Claims:We Claim:
1. An air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle, the system (100) comprising;
a housing (500);
at least one module gas chamber (200a, 200b) having an ambient air module (110) and an exhaust gas module (120), the ambient air module (110) is to determine ambient pollutant and the exhaust gas module (120) is for determining exhaust gas pollutant, the exhaust gases from the vehicle are sampled and cooled passing through a copper tube 210 and routed to the module gas chamber (200a, 200b);
wherein the system (100) is capable of measuring the ambient and exhaust gas pollutants in real time with location information.

2. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein IoT gas sensors (130) calibrated to emission pollutant levels is configured to measure the quality of ambient air and exhaust gas and the IoT gas sensors (130) are arranged on ambient air module (110) and exhaust gas module (120) equally.

3. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claims 1 and 2, wherein the sensor data is handled by a controller (140) and collected data is uploaded to a data cloud through a wireless communication module (142).

4. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) is powered by a primary energy source (300a) (Li-Ion batteries) of 12V for sensors and a secondary power source (300b) (power bank) of 5V for the controller (140) and the wireless communication module (142).

5. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) is forcefully cooled down by using a DC fan (not shown) and air vents (160), as soon as the system (100) is turned on, the DC fan starts blowing outside the ambient air inside the system (100) which facilitates in air circulation inside and cools down the temperature of the system (100).

6. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the system (100) has two module gas chambers (200a, 200b) for measurement of air quality, both the chambers (200a, 200b) houses a particulate matter sensor, and a plurality of sensors sensitive to the particulate sensor.

7. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 6, wherein a HEPA Filter (170) is configured at an inlet (190a, 190b) of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) to trap the particulate matter, thereby ensuring that the sensors accurately measure other gases without interference of particulate matter.

8. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claim 6 and 7, wherein the ambient gas and the exhaust gas is sampled through a corresponding inlet (190a, 190b) using respective air pumps (180a, 180b) and is split into two channels using a U-joint to allow entry to the module gas chambers (200a, 200b).

9. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claims 7 and 8, wherein the air inlets (190a, 190b) are placed close to the floor of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) respectively, and the corresponding outlets (192a, 192b) is incorporated close to the roof of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b), to create turbulent air flow inside the module gas chambers (200a, 200b), wherein the gases enter through the inlet and create equilibrium within the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) thereby enabling accurate measurement by the IoT gas sensors (130).

10. The air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle as claimed in claims 1 and 6, wherein to prevent the gas leakage, the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) are fixed to a base plate (400) with rubber sealing along the edges.
, Description:Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an air quality monitoring system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a real time air quality monitoring system in a vehicle.

Background of the Invention

[0002] Automobiles are one of the major sources of air pollutants in the forms of carbon dioxide, smog and several other toxic chemicals and gases. These air pollutants are released from the exhaust pipes of the vehicles, which humans immediately breathe in the contaminated air compromising human health. Also, the particulates and pollutants released by vehicles can be inputted into the soil and waters and then enter the food chain causing biological systems of animals and humans to be compromised.

[0003] Hence air quality monitoring systems in vehicles has been introduced to control the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. However, the present days air quality monitoring systems has limitation such as overheating of the air quality monitoring system beyond threshold limit, exposure of an IoT gas sensors to dust and carbon soot particles will lead to decrease in life of sensors by causing sensor poisoning, gas leakage outside the chamber which might damage other ICs, controllers and cause safety issues and the like.

[0004] Further, it is hard to maintain constant airflow into the gas chambers under all operating conditions. Also, the system is mounted on the vehicle which is in continuous movement. It is necessary to obtain synchronous data values from sensors and upload it to the cloud as a single data packet at regular intervals of time thereby maintaining uniform sampling rate for all sensors on the cloud.

[0005] Therefore, there is a requirement of an air quality monitoring system in vehicles which can overcome the problems of the prior art.

Objects of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle in accordance with the present invention.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which improves life of the battery, avoids battery damage as very deep discharge is prevented.

[0008] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which prevents sensor damage occurring due to variable voltage.

