Systems and methods for monitoring a subject in a premise

• US 10,045,512 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2015
• Issued: 08/14/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Radio Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: Radio Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Mainini, Christopher, Seltzer, Richard Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghulamali, Qutbuddin
• Application Number:
  US14/741,159
• Publication Number:
  US 20160366853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• Field of Search: 340573, 3405731, 3405732, 3405733
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 11/008 incorporating GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

A system is described that includes communications modules, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a computing platform. The system includes placing each communications module at a location in a premise, wherein each communications module periodically transmits a unique number, wherein the application detects and stores each unique number. The system includes the application organizing linking information by linking each unique number with a distance and a function and transmitting the linking information to the wearable device. The wearable device may detect a transmission of a communications module, use information of the transmission to identify the communications module'"'"'s unique number and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to its location. The wearable device may use the linking information to identify the corresponding function and distance and perform the function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

at least one communications module, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the at least one communications module, the wearable device and the application are configured to communicate through wireless communications, wherein each communications module of the at least one communications module is located in an environment;

each communications module of the at least one communications module configured to periodically transmit a unique identifying number corresponding to and identifying the transmitting communications module, wherein the application is configured to detect each unique identifying number of one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module;

the application configured to organize linking information, the organizing linking information comprising linking each unique identifying number of the one or more communications modules with a distance value and a function, wherein the application is configured to transmit the linking information to the wearable device;

the wearable device configured to detect a transmission of a communications module of the one or more communications modules, the wearable device configured to use information of the detected transmission to identify the unique identifying number of the communications module and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to the location of the communications module, the wearable device configured to use the linking information to identify the corresponding function and distance value, the wearable device configured to perform the function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance value.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device is configured to store the linking information in a database.

3. The system of claim 2, the wearable device using the linking information comprising a database lookup.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the application detecting each unique identifying number includes storing each unique identifying number.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being less than the distance value.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being greater than the distance value.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being between a range of distance values.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device comprises a collar.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein an animal wears the collar.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the mobile computing device comprises one or more of a smartphone, tablet, and laptop computer.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the performed function comprises logging information of the performed function.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the logged information includes one or more of a time, an occurrence, and a duration of the performed function.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the logging the information comprises associating the time and the occurrence with the unique identifying number of the communications module.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the wearable device is configured to transmit the logged information to the application.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the application is configured to provide access to the logged information through an electronic interface.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the performed function comprises an avoidance function, wherein the avoidance function comprises applying a negative stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the performed function comprises a tracking function, wherein the tracking function comprises applying a positive stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

18. The system of claim 1, the linking each unique identifying number comprising linking each unique identifying number with a permitted time, the wearable device using the linking information to identify the corresponding permitted time, the wearable device performing the function when a time of the performing comprises the permitted time.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications comprises a Bluetooth low energy communications protocol.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one communications module comprises a Bluetooth enabled device.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable device comprises a Bluetooth enabled beacon.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the application is configured to provide an electronic interface.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the application detecting each unique identifying number of one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module comprising selecting the one or more communications modules using the electronic interface.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the organizing linking information includes using the electronic interface to link each unique identifying number with a distance value and a function.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device are communicatively coupled via Wi-Fi connection to a local router, local area network or local personal area network.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the coupling provides internet connectivity.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device is communicatively coupled with a cloud computing platform comprising one or more applications running on at least one processor of a remote server.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device at least one of transmit data to and receive data from the cloud computing platform.

29. A system comprising:

at least one communications module, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the at least one communications module, the wearable device and the application are configured to communicate through wireless communications, wherein each communications module of the at least one communications module corresponds to a unique identifying number, wherein one or more communications modules of the at least one communications module is located in an environment;

the application configured to transmit to the wearable device identification information, the identification information comprising the corresponding unique identifying number for each communications module of the one or more communications modules, wherein the wearable device stores the identification information;

the application configured to transmit data to the one or more communications modules, the transmitting the data comprising transmitting a corresponding function and distance value for each communications module of the one or more communications modules;

a communications module of the one or more communications modules configured to periodically transmit the corresponding unique identifying number, the corresponding function and the corresponding distance value;

the wearable device configured to detect a transmission of the communications module, the wearable device configured to use information of the detected transmission to identify the unique identifying number of the communications module, the transmitted function, and the transmitted distance value, and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to the location of the communications module;

the wearable device configured to locate a presence of the unique identifying number in the stored identification information, wherein upon the locating, the wearable device is configured to compare the transmitted distance value with the estimated distance and perform the transmitted function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the transmitted distance value.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being less than the transmitted distance value.

31. The system of claim 29, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being greater than the transmitted distance value.

32. The system of claim 29, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being between a range of transmitted distance values.

33. The system of claim 29, wherein the performed function comprises logging information of the performed function, wherein the logged information includes a time and an occurrence of the performed function.

34. The system of claim 33, wherein the logging the information comprises associating the time and the occurrence with the unique identifying number of the communications module.

35. The system of claim 29, wherein the performed function comprises an avoidance function, wherein the avoidance function comprises applying a negative stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

36. The system of claim 29, wherein the performed function comprises a tracking function, wherein the tracking function comprises applying a positive stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

37. A method comprising:

placing a wearable device on a subject that is mobile within an environment;

placing communications modules at one or more locations in the environment, wherein each communications module periodically transmits a unique identifying number corresponding to and identifying the transmitting communications module, wherein an application running on a processor of a mobile computing device detects and stores each unique identifying number of one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module, wherein the communications modules, the wearable device, and the application are communicatively coupled through wireless communications;

organizing linking information by linking each unique identifying number of the one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module with a distance value and a function, wherein the organizing comprises the application organizing the linking information and transmitting the linking information to the wearable device;

the wearable device detecting a transmission of a communications module of the one or more communications modules;

the wearable device using information of the detected transmission to identify the unique identifying number of the communications module and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to a location of the communications module;

the wearable device using the linking information to identify the function and distance value corresponding to the communications module;

the wearable device performing the function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance value.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being less than the distance value.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being greater than the distance value.

40. The system of claim 37, wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being between a range of distance values.

41. A method comprising:

placing a wearable device on a subject that is mobile within an environment;

placing one or more communications modules at one or more locations in the environment;

one or more applications running on at least one processor of a mobile computing device transmitting identification information to the wearable device, wherein the one or more communications modules, the wearable device and the one or more applications are communicatively coupled through wireless communications, the identification information comprising a corresponding unique identifying number for each communications module of the one or more communications modules, wherein the wearable device stores the identification information;

the one or more applications transmitting data to a communications module of the one or more communications modules, wherein the data comprises a function and a distance value;

the communications module periodically transmitting the corresponding unique identifying number, the function and the distance value;

the wearable device detecting a transmission of the communications module, the wearable device using information of the detected transmission to identify the corresponding unique identifying number of the communications module, the transmitted function, and the transmitted distance value, and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to the location of the communications module;

the wearable device locating a presence of the unique identifying number in the stored identification information, wherein upon the locating, the wearable device compares the transmitted distance value with the estimated distance and performs the transmitted function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance value.