GB2479400A

GB2479400A - A method of and system for collecting and transmitting data

Info

Publication number: GB2479400A
Application number: GB1005906A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Edward Maclaughlin; Peter Michell Young
Original assignee: E RPM Ltd
Current assignee: E RPM Ltd
Priority date: 2010-04-09
Filing date: 2010-04-09
Publication date: 2011-10-12
Also published as: GB201005906D0

Abstract

A method of collecting and transmitting data is described, particularly, but not exclusively for monitoring the level of liquid contained in wells at a landfill site. The method comprises the steps of measuring at least one physical characteristic, such as pressure, temperature or gas content at a first location 12, storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at the first location, transmitting the stored data from the first location to a device at a second location 16 by way of a wireless data connection between the first and second locations, and storing the transmitted data at the second location. The device at the second location 16 is provided with means for transmitting data it receives from locations 12 to a third location via a wireless link either at predetermined intervals, at user selected intervals or on demand from a user. Devices at the third location may include a mobile device 18 or server 20 so that data may be accessed or viewed by the user.

Description

INTELLECTUAL

. .... PROPERTY OFFICE Application No. GB 1005906.1 RTM Date:20 July 2011 The following terms are registered trademarks and should be read as such wherever they occur in this document: Bluetooth Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk Title: A Method of and System for Collecting and Transmitting Data

Description of Invention

This invention relates to a method of and system for collecting and transmitting data. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of and system for collecting and transmitting data between first, second and third, sequential, locations.

The invention has been devised, primarily, but not exclusively, for landfill sites for collecting and transmitting data from one location at the landfill site to another location at the landfill site. A landfill site has, positioned across its area, a number of monitoring wells (often 20 to 30 in number) which are provided so that a fluid level in each monitoring well can, at regular intervals or on demand, be measured and monitored. The level of the fluid in each well must be kept below a threshold in order to adhere to certain regulations/standards, and thus must be monitored regularly, so that excess levels in one or more of the wells can be addressed and resolved.

The wells are positioned at various remote locations on the landfill site and can be separated by large distances. This means that issues can arise in data collection due to the distance and topography of the landfill site. It is known for data to be collected manually from each well by a user, who travels between the various wells, measures the depth of fluid in the well (using a pressure sensor which is lowered into the well, which may have been left in situ at the well previously) and then records the data manually or to a memory storage facility for later use. However, this is time consuming and therefore expensive, and it also exposes the data-collecting individual to the inherent dangers associated with the landfill site.

It has been proposed previously to hard-wire the monitoring wells to each other, or to a central data collection unit but this has proved impractical, due to the distances involved and the likely installation costs. In addition, power availability is often difficult to provide at each well location, particularly with the danger of landfill gas.

Thus, it would be beneficial to provide a method and system which would permit greater ease of collecting and transmitting data from the wells. The present invention has therefore been devised for this purpose, but it should be appreciated that the method and system could be used for systems other than landfill sites, where is required to collect and transmit data from one location to another location.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, we provide a method of collecting and transmitting data, comprising the steps of:-measuring at least one physical characteristic at a first location; storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at the first location; transmitting the stored data from the first location to a second location by way of a wireless data connection between the first and second locations; storing the transmitted data at the second location; transmitting the data stored at the second location to a third location by way of a wireless data connection between the second and third locations; and storing the transmitted data at the third location so that is can be accessed or viewed by a user.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, we provide a system for collecting and transmitting data, comprising:-means for measuring at least one physical characteristic at a first location; means for storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at the first location; means for transmitting the stored data from the first location to a second location by way of a wireless data connection between the first and second locations; means for storing the transmitted data at the second location; means for transmitting the data stored at the second location to a third location by way of a wireless data connection between the second and third locations; and means for storing the transmitted data at the third location so that is can be accessed or viewed by a user.

