Self-check for personal protective equipment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12033488-B2
Application number	US-202318321493-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 22, 2023
Priority date	Oct 14, 2016
Publication date	Jul 9, 2024
Grant date	Jul 9, 2024

Abstract

In some examples, a system includes a plurality of articles of personal protected equipment (PPE) that are each assigned to a particular worker. The system may also include a data hub that detects an input that initiates a broadcast of diagnostic self-check messages; identifies, in response to the input, each article of PPE of the plurality of articles of PPE; broadcasts, based on identifying each article of PPE, the diagnostic self-check messages to the respective articles of PPE, wherein each article of PPE receives its respective self-check message at its communication component; in response to receiving a set of diagnostic acknowledgement messages from one or more of the plurality of articles of PPE that have performed a diagnostic self-check, determines whether the set of diagnostic acknowledge messages satisfy one or more self-check criteria; and performs one or more operations based on whether the self-check criteria are satisfied.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system comprising:
at least a first and second article of personal protective equipment (PPE), each comprising a communication component, and each the first and second articles of PPE worn on a particular worker; and
a data hub comprising a communication unit, 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 the communication unit, at least one diagnostic acknowledgement message from the first article of PPE that has performed a diagnostic self-check, wherein the diagnostic acknowledgment message received from the first article of PPE includes at least an identifier of the first article of PPE and data indicative of a respective state of the first article of PPE;
receive, via the communication unit, at least one diagnostic acknowledgement message from the second article of PPE that has performed a diagnostic self-check, wherein the diagnostic acknowledgement message received from the second article of PPE includes at least an identifier of the second article of PPE and data indicative of a respective state of the second article of PPE;
determine whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages received from the first and second article of PPE together satisfy one or more self-check criteria corresponding to proper operation of the articles of PPE worn on the particular worker; and
perform one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein to perform the one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied, the memory of the data hub comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to generate an alert at the data hub, wherein the alert is at least one of an audible, a haptic, or a visual alert.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein to perform the one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied, the memory of the data hub comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to initiate, via the communication unit, sending of a message to a remote computing device that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledge messages together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria.

4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a remote computing device, wherein the remote computing device, in response to receiving a message that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages received from the first and second article of PPE together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria, sends an indication to a computing device of a safety manager of a particular worker that indicates whether the set of diagnostic acknowledge messages satisfy one or more self-check criteria, the particular worker being associated with the at least one article of PPE.

5. The system of claim 4 , further comprising a remote computing device,
wherein the remote computing device determines an anomaly based at least in part on a message from the data hub and at least one previously received message that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria, and
wherein the indication sent to the computing device of the safety manager of the particular worker is sent in response to the determining of the anomaly, the particular worker being associated with the at least one article of PPE.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the memory of the data hub comprises instructions that, when executed by the one or more computer processors, cause the one or more computer processors to determine a correlation between the diagnostic acknowledgement messages received from the first article of PPE and the second article of PPE and one or more other diagnostic acknowledgement messages associated with one or more workers other than the particular worker associated with the at least one article of PPE.

7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a remote computing device, wherein the remote computing device, in response to receiving the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages, sends a message to the data hub that causes a change in an operation of the at least one article of PPE.

8. A computing device comprising:
a communication unit;
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 the communication unit, at least one diagnostic acknowledge message from a first article of personal protective equipment (PPE) that has performed a respective diagnostic self-check, wherein the diagnostic acknowledgement message received from the first article of PPE includes at least an identifier of the first article of PPE and data indicative of a respective state of the first article of PPE, wherein the first article of PPE is worn by a particular worker;
receive, via the communication unit, at least one diagnostic acknowledgement message from a second article of PPE that has performed a respective diagnostic self-check, wherein the diagnostic acknowledgement message received from the second article of PPE includes at least an identifier of the second article of PPE and data indicative of a respective state of the second article of PPE, wherein the second article of PPE is worn by the particular worker;
determine whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages from the first and second articles of PPE together satisfy one or more self-check criteria; and
perform one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein to perform the one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied, the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to generate an alert at a data hub, wherein the alert is at least one of an audible, a haptic, or a visual alert.

10. The computing device claim 8 , wherein to perform the one or more operations based at least in part on whether the one or more self-check criteria are satisfied, the memory comprises instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to initiate, via the communication unit, sending of a message to a remote computing device that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria.

11. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the memory comprises the instructions that when executed by the one or more computer processors cause the one or more computer processors to, in response to receiving the message that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria, send an indication to a computing device of a safety manager of the particular worker that indicates whether the respective diagnostic acknowledgement messages together satisfy the one or more self-check criteria, the particular worker being associated with the at least one article of PPE.

12. The computing device of claim 11 ,
wherein a remote computing device determines an anomaly based at least in part the message from the data hub and at least one previous

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Company

Inventors

• Kanukurthy Kiran S
• Awiszus Steven T
• Lobner Eric C
• Wurm Michael G

Classifications

• G08B25/10

  using wireless transmission systems {(G08B25/009 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• G08B25/016

  Personal emergency signalling and security systems (emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12) · CPC title

• G08B21/12

  responsive to undesired emission of substances, e.g. pollution alarms · CPC title

• G16H40/63

  for local operation · CPC title

• G16H40/40 Primary

  for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades · CPC title