Ambulatory navigation system

• US 20020123843A1
• Filed: 03/02/2001
• Published: 09/05/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/02/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hill-Rom Services Incorporated (Baxter International Inc.)
• Inventors: Hood, Michael Scott
• Granted Patent: US 6,622,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/211
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/002 for traffic control, mobile tracking, guidance, surveillance or anti-collision
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/005 including pedestrian guidance indicator
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096811 where the route is computed offboard
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096861 where the immediate route instructions are output to the driver, e.g. arrow signs for next turn
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/096872 where instructions are given per voice

Abstract

The present invention provides a navigation system configured to direct a person to a selected destination using information from an information carrying member.

Claims

1. A navigation system configured to direct a person to a selected destination, the system comprising:

a first station having a first input device to select a destination, a first processor coupled to the first input device, and an output device coupled to the first processor, the output device being configured to provide an information carrying member for the person; and

a second station including a second input device configured to receive information from the information carrying member, a second processor coupled to the second input device, and a communication member coupled to the second processor, the second processor being configured to determine instructions to direct the person from the second station toward the selected destination and to communicate the instructions to the person using the communication member.

2. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member includes information corresponding to the selected destination, and the second input device is an information detector configured to identify the selected destination automatically from the information carrying member.

3. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member is a magnetic stripe on a card and the output device is an encoder which encodes information on the magnetic stripe on the card.

4. The navigation system of claim 3, wherein the second input device is a magnetic stripe decoder configured to read the information from the magnetic stripe on the card.

5. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member is a bar code on a card, output device includes an encoder which encodes the bar code on the card to provide information, and the second input device is a bar code reader configured to read the bar code to obtain the information.

6. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member is a smart card, the output device being configured to store information in the smart card, and the second input device being configured to read the information from the smart card.

7. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member is a badge configured to transmit a signal including information corresponding to the selected destination and the second input device is a receiver on the second station configured to receive the signal from the badge and identify the selected destination from the signal.

8. The navigation system of claim 7, wherein the badge signal also includes a unique identification portion identifying the person.

9. The navigation system of claim 8, further comprising a locating and tracking system configured to receive the signal from the badge to monitor a location of the person within a facility.

10. The navigation system of claim 9, further comprising means for transmitting an indicator signal to the badge if the locating and tracking system determines that the person is not following the instructions to the selected destination.

11. The navigation system of claim 7, wherein the badge signal is one of an infrared signal, a radio frequency signal, and an ultrasonic signal.

12. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the first station includes a display, the processor being configured to display a menu of possible selected destinations on the display for selection by the first input device.

13. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the second processor is coupled to a communication network, the second processor being configured to access a database to determine the instructions to direct the person from the second station toward the selected destination.

14. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the first station is coupled to a communication network, the first processor being configured to receive data related to a plurality of selected destinations over the communication network.

15. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the second input device is a manual input device.

16. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the instructions communicated by the second station direct the person to a third station identical to the second station but closer to the selected destination.

17. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member includes printed information thereon.

18. The navigation system of claim 17, wherein the printed information is advertising material.

19. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the second station further includes an input to permit the person to request directions back to a common destination.

20. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the communication member includes at least one of a display, a speaker, and a printer.

21. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member also includes a language indicator to indicate a desired language for the instructions from the communication member.

22. The navigation system of claim 21, wherein the second input device is configured to receive the language indicator from the information carrying member, and the instructions are then communicated to the person by the communication member in the language specified by the language indicator.

23. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member further includes information corresponding to a first selected destination and information corresponding to a second selected destination.

24. The navigation system of claim 23, wherein the second selected destination is a main entrance of a facility.

25. The navigation system of claim 23, wherein the second selected destination is the location of the first station so that the person can obtain directions back to the location of the first station from the second station.

26. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein a plurality of second stations are located at spaced apart locations, each second station being configured to identify the selected designation using information from the information carrying member and to provide instructions on the communication member to direct the person to one of another second station and the selected destination.

