US-12625848-B2 - Mesh network system of environmental monitoring devices

US12625848B2US 12625848 B2US12625848 B2US 12625848B2US-12625848-B2

Abstract

Monitoring devices, such as air particle counters, having mesh network capabilities are described for implementation in environmental monitoring within a facility. The air particle counters run samples at various facility locations based on a standard operating procedure (SOP). Each air particle counter can opportunistically connect with one or more other air particle counters using mesh networking. Data from samples run by and any new or updated SOP received at the air particle counters can be distributed via database replication across the other air particle counters using the mesh networking such that each air particle counter has a copy of the sample data and a current SOP within its database. A dashboard user interface displaying a hierarchical representation of the SOP and an associated compliance status with the SOP can be generated and updated based on data received from the air particle counters to facilitate SOP management.

Inventors

Carter Movinckel Moursund
Kevin Francis Connors
Louie Doyle Moye
Kenneth Lee Girvin

Assignees

BECKMAN COULTER, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210421

Claims (20)

1 . A facility monitoring system comprising: a plurality of monitoring devices, each of the monitoring devices comprising: a sensor configured to detect an environmental condition at a location in a facility; a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with wireless transceivers of one or more other monitoring devices through a mesh network; a memory storage device storing a database, the database including a standard operating procedure (SOP) of the facility and sample data based on the detected environmental condition; and a processing device configured to: analyze sample data based on the SOP to determine whether one or more of an error or an excursion occurred; responsive to a determination that the error or the excursion has not occurred, capture new sample data; store the sample data and the new sample data separately from previously synchronized data in the database while disconnected from at least one monitoring device of the plurality of monitoring devices; responsive to reconnecting to the at least one monitoring device of the plurality of monitoring devices: replicate, through a connection to the mesh network, the database including the stored separately sample data and the new sample data across the plurality of monitoring devices across the mesh network; receive, through the connection to the mesh network, a transaction representing additional new data from the one or more other monitoring devices; determine that the database does not include the transaction representing the additional new data; and store the additional new data within the database.
2 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of monitoring devices is an air particle counter and wherein the sensor is a particle sensor.
3 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein one or more of the plurality of monitoring devices are portable.
4 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 2 , wherein the mesh networking is IEEE 802.11s protocol.
5 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 2 , further comprising a remote computing device having a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with the wireless transceivers of one or more of the plurality of monitoring devices using the mesh networking.
6 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 5 , wherein one or more of the monitoring devices and the remote computing device include a display through which one or more of a sampling user interface and a dashboard user interface are presented.
7 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 2 , wherein in response to a monitoring device receiving an update to the SOP, the update to the SOP is stored in the database of the monitoring device, and the processing device of the monitoring devices is configured to replicate the database across the plurality of monitoring devices using the mesh networking.
8 . The facility monitoring system according to claim 2 , wherein in response to a monitoring device being isolated from the mesh networking when one or more of the sensor of the monitoring device detects the environmental condition and an update to the SOP is received: one or more of the sample data based on the detected environmental condition and the update to the SOP is stored in the database of the monitoring device; and upon reconnecting with the mesh networking, the processing device of the monitoring device is configured to replicate the database across the plurality of monitoring devices using the mesh networking, to distribute one or more of the sample data and the update to the SOP to the other monitoring devices.
9 . An air particle counter comprising: a particle sensor configured to detect particles within a sample captured at a location where the air particle counter is positioned within a facility; a wireless transceiver configured to facilitate database replication across one or more other air particle counters within the facility using mesh networking; a processor coupled to the particle sensor and the wireless transceiver; and a memory storage device coupled to the processor, wherein the memory storage device stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: based on a standard operating procedure (SOP) adopted by the facility, run the sample at the location using the particle sensor to generate a particle count for the location based on the particles detected by the particle sensor; analyze sample data based on the SOP to determine whether one or more of an error or an excursion occurred; responsive to a determination that the error or the excursion has not occurred, capture new sample data; store the sample data and the new sample data separately from previously synchronized data in a database of the memory storage device while disconnected from at least one air particle counter of the one or more other air particle counters, the sample data including the particle count; responsive to reconnecting to the at least one air particle counter of the one or more other air particle counters: replicate, through a connection to the mesh network, the database including the stored separately sample data and the new sample data across the one or more other air particle counters across the mesh network; receive, through the connection to the mesh network, a transaction representing new data from the one or more other air particle counters; determine that the database does not include the transaction representing the new data; and store the new data within the database.
10 . The air particle counter according to claim 9 , wherein the air particle counter is portable.
11 . The air particle counter according to claim 9 , wherein the air particle counter further comprises an isokinetic probe that captures the sample at the location where the air particle counter is positioned.
12 . The air particle counter according to claim 11 , wherein the isokinetic probe is one of portable or fixed at the location.
13 . The air particle counter according to claim 11 , wherein the air particle counter further comprises: an air pump configured to draw in the sample from the isokinetic probe and advance the sample through the particle sensor.
14 . The air particle counter according to claim 13 , wherein the air particle counter further comprises: a mass flow sensor configured to determine a flow rate of the sample as it is drawn in and advanced through the air particle counter by the air pump, wherein the processor is further caused to transmit a control signal to the air pump to adjust the flow rate of the sample based on the flow rate determined by the mass flow sensor and a desired flow rate.
