Electronic Guides, Incident Response Methods, Incident Response Systems, and Incident Monitoring Methods

• US 20100245083A1
• Filed: 03/31/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Timothy John Lewis
• Original Assignee: Timothy John Lewis
• Inventors: Lewis, Timothy John
• Granted Patent: US 8,228,176 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip

Abstract

Incident response methods include receiving notification that an incident has occurred, determining a source of the notification, the source being near the incident, and establishing at least one guided path configured to direct a first person, a first animal, or a first movable device positioned near the source away from the incident and/or to direct a second person, a second animal, or a second movable device toward the incident. Electronic guides include an indicator, and processing circuitry configured to receive a request to configure the indicator from an inactive state to an active state in which the indicator encourages a first person positioned near a first side of the electronic guide to move toward the electronic guide and encourages a second person positioned near a second side of the electronic guide to move away from the electronic guide and configure the indicator according to the request.

Claims

1. An incident response method comprising:

receiving notification that an incident has occurred;

determining a source of the notification, the source being near the incident; and

establishing at least one guided path configured to direct a first person, a first animal, or a first movable device positioned near the source away from the incident and/or to direct a second person, a second animal, or a second movable device toward the incident.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises configuring a plurality of electronic guides, the electronic guides of the plurality being positioned near the incident and in different locations relative to one another.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises establishing the at least one guided path so that the at least one guided path directs the second person, second animal, or second movable device toward the incident and the second person, second animal, or second movable device is trained to respond to the incident and further comprising configuring at least some of the plurality of electronic guides to prevent people near the incident who are not trained to respond to the incident from hindering the second person, second animal, or second movable device.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the configuring of the plurality of electronic guides comprises:

configuring a first one of the plurality of electronic guides to discourage the first person, first animal, or first movable device from moving toward the first one of the plurality of electronic guides; and

configuring a second one of the plurality of electronic guides to encourage the first person, first animal, or first movable device to move toward the second one of the plurality of electronic guides.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the receiving of the notification comprises receiving the notification from one at least one of the electronic guides of the plurality.

6. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

after the configuring of the plurality of electronic guides, activating a first signal at a first electronic guide of the plurality;

after the activating of the first signal, activating a second signal at a second electronic guide of the plurality;

after the activating of the second signal, activating a third signal at a third electronic guide of the plurality; and

wherein the first, second, and third electronic guides of the plurality are positioned at different locations along the guided path relative to one another, the second electronic guide of the plurality being spaced a first distance along the guided path from the first electronic guide of the plurality and the third electronic guide of the plurality being spaced a second distance along the guided path from the first electronic guide of the plurality wherein the second distance is greater than the first distance.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the first, second, and third signals are visible signals and/or audible signals and/or signals detectable by the first animal, second animal, first moveable device, and/or second moveable device.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the guided path comprises a plurality of green visual indicators viewable along the guided path.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the guided path is a bi-directional path comprising a plurality of green visual indicators viewable along the guided path in a direction leading away from the incident and a plurality of red visual indicators viewable along the guided path in a direction leading to the incident.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises establishing a plurality of guided paths leading away from the incident.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the location is within a venue, the first person is within the venue, and the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises establishing the least one guided path so that the at least one guided path leads the first person out of the venue.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein at the time of the establishing of the at least one guided path, a first exit of the venue is nearer the first person than a second exit of the venue, the source is nearer the first exit than the second exit, and the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises establishing at least one guided path to direct the first person to the second exit.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving of the notification comprises electronically receiving the notification using management circuitry and the determining of the source of the notification comprises using the management circuitry automatically without human intervention to determine the source of the notification.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the notification comprises a first notification, the incident comprises a first incident, the source comprises a first source, and further comprising:

after the receiving of the first notification, receiving a second notification that a second incident has occurred which is remote from the first incident;

determining a second source of the second notification, the second source being positioned near the second incident; and

re-configuring at least a portion of the at least one guided path so that the at least one guided path leads the first person away from the first incident and away from the second incident.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein the receiving of the notification comprises receiving the notification from a detector system configured to monitor one or more environmental parameters.

16. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving information describing a plurality of pre-determined paths from a user prior to the receiving of the notification; and

based on the determining of the source of the notification, automatically and without user intervention, selecting the at least one guided path using the information.

17. The method of claim 1 further comprising after the receiving of the notification and prior to the establishing of the at least one guided path, receiving information describing at least a portion of the at least one guided path from a user and wherein the establishing of the at least one guided path comprises establishing the at least one guided path using the information.

18. The method of claim 1 further comprising after the receiving of the notification, notifying a party or individual responsible for resolving the incident of the incident.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein the location is within a venue and further comprising after the receiving of the notification, locking or unlocking one or more doors of the venue.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein the guided path is a bi-directional path comprising a first plurality of visual indicators viewable along the guided path in a direction leading away from the incident and a second plurality of visual indicators viewable along the guided path in a direction leading to the incident, the first plurality of visual indicators having a different appearance than the second plurality of visual indicators.

