Personal protection equipment system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10445747-B2
Application number	US-201815959457-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 23, 2018
Priority date	May 18, 2007
Publication date	Oct 15, 2019
Grant date	Oct 15, 2019

Abstract

A method for tracking procedures performed on personal protection equipment (PPE) and actions of individuals includes the following steps. An article of PPE configured with a smart tag is provided to an individual prior to performance of a task. After the individual performs the task, the article of PPE is processed. Information is retrieved from the smart tag during at least one of: before, during and after processing the article of PPE. After the performance of the task, the individual's data is read and the individual enters into a designated area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
a set of personal protective equipment (PPE) associated with a user, wherein a smart tag is configured with at least one article of PPE of the set of PPE, and wherein the smart tag comprises at least one of a transmitter or a receiver configured to communicate data according to a protocol;
a computing device comprising a memory and one or more computer processors, wherein the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
receive, via wireless communication, the data comprising an identifier of the at least one article of PPE from the smart tag that is configured with the at least one article of PPE;
query, based at least in part on the identifier of the at least one article of PPE, a datastore that includes a rule, condition, or policy in association with the at least one article of PPE of the set of PPE;
determine, based at least in part on the data received from the smart tag via the at least one of the transmitter or the receiver according to the protocol, whether at least one of the rule, condition, or policy was violated for the at least one article of PPE associated with an identifier of the user; and
generate an output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred for the at least one article of PPE associated with the identifier of the user.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred comprises a report.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the report comprises at least one of an access date for the at least one article of PPE, a maintenance date for the at least one article of PPE, an indication that maintenance did not occur for the at least one article of PPE, or an identifier of the user who failed to perform an action for the at least one article of PPE.

4. The system of claim 2 , wherein the report indicates the user's access to a designated area where the violation of the rule, condition, or policy occurred.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein to generate the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred, the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to send a message to another computing device.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to communicate the data to another computing device.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein to generate the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred, the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to generate at least one of an audible or visual output.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computing device comprises a display and the computing device is configured to communicate using the Internet.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the smart tag is configured to communicate using a Wi-Fi network protocol.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the smart tag is physically attached to the at least one article of PPE.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data corresponds to the at least one article of PPE.

12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data corresponds to the user of the at least one article of PPE.

13. The system of claim 1 , wherein the data is received via a scanner communicatively coupled to the computing device.

14. A computing device comprising:
one or more computer processors; and
a memory comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to:
receive, via wireless communication, data comprising an identifier of at least one article of PPE from a smart tag configured with the at least one article of PPE in a set of PPE associated with a user, wherein the smart tag comprises at least one of a transmitter or a receiver that is configured to communicate the data according to a protocol;
query, based at least in part on the identifier of the at least one article of PPE, a datastore that includes a rule, condition, or policy in association with the at least one article of PPE of the set of PPE;
determine, based at least in part on the data received from the smart tag via the at least one of the transmitter or the receiver according to the protocol, whether at least one of the rule, condition, or policy was violated for the at least one article of PPE associated with an identifier of the user; and
generate an output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred for the at least one article of PPE associated with the identifier of the user.

15. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred comprises a report.

16. The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the report comprises at least one of an access date for the at least one article of PPE, a maintenance date for the at least one article of PPE, an indication that maintenance did not occur for the at least one article of PPE, or an identifier of the user who failed to perform an action for the at least one article of PPE.

17. The computing device of claim 15 , wherein the report indicates the user's access to a designated area where the violation of the rule, condition, or policy occurred.

18. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein to generate the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred, the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to send a message to another computing device.

19. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to communicate the data to another computing device.

20. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein to generate the output based on whether the violation of the rule, condition, or policy has occurred, the memory comprises instructions that cause the one or more computer processors to generate at least one of an audible or visual output.

21. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the computing device comprises a display and the computing device is configured to communicate using the Internet.

22. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the smart tag is configured to communicate using a Wi-Fi network protocol.

23. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the smart tag is physically attached to the at least one article of PPE.

24. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the data corresponds to the at least one article of PPE.

25. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the data corresponds to the user of the at least one article of PPE.

26. The computing device of claim 14 , wherein the data is received via a scanner communicatively coupled to the computing device.

27. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor of a computing device to:
receive, via wireless communication, data comprising an identifier of at least one article of PPE from a smart tag configured with the at least one article of PPE in a set of PPE associated with a user, wherein the smart tag comprises at least one of a transmitter or a receiver that is configured to communicate t

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Co

Inventors

• Farioli Brioschi Luca D
• Ramirez Chaidez Luis V
• Ptasienski Lawrence J
• Anderson Mark T
• Hamerly Michael E

Classifications

• G07C9/28

  the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence · CPC title

• G07C9/257

  electronically (G07C9/26 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F16/22

  Indexing; Data structures therefor; Storage structures · CPC title

• G06Q10/06

  Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling · CPC title

• G06Q30/018 Primary

  Certifying business or products · CPC title