PERSONAL EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION DEVICE WITH USAGE MONITORING

• US 20090160643A1
• Filed: 12/21/2007
• Published: 06/25/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Lizza, Alfred M.
• Granted Patent: US 8,031,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0415 detecting absence of activity per se
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

A personal security apparatus includes a transmitting device having an event detector initiating different signals which indicate different event types. A transceiver receives the signals from the transmitting device and interprets each signal as corresponding to a particular event type. The transceiver sends respective event type alert signals to a remote monitoring device. The remote monitoring device provides a plurality of respective event type indicators for each of the event type alert signals received.

Claims

1. A personal security apparatus, comprising:

a transmitting device including an event detector initiating different signals wherein each of the different signals indicates a different event type; and

a remote monitoring device for receiving the signals.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the remote monitoring device provides a plurality of respective event indicators for each of the different signals received.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further including:

a transceiver for receiving the signals from the transmitting device and interpreting each signal as corresponding to a particular event type, and the transceiver sending respective event type alert signals to the remote monitoring device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the event detector is a motion detector.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the event detector includes:

a motion detector for sensing different motion events which includes sensing a specified threshold frequency of motion and sending a particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion equals or exceeds the specified threshold frequency of motion and sending another particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion is less than the specified frequency of motion; and

an acceleration detector for sensing a specified threshold acceleration and sending another particular signal indicating when the acceleration equals or exceeds the specified threshold acceleration.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the acceleration detector includes a directional detector for determining a direction of the acceleration and sending the particular signal when both the acceleration meets the specified threshold and the direction of the acceleration is a specified direction.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the event detector is a motion detector and the plurality of event types include the motion detector sensing motion, sensing no motion for a specified time period, and sensing a predefined acceleration of the transmitting device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the transmitting device includes an actuator for manually initiating a first signal, and the event detector is a motion detector which transmits:

a second signal indicating when the motion detector senses motion; and

a third signal indicating when the motion detector senses no motion for a specified time period, and

a fourth signal indicating when the motion detector senses a predefined acceleration indicating a person falling.

9. A personal security system, comprising:

a transmitting device including an event detector for initiating different signals from the transmitting device wherein each of the different signals indicates a different event type;

a transceiver for receiving the signals from the transmitting device and interpreting each signal as corresponding to a particular event type, and the transceiver sending respective event type alert signals; and

a remote monitoring device for receiving the event type alert signals from the transceiver and providing a plurality of respective event type indicators for each of the event type alert signals received.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the event detector is a motion detector.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the event detector is a motion detector for sensing different motion events which includes sensing a specified threshold frequency of motion and sending a particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion equals or exceeds the specified threshold frequency of motion and sending another particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion is less than the specified frequency of motion;

and the acceleration detector includes a directional detector for determining a direction of the acceleration and sending the particular signal when both the acceleration meets the specified threshold and the direction of the acceleration is a specified direction.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the event detector is a motion detector and the plurality of event types include the motion detector sensing motion, sensing no motion for a specified time period, and sensing a predefined acceleration.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the transmitting device includes an actuator for manually initiating a first signal, and the event detector is a motion detector which transmits:

a second signal indicating when the motion detector senses motion; and

a third signal indicating when the motion detector senses no motion for a specified time period, and

a fourth signal indicating when the motion detector senses a predefined acceleration indicating a person falling.

14. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the transmitting device further includes a computer and program code embodied in computer readable medium read by the computer for programming criteria for at least one of the event types.

15. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the transceiver includes a computer having program code embodied in computer readable medium read by the computer for interpreting the signals and corresponding the signals to the particular event type.

16. A method for providing personal security, comprising:

transmitting a plurality of different signals each corresponding to a different event; and

receiving the signals and providing a plurality of respective event indicators for each of the different signals received.

17. The method of claim 16, further including:

sensing motion;

defining the motion as at least one event; and

transmitting a motion signal indicating the event relating to the motion.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the different events include:

sensing a specified threshold frequency of motion and sending a particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion equals or exceeds the specified threshold frequency of motion; and

sending another particular signal indicating when the frequency of motion is less than the specified frequency of motion.

19. The method of claim 18, further including:

sensing a specified threshold acceleration of motion and sending another particular signal indicating when the threshold acceleration equals or exceeds the specified threshold acceleration of motion;

detecting direction of the acceleration; and

sending the particular signal when both the acceleration meets the specified threshold and the direction of the acceleration is a specified direction.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the event detector is a motion detector, and the method further includes:

activating manually a first signal from the transmitter;

transmitting a second signal indicating when the motion detector senses motion;

transmitting a third signal indicating when the motion detector senses no motion for a specified time period, and

transmitting a fourth signal indicating when the motion detector senses a predefined acceleration indicating a person falling.