[0009] Further object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which improves safety as the chances for battery explosion due to deep discharge/bloating are minimized

[0010] Furthermore, object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which provides real-time alert to users on IoT cloud that battery is discharged, and sensor data is not to be used.

[0011] Still one object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle where data is uploaded to the IoT cloud as a single data packet consisting of all sensor data at regular intervals of time.

[0012] One more object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle where temperature of the system is maintained below threshold limit.

[0013] Further object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which estimates the contribution of vehicle exhaust pollutants to ambient air quality.

[0014] Furthermore, object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which is used to measure both ambient and exhaust pollutant level simultaneously in Real time.
[0015] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle which maintains constant airflow throughout the system.

Summary of the invention

[0016] According to the present invention, there is provided an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle, the system includes a housing and atleast one module gas chamber. In an embodiment, two such module gas chamber like a first module gas chamber, and a second module gas chamber is provided. Both the module gas chambers having an ambient air module and an exhaust gas module respectively. The ambient air module is to determine ambient pollutant and the exhaust gas module is for determining exhaust gas pollutant. The exhaust gases from the vehicle are sampled and cooled passing through a copper tube and routed to the module gas chambers. The ambient gases from the surroundings are sampled and routed to the module gas chambers. The system is capable of measuring the ambient and exhaust gas pollutants in real time with location information.

[0017] In an embodiment, 14 IoT gas sensors are integrated with the system (100). The IoT gas sensors are calibrated to emission pollutant levels is configured to measure the quality of ambient air and exhaust gas. Further, the sensor data is handled by a controller and collected data is uploaded to a data cloud through a wireless communication module. The system is powered by a primary energy source (Li-Ion batteries) of 12V for sensors and a secondary power source (power bank) of 5V for the controller and the wireless communication module.

[0018] The system is forcefully cooled down by using a DC fan and air vents, as soon as the system is turned on, the DC fan starts blowing outside the ambient air inside the system which facilitates in air circulation inside and cools down the temperature of the system.

[0019] Further in an embodiment, the system has two module gas chambers for measurement of air quality. Both the module gas chambers house a particulate matter sensor, and a plurality of sensors sensitive to the particulate sensor. A HEPA Filter is configured at an inlet of the both the module gas chambers to trap the particulate matter, thereby ensuring that the sensors accurately measure other gases without interference of particulate matter.

[0020] The ambient and exhaust gases are sampled through a corresponding inlet using an air pump and is split into two channels using a U-joint to allow entry to the respective module gas chambers. The air inlets are placed close to the floor of the module gas chambers, and the outlets are incorporated close to the roof of the module gas chambers, to create turbulent air flow inside the module gas chambers, wherein the gases enter through the inlet and create equilibrium within the module gas chambers thereby enabling accurate measurement by the IoT gas sensors.

[0021] Further, to prevent the gas leakage, the module gas chambers are fixed to a base plate with rubber sealing along the edges.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] The advantages and features of the present invention will be understood better with reference to the following detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:

[0023] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic top, left, right, front and back view of an air quality monitoring system in a vehicle;

[0024] Figure 2 illustrates a perspective view of the air quality monitoring system in a vehicle;

[0025] Figure 3 illustrates a sectional view of the system;

[0026] Figure 4 illustrates another view of figure 3;

[0027] Figure 5 illustrates the arrangement of the first module gas chamber on a base plate in accordance with the present invention; and

[0028] Figure 6 illustrates the assembly of HEPA filter inside the first module gas chamber.

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0029] An embodiment of this invention, illustrating its features, will now be described in detail. The words "comprising, "having, "containing," and "including," and other forms thereof, are intended to be equivalent in meaning and be open ended in that an item or items following any one of these words is not meant to be an exhaustive listing of such item or items or meant to be limited to only the listed item or items.

[0030] The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms “an” and “a” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced items.

[0031] The disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms.

[0032] Automobiles are one of the major sources of air pollutants in the forms of carbon dioxide, smog and several other toxic chemicals and gases. These air pollutants are released from the exhaust pipes of the vehicles, which humans immediately breathe in the contaminated air compromising human health. Also, the particulates and pollutants released by vehicles can be inputted into the soil and waters and then enter the food chain causing biological systems of animals and humans to be compromised. Hence air quality monitoring systems in vehicles has been introduced to control the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere.

