve the accuracy of the determination of the housing condition, for example in situations of poor light levels at night or for example when the access panel of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 is heavily displaced and high light levels are entering the housing, helping to avoid false detections.

The CMS 900 may be provided via a web based/internet access system allowing owners, users, monitoring authorities and maintenance personnel access to and control over their items of street furniture 50 via a plurality of CMS nodes 901. The CMS nodes 901 may form a mesh network and may communicate with sensors, such as sensor 101 of the sensing apparatus 100, wirelessly, for example via WiMAC®, Zigbee®, GIG®, WiSUN®, DIGI®, DIGI Mesh®, LoRa®, or Bluetooth® and/or via a physical wired connection (for example via the Ethernet protocol). Such systems may allow, for example, user-defined behaviours such as the dimming of street lights at certain times of night.

In some examples, the processor 105 and/or CMS 900 may be configured to determine that no signals are being received from the housing condition sensor 101 (perhaps indicating that the item of street furniture is severely damaged such that the sensing apparatus 100 is damaged). In such examples an alert may be sent, for example to emergency services, via a second network, such as a mobile telecommunications

-9network (e.g. GSM, UMTS or LTE). Alternatively, the alert may be sent via the same network over which signals are sent to the CMS 900.

In some examples the housing condition sensor 101 may additionally or alternatively comprise a shock or impact sensor such as an accelerometer for determining an impact to the base of the item of street furniture 50. In some examples (as will be described in more detail below with respect to Fig. 5), the sensing apparatus 100 may therefore comprise two or more sensors, and the processor 105 may be configured to send a signal to the CMS 900 based on signals received from either or the combination of the sensors. In such examples an alert may be sent, for example to emergency services, via a second network (for example, distinct from a network over which the CMS may operate), such as a mobile telecommunications network (e.g. GSM, UMTS or LTE). Alternatively, the alert may be sent via the same network over which signals are sent to the CMS 900.

In some examples, the CMS 900 may be configured to determine whether the item of street furniture 50 needs repair and/or maintenance based on the signal received from the item of street furniture 50. In some examples, in response to determining that the item of street furniture 50 needs repair and/or maintenance, an alert may be sent, for example to a monitoring authority or maintenance personnel for the item of street furniture 50. For example, the CMS 900 may send an alert to a monitoring authority in response to determining that the item of street furniture 50 needs maintenance or repair, and/or in response to receiving a signal from the sensing apparatus 101 that the item of street furniture 50 needs maintenance or repair. The alert may be sent via a second network (distinct from a network over which the CMS may operate) such as a mobile telecommunications network (e.g. GSM, UMTS or LTE). In examples where the remote system is not a CMS 900, the remote system may comprise an API configured to automatically raise a works order via a client’s asset management system, for example.

In some examples, the processor 105 of the sensing apparatus 100 and/or the remote system, such as the CMS 900, are configured to determine that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has changed, and in response to determining that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has changed, to log the

- 10time and/or date of the change in condition of the item of street furniture 50 in a memory. The change could be, as noted above, that a door or access panel of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has been opened. This may be advantageous in examples where the logging of routine maintenance or service of street furniture may be desirable to check that service personnel have visited the item of street furniture 50.

In examples where the sensing apparatus 100 comprises a power source 103, the sensing apparatus may be configured to operate in two modes of operation, (i) a normal mode of operation and (ii) a sleep mode of operation, wherein the sleep mode of operation uses less power than the normal mode of operation. During the sleep mode of operation, the processor 105 may be configured to reduce or inhibit the power supplied to at least one of the housing condition sensor 101, the wireless transmitter 107 and the processor 105.

During the normal mode of operation, the processor 105 may be configured to report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the remote system, such as the CMS 900, by repeatedly sending a signal to the CMS 900 at a selected interval, for example once every 30 seconds. In some examples, the processor 105 is configured to operate in the normal mode of operation in response to receiving a signal from the housing condition sensor 101 indicating that the condition of the housing has changed. In some examples, the processor 105 is configured to report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 to the remote system, such as the CMS 900, in response to the condition of the housing changing by repeatedly sending a signal to the CMS 900 at a selected interval until the sensing apparatus 100 is reset by a technician attending the item of street furniture 50. The technician may reset the sensing apparatus 100, for example, via a user interface such as the user interface described in more detail below.