21. An incident monitoring method comprising:

receiving a notification that an incident has occurred;

in response to the receiving of the notification, requesting status information from a plurality of electronic guides configured to establish at least one guided path configured to direct a person positioned near the incident away from the incident;

receiving the status information from at least some of the electronic guides of the plurality; and

providing the status information.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the status information comprises environmental data collected by the electronic guides and further comprising time stamping the data and storing the data.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the providing of the status information comprises displaying the status information on a map, the map illustrating positions of the electronic guides of the plurality relative to one another.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the electronic guides of the plurality are located in a building and the map comprises at least one floor plan of the building.

25. The method of claim 24 further comprising representing electronic guides of the plurality from which the status information has not been received on the floor plan.

26. The method of claim 21 wherein at least some of the electronic guides of the plurality comprise switches configured to be activated by a person positioned adjacent to the at least some of the electronic guides of the plurality and further comprising indicating on the floor plan which switches have been activated.

27. The method of claim 21 further comprising receiving status information related to detectors of a detector system and representing the status information on the floor plan, the detectors being configured to monitor one or more environmental parameters.

28. An incident response system comprising:

a plurality of electronic guides positioned within pathways of a building in different locations relative to one another, each electronic guide of the plurality comprising at least one green visual indicator configured to be selectively enabled; and

management circuitry configured to;

receive notification that an incident has occurred within the building;

determine a source of the notification, the source being positioned in a location near the incident; and

establish a directional path through the pathways leading away from the location toward an exit of the building by enabling the green visual indicators of the electronic guides of the plurality that are positioned along the directional path, individual of the green visual indicators being visible to a person traversing the directional path.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein:

the directional path comprises a first directional path;

each electronic guide of the plurality comprises at least one red visual indicator configured to be selectively enabled; and

the management circuitry is further configured to establish a second directional path through the pathways leading from the exit to the location by enabling the red visual indicators of the electronic guides of the plurality that are positioned along the second directional path, the red visual indicators being visible to a person traversing the second directional path.

30. The system of claim 28 wherein the red visual indicators are obscured from the view of a person looking in the direction of the first directional path.

31. An electronic guide comprising:

one or more indicators; and

processing circuitry configured to;

receive a request to configure the one or more indicators from an inactive state to an active state in which the one or more indicators encourage a first person positioned near a first side of the electronic guide to move toward the electronic guide and encourage a second person positioned near a second side of the electronic guide to move away from the electronic guide; and

configure the one or more indicators according to the request.

32. The electronic guide of claim 31 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to receive the request via a wireless communications channel.

33. The electronic guide of claim 31 wherein the one or more indicators comprises a first visual indicator viewable from a first location near the electronic guide and a second visual indicator viewable from a second location near the electronic guide wherein the first visual indicator is not viewable from the second location and the second visual indicator is not viewable from the first location.

34. The electronic guide of claim 33 wherein when the one or more indicators are configured in the active state, the first visual indicator is a first color and the second visual indicator is a second color.

35. The electronic guide of claim 31 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

receive a status request from management circuitry remotely located from the electronic guide; and

send a status message to the management circuitry in response to receiving the status request.

36. The electronic guide of claim 35 wherein the active state comprises a first active state and the processing circuitry is configured to recognize when the processing circuitry is not able to communicate with the management circuitry and in response configure the one or more indicators in a second active state in which the one or more indicators communicate to people near the electronic guide that the electronic guide is not able to communicate with the management circuitry.

37. The electronic guide of claim 36 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to transmit a wireless beacon signal configured to be received by a locator in response to the processing circuitry recognizing that the processing circuitry is not able to communicate with the management circuitry.

38. The electronic guide of claim 31 further comprising an environmental sensor and wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to store data acquired by the sensor.

39. The electronic guide of claim 38 wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to send the data acquired by the sensor to management circuitry remotely located from the electronic guide.

40. An incident response system comprising:

a plurality of electronic guides positioned within pathways of a building in different locations relative to one another, each electronic guide of the plurality comprising at least one visual arrow configured to be selectively enabled; and

management circuitry configured to;

receive notification that an incident has occurred within the building;

determine a source of the notification, the source being positioned in a location near the incident; and

establish a directional path through the pathways leading away from the location toward an exit of the building by enabling the visual arrows of the electronic guides of the plurality that are positioned along the directional path, individual of the visual arrows being visible to a person traversing the directional path.

41. An incident response system comprising:

a plurality of electronic guides positioned within pathways of a building in different locations relative to one another, each electronic guide of the plurality comprising at least one audible indicator configured to be selectively enabled; and

management circuitry configured to;

receive notification that an incident has occurred within the building;

determine a source of the notification, the source being positioned in a location near the incident; and

establish a directional path through the pathways leading away from the location toward an exit of the building by selectively enabling the audible indicators of the electronic guides of the plurality that are positioned along the directional path, individual of the audible indicators being perceptible to a person traversing the directional path.