Remote sensors for detecting alert conditions and notifying a central station

• US 10,540,878 B2
• Filed: 08/01/2018
• Issued: 01/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hunter, Charles Eric, Ballou, Bernard L., Hebrank, John, Fallon, James, Summer, Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C
• Application Number:
  US16/051,781
• Publication Number:
  US 20190035250A1
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 3405391, 34053911, 34053913, 4554041, 4554042, 455 501
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/12 responsive to undesired emission of substances, e.g. pollution alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/00 Combined visual and audible advertising or displaying, e.g. for public address
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A method for disseminating emergency notification content from an emergency originating source. The method comprising: delivering the emergency notification content from the emergency originating source to at least one transmitting party; selecting a subset of users from among a set of users for dissemination of the emergency notification content based on the subject matter of the emergency notification content; and delivering the emergency notification content from the at least one transmitting party to a device corresponding to each user from the selected subset of users.

Claims

1. A method of monitoring, comprising:

determining, by a host facility communicatively coupled to a communications network, an alert condition associated with a monitoring device, the monitoring device including a sensor module that is configured to sense an environmental parameter at a location where the monitoring device is disposed and generate sensor data that characterizes the environmental parameter, wherein the host facility maintains information related to the monitoring device including a device identifier of the monitoring device, and wherein the determining the alert condition includes the monitoring device and/or the host facility detecting the alert condition based on the sensor data; and

upon determining the alert condition, transmitting, by the host facility and via the communications network, alert notification content that corresponds to the alert condition, wherein the transmitting causes a handheld computing device to output a visual or audible representation of the alert notification content of the alert condition so as to notify a user of the alert condition.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental parameter is motion.

3. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the host facility and using the communication network, the monitoring information from the monitoring device.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the monitoring device includes a motion sensor, and wherein the environmental parameter is motion sensed by the motion sensor.

5. The method of claim 1, the method further comprising:

receiving, by the host facility, a verification that the user received the alert content notification.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental parameter is smoke or carbon monoxide.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the environmental parameter is sound having a sound signature known to correspond with an event.

8. A system for monitoring, the system comprising:

a host facility that is communicatively coupled to a communications network, the host facility being configured to;

determine an alert condition associated with a monitoring device, the monitoring device including a sensor module that is configured to sense an environmental parameter at a location where the monitoring device is disposed and generate sensor data that characterizes the environmental parameter, wherein the host facility maintains information related to the monitoring device including a device identifier of the monitoring device, and wherein the determination of the alert condition includes the monitoring device and/or the host facility detecting the alert condition based on the sensor data; and

upon the determination of the alert condition, transmit, using the communications network, alert notification content that corresponds to the alert condition, wherein the transmission causes a handheld computing device to output a visual or audible representation of the alert notification content of the alert condition so as to notify a user of the alert condition.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the environmental parameter is motion.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the host facility is configured to:

receive, using the communication network, the monitoring information from a monitoring device.

11. The system of claim 10, the system further comprising:

the monitoring device that includes a motion sensor, and wherein the environmental parameter is motion sensed by the motion sensor.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the host facility is configured to:

receive a verification that the user received the alert content notification.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the environmental parameter is smoke or carbon monoxide.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the environmental parameter is sound having a sound signature known to correspond with an event.

15. A computing device configured as a host facility for monitoring, the computing device communicatively coupled to a communications network and configured to:

determine an alert condition associated with a monitoring device, the monitoring device including a sensor module that is configured to sense an environmental parameter at a location where the monitoring device is disposed and generate sensor data that characterizes the environmental parameter, wherein the host facility maintains information related to the monitoring device including a device identifier of the monitoring device, and wherein the determination of the alert condition includes the monitoring device and/or the host facility detecting the alert condition based on the sensor data; and

upon the determination of the alert condition, transmit, using the communications network, alert notification content that corresponds to the alert condition, wherein the transmission causes a handheld computing device to output a visual or audible representation of the alert notification content of the alert condition so as to notify a user of the alert condition.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the environmental parameter is motion.

17. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to:

receive, using the communication network, the monitoring information from the monitoring device.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein the monitoring device includes a motion sensor, and wherein the environmental parameter is motion sensed by the motion sensor.

19. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the computing device is configured to:

receive a verification that the user received the alert content notification.

20. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the environmental parameter is smoke or carbon monoxide.

21. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the environmental parameter is sound having a sound signature known to correspond with an event.