[0033] Referring now to figures 1 and 2, an air quality monitoring system (herein after referred as system (100) in a vehicle in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. The system (100) includes a housing (500) and atleast one module gas chamber. In the present embodiment, two module gas chambers like a first module gas chamber (200a) and a second module gas chamber (200b) are shown. The first module gas chamber (200a) and the second module gas chamber (200b) are having an ambient air module (110) and an exhaust gas module (120) respectively. The module gas chambers (200a, 200b) are configured inside the housing (500). The ambient air module (110) is to determine ambient pollutant and the exhaust gas module (120) is for determining exhaust gas pollutant from the vehicle. A DC air pump (180a) is configured to draw samples from ambient surroundings and send to the respective module gas chambers (200a, 200b). Similarly, another DC air pump (180b) is configured to draw samples from vehicle tailpipe exhaust and send it to the respective module gas chambers (200a, 200b). There are separate outlets (192a, 192b) for the gases to flow out after the measurement. It may be obvious to a person skilled in the art to provide more than two module gas chambers inside the housing.

[0034] Further, referring to figures 3 and 4, the system (100) is powered by a primary energy source (300a) and a secondary energy source. By way of non-limiting example, the primary energy source 300a is a Li-Ion battery of 12V and the secondary energy source is a power bank of 5V. Specifically, the primary energy source 300a is for sensors and the secondary power source (300b) is for powering controllers (140) and a wireless communication module (142). IoT gas sensors (130) calibrated to emission pollutant levels is configured inside the system (100) to measure the quality of ambient air and exhaust gas. Specifically, the IoT gas sensors (130) are arranged on ambient air module (110) and exhaust gas module (120) equally. In the present embodiment, 14 IoT gas sensors (130) are integrated with the system (100). By way of non-limiting example, there are two NO2 sensors (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), two NO sensors (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), two HC sensors (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), two NH3 sensors (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), two PM sensors (2.5 and 10) (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), Temperature and Humidity sensors (one for ambient air module and one for Exhaust gas module), O3 sensor and a GPS sensor (230). The GPS sensor (230) is capable of measuring location information of the system (100) in real time thereby allowing the system (100) to measure the ambient and exhaust gas pollutants in real time with location information.

[0035] The NO2 sensor consist of 2 elements, a sensing element and a heating element. As the NO2 sensing element started to develop drift over time and move away from actual measurement of NO2, power duty cycling of NO2 sensing element is implemented to prevent the heating of the sensing element. In a 5 second duration slot the sensing element is switched on for 0.3 seconds and switched off for 4.7 seconds using an electronic SPDT switch. The heating element is switched ON continuously to ensure activation of sensor. Further, all the IoT gas sensors (130) are calibrated to emission pollutant levels to measure the quality of ambient air and exhaust gas.

[0036] Further, the power sources are expected to provide power over an extended period as long as they are not allowed to enter deep discharge regions. Deep discharged batteries not only take enormous time to get recharged, most often they bulge due to chemical gassing. The secondary power source (300b) is to monitor the terminal voltage of the primary energy source (300a). Soon as the primary power source voltage crosses a lower threshold, the smart circuit senses this level and cuts-off the power to the IoT sensors and actuators such as pumps. This enables sensor protection by preventing their operation at low and variable input voltages. Once the primary energy source (300a) is recharged/has sufficient power, the protection circuit enables the required power supply to the IoT sensor module.
[0037] Referring again to figures 3 and 4, the sensor data is handled by a controller (140) and collected data is uploaded to a data cloud through a wireless communication module (142). The controller (140) has access to GPIO ports of all sensors. The process of data acquisition is developed as follows:
[0038] Switch ON NO2_SGX_4514 sensor for 0.3s

[0039] The Controller (140) sends data request and acquires data from NO2_SGX_4514 during these 0.3s

[0040] Switch OFF NO2_SGX_4514 sensor at the end of 0.3s and keep it OFF for 4.7s.

[0041] The Controller (140) sends data request and reads data values from 13 other sensors sequentially.

