Patent ID: 9078292
Filing Date: 2015-07-07
Classification: H05B

Abstract:
1. A monitoring system for monitoring an electric heat trace system associated with a plurality of pieces of stationary equipment in a facility, comprising: a.) a central digital computer that monitors and interprets data provided to it, b.) a wireless MESH communication network comprised of a plurality of wireless communicators (radios), each designed to form one of a plurality of nodes in the wireless MESH communication network, wherein the MESH communication network is a communication network in which each of the nodes in it is capable of receiving a signal from the nodes around it and then retransmitting that signal to the nodes around it, so that the signal moves in a desired direction, in this case, toward the central digital computer, and feeds the signal to the central digital computer, c.) A plurality of electric heat trace circuits, each of which is associated with a piece of stationary equipment in the facility, and adapted to heat that piece of equipment, d.) a plurality of equipment temperature sensors, one of which is associated with and adapted to measure the temperature Tm of one of the pieces of stationary equipment in the facility, wherein each sensor is configured to provide a signal representing the temperature Tm of the piece of equipment to which the sensor is associated, to a wireless communicator (radio) in the MESH communication network, wherein each temperature sensor can also be used to control the electric heat trace circuit that heats the piece of equipment to which the temperature sensor is associated, e.) an ambient temperature sensor configured to monitor the ambient temperature Ta of the facility and feed a signal representing the ambient temperature of the facility to the central digital computer wherein, the ambient temperature sensor is thermally independent and isolated from the equipment, and f.) a plurality of current transducers, one of which is associated with each of the electric heat trace circuits, and which sends a signal representing the amount of energy being used by the electric heat trace circuit to the central computer, wherein the central computer uses the data it receives from the equipment temperature sensors, the ambient temperature sensor and the current transducers, to determine and announce when each piece of stationary equipment in the facility, of the pieces monitored by the monitoring system, is not at the correct temperature and, by comparing the data from the equipment temperature sensors, the ambient temperature sensor and the current transducers, diagnoses the reason why the equipment is not at the correct temperature, and displays that reason.