DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CAPTURING AND RECORDING FINE PARTICLES AND/OR THE DENSITY OF NOX GASES IN THE AIR

Abstract

The invention concerns an on-board device and a mobile method for capturing and recording the fine particles and/or the density of NOx gases in the air for the purpose of dynamically using the gathered data. The device (1) comprises at least one sensor (3) for sensing particles and/or the density of the NOx gases in the air, capable of counting a number of particles or dust particles present in the air, having a dimension ranging between defined values in a volume of air, and a means (7,19) for displaying and/or recording said number and/or density correlated to a determined measurement location of the sensor, the device further being configured to be installed on and to function on a moving vehicle (2) and to be initialised at certain points on the map, or indeed recalibrated, in regular reference to fixed standardised sensors.

Claims

1. A device for capturing and recording fine particles and/or the density of NOx gases in the air, comprising: a sensor of particles and/or of the density of NOx gases in the air, able to count a number of dust particles or other particles present in the air, of a size between defined values in a volume of air, and/or density of NOx gases, and a means for displaying and/or recording said number and/or density correlated to a particular measurement location of the sensor, the device being configured to be mounted and to function onboard a moving vehicle, in which said sensor may be initialized at certain points of the map, or even recalibrated, with reference to standardized sensors.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein said displaying and/or recording means comprises a screen for displaying said number and/or density or an acquisition device of said number and/or density on a recording medium.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is an optical dust sensor, for example of the GP2Y1010AU0F Sharp type, designed for detecting and counting the particles in the air.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is mounted on the vehicle in a position favourable for receiving the air to be measured for capturing the particles and/or density of NOx gases in the air of the measurement point, being configured to minimize the effect of the movement of air, of the wind and/or of the vehicle's speed.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor is equipped with a peripheral protective skirt configured to allow air to pass through while moving, for example provided with a grille through which air passes.

6. The device according to claim 1, comprising a device for evacuating residual air from the sensor, for example a device for blowing neutral air into the sensor, before each new measurement, and a device for cleaning the sensor, for example with ultrasound.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor may be mounted on a mast of the vehicle, or even a moving, telescopic arm, adjustable for orientation and/or height.

8. The device according to claim 1, being coupled to a so-called GPS (Global Positioning System) device for combining a localized point display of the density of the particles or nitrogen oxide gases with a GPS geolocation map.

9. The device according to claim 1, wherein said sensor may be mounted on an air intake unit of the engine or of the passenger compartment, on the roof or the bonnet of the vehicle or a mast or other arm and accessories fixed to the vehicle.

10. A method for measuring and displaying and/or recording particles and/or the density of NOx gases in the air by means of at least one sensor of particles and/or of the density of NOx gases in the air, able to count the number of particles of a size between defined values in a volume of air and/or the density of NOx gases, and by means of a device for displaying and/or recording said number and/or density correlated to a defined location, the whole moreover being configured to be mounted and to operate onboard a vehicle, said method comprising acquisition of said number and/or density at points of a measurement circuit onboard said vehicle.

Description

[0039] These features and advantages of the invention and others will become clearer from the following description of embodiments of the invention, referring to the appended drawing, in which:

[0040] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a device for capturing and recording fine particles in the air, mounted on a motor vehicle, viewed from the passenger compartment of the latter, according to one embodiment of the invention,

[0041] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a particle sensor of said device, and

[0042] FIG. 3 shows a device for recording the data from the device, arranged at a distance from the latter and a printed geographical map of absolute or relative density of fine particles in the air in a given geographical zone, obtained using the device.

[0043] In the following description, identical numerical references are used for denoting similar or identical elements.

[0044] Referring to the drawing, FIG. 1 shows a device 1 for capturing and recording fine particles in the air according to one embodiment of the invention, mounted on a vehicle 2. Here, this device comprises at least one sensor 3 of particles in the air, able to count the number of dust particles or other particles present in the air, preferably an optical sensor, for example of the GP2Y1010AU0F Sharp type or other, designed for detecting the particles in a volume of air, generally the number of particles of a given size or smaller in one cubic metre of air. Here, it makes it possible to display an instantaneous value of the number of particles per cubic metre of air in a range of defined values of size, fixed in the example at 2.5 micrometres and smaller (PM 2.5). These particles are in fact particularly harmful to human health, going deep into the respiratory tree, or even into the bloodstream after passing through the wall of the pulmonary alveoli.

[0045] Here, the sensor is arranged on the windscreen 5 of the vehicle, unobtrusively in a corner thereof, being made integral therewith by a suitable fixing means, preferably detachable, for example by contact jamming.

[0046] The device may comprise several sensors of this type for providing more precise information on air quality, for example two sensors each arranged in a corner of the windscreen, each capturing particles of different sizes, notably 2.5 micrometres and smaller and 10 micrometres and smaller per cubic metre of air.

[0047] The device may also comprise a sensor as specified above of the density of NOx gases in the air, for example replacing the aforementioned sensor of 10 micrometres and smaller per cubic metre of air.

[0048] The device also comprises a means for displaying and/or recording 7 said number of particles correlated to a particular measurement location of the sensor, the device moreover being configured to be mounted and to operate onboard a vehicle, here a motor vehicle. In the example, this means comprises a box 9 mounted on the dashboard 11 of the vehicle, connected to a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 13 and to the sensor 3. The box is configured for displaying and/or recording the data from the GPS device and the data from the sensor at each measured point.