In some examples, the sensing apparatus 100, for example the housing condition sensor 101 and/or wireless transmitter 107 and/or processor 105, is configured to enter the sleep mode of operation in response to a signal received from the CMS 900. In such examples, the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to enter the normal mode of operation in response to a second signal received from the CMS 900.

-11 In some examples, the CMS 900 may be configured to poll the sensing apparatus 100 at selected intervals. Additionally or alternatively, the processor 105 of the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to poll the housing condition sensor 101 at selected intervals. The frequency of the polling interval may be based on whether the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has changed recently, and/or on power requirements (for example, the polling interval may be increased so that the time between polls is increased in a sleep mode of operation of the sensing apparatus 100, for example to conserve power). For example, the processor 105 may be configured to request a signal from the housing condition sensor 101 at a selected frequency, and in response to the sensor signal indicating no change in the condition of the housing of the item of electrical street furniture 50 has occurred over a selected interval, the processor 105 may be configured to request a signal from the housing condition sensor 101 at a reduced frequency, for example until a change in the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 is determined. For example, if a change in the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 is determined, the processor 105 may be configured to request a signal from the housing condition sensor 101 at an increased frequency again.

Fig. 2 shows an example where the sensing apparatus 100 is installed in a lighting column 50. As can be seen from Fig. 2, each lighting column 50 has a respective sensing apparatus 100 mounted inside the housing of the lighting column 50 proximate to the access panel of the lighting column 50 to provide signals to the processor 105 and/or CMS 900 based on the condition of the access panel. In this way, the housing condition sensor 101 of the sensing apparatus 100 is associated with the access panel.

Each lighting column 50 shown in Fig. 2 also comprises a CMS node 901 and a second sensor 201. The CMS node 901 and the second sensor 201 in this example are both located on the luminaire of the lighting column 50. The sensing apparatus 100 is configured to communicate wirelessly with the CMS node 901. The second sensor 201 is also configured to communicate wirelessly with the CMS node 901. The second sensor 201 may be configured to obtain information about the environment surrounding the lighting column 50 (for example the ambient light level) that is sent to the CMS 900 via the CMS node 901 to aid in operation of the lighting column 50 (for example, to only turn the luminaires on when it gets sufficiently dark). It will be understood, of course, that the item of street furniture 50 (which in this example is a lighting column) may comprise further sensors that also communicate with the CMS 900 via the CMS node 901.

The CMS node 901 may communicate with the CMS 900 via a first network either wirelessly (for example via the WiMAC® protocol, GIG®, WiSUN®, LoRa®, Bluetooth®, DIGI Mesh® or via Zigbee®) or via a physical wired connection (such as via the Ethernet protocol). Similarly the sensing apparatus 100 and the second sensor 201 may communicate with the CMS node 901 either wirelessly (for example, via BlueTooth®) or via a physical wired connection. In this way the CMS 900 and CMS nodes 901 may form a “mesh canopy”. In some examples the CMS nodes 901 may also be configured to communicate via a second network, such as a mobile telecommunications network (such as a GSM, UMTS or LTE network).

Although each lighting column 50 in the example shown in Fig. 2 has a respective CMS node 901, in some examples a common CMS node 901 may serve several items of street furniture 50, for example a collection of lighting columns 50 serving a particular street.

In the example shown in Fig. 1 the coupling between the housing condition sensor 101 and the processor 105 is a physical wired coupling, but in other examples, such as the example shown in Fig. 3, the coupling between the sensor 301 and the processor 305 could be wireless (for example via Bluetooth®).

In some examples, as in the example shown in Fig. 3, the sensing apparatus 300 is coupled to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, the sensor 301 is coupled to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50 via a first coupling 309, and the processor 305 is coupled to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50 via a second coupling 311, so that there is a respective coupling for each component of the sensing apparatus 300. However, in other examples, the components of the sensing apparatus 300 may share a common coupling to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50.

- 13In examples were the sensing apparatus 300 is coupled to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50, the sensing apparatus 300 may be configured to derive power from the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50 to power the sensing apparatus 300 and/or to power components of the sensing apparatus 100 (such as the processor 305 and/or sensor 301). In such examples, as shown in Fig. 3, the sensing apparatus 100 may not require a power source 103, although it will be understood that a power source may still be desirable in some instances as an auxiliary power source in the event that power is turned off to the item of street furniture 50 (for example via the CMS 900).