27. The navigation system of claim 26, wherein the instructions increase in detail the closer that the person is to the selected destination.

28. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member is a badge configured to transmit a signal including identification information related to the person, and the second input device is a receiver on the second station configured to receive the signal from the badge and to detect the identification information from the signal.

29. The navigation system of claim 28, further comprising a locating and tracking system configured to receive the signal from the badge to monitor a location of the person within a facility.

30. The navigation system of claim 29, further comprising means for transmitting an indicator signal to the badge if the locating and tracking system determines that the person is not following the instructions to the selected destination.

31. The navigation system of claim 28, wherein the badge signal is one of an infrared signal, a radio frequency signal, and an ultrasonic signal.

32. The navigation system of claim 28, wherein the second processor is configured to access a database to determine the selected destination based on the identification information.

33. The navigation system of claim 1, wherein the information carrying member includes identification information related to the person, and further comprising a database configured to store a selected destination corresponding to the identification information, the input device being configured to detect the identification information from the information carrying member, and the processor being configured to determine the selected destination from the database based on the identification information.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the identifying step occurs automatically at the selected navigation station.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of providing a core station configured to generate the information carrying member based on a selection of the selected destination at the core station.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the identifying step includes one of reading a magnetic stripe on the information carrying member, reading a bar code on the information carrying member, receiving a signal from the information carrying member, and receiving a manual input from the person using the information carrying member.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the communicating step includes at least one of printing the instructions, displaying the instructions, and announcing the instructions.

39. The method of claim 34, further comprising the step of monitoring a location of the person.

34. A method to navigate a person to a selected destination, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a person with an information carrying member corresponding to the selected destination;

providing a plurality of navigation stations at spaced apart locations;

identifying the selected destination a selected one of the plurality of navigation stations based on the information carrying member; and

communicating instructions to the person to direct the person to one of another of the plurality navigation stations and the selected destination.

40. A method to navigate a person to a selected destination, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a person with an information carrying member including identification information related to the person;

storing a selected destination of the person corresponding to the identification information in a database;

providing a plurality of navigation stations at spaced apart locations;

detecting the identification information from the information carrying member at a selected one of the plurality of navigation stations;

determining the selected destination of the person corresponding to the detected identification information from the database; and

communicating instructions to the person to direct the person to one of another of the plurality navigation stations and the selected destination.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the detecting step occurs automatically at the selected navigation station.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of providing a core station configured to generate the information carrying member based on information related to the person including at least one of a person'"'"'s name, a condition of the person, and a handicap of the person.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the detecting step includes one of reading a magnetic stripe on the information carrying member, reading a bar code on the information carrying member, receiving a signal from the information carrying member, identifying a fingerprint, identifying a retina, and receiving a manual input from the person using the information carrying member.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the communicating step includes at least one of printing the instructions, displaying the instructions, and announcing the instructions.

45. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of monitoring a location of the person.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising the step of storing the location of the person in the database.

48. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member includes information corresponding to the selected destination, and the input device is an information detector configured to identify the selected destination automatically from the information carrying member.

49. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member is a magnetic stripe on a card and the input device is a magnetic stripe decoder configured to read the information from the magnetic stripe on the card.

50. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member is a bar code on a card and the input device is a bar code reader configured to read the bar code to obtain the information.

51. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member is a smart card and the input device is configured to read the information from the smart card.

52. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member is a badge configured to transmit a signal including information corresponding to the selected destination and the input device is a receiver configured to receive the signal from the badge and identify the selected destination from the signal.

53. The navigation system of claim 52, wherein the badge signal also includes a unique identification portion identifying the person.

54. The navigation system of claim 53, further comprising a locating and tracking system configured to receive the signal from the badge to monitor a location of the person within a facility.

55. The navigation system of claim 54, further comprising means for transmitting an indicator signal to the badge if the locating and tracking system determines that the person is not following the instructions to the selected destination.