Further features for the first and second aspects of the invention are set out in the claims appended hereto.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figure which shows a schematic layout of a system in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a landfill site 10 which has positioned across its area, a number of monitoring wells 12 (referenced by the letter W'). In this example there are ten wells, but it should be appreciated that more or fewer wells could be utilised, as is well known in the art. Each well is provided with equipment suitable for measuring a physical characteristic at the well location 12. In this example the physical characteristic to be measured is the depth of fluid in the well 12, and this is achieved by use of a pressure sensor which is positioned at or near a bottom end of the well. Other physical characteristics could also be measured, e.g. temperature, gas content in the well etc. By measuring the pressure at the sensor, the depth of fluid can be calculated.

The level of the fluid in each well 12 must be kept below a threshold in order to adhere to certain regulations/standards, and thus must be monitored regularly, so that excess levels in one or more of the wells can be addressed and resolved. The present invention provides an advantageous method of monitoring the depth of the fluid in the well 12.

Each well 12 is provided with (either adjacent or positioned close to the well 12) a data recording and transmitting device (not shown). The power supply for the device is a solar-powered device, which is advantageous as it means that no hard-wired electricity supply is required, although it could be provided, if desired. The device is capable of sending a request to the pressure sensor for a current pressure value at the bottom of the well 12. The device is capable of receiving data back from the sensor, storing it in a storage facility, and is also capable of transmitting that data from the well 12 to a second location via a wireless link (e.g. Bluetooth or another radio frequency transmission), either at regular predetermined, user-selected, intervals or on a specific demand from a user. The device at the each well 12 is also capable of receiving instructions from the second location 16, as will be described below.

In the example shown in the figure, the system also includes, at a second location 16, a further data collecting and transmitting device. The second location 16 may be at or near an entrance to the landfill site -somewhere where a user can gain relatively straightforward access, for maintenance, if required. The power supply for the device is mains electricity, although it could be from a solar-powered device if desired. The device at the second location 16 is provided with means for communicating with the device at each well location 12, via a wireless link (e.g. Bluetooth), and means for transmitting data it receives from the wells 12 to a yet further, third, location, again via a wireless link, either at predetermined, user-selected, intervals or on a specific demand from a user.

The system shown in the figures therefore comprises a plurality of wells 12 each of which has a data collection and transmission device which is wirelessly linked to a device at the second location 16, such that data collected at each well 12 can be collected, stored and then transmitted from the wells 12 to the device at the second location 16.

The device at the second location 16 is capable of transmitting, again via a wireless link (e.g. via Bluetooth and/or GPRS), data it has received (and stored in a storage device, which may be removable, e.g. an SD card or the like) from the devices at the wells 12 to a mobile device 18 (e.g. a mobile phone or other mobile computer device) or to a server 20 (for subsequent viewing via the Internet or via a secure connection to the server 20), so that a user can access or view the pressure sensor data. The device at the second location 16 is capable of sending information to either or both of the mobile device 18 or the server 20, either automatically or on demand, as selected, by the user.

The system of the present invention operates as follows. The system can be used to measure the pressure at the bottom of each well 12 at predetermined user-selected time intervals or on a specific demand from a user, and then transmit the obtained data to the mobile device 18 or server 20 so that it can be accessed or viewed by the user.

If it is desired for the system to automatically report the pressure values to a user, it is firstly necessary for the user to specify the frequency of the data collection (e.g. every hour, every 12 hours etc.). The device at the second location 16 is then programmed such that at the specified time period, the device sends a signal to each device 12 requesting a pressure sensor value.

Each device 12 then sends a signal to the pressure sensor and when the pressure value is received, the device 12 sends data relating to the measured pressure value to the device at the second location 16. The device at the second location stores the received data from each well 12 and then transmits it, via the wireless link, to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 (the user can specify which). The device at the second location may send the data to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 as soon as it receives data from one of the wells 12, but it may be configured to wait until it has received all data from the wells 12 and then send all data to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20. A further alternative is that the data is collected from the wells at a greater frequency than it is transmitted to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20. For example, the system may be configured to record the pressure values every hour, and send that data to the device at the second location, but the device at the second location 16 may be configured to transit to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 the data it has received and stored from the wells every 3 hours.