In some examples, the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to inhibit or reduce the power supplied to the item of street furniture 50 in response to the sensing apparatus 100 indicating that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has changed. For example, the sensing apparatus 100 may be coupled to the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50 and the processor 105 may be configured to control the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50 based on signals received from the housing condition sensor 101 and/or signals received from the CMS 900.

In some examples the processor 105 is configured to determine whether the item of street furniture 50 is a critical item of infrastructure. A critical item of infrastructure may be an item of infrastructure that always needs to be operating for safety reasons, such as, for example, underpass lighting. The processor 105 may be configured to determine whether the item of street furniture 50 is a critical item of infrastructure by consulting a lookup table, and making a determination based on consulting the lookup table whether the item of street furniture 50 is a critical item of street furniture or not. The lookup table may be stored in a memory coupled to the processor 105.

The processor 105 may be configured to perform at least one of: (i) in response to determining that the item of street furniture 50 is a critical item of infrastructure, to maintain power supplied to the item of street furniture 50; and (ii) in response to determining that the item of street furniture 50 is not a critical item of infrastructure, to inhibit or reduce the power supplied to the item of street furniture 50 in response to the

-14sensing apparatus indicating that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture 50 has changed. In this way, if damage occurs to a non-critical item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture 50, power may be cut for safety, but if the item of infrastructure is a critical item it is still powered for safety reasons.

Although in the examples described above the housing condition sensor 101 for determining a condition of the housing is a light sensor and/or an ultrasonic sensor, it will be understood that the housing condition sensor 101 may be a different type of sensor and may comprise a plurality of different sensors, such as an accelerometer, a magnetometer, or a contact sensor, such as a magnetic contact sensor. For example, in examples where the sensing apparatus is located proximate to a door or access panel (such as on a frame of the door or access panel), the housing condition sensor 101 may additionally or alternatively comprise a contact sensor, such as a magnetic contact sensor, for determining a condition of a door or access panel.

In examples where the item of infrastructure comprises electrical components 75, the electrical components 75 may comprise an isolator. In some examples, the sensing apparatus 100 may be provided as part of the isolator. For example, the sensing apparatus 100 may be integrated into the isolator, for example so that the isolator and sensing apparatus 100 are integrated as a single unit sharing a common housing.

Although the examples described above relate to an item of street furniture 50, it will be understood that the sensing apparatus 100 may be used with other items of infrastructure, either above ground (for example, lighting columns, cabinets etc.) or below ground (for example doors/access panels such as manhole covers providing access to an enclosure housing utility services). For example, the item of infrastructure may comprise a door or access panel (such as a manhole cover) providing access to enclosed utility services (for example, water and sewerage services, gas services or electricity services).

In such examples where the item of infrastructure is below ground, the sensing apparatus 100 may comprise a processor 105 having at least one input and at least one output, and a housing condition sensor 101 for determining the condition of the door or

-15access panel. The sensor 101 comprises at least one output for providing a signal based on the condition of the door or access panel to the processor 105. The at least one input of the processor 105 is coupled to the at least one output of the housing condition sensor 101, and the at least one output of the processor 105 is configured to communicate with a remote system, such as a central management system, CMS 900, for the item of infrastructure. The processor 105 is configured to process the signal based on the condition of the door or access panel received from the housing condition sensor 101 and report the condition of the door or access panel to the CMS 900 for use in monitoring whether the utility services are effectively protected by the door or access panel.

In some examples, as shown in Fig. 5, the processor 105 is configured to wait for a selected interval before reporting the condition of the housing to the remote system, such as the CMS 900. The sensing apparatus 100 shown in Fig. 5 is in many respects similar to the sensing apparatus 100 described above in relation to Fig. 1, but additionally comprises a user interface 530 coupled to the processor 105. The user interface 530 may, for example, comprise a keypad and/or communication interface such as an RFID or NFC interface, for example an NFC card reader. In the example of Fig. 5 the sensing apparatus 100 also differs from the sensing apparatus 100 of Fig. 1 in that the wireless transmitter 107 coupled to the processor 105 is configured to communicate over a first network with the CMS 900 and over a second network 910, which in this example is a mobile telecommunications network.

