Method and apparatus for enhancing personal safety with conspicuously concealed, incidentalist, concomitant, or deniable remote monitoring possibilities of a witnessential network, or the like

• US 20020057915A1
• Filed: 09/05/2001
• Published: 05/16/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/1998
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: W. Stephen G. Mann
• Original Assignee: W. Stephen G. Mann
• Inventors: Mann, W. Stephen G.
• Application Number:
  US09/945,879
• Publication Number:
  US 20020057915A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 396/661
• CPC Class Codes: E03C 1/057 touchless, i.e. using sensors
• CPC Class Codes: E03D 5/105 touchless, e.g. using sensors

Abstract

A portable personal safety device or a method of doing business by providing appropriate services, networks, or the like for the device, which has a possibility or the perception of a possibility of being monitored by an entity outside of the user'"'"'s control, is disclosed. Preferably the user either does not know whether or not this possibility is fulfilled, or can credibly deny knowing whether or not this possibility is fulfilled. The apparatus, in one embodiment, comprises a conspicuously concealing container with optical properties suitable for a video camera, the actual presence of which is, in at least one mode of operation, unknowable by the user, or can be credibly alleged by the user to be unknowable or unknown by the user. In one embodiment, the device affords the user with a nonconfrontational or collegial means of asserting fear of accountability, uncertainty, or doubt on persons exerting physical or other coercive force, or the threat or possibility thereof, upon the user of the invention. In another embodiment of the invention, actual or apparent user submissiveness to a large organization is built into the apparatus or the method, so that the user of the invention can reduce his or her freewill, or apparent freewill, to a level that matches that of a member of a large organization. The apparatus, in many embodiments, provides the user with means for self demotion, from a willnot, to maynot, to cannot hierarchy. The invention provides an incidentalist possibility of evidence capture, so that legitimate officials are less offended by a user of the invention who might otherwise be perceived as disrespectful by videotaping or photographing or otherwise documenting the activities of force or coersion bearing persons or establishments, especially when these persons or establishments are authority figures, gang leaders, or the like.

Claims

1. A personal safety system, comprising:

a plurality of personal safety enhancing devices for being provided to users, each of said plurality of personal safety enhancing devices comprising;

one of;

a camera installed in a concealed manner in a wearable conspicuously concealed imaging possibility housing, and a transmitter for transmitting pictures taken by said camera;

a wearable conspicuously concealed imaging housing lacking a camera,

a network for receiving pictures transmitted by said transmitter,

said personal safety system comprising at least one of said personal safety enhancing devices comprising a camera installed in a concealed manner in a wearable conspicuously concealed imaging possibility housing, and a transmitter for transmitting pictures taken by said camera.

2. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system including a conspicuous annunciator located in said housing.

3. The personal safety system of claim 2, where said annunciator provides a decorative pattern for inducing persons to turn their faces toward said housing to look at said decorative pattern for being photographed by said camera.

4. The personal safety system of claim 2, where said annunciator provides a decorative mesmerising light chaser pattern for inducing persons to turn their faces toward said housing to stare at said decorative pattern for being photographed by said camera.

5. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system including a safetycharm that includes said housing.

6. The personal safety system of claim 5 said safetycharm having a concomitant articulable basis upon which to be provided with electricity.

7. The personal safety system of claim 6 said concomitant articulable basis being a decorative light source.

8. The personal safety system of claim 7 said decorative light source being a decorative pattern of lights.

9. The personal safety system of claim 7 said light source emitting a large quantity of infrared light and a smaller quantity of visible light.

10. The personal safety system of claim 7 said light source comprising at least one light emitting diode for producing a large quantity of infrared light together with a moderate quantity of visible light.

11. The personal safety system of claim 10 said light source comprising an array of light sources, said array comprising at least one infrared light emitting diode for producing a quantity of infrared light together with at least one visible light emitting diode for producing a quantity of visible light.

12. The personal safety system of claim 11 said light source further for producing a visible pattern of light for inducing potential assailants to look at said camera.

13. The personal safety system of any of claim 11 said light source further for producing a mesmerizing light chaser pattern for inducing persons to look at said camera.

14. The personal safety system of claim 13, said light source including lights encircling said housing.

15. The personal safety system of claim 1, including a light source, said light source for providing at least two of:

a first function of providing a decorative pattern of light;

a second function of illuminating subject matter in view of said camera;

a third function of wirelessly transmitting data from said camera.

16. The personal safety system of claim 1, including a wireless transceiver, said wireless transceiver for providing at least two of:

a first function of providing a decorative pattern of light;

a second function of illuminating subject matter in view of said camera;

a third function of wirelessly transmitting data from said camera.

a third function of wirelessly transmitting data from said camera.

a fourth function of wirelessly receiving data from another of said personal safetycharms.

17. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system including a conspicuous annunciator located adjacent to said housing.

18. The personal safety system of claim 17 where said annunciator is a red light illuminated continuously.

19. The personal safety system of claim 17 where said annunciator is a flashing red light.

20. The personal safety system of claim 17 where said annunciator is a flash lamp.

21. The personal safety system of claim 17 where said annunciator functions also as a wireless data transmitter.

22. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1 said personal safety system further including an illuminator for illuminating subject matter in view of said camera., said illuminator also for wireless transmission of picture signals from said camera.

23. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1 said personal safety system further including a pulsed illuminator for providing a brief burst of illumination of subject matter in view of said camera, said illuminator also for wireless transmission of picture signals from said camera.

24. The personal safety system of claim 23 in which said illuminator transmits one picture in each burst of illumination from said illuminator.

25. The personal safety system of claim 23 in which said illuminator transmits using a Picture Transfer Protocol in which each packet of data corresponds to one picture from said camera.

26. A method of providing a personal safety service, for allowing a person or group of persons to articulate external forces that maintain stability, safety, or rationale for not submitting entirely to requests of unaccountable actions such as violence, torture, or unmonitored interaction, said method including the features of claim 1, said method comprising the steps of having a Safety Management Organization:

provide a user of said method with said housing;

allow said user of said method to choose a contract having terms that require said user to wear said housing;

provide said user with at least one task that requires that the user be bound by said terms;

provide said user with means for presenting to entities who request removal of said housing an articulable basis upon which said user is bound by said terms.

27. The method of claim 26, where said method to choose a contract is selection from a menu of contracts, each of said contracts associated with at least one task for which said terms are required of said user.

28. A method of providing a personal safety service, for allowing a person or group of persons to articulate external forces that maintain stability, safety, or rationale for not submitting entirely to requests of unaccountable actions such as violence, torture, or unmonitored interaction, said method including the features of any of claim 1, said method comprising the steps of providing a user of said method with:

said housing;

an insurance policy in which cheaper insurance rates are offered in return for wearing said housing at all times when interacting with other persons;

forms for presenting to entities who request removal of said housing said forms stating an articulable basis upon which said user is required to wear said housing by virtue of said insurance policy.

29. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a briefcase said briefcase including a deterrent, said briefcase having a lock, said lock having two modes of operation:

a first forgettable mode of operation for opening said briefcase without activating said deterrent,

a second mode of operation for opening said briefcase while activating said deterrent.

30. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a briefcase said briefcase including a deterrent device, said briefcase having a lock, said lock having three modes of operation:

a first forgettable mode of operation for opening said briefcase without activating said deterrent device,

a second mode of operation for opening said briefcase while activating said deterrent device,

a third mode of operation for opening said briefcase in response to remote authorization, said third mode not activating said deterrent device.

31. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a briefcase, said briefcase including a deterrent, said briefcase having a lock, said lock having two modes of operation:

a first mode of operation for opening said briefcase without activating said deterrent,

a second mode of operation for opening said briefcase while activating said deterrent,

said first mode of operation requiring remote authorization.

32. The briefcase of claim 31, where said deterrent is an irritant.

33. The briefcase of claim 31, where said deterrent is a noise producing device.

34. The briefcase of claim 31, where said deterrent is a photographic picture taking device, including an electronic flash to repeatedly take pictures of a person searching said briefcase.

35. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a briefcase, for keeping confidential documents, corporate property, business plans, or the like, safe from scrutiny by strangers, while being carried, said conspicuous concealement housing comprising:

a carrying case;

at least one imager borne by said carrying case;

at least one lock,

said imager operable when said case is closed, and said lock responsive to an output of said imager.

36. A method of doing business of personal safety with a user of the carrying case described in claim 35, said method including the steps of:

providing said user with means for forwarding requests from persons wishing to search said carrying case to a Safety Management Organization of said user;

receiving a request at said Safety Management Organization from a person wishing to search said carrying case;

processing said request at said Safety Management Organization;

providing authorization from said Safety Management Organization to said user to open said carrying case,

said user having an articulable basis upon which not to open said carrying case prior to receiving said authorization.

37. The system of claim 35 where said carrying case is a briefcase and where said imager is a fingerprint scanner.

38. The system of claim 37 where said fingerprint scanner includes a shroud to prevent improperly inserted fingers.

39. The system of claim 37 where said fingerprint scanner is a first fingerprint scanner, and further including a second fingerprint scanner located far enough from said first fingerprint scanner that a single hand of a user cannot simultaneously reach both fingerprint scanners, said system having at least one mode of operation in which unlocking said briefcase requires the simultaneous valid scan of at least two fingerprints.