The system is also capable of measuring the pressure at the wells 12 on a specific demand from the user. In that scenario, the user sends a request, wirelessly, via the mobile device 18 to via the server, to the device at the second location. Once the device receives the request the device sends a signal to each device 12 requesting a pressure sensor value. Each device 12 then sends a signal to the pressure sensor and when the pressure value is received, the device 12 sends data relating to the measured pressure value to the device at the second location 16. The device at the second location stores the received data from each well 12 and then transmits it, via the wireless link, to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 (the user can specify which). Again, the device at the second location may send the data to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 as soon as it receives data from one of the wells 12, but it may be configured to wait until it has received all data from the wells 12 and then send all data to the mobile device 18 and/or server 20 at the same time.

The system can also be used to allow a user to determine the pressure at a specific well location. If this is desired, the user must send a request, wirelessly, via the mobile device 18 to via the server, to the device at the second location 16. The device at the second location 16 then sends an instruction to the selected well 12 for a pressure value, and once data has been received, the device at the second location transmits that data to the mobile device 18 and/or to the server 20.

Although the invention has been devised for and described with reference to monitoring wells at a landfill site, it should be appreciate that the system and method could be utilised in many other applications where it is desired to measure a physical characteristic at a (or a plurality of) location(s) and send data wirelessly to a further location.

In an alternative embodiment (not shown) each well location 12 may be provided with a digital camera which is capable of taking a photograph of the well 12 (either inside or outside the well) and is capable of sending the image(s) by wired or wireless connection to the data recording and transmitting device at the well location 12. The data recording and transmitting device may then send data relating to the taken image(s) to the device at the second location 16.

In a further alternative embodiment, the device at each well location 12 may be powered by a battery using what is referred to in the art as quiescent power' thus allowing operation by battery without the need for solar power. In essence, the device at each well location turns itself on in order to measure the physical characteristic at the well 12 and send it to the device 16 and then automatically goes to sleep' until a further reading is required.

When used in this specification and claims, the terms "comprises" and "comprising" and variations thereof mean that the specified features, steps or integers are included. The terms are not to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, steps or components.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of collecting and transmitting data, comprising the steps of:-measu ring at least one physical characteristic at a first location; storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at the first location; transmitting the stored data from the first location to a second location by way of a wireless data connection between the first and second locations; storing the transmitted data at the second location; transmitting the data stored at the second location to a third location by way of a wireless data connection between the second and third locations; and storing the transmitted data at the third location so that is can be accessed or viewed by a user.
2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the third location is a mobile device or a server.
3. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the at least one physical characteristic is measured at the first location in response to a demand from a user.
4. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the collected data is transmitted from the first location to the second location or from the second location to the third location in response to a demand from a user.
5. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the at least one physical characteristic is measured at the first location at predetermined time intervals.
6. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the collected data is transmitted from the first location to the second location or from the second location to the third location at predetermined time intervals.
7. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the method includes the step of measuring at least one physical characteristic at a plurality of first locations and storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at each respective first location.
8. A method according to claim 7 wherein the physical characteristic is measured at each of the first locations substantially synchronously.
9. A method according to any preceding claim wherein the first and second locations are locations at a landfill site.
10. A method according to claim 9 wherein the first and second locations are monitoring wells at a landfill site.
11. A method according to claim 10 wherein the measured physical characterised is a depth of liquid in each well at the landfill site.
12. A system for collecting and transmitting data, comprising:-means for measuring at least one physical characteristic at a first location; means for storing data relating to the measured physical characteristic at the first location; means for transmitting the stored data from the first location to a second location by way of a wireless data connection between the first and second locations; means for storing the transmitted data at the second location; means for transmitting the data stored at the second location to a third location by way of a wireless data connection between the second and third locations; and means for storing the transmitted data at the third location so that is can be accessed or viewed by a user.
13. A system according to claim 12 including a power supply provided at the first location.
14. A system according to claim 13 wherein the power supply is solar powered.
15. A system according to any one of claims 12 to 14 which is configured for collecting and transmitting data between locations at a landfill site.
16. A system according to claim 15 wherein the means for measuring the physical characteristic at the first location is a pressure sensor.
17. A method or system substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.
18. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.