56. The navigation system of claim 52, wherein the badge signal is one of an infrared signal, a radio frequency signal, and an ultrasonic signal.

57. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the processor is coupled to a communication network, the processor being configured to access a database to determine the instructions to direct the person toward the selected destination.

58. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the input device is a manual input device.

59. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the communication member includes at least one of a display, a speaker, and a printer.

60. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the information carrying member also includes a language indicator to indicate a desired language for the instructions from the communication member.

61. The navigation system of claim 60, wherein the input device is configured to receive the language indicator from the information carrying member, and the instructions are then communicated to the person by the communication member in the language specified by the language indicator.

62. The navigation system of claim 46, wherein the information carrying member includes identification information related to the person, and further comprising a database configured to store a selected destination corresponding to the identification information, the input device being configured to detect the identification information from the information carrying member, and the processor being configured to determine the selected destination from the database based on the identification information.

63. The navigation system of claim 47, wherein the processor is configured to determine the instructions to direct the person toward the selected destination from the database.

47. A navigation system configured to direct a person to a selected destination using an information carrying member, the system comprising:

an input device configured to receive information from the information carrying member;

a processor coupled to the input device; and

a communication member coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to determine instructions to direct the person toward the selected destination and to communicate the instructions to the person using the communication member.

64. A navigation system configured to direct a person to a selected destination, the system comprising:

a badge configured to transmit a signal including identification information related to the person;

a database configured to store a selected destination for the person corresponding to the identification information;

a receiver configured to receive the signal from the badge and detect the identification information;

a processor coupled to the receiver; and

a communication member coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to determine the selected destination for the person from the database based on the identification information received from the badge, to determine instructions to direct the person toward the selected destination, and to communicate the instructions to the person using the communication member.

65. The navigation system of claim 64, further comprising a locating and tracking system configured to receive the signal from the badge to monitor a location of the person within a facility.

66. The navigation system of claim 65, further comprising means for transmitting an indicator signal to the badge if the locating and tracking system determines that the person is not following the instructions to the selected destination.

67. The navigation system of claim 64, wherein the badge signal is one of an infrared signal, a radio frequency signal, and an ultrasonic signal.

68. The navigation system of claim 64, wherein the processor is configured to access the database to determine the instructions to the selected destination.

69. The navigation system of claim 64, wherein the badge includes a receiver and at least one of a display and a speaker.

70. A navigation system configured to direct a person to a selected destination using an information carrying member including identification information related to the person, the system comprising:

a database configured to store a selected destination corresponding to the identification information;

an input device configured to receive the identification information from the information carrying member;

a processor coupled to the input device; and

a communication member coupled to the processor, the processor being configured to determine the selected destination from the database based on the identification information received by the input device, to determine instructions to direct the person toward the selected destination, and to communicate the instructions to the person using the communication member.

71. The navigation system of claim 70, wherein the processor also determines the instructions to direct the person from the second station toward the selected destination from the database.

72. The navigation system of claim 70, wherein the communication member includes at least one of a display, a speaker, and a printer.

73. The navigation system of claim 70, wherein a plurality of input devices are located at spaced apart locations, each input device being configured to identify the identification information from the information carrying member and to provide instructions on the communication member to direct the person to one of another input device and the selected destination.

74. The navigation system of claim 70, wherein the information carrying member is a badge configured to transmit a signal including the identification information related to the person, and the input device is a receiver to receive the signal from the badge and detect the identification information from the signal.

75. The navigation system of claim 74, further comprising a locating and tracking system configured to receive the signal from the badge to monitor a location of the person within a facility.

76. The navigation system of claim 75, further comprising means for transmitting an indicator signal to the badge if the locating and tracking system determines that the person is not following the instructions to the selected destination.

77. The navigation system of claim 70, wherein the input device is one of a magnetic stripe decoder, a bar code reader, a signal receiver, a fingerprint detector, a retinal scanner, and a manual input.