[0042] A single data packet consisting of all 14 sensor values is created, written to SD-card and uploaded to IoT cloud using wireless communication module (142).

[0043] If network is unavailable/speed is below threshold value, the controller (140) aborts upload activity. Once the network speeds are within the desired range, the controller (140) initiates data upload of backlog values as an independent process running in the background.
[0044] The controller (140) measures total time elapsed (TE) from step1 to step5. (~1.5s to 2s)

[0045] The controller (140) calculates stall-time (ST) = 5 – (TE) (~2s to 3s)

[0046] The controller (140) stops data acquisition during stall-time duration.

[0047] The next data acquisition cycle begins at the start of the ON time of the next duty cycle of SGX_NO2_4514 sensor.

[0048] Hence, irrespective of the varying sensors’ response time, data upload time, data is available at uniform intervals of time for all the sensors. The sampling interval can be configured for different durations as well.

[0049] The IoT gas sensors (130) consists of 13 different IoT air quality sensors, GPS sensor, 2 air pumps (180a, 180b), controller (140) and wireless communication module (142), where all are placed inside the housing (500) and closed with a top cover during operation.

[0050] Since there is no natural circulation within the closed volume of the system (100), heat is generated by the operation of pumps (180a, 180b), controller (140), ICs. This heat causes overheating in the interior volume of the complete system if unchecked.

[0051] The system (100) is forcefully cooled down by using a DC fan (not shown) and air vents (160), as soon as the system (100) is turned on, the DC fan starts blowing outside the ambient air inside the system (100) which facilitates in air circulation inside and cools down the temperature of the system (100).

[0052] The DC fans are always switched-on during module operation and are mounted on the lid of the housing (500).

[0053] In an embodiment as shown in figure 6, the system (100) has two module gas chambers (200a, 200b) for measurement of air quality. Both the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) houses a particulate matter sensor, and a plurality of sensors sensitive to the particulate sensor. A HEPA Filter (170) is configured at an inlet (190b) of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) to trap the particulate matter, thereby ensuring that the sensors accurately measure other gases without interference of particulate matter. The exhaust gas is sampled through a single inlet (190b) using an air pump (180b) and is split into two channels using a U-joint to allow entry to the respective module gas chambers (200a, 200b). Similarly, the ambient gas is sampled through a single inlet (190a) using the air pump (180a) and is split into two channels using a U-joint to allow entry to the respective module gas chambers (200a, 200b)

[0054] Further, the air inlets (190a, 190b) are placed close to the floor of each of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b), and the outlets (192a, 192b) are incorporated close to the roof of the module gas chambers (200a, 200b), to create turbulent air flow inside the module gas chambers (200a, 200b), wherein the gases enter through the air inlets (190a, 190b) and create equilibrium within the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) thereby enabling accurate measurement by the IoT gas sensors (130). To prevent the gas leakage, the module gas chambers (200a, 200b) are fixed to a base plate (400) with rubber sealing along the edges as shown in figure 5.
[0055] As the vehicle is expected to be driven under various atmospheric pressure conditions, the flow rate of the pumps (180a, 180b) can be accordingly adjusted. This is accomplished by variably supplying voltage to the pump (180a, 180b) to ensure the desired flow. Another requirement for adjustable flow rate is due to variable length from the exhaust to the pump inlet. Higher length would require higher voltage. This varies between the vehicles.

[0056] Therefore, the present invention has an advantage of providing an air quality monitoring system (100) in a vehicle which improves life of the battery, avoids battery damage as very deep discharge is prevented. The system (100) prevents sensor damage occurring due to variable voltage. The system (100) also improves safety as the chances for battery explosion due to deep discharge/bloating are minimized. Further, the system (100) provides real-time alert to users on IoT cloud that battery is discharged, and sensor data is not to be used. The data is uploaded to the IoT cloud as a single data packet consisting of all sensor data at regular intervals of time. Also, the temperature of the system (100) can be maintained below threshold limit. The system (100) estimates the contribution of vehicle exhaust pollutants to ambient air quality. The system (100) is used to measure both ambient and exhaust pollutant level simultaneously in Real time. Also, the system (100) maintains constant airflow throughout the system.

[0057] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.