IP Library Granted Patent US 12707143
Granted Patent B2
US 12707143 · App. 18/632,738 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Robust optical monitoring device and operating method thereof

Inventors: Mateusz Mazur (Sopot, PL); Rajiv Ranjan (Riverview, FL); Marcin Piech (East Hampton, CT); Leszek Wolski (Reda, PL)
Assignee: CARRIER CORPORATION
H04N23/662F24F11/88F24F11/89F24F13/20G01K1/024G01K1/14H04N23/56G01K2201/00
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12707143
App. No.
18/632,738
Filed
Apr 11, 2024
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2637
USPC
348/222.1
Abstract

Embodiments of the disclosure describe a robust optical monitoring device and an operating method thereof. The optical monitoring device includes a housing comprising a first compartment and a second compartment. The first compartment includes a camera circuit board and a wireless connection circuit board, wherein the second compartment comprises a supply circuit board. Further, the housing includes an isolation cell to isolate the first compartment and the second compartment, a camera configured to be disposed in the first compartment of the housing to receive images associated with a sight glass, and an illumination board disposed within the first compartment of the housing positioned to project light for operation of the camera.

Claims (31)

1 . A method of operating an optical monitoring device mounted on a Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC/R) system, the method comprising:

measuring a temperature inside the optical monitoring device;

determining whether the measured temperature is less than a predefined threshold temperature;

in response to determining that the measured temperature is less than the predefined threshold temperature, establishing, by the optical monitoring device, a wireless connection to transmit at least one image, to be captured by a camera;

in response to receipt of a trigger, capturing, by the camera, the at least one image of a sight glass of the HVAC/R system; and

transmitting the at least one image over the wireless connection.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the trigger comprises one of a manual trigger received via an application or an automated trigger received from a controller.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein in response to determining that the measured temperature is more than the predefined threshold temperature, the method comprises reporting an abnormal operating status of the optical monitoring device to a controller or a remote application hosted on a user device.

4 . An optical monitoring device comprising:

a housing comprising a first compartment; and

a processing unit configured to:

determine whether a measured temperature is less than a threshold temperature; and

in response to determining that the measured temperature is less than the predefined threshold temperature, establish, by the optical monitoring device, a wireless connection to transmit at least one image.

5 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to transmit a trigger to a camera to capture the at least one image.

6 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , further comprising a wireless connection circuit board configured to transmit the at least one image over the wireless connection.

7 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , wherein the housing further comprises a second compartment.

8 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 7 , wherein the housing further comprises an isolation cell to isolate the first compartment and the second compartment.

9 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , further comprising a camera configured to capture the at least one image.

10 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 9 , further comprising an illumination board configured to project light for operation of the camera.

11 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 5 , wherein the trigger comprises one of a manual trigger or an automated trigger.

12 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to:

determine whether the measured temperature is more than the threshold temperature; and

in response to determining that the measured temperature is more than the threshold temperature, report an abnormal operating status of the optical monitoring device to the processing unit or a remote application hosted on a user device.

13 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 8 , wherein the isolation cell comprises at least one cable.

14 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 8 , wherein the isolation cell further comprises a moisture absorber.

15 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 14 , wherein the moisture absorber comprises one of a hydrogel and a silica gel.

16 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 10 , further comprising a light dispersion layer placed between the illumination board and a window in the optical monitoring device.

17 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 4 , wherein the first compartment comprises a camera circuit board and a wireless connection circuit board.

18 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 7 , wherein the second compartment comprises a supply circuit board.

19 . The optical monitoring device according to claim 18 , further comprising a guiding mechanism configured to guide heat generated from the supply circuit board toward a sight glass.

20 . An HVAC/R system comprising the optical monitoring device according to claim 4 .