Child in vehicle detector
First Claim
1. A vehicle safety system comprising:
- means for detecting that an operator of the vehicle is away from the vehicle by more a distance greater than zero;
means for detecting movement within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the means for detecting movement within the passenger compartment of the vehicle partially contained within a Faraday shield, thereby reducing detection of movement outside of the passenger compartment of the vehicle;
means for signaling an alarm;
responsive to the means for detecting the operator of the vehicle is away from the vehicle by the distance, the means for detecting movement within the passenger compartment of the vehicle scans the vehicle to determine if there is the movement within the vehicle; and
if there is the movement within the vehicle, the means for signaling the alarm is activated to signal the alarm.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A device for detecting a being left within a vehicle includes a sensor that detects when a being (e.g. a pet, a child, etc.) is within a vehicle and the operator of the vehicle has moved away from the vehicle by more than, for example five feet. Upon detection of such, the device emits a sound to notify others nearby of the being that was left within the vehicle. The sound is preferably different than a sound of a typical vehicle theft alarm system. In a preferred embodiment, determination that the operator has left the vehicle is by a loss of a signal from a personal transmitter that is attached to the operator'"'"'s key ring or worn by the operator. After moving away from the vehicle by more than five feet, the signal from the personal transmitter decreases and initiates determination if a being remains within the vehicle.
19 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A vehicle safety system comprising:
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means for detecting that an operator of the vehicle is away from the vehicle by more a distance greater than zero; means for detecting movement within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the means for detecting movement within the passenger compartment of the vehicle partially contained within a Faraday shield, thereby reducing detection of movement outside of the passenger compartment of the vehicle; means for signaling an alarm; responsive to the means for detecting the operator of the vehicle is away from the vehicle by the distance, the means for detecting movement within the passenger compartment of the vehicle scans the vehicle to determine if there is the movement within the vehicle; and if there is the movement within the vehicle, the means for signaling the alarm is activated to signal the alarm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A vehicle safety system comprising:
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a personal transmitter that periodically emits a radio frequency signal; an enclosure mounted within a passenger compartment of a vehicle; a receiver located within the enclosure, the receiver receiving and detecting the radio frequency signal; a movement detector located within the enclosure, the movement detector and enclosure are within a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the movement detector is contained within a partial Faraday shield, thereby reducing emissions and reception of signals from outside of the passenger compartment of the vehicle; the receiver attempts to detect the radio frequency signal for a period of time and, responsive to the personal transmitter being at a distance of at least five feet from the vehicle, the receiver does not detect the radio frequency signal for the period of time and then, responsive to such, the movement detector is operated to determine if there is movement within the vehicle; and if the movement detector detects a movement within the vehicle, an alarm is signaled. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of vehicle safety comprising:
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(a) within a vehicle, attempting to receive a radio frequency signal from a personal transmitter; (b) upon not receiving the radio frequency signal for a predetermined period of time, indicative that the personal transmitter is further away from the vehicle by a distance of between five and ten feet; (c) determining if there is movement within the vehicle using an impulse radar transceiver mounted within a partial Faraday shield, the partial Faraday shield reducing emission to an area outside of the vehicle and, therefore, reducing false alarms; (d) if there is movement within the vehicle, sounding an alarm; (e) waiting until a reset is received; (f) stopping of the sounding of the alarm; and (g) repeating steps (a)-(f). - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification