The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 30, 2010
Filed:
Jun. 13, 2008
Tracy L. Hayford, Newburgh, IN (US);
David Clardy, Lexington, KY (US);
Mark Watson, Lexington, KY (US);
Justin E. Bennett, Evansville, IN (US);
Paul R. Blaylock, Evansville, IN (US);
Timothy M. Debaillie, Evansville, IN (US);
Mike E. Ciholas, Evansville, IN (US);
Evan M. Buchanan, Evansville, IN (US);
Christopher Elpers, Evansville, IN (US);
Tracy L. Hayford, Newburgh, IN (US);
David Clardy, Lexington, KY (US);
Mark Watson, Lexington, KY (US);
Justin E. Bennett, Evansville, IN (US);
Paul R. Blaylock, Evansville, IN (US);
Timothy M. Debaillie, Evansville, IN (US);
Mike E. Ciholas, Evansville, IN (US);
Evan M. Buchanan, Evansville, IN (US);
Christopher Elpers, Evansville, IN (US);
Alliance Coal, LLC, Lexington, KY (US);
Abstract
A system for tracking personnel and equipment in hazardous environments in pre or post-accident situations includes an intrinsically safe tracking tag and an intrinsically safe reader system. The intrinsically safe tracking tag transmits identification and status information to the intrinsically safe reader system, which includes a plurality of intrinsically safe antennas and a hub cable driver. In one embodiment, antennas are located at known positions in the hazardous environment and connected via a redundant, wired-mesh topology. The wired-mesh topology also allows more flexible antenna placement than line-of-sight wireless-mesh systems. The hub cable driver provides intrinsically safe power to and communication with the antennas using communication cables, receives data signals from the antennas, and transmits the data signals to a server. The server stores the data signals in a storage device and is connected to a workstation. The workstation retrieves the stored data to track persons or equipment.