The selected interval that the processor 105 is configured to wait for a selected interval (for example at least 30 seconds) before reporting the condition of the housing to the remote system, such as the CMS 900. During the selected interval, a warning (such as a visual and/or audible warning) may be presented to the user, for example via a light and/or speaker coupled to the processor 105, for example provided as part of the user interface 530. In such examples, the processor 105 is configured to cancel reporting the condition of the housing to the CMS 900 in response to an override signal being received within the selected interval.

The override signal may comprise a signal received from the user interface 530 in

-16response to an authorised user registering with the user interface 530. A user registering with the user interface 530 may comprise at least one of (i) a user entering a selected key code via the user interface 530; (ii) a user presenting a key to the user interface 530, such as an RFID or NFC card or device to the user interface 530.

In the example shown in Fig. 5, the processor 105 is additionally configured to send a signal to the CMS 900 reporting that a user has registered in response to a user registering with the user interface 530. The processor 105 and/or CMS 900 may also log the time and/or date of the registration, for example for use as an audit function to log routine maintenance and/or servicing. As noted above, this may be advantageous in examples where the logging of routine maintenance or service of street furniture may be desirable to check that service personnel have visited the item of street furniture 50.

In the example shown in Fig. 5, the sensing apparatus 100 also differs from the sensing apparatus 100 of Fig. 1 in that it comprises a second sensor 501 in addition to the housing condition sensor 101 for sensing at least one of (i) an impact to item of street furniture 50, and (ii) an electrical fault of the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50. The processor 105 is configured to send a signal over the second network 910 for alerting emergency services. The second sensor 501 may comprise an accelerometer for detecting an impact to the base of the item of street furniture 50 and/or an isolator for detecting an electrical fault of the electrical components 75 of the item of street furniture 50. In such examples, in response to detecting an impact or fault, the processor 105 may be configured to send a signal via the wireless transmitter 107 over the mobile network 910. It will be understood, however, that in some examples the second sensor 501 (such as the accelerometer described above) may be part of the housing condition sensor 101 because the housing condition sensor 101 may comprise a plurality of sensors.

In some examples, it will of course be appreciated that the sensing apparatus 100 may communicate with other forms of remote system, and may not need to be configured to communicate only with a CMS 900. For example, the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to communicate directly with a client’s bespoke platform (such as any other form of asset management system for managing the client’s infrastructure assets

-17including items of street furniture), for example via a mobile telecommunications network. Of course, it is to be appreciated that in some examples the sensing apparatus 100 may be configured to communicate directly with a client’s asset management system in addition to the CMS 900.

In the context of the present disclosure the term remote system may comprise any system capable of performing asset management services, and may be based in the same region or locality (such as within a few miles) as the item of street furniture, or may be based further away (for example in a different town or city, or even in a different 10 country).

In the context of the present disclosure other examples and variations of the apparatus and methods described herein will be apparent to a person of skill in the art.

Claims

1. A sensing apparatus for an item of street furniture comprising a housing enclosing electrical components, the sensing apparatus comprising:

a processor having at least one input and at least one output; and a housing condition sensor comprising at least one of (i) a light sensor, (ii) an ultrasonic sensor, or (iii) a combination of both a light sensor and an ultrasonic sensor, for determining a condition of the housing, wherein the housing condition sensor comprises at least one output for providing at least one signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the processor;

wherein the at least one input of the processor is coupled to the at least one output of the housing condition sensor, and the at least one output of the processor is configured to communicate with a remote system; and the processor is configured to process the at least one signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture received from the housing condition sensor and report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system for use in monitoring whether the electrical components are effectively protected by the housing.

2. The sensing apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensing apparatus further comprises a wireless transmitter, and the output of the processor is coupled to the wireless transmitter for transmitting an output signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture wirelessly to the remote system.

3. The sensing apparatus of claim 1 or 2 wherein the remote system comprises a central management system, CMS, for the item of street furniture.

4. The sensing apparatus of claim 3 as dependent on claim 2, wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to communicate with a CMS node connected to the CMS.

5. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the processor reports the condition of the housing to the remote system in response to the received signal from the housing condition sensor indicating that the condition of the housing has changed.

6. The sensing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to wait for a selected interval before reporting the condition of the housing to the remote system, and wherein the processor is configured to cancel reporting the condition of the housing to the remote system in response to an override signal being received within the selected interval.