15 . The air particle counter according to claim 9 , wherein the air particle counter further comprises sensors to detect one or more of a temperature, a relative humidity, and an absolute pressure of the sample, and the sample data further includes the one or more of the temperature, the relative humidity, and the absolute pressure of the sample.
16 . The air particle counter according to claim 9 , wherein the air particle counter includes a display, and the processor is further caused to: provide, through the display, one or more of a dashboard user interface that facilitates SOP management and a sampling user interface that facilitates running of the sample at the location.
17 . The air particle counter according to claim 9 , wherein the air particle counter includes a display, and the processor is further caused to: provide, through the display, an alert in response to detecting one or more of a second error during sampling or upon a determination that the particle count for the location exceeds particle count limits set for the location by the SOP.
18 . A method performed by an air particle counter, the method comprising: configuring a standard operating procedure (SOP) adopted by a facility; running a sample at a location within the facility based on the SOP to collect sample data; analyzing the sample data based on the SOP to determine whether one or more of an error or an excursion occurred while the sample was running; responsive to a determination that the error or the excursion has not occurred, capture sample data; storing the sample data and the new sample data separately from previously synchronized data in a database of the air particle counter while disconnected from at least one other air particle counter of one or more other air particle counters, the sample data and the new sample data including a particle count for the location; responsive to reconnecting to the at least one other air particle counter of the one or more other air particle counters: replicating, through a connection to a mesh network, the database including the stored separately sample data and new sample data across the one or more other air particle counters within the facility; receiving, through the connection to the mesh network, a transaction representing new data from the one or more other air particle counters; determining that the database does not include the transaction representing the new data; and storing the new data within the database.
19 . The method according to claim 18 , further comprising: receiving an updated SOP; storing the updated SOP in the database; and replicating the database across the one or more other air particle counters within the facility using the mesh networking.
20 . The method according to claim 18 , further comprising: receiving sample data for samples run by and updated SOP received at the one or more other air particle counters using the mesh networking; and storing the sample data for the samples run by and the updated SOP received at the one or more other air particle counters in the database of the air particle counter.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a national stage application of PCT/US2021/028403, filed Apr. 21, 2021, which claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/016,824, filed Apr. 28, 2020, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Environmental monitoring is implemented in various industries, particularly in industries where a number of particles present in the air and/or water, among other examples, is important to monitor and control. As one example, some industries have cleanrooms within their facilities that are utilized when small particles in the air can adversely affect a process, such as drug or electronic manufacturing processes or a scientific research protocol. Cleanrooms can implement filters employing laminar or turbulent air flow principles, for example, to maintain a controlled environment that has a low level of contamination or pollutants specified by the number of particles per cubic meter at a specified particle size within the air. In some examples, the level of contamination or pollutants in cleanrooms can be monitored using independently operated monitoring devices such as air particle counters. For example, stationary or portable air particle counters can be placed in the cleanrooms to sample air to determine the number of particles per cubic meter of a specified particle size within the air. Often, facilities adopt a standard operating procedure (SOP) that provides specifications for the environmental sampling, including locations within the cleanrooms at which samples are to be taken, a duration between samples at each location, and particle count limits for each location, among other details. In some examples, other monitoring devices such as liquid particle counters and/or total organic carbon (TOC) analyzers, for example, can be implemented in addition or alternatively to air particle counters for environmental monitoring. Some of these facilities are regulated by governmental or other similar authorities, such as drug manufacturers regulated by the Federal Drug Administration, and the associated regulations dictate the SOP. Due to the number of sampling locations, each with potentially varying specifications, and the use of different, independently operated monitoring devices to perform the environmental sampling, it is often difficult to accurately track and manage data associated with SOP compliance (e.g., whether particle limits are exceeded within a sample and/or a sample is overdue). Additionally, any updates to the SOP must be manually inputted for each monitoring device. SUMMARY In general terms, this disclosure is directed to monitoring devices, such as air particle counters, having mesh networking capabilities that are implemented for environmental monitoring within a facility. In one possible configuration and by non-limiting example, a monitoring device can include a wireless mesh networking device that communicates with one or more other monitoring devices within range that are associated with a facility monitoring system using a mesh network. Sample data collected by the monitoring device can be automatically synchronized (e.g., via database replication) across the other devices using mesh networking to facilitate environmental sampling within the facility and subsequent data and SOP management. Various aspects are described in this disclosure, which include, but are not limited to, the following aspects. One aspect is a facility monitoring system. An example facility monitoring system includes a plurality of monitoring devices. Each of the monitoring devices can include a sensor configured to detect an environmental condition at a location in the facility; a wireless transceiver configured to communicate with wireless transceivers of one or more other monitoring devices using mesh networking; a memory storage device storing a database, the database including a standard operating procedure (SOP) of the facility and sample data based on the detected environmental condition; and a processing device configured to replicate the database across the plurality of monitoring devices using the mesh networking. Another aspect is an air particle counter. An example air particle counter includes a particle sensor configured to detect particles within a sample captured at a location where the air particle counter is positioned within a facility; a communication interface configured to facilitate database replication across one or more other air particle counters within the facility using mesh networking; a processor coupled to the particle sensor and the communication interface; and a memory storage device coupled to the processor. The memory storage device stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: based on a standard operating procedure (SOP) adopted by the facility, run the sample at the location using the particle sensor to generate a partic