Patents
US 10386258 B1: Systems and methods for detecting changes in emission rates of gas leaks in ensembles
- Granted
- 2019-08-20
- Filed
- 2016-05-02 application 15144751
- Type
- Utility · 20 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
In some embodiments, computer-implemented systems/methods detect and/or quantify changes in emission rates of gas emission sources (e.g. natural gas leaks originating from underground distribution pipelines) using data from multiple vehicle-based measurement runs. Exemplary described methods aim to address the observation that large (e.g. 10×) changes in gas concentrations away from a source may be observed even in the absence of significant changes in source emission rate, due to changes in wind or other atmospheric conditions and local spatial variations in gas concentrations. Described methods are useful for identifying large increases in the emission rate(s) of known sources, for example due to frost heave or other dislocations. Multiple runs are performed along the same survey path in closely-related conditions (e.g. same time of day, same lanes), and a statistical test (e.g. a Kolmogorov-Smirnov test) is used to identify changes in concentration reflecting changes in emission rates.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg190820.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Picarro, Inc. 59 patents | US company or organization | Santa Clara, CA | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Steele | San Francisco, CA | 14 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Chris W. Rella | Sunnyvale, CA | 45 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Sze Meng Tan | Santa Clara, CA | 41 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Sean MacMullin | Santa Clara, CA | 7 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Anders Andelman Nottrott | Sunol, CA | 8 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| G01M | Testing static or dynamic balance of machines or structures; testing of structures or apparatus, not otherwise provided for | G01M3/007 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-08-14 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | STEELE, DAVID signed 2017-05-30 MACMULLIN, SEAN signed 2017-07-19 NOTTROTT, ANDERS signed 2017-07-19 TAN, SZE M signed 2017-07-19 RELLA, CHRIS W signed 2017-07-25 | PICARRO, INC. SANTA CLARA, CA | 43282/468 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.