40. The system of claim 39 where said second fingerprint scanner also includes a shroud to prevent improperly inserted fingers, said shrouds both being oriented for positioning a person inserting fingers into the fingerprint scanners such that said person'"'"'s face is in view of a conspicuously concealed imaging possibility of said conspicuously concealed housing. when said persons fingers are properly inserted into said fingerprint scanners.

41. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a dome made of a material at least partially transparent in a getting to which said camera is sensitive.

42. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a wearable node device in a network, said wearable node device having two modes of operation, a first mode for providing a conspicuously concealed imaging possibility of an environment, and a second mode for providing a conspicuously concealed imaging possibility of a wearer of said wearable node, said first mode for being activated when said wearable node is worn, and said second mode for being activated when said wearable node is removed from a body of a person wearing said wearable node device.

43. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a wearable dome device, said wearable dome device having two modes of operation, a first mode for providing a conspicuously concealed imaging possibility of an environment, and a second mode for providing a conspicuously concealed imaging possibility of a wearer of said dome device said first mode for being activated when said wearable dome device is worn, and said second mode for being activated when said wearable dome device is removed from a body of a person wearing said wearable dome device.

44. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a wearable device having a dome, for being worn with said dome facing forwards or backwards from the body in standing position, said personal safety system including at least one wearable device having said camera, and having two modes of operation, a first mode in which said camera is pointed primarily along an optical axis of said dome, and a second mode in which said camera is pointed primarily in a direction away from said optical axis of said dome, said first mode being activated when said wearable device is worn, and said second mode being activated when said wearable device is removed from a body of a person wearing said wearable device.

45. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing including a dome aimed in a backward facing direction when worn on a body of a user in a standing position, said personal safety system including at least one housing having a Doppler radar system.

46. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing including at least one device having a camera aimed in a backward facing direction when worn on a body of a user in a standing position, said device having a radar system providing a complex-valued signal output.

47. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing including at least one device having a camera aimed in a backward facing direction when worn on a body of a user in a standing position, said device having a radar system and processor for said radar system and said camera, said processor for computing a chirplet transform of data from said radar, said processor for making a decision based on said chirplet transform, said decision being whether or not to capture and display a picture from said camera.

48. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing including at least one device having a camera in a dome, said camera having a built-in source of light, said device having a telelight extender, said telelight extender comprising a light sensor for covering said built-in source of light, said telelight extender having an external light source for being mounted outside said dome, said external light source being driven in a quantity of light proportional to a quantity of light from said built-in source of light.

49. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a dome with holes drilled around a periphery of said dome, for being sewn onto a garment.

50. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a dome with fasteners around a periphery of said dome, for being sewn onto a garment.

51. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a dome with threaded fasteners around a periphery of said dome, for being sewn onto a garment, said threaded fasteners being secured with a security cable, said security cable being fixed with a tamper evident seal.

52. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a left cup of a garment for being worn on the upper body of a user, said garment also having a right cup, said left cup and right cup being made of an at least partially transparent material.

53. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing being a sheet of dark transparent material for being sewn onto a garment.

54. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, at least some of said safety enhancing devices for receiving pictures transmitted by other safety enhancing devices in the personal safety system.

55. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system including a viral image propagation mode, said viral image propagation mode including a Fear of Funcationality feature.

56. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system including a safety seed disseminator.

57. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system further including a display for being viewed by a subject visible by said camera.

58. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system further including a display for being viewed by a subject visible by said camera and a processor for generating an advertisment in which said subject appears, said advertisment for being displayed on said display.

59. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system further including a projector for projecting an image for being viewed by a subject visible by said camera.

60. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system further including a projector for projecting an image for being viewed by a subject visible to said camera, said personal safety system also including means for stabilizing said image of said projector with respect to a projection surface upon which said image is projected.

61. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said personal safety system further including a wearable miniature, said miniature for providing theatrical entertainment distraction to a subject being photographed by said camera.

62. A personal safety system including the features of claim 1, said housing comprising a toy, said toy providing entertainment to a subject being photographed by said camera.

63. A personal safety system, comprising:

a plurality of personal safetycharms for being worn by users, each of said plurality of personal safetycharms comprising;

one of;

a fashion accessory including an optical conspicuous concealment housing together with a camera housed in a concealed manner in said conspicuous concealment housing, and a transmitter for transmitting pictures taken by said camera;

a fashion accessory including an optical conspicuous concealment housing lacking a camera;

a communications network including at least one receiver for receiving picture signals transmitted by said camera.

64. A method of enhancing personal safety, comprising the steps of:

providing a plurality of safety enhancing devices to users, each safety enhancing device comprising at least one of each of;

a camera installed in a concealed fashion in a wearable conspicuously concealed imaging possibility housing and a transmitter for transmitting pictures taken by said camera;

a wearable conspicuously concealed imaging possibility housing lacking a camera.