7. The sensing apparatus of claim 6 wherein the sensing apparatus comprises a user interface coupled to the processor, and wherein the override signal comprises a signal received from the user interface in response to an authorised user registering with the user interface.

8. The sensing apparatus of claim 7 wherein a user registering with the user interface comprises at least one of:

(i) a user entering a selected key code via the user interface; and (ii) a user presenting a key to the user interface, such as an RFID or NFC card or device to the user interface.

9. The sensing apparatus of claim 8 wherein the processor is configured to send a signal to the remote system reporting that a user has registered in response to a user registering with the user interface.

10. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the housing of the item of street furniture comprises a door or access panel, and wherein the housing condition sensor is configured to determine a condition of the door or access panel.

11. The sensing apparatus of claim 10 wherein the condition of the door or access panel comprises at least one of the door or access panel being closed, the door or access panel being open, the door or access panel being displaced, the door or access panel being damaged and the door or access panel being missing.

12. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the housing condition sensor is configured to determine the condition of the housing based on the degree of light entering the housing and/or based on the distance measured from the housing condition sensor to the door or access panel of the item of street furniture.

13. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the item of street furniture comprises at least one of a lighting column, a cabinet, a parking machine, a feeder pillar and an illuminated sign post.

14. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the sensing apparatus is provided in a self-contained enclosure, the self-contained enclosure containing the sensor and processor, and wherein the sensing apparatus is implemented as a single unit within the housing of the item of street furniture.

15. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the sensing apparatus comprises a power source for powering the sensing apparatus.

16. The sensing apparatus of claim 15 as dependent on claim 14 wherein the selfcontained enclosure contains the power source.

17. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the sensing apparatus is coupled to the electrical components of the item of street furniture, and wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to derive power from the electrical components of the item of street furniture to power the sensing apparatus.

18. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to inhibit or reduce the power supplied to the item of street furniture in response to the sensing apparatus indicating that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture has changed.

19. The sensing apparatus of claim 18 wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the item of street furniture is a critical item of infrastructure, and wherein the processor is configured to perform at least one of:

(i) in response to determining that the item of street furniture is a critical item of

-21 infrastructure, to maintain power supplied to the item of street furniture; and (ii) in response to determining that the item of street furniture is not a critical item of infrastructure, to inhibit or reduce the power supplied to the item of street furniture in response to the sensing apparatus indicating that the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture has changed.

20. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to operate in two modes of operation, (i) a normal mode of operation and (ii) a sleep mode of operation, wherein the sleep mode of operation uses less power than the normal mode of operation.

21. The sensing apparatus of claim 20 as dependent on claim 2 wherein during the sleep mode of operation, the processor is configured to reduce or inhibit the power supplied to the transmitter.

22. The sensing apparatus of claim 20 or 21 wherein the processor is configured to operate in the normal mode of operation in response to receiving a signal from the sensor indicating that the condition of the housing has changed, and wherein in the normal mode of operation the processor is configured to report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system by repeatedly sending a signal to the remote system at a selected interval.

23. The sensing apparatus of claim 22 wherein the processor is configured to report the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system by repeatedly sending a signal to the remote system at a selected interval until the processor is reset by a technician attending the item of street furniture.

24. The sensing apparatus of any of claims 20 to 23, wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to enter the sleep mode of operation in response to a signal received from the remote system.

25. The sensing apparatus of claim 24 wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to enter the normal mode of operation in response to a second signal received from the

-22 remote system.

26. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims wherein the processor is configured to request a signal from the sensor at a selected frequency, and in response to the sensor signal indicating no change in the condition of the housing of the item of electrical street furniture has occurred over a first time period, the processor is configured to request a signal from the sensor at a reduced frequency.

27. The sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims comprising a second sensor for sensing at least one of (i) an impact to the item of street furniture, and (ii) an electrical fault of the electrical components of the item of street furniture; and wherein the processor is configured to send a signal for alerting emergency services.

28. The sensing apparatus of claim 27 wherein the second sensor comprises an accelerometer for detecting an impact to the base of the item of street furniture and/or an isolator for detecting an electrical fault of the electrical components of the item of street furniture.

