Systems and methods for combined lighting and radiation detection

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11037426-B2
Application number	US-201715452696-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 7, 2017
Priority date	Mar 7, 2017
Publication date	Jun 15, 2021
Grant date	Jun 15, 2021

Abstract

Devices work as both area lighting and ionizing radiation detectors. The lighting is adjustable in response to radiation detection, warning nearby users about radiation. Multiple devices can be plugged into electrical outlets throughout a plant or building to replace conventional lighting like lightbulbs or CFLs. Each device can transmit alerts to notify nearby users and transmit data to processors for aggregation and analysis. The data can be sent wirelessly, over fiber optic cable, as power line communications or otherwise. The data can be multiplexed along a single line. The devices may be in known locations or located based on an ID in the data. This data can be used to locate radiation sources and facilitate analysis and alerting at the location. Operators may respond to the radiation detection by issuing commands to the devices to change lighting output, adjust radiation detection parameters, and take corrective or ameliorative action in the facility.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A combined lighting and radiation detection unit comprising:
a ballast configured to removably join to and draw power from an electrical outlet;
a light secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast;
an ionizing radiation detector secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast; and
a controller configured to change output of the light from a constant visible light to a light visibly varying in time in response to ionizing radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector exceeding a threshold of a regulatory or safe ionizing radiation level, wherein the ionizing radiation detector includes an alpha/beta radiation detector on an outward-most side of the unit and a gamma radiation detector behind the light.

2. The unit of claim 1 , wherein the light, the ballast, and the detector are integrated into a single, modular lighting element, and wherein the lighting element is one of an LED bulb, a fluorescent bulb, and an incandescent bulb.

3. The unit of claim 1 , wherein the ionizing radiation detector is a Geiger-Müller tube having a different operating current/voltage than the light, and wherein the light and the ionizing radiation detector are electrically connected in parallel to the ballast.

4. The unit of claim 3 , wherein the ionizing radiation detector includes a receiver configured to step voltage and current to the operating current/voltage and a processor configured to transmit a digital signal indicating ionizing radiation detected by the radiation detector.

5. The unit of claim 1 , further comprising:
a sound alarm, wherein the controller is configured to change light output of the light to a strobe and output an audible alarm sound from the alarm in response to ionizing radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector exceeding the threshold.

6. The unit of claim 1 , wherein the light is an LED, wherein the controller, the light, the ballast, and the radiation detector are all an integrated part of an LED bulb, and wherein the changed light output is a strobing output.

7. The unit of claim 1 , wherein the ionizing radiation detector is configured to output results of radiation detection through the ballast into the outlet.

8. The unit of claim 7 , wherein the ionizing radiation detector further includes a processor configured to output the results as digital signals on a power line communication through the ballast into the outlet, and wherein the results as digital signals include information of a type and an amount of radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector.

9. The unit of claim 8 , wherein the ballast is configured to electrically connect to a ground line of the outlet so that the digital signals are output on the ground line.

10. A system of combined illumination and radiation detection, the system comprising:
a lighting circuit permanently installed in a facility, wherein the circuit has a plurality of electrical outlets;
a plurality of combined lighting and radiation detection units each plugged into one of the plurality of outlets, wherein each of the units includes,
a ballast configured to removably join to and draw power from the outlet,
a light secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast, and
an ionizing radiation detector secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast; and

a controller configured to change output of the light from a constant visible light to a light visibly varying in time in response to ionizing radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector exceeding a threshold of a regulatory or safe ionizing radiation level, wherein the ionizing radiation detector includes an alpha/beta radiation detector on an outward-most side of the unit and a gamma radiation detector behind the light.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of units are plugged into a ground line of the one of the plurality of outlets, and wherein the plurality of units are configured to output radiation detection information over the ground line.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is connected to the ground line and configured to extract the radiation detection information from the ground line.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a location of a radiation source based on the radiation detection information from the plurality of units.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the controller is further configured to output the locations of radiation sources on a display for human operators.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the facility is a nuclear power plant, and wherein the display is in a control room of the plant for plant operators.

16. The system of claim 12 , further comprising:
a multiplexer on the lighting circuit configured to combine output from all of the units onto a single line, wherein the controller is further configured to issue individual commands to each of the plurality of units from the single line through the multiplexer.

17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is communicatively connected to all of the plurality of units and configured to receive all ionizing radiation detection information from the ionizing radiation detectors.

18. A method of combined illumination and radiation detection, the method comprising:
joining a plurality of combined lighting and radiation detection units each into one of a plurality of electrical outlets, wherein each of the units includes,
a ballast configured to removably join to and draw power from the outlet,
a light secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast, and
an ionizing radiation detector secured with and configured to draw power from the ballast; and

changing output of the light in one of the units from a constant visible light to a light visibly varying in time in response to ionizing radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector in the one of the units exceeding a threshold of a regulatory or safe ionizing radiation level, wherein the ionizing radiation detector includes an alpha/beta radiation detector on an outward-most side of the unit and a gamma radiation detector behind the light.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
transmitting a power line communication from the one of the units through a lighting circuit permanently installed in a facility, wherein the circuit includes the plurality of electrical outlets, and wherein the power line communication is a digital signal including information of a type and an amount of radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector.

20. A combined lighting and radiation detection unit comprising:
a screw connector configured to removably join to and draw power from a standard 120-volt screw-in light outlet;
a light secured with and configured to draw power from the connector;
an ionizing radiation detector secured with and configured to draw power from the connector; and
a controller configured to change output of the light from a constant visible light to a light visibly varying in time in response to ionizing radiation detected by the ionizing radiation detector exceeding a threshold of a regulatory or safe ionizing radiation level, wherein the ionizing radiation detector includes at least one of an alpha/beta radiation detector and a gamma radiation detector.

Assignees

• Ge Hitachi Nuclear Energy Americas Llc

Inventors

• Loewen Eric P
• Pfeffer Scott L
• Pfeffer Maria E
• Strege Seth Ryan Paul

Classifications

• H05B47/19

  via wireless transmission · CPC title

• H05B47/175

  by remote control · CPC title

• H05B47/185

  via power line carrier transmission · CPC title

• H05B47/18

  via data-bus transmission · CPC title

• G01T7/00

  Details of radiation-measuring instruments · CPC title