[0049] Preferably acquisition of the data is stored in memory to be recorded subsequently or simultaneously by a, for example wireless, transmitting means 24, mobile or integrated telephone support etc., here by means of a data processing unit such as a portable computer 15 shown in FIG. 3 and a recording or printing unit, for example a printer 17 connected to the computer. A map 18 of the data from the GPS device and of the data from the sensor at each measured point of the measurement circuit 20 is printed on paper. The legends circled on this circuit represent the values of the number of fine particles per cubic metre of air at each measured point.

[0050] The information collected may also be recorded on a database 16, used moreover in the form of applications on a portable telephone, tablet, computer, GSM, GPS etc.

[0051] Here, the box 9 comprises a data display screen 19, notably displaying a geographical map of the measurement location (GPS map) supplemented with points of said values of the number of particles reported by the sensor, which is convenient for directly monitoring the development of the measurements.

[0052] It is thus possible to determine, continuously or discontinuously during travel of the vehicle, mapping of the density of fine particles in the air of said location.

[0053] This discontinuous manner of determining the capture of particles may be established at particular points to be measured in said location, for example sensitive places of a given geographical zone of the location, each point being allocated a measurement of the number of particles, for example the number of fine particles per cubic metre.

[0054] Measurement may be effected when the vehicle stops, or while it is moving. Stopping may be delayed for a specified period to allow re-initialization or recalibration of the sensor at each measurement point on a measurement circuit, from the vehicle, in said location.

[0055] It is also possible to travel at a moderate speed in the measurement circuit depending on the capacity for re-initialization of the sensor, for example below 30 km/hour, allowing the sensor to perform a measurement on the fly (while moving) and with an acceptable margin of error of measurement of the air surrounding the vehicle.

[0056] Re-initialization of the sensor makes it possible to provide threshold values and therefore guarantee the measured values according to a margin of error below 0.20, or up to max. 0.40.

[0057] Advantageously, said sensor is mounted on the vehicle in a position favourable to good reception of the air to be measured for capturing the particles (and/or the density of NOx gases) in the air of the measurement point. Here, this sensor is mounted on the windscreen, but it may be mounted on an air intake unit of the engine or of the passenger compartment, on the roof or bonnet of the vehicle or a mast or other arm and accessories fixed to the vehicle.

[0058] The sensor may thus be mounted on a mast of the vehicle, or a moving, telescopic arm, adjustable for orientation and/or height, notably allowing measurement at variable height, for example according to a line of vertical projection from the measurement point.

[0059] Measurement may thus be performed at several heights for a given point; it may also be performed in the surroundings of the given point, at a distance close to the point or to the vertical from the point, for example by orienting the mast and the sensor at a given measurement height. It is thus possible to determine the density of particles (and/or the density of NOx gases in the case of a gas sensor) at push-chair height, at the height of the pedestrians on the pavement, at ground floor level or higher, or even inside a residential building.

[0060] The sensor may also be configured to minimize the effect of the movement of air, wind and/or of the vehicle's speed, for example by fitting it with a peripheral protective skirt configured to allow air to pass through while moving, for example an external grille 21 through which the air passes, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0061] Furthermore, the sensor may comprise a device for evacuating the residual air from the sensor, for example a device for blowing neutral air into the sensor (not shown), before each new measurement, which may speed up initialization of the sensor. The sensor may advantageously be equipped with an ultrasonic cleaning system, making its use reliable and durable, thus allowing new usage of the sensor, intensive and in mobile conditions.

[0062] Said values may also be initialized at certain points of the map, with reference to those corresponding to standardized particle sensors (for accurate measurement), for example fixed point sensors arranged on the circuit, to supplement and monitor the mobile on-board network.

[0063] The invention also relates to a method for measuring and displaying and/or recording particles and/or the density of NOx gases in the air by means of at least one sensor 3 of particles and/or of the density of NOx gases in the air, able to count the number of particles of a size between defined values in a volume of air and/or the density of NOx gases, and by means of a device 7, 15, 17 for displaying and/or recording said number and/or density correlated to a defined location, the whole moreover being configured to be mounted and to operate onboard a vehicle 2, said method comprising acquisition of said number and/or density at points of a measurement circuit onboard said vehicle.

[0064] The recording of values may be sequenced at a defined duration between two consecutive measurement points, for given forward travel of the vehicle corresponding to a given distance travelled so as to obtain a regular point display of said values of particles and/or density of NOx gases on the vehicle's circuit.

[0065] The operation of the device is simple and as accessible as possible. The device 1 is activated from the vehicle's instrument panel. It is a question of maintaining operation on the pre-established measurement circuit by following the development of the measurement displayed for optionally supplementing the circuit as a function of relevance of the values read. Terminal recording is operated permanently by means of the home computer 15.

[0066] Many embodiment variants of the invention may be envisaged employing the various features presented above, alone or in combination.

[0067] The invention thus offers the possibility of knowing in real time, or even of predicting over time (on a development curve), with direct display and recording of the densities of particles and/or NOx gases in the air of a given geographical zone, notably a sensitive polluted urban zone.