29. A sensing apparatus for an item of infrastructure such as an item of street furniture, the item of infrastructure comprising a door or access panel providing access to enclosed utility services, the apparatus comprising:

a processor having at least one input and at least one output; and a housing condition sensor for determining the condition of the door or access panel, wherein the sensor comprises at least one output for providing a signal based on the condition of the door or access panel to the processor;

wherein the at least one input of the processor is coupled to the at least one output of the housing condition sensor, and the at least one output of the processor is configured to communicate with a central management system, CMS, for the item of infrastructure; and the processor is configured to process the signal based on the condition of the door or access panel received from the housing condition sensor and report the condition of the door or access panel to the remote system for use in monitoring whether the utility services are effectively protected by the door or access panel.

30. The sensing apparatus of claim 29 wherein the housing condition sensor comprises a light sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or a combination of both, and wherein the sensing apparatus is configured to determine the status of the door or access panel based on the degree of light inside a region at least partially enclosed by the door or access panel inside the item of infrastructure and/or the distance measured from the housing condition sensor to the door or access panel of the item of infrastructure.

31. The sensing apparatus of claim 29 or 30 wherein the condition of the door or access panel comprises at least one of the door or access panel being closed, the door or access panel being displaced, the door or access panel being open, the door or access panel being damaged and the door or access panel being missing.

32. The sensing apparatus of any of claims 29 to 31 wherein the sensing apparatus further comprises a wireless transmitter, and the output of the processor is coupled to the wireless transmitter for transmitting an output signal based on the condition of the door or access panel of the item of infrastructure to a CMS node connected to the CMS.

33. The sensing apparatus of any of claims 29 to 32 wherein the processor reports the condition of the door or access panel to the CMS in response to the received signals from the sensor indicating that the condition of the door or access panel has changed.

34. An item of street furniture comprising the sensing apparatus of any of the previous claims.

35. The item of street furniture of claim 34 further comprising a central management system, CMS, node coupled to the CMS and coupled to the sensing apparatus.

36. The item of street furniture of claim 35 where the CMS node is configured to receive other operating parameters relating to the item of street furniture from the item of street furniture.

37. A method of monitoring an item of street furniture, the item of street furniture comprising a housing enclosing electrical components, the method comprising:

receiving from a light sensor and/or from an ultrasonic sensor coupled to the item of street furniture, a signal based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture;

sending a signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture from the item of street furniture to a remote system.

38. The method of claim 37 further comprising processing the signal received from the light sensor and/or ultrasonic sensor coupled to the item of street furniture to determine the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture.

39. The method of claim 38 further comprising sending the processed signal to a central management system, CMS, node, and wherein the sending a signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system is from a CMS node to a CMS.

40. The method of claim 38 or 39 wherein the receiving and processing steps are performed by a sensing apparatus inside the housing of the item of street furniture.

41. The method of any of claims 37 to 40 further comprising determining whether the item of street furniture needs repair and/or maintenance based on the signal received from the item of street furniture.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein in response to determining that the item of street furniture needs repair and/or maintenance, sending an alert to a monitoring authority for the item of street furniture.

43. The method of claim 42 wherein the signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system is sent over a first network, and the alert is sent over a second network.

44. The method of any of claims 37 to 43, further comprising determining that the condition of the item of street furniture has changed, and in response to determining that the condition of the item of street furniture has changed, logging the time and/or date of the change in condition of the item of street furniture in a memory.

45. A method of monitoring an item of street furniture, the item of street furniture comprising a housing enclosing electrical components, the method comprising:

receiving, at a remote system, a signal from the item of street furniture based on the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture; and determining whether the item of street furniture needs repair and/or maintenance based on the received signal.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein in response to determining that the item of street furniture needs repair and/or maintenance, sending an alert to a monitoring authority for the item of street furniture.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein the signal reporting the condition of the housing of the item of street furniture to the remote system is sent over a first network, and the alert is sent over a second network.

48. A method of monitoring an item of infrastructure, the item of infrastructure comprising a door or access panel providing access to enclosed utility services, the method comprising:

receiving from a sensor associated with the door or access panel, a signal based on the condition of the door or access panel;

sending a signal reporting the condition of the door or access panel to a central management system, CMS, for the item of infrastructure.

49. A computer readable non-transitory storage medium comprising a program for a computer configured to cause a processor to perform the method of any of claims 37 to 48.