METHOD FOR WIRELESSLY MONITORING THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ONE OR MORE PERSONS AND ASSOCIATED PERSON MONITORING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A person monitoring system for use with at least one person support device, the person monitoring system comprising:
- at least one presence determining device, each presence determining device being adapted for installation in a corresponding person support device and including;
at least one sensor operable to sense at least one parameter indicative of whether a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed;
a controller coupled to the at least one sensor and operable to generate a status signal responsive to the at least one sensor sensing at least one parameter indicative that a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed, the status signal including at least an identifier associated with the presence determining device; and
a transmitter operably coupled to the controller and operable to wirelessly and repeatedly transmit the status signal; and
a portable unit configured to be carried by a user and including;
a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the at least one presence determining device when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the at least one presence determining device and the portable unit is powered on;
a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to determine an identifier included in each status signal received during a training period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on to produce at least one monitored identifier and to only process status signals that include the at least one monitored identifier after expiration of the training period; and
an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of at least one alarm condition responsive to commands from the processor;
wherein the processor is further operable, while the portable unit is powered on, to determine an alarm condition responsive to failure of the receiver of the portable unit to receive a status signal that includes the at least one monitored identifier within predetermined time intervals commencing after expiration of the training period and to instruct the alarm mechanism to issue an alarm to the user responsive to determination of the alarm condition.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A person monitoring system employs an exemplary method for wirelessly monitoring one or more persons, wherein each person is initially positioned in a respective person support device (PSD) and each PSD is associated with a presence determining device (PDD) operable to detect a presence of a person in the PSD. A portable unit (PU) of the system wirelessly receives status signals during a training period from one or more PDDs. Each status signal includes a respective identifier corresponding to the PDD. The PU stores identifiers included in status signals received during the training period to produce monitored identifiers. After expiration of the training period, the PU wirelessly receives status signals from at least some of the PDDs. The PU then determines whether each monitored identifier is included in at least one respective post-training status signal received during a predetermined time interval and, if not, alerts a user of the PU.
56 Citations
28 Claims
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1. A person monitoring system for use with at least one person support device, the person monitoring system comprising:
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at least one presence determining device, each presence determining device being adapted for installation in a corresponding person support device and including; at least one sensor operable to sense at least one parameter indicative of whether a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed; a controller coupled to the at least one sensor and operable to generate a status signal responsive to the at least one sensor sensing at least one parameter indicative that a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed, the status signal including at least an identifier associated with the presence determining device; and a transmitter operably coupled to the controller and operable to wirelessly and repeatedly transmit the status signal; and a portable unit configured to be carried by a user and including; a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the at least one presence determining device when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the at least one presence determining device and the portable unit is powered on; a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to determine an identifier included in each status signal received during a training period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on to produce at least one monitored identifier and to only process status signals that include the at least one monitored identifier after expiration of the training period; and an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of at least one alarm condition responsive to commands from the processor; wherein the processor is further operable, while the portable unit is powered on, to determine an alarm condition responsive to failure of the receiver of the portable unit to receive a status signal that includes the at least one monitored identifier within predetermined time intervals commencing after expiration of the training period and to instruct the alarm mechanism to issue an alarm to the user responsive to determination of the alarm condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A person monitoring system for use with a plurality of person support devices, the person monitoring system comprising:
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a plurality of presence determining devices, each presence determining device being adapted for installation in a corresponding person support device and including; at least one sensor operable to sense at least one parameter indicative of whether a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed; a controller coupled to the at least one sensor and operable to generate a status signal responsive to the at least one sensor sensing at least one parameter indicative that a person is present within a person support device in which the presence determining device is installed, the status signal including at least an identifier associated with the presence determining device; and a transmitter operably coupled to the controller and operable to wirelessly and repeatedly transmit the status signal; and a portable unit configured to be carried by a user and including; a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the plurality of presence determining devices when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the plurality of presence determining devices and the portable unit is powered on; a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to determine an identifier included in each status signal received during a training period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on to produce a plurality of monitored identifiers and to only process status signals that include at least one of the plurality of monitored identifiers after expiration of the training period; and an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of at least one alarm condition responsive to commands from the processor; wherein the processor is further operable, while the portable unit is powered on, to determine an alarm condition responsive to failure of the receiver of the portable unit to receive, for each monitored identifier of the plurality of monitored identifiers, a status signal that includes the monitored identifier within predetermined time intervals commencing after expiration of the training period and to instruct the alarm mechanism to issue an alarm to the user responsive to determination of the alarm condition. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A motor vehicle comprising:
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a cabin that includes a plurality of seats; and a person monitoring system that includes; at least one presence determining device installed in at least one of the plurality of seats, the at least one presence determining device including; at least one sensor operable to sense at least one parameter indicative of whether a person is present within a seat in which the presence determining device is installed; a controller coupled to the at least one sensor and operable to generate a status signal responsive to the at least one sensor sensing at least one parameter indicative that a person is present within the seat in which the presence determining device is installed, the status signal including at least an identifier associated with the presence determining device; and a transmitter operably coupled to the controller and operable to wirelessly and repeatedly transmit the status signal; and a portable unit configured to be carried by a user and including; a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the at least one presence determining device when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the at least one presence determining device and the portable unit is powered on; a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to determine an identifier included in each status signal received during a training period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on to produce at least one monitored identifier and to only process status signals that include the at least one monitored identifier after expiration of the training period; and an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of at least one alarm condition responsive to commands from the processor; wherein the processor is further operable, while the portable unit is powered on, to determine an alarm condition responsive to failure of the receiver of the portable unit to receive a status signal that includes the at least one monitored identifier within predetermined time intervals commencing after expiration of the training period and to instruct the alarm mechanism to issue an alarm to the user responsive to determination of the alarm condition.
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19. A portable unit for use by a user of a person monitoring system that includes at least one presence determining device installed in at least one person support device, the portable unit comprising:
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a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the at least one presence determining device when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the at least one presence determining device and the portable unit is powered on; a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to determine an identifier included in each status signal received during a training period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on to produce at least one monitored identifier and to only process status signals that include the at least one monitored identifier after expiration of the training period; and an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of at least one alarm condition responsive to commands from the processor; wherein the processor is further operable, while the portable unit is powered on, to determine an alarm condition responsive to failure of the receiver of the portable unit to receive a status signal that includes the at least one monitored identifier within predetermined time intervals commencing after expiration of the training period and to instruct the alarm mechanism to issue an alarm to the user responsive to determination of the alarm condition - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A system for detecting unauthorized removal of a child from a child retaining device, the system comprising:
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a presence determining device adapted for installation in a child retaining device and including; at least one sensor operable to sense whether a child is present within the child retaining device; a controller coupled to the at least one sensor, the controller being operable to generate a status signal responsive to the at least one sensor sensing at that a child is present within the child retaining device and being further operable to cease generation of the status signal responsive to the at least one sensor failing to sense that a child is present within the child retaining device; and a transmitter operably coupled to the controller and operable to wirelessly and repeatedly transmit the status signal; and a portable unit configured to be carried by a user and including; a receiver operable to receive status signals transmitted by the presence determining device when the receiver is within a predetermined distance of the presence determining device and the portable unit is powered on; a processor operably coupled to the receiver, the processor operable to; process a status signal received from the presence determining device during a first time period commencing after the portable unit has been powered on and the child has been placed in the child retaining device, determine that the receiver has failed to receive a status signal from the presence determining device during a second period of time occurring after the first period of time and while the portable unit is within the predetermined distance of the presence determining device and still powered on without having been powered off, and generate an alarm signal responsive to determining that the receiver failed to receive a status signal from the presence determining device during the second period of time; and an alarm mechanism operably coupled to the processor, the alarm mechanism operable to notify the user of an undesired removal of the child from the child retaining device responsive to the alarm signal. - View Dependent Claims (22)
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23. A method for wirelessly monitoring a presence or absence of a plurality of persons, wherein each person is initially positioned in a respective person support device and each person support device includes a presence determining device operable to detect a presence of a person in the person support device, the method comprising:
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wirelessly receiving, at a portable unit, status signals during a training period from a plurality of presence determining devices, each status signal including a respective identifier corresponding to a presence determining device that transmitted the status signal; storing, at the portable unit, identifiers included in status signals received during the training period to produce monitored identifiers; wirelessly receiving, at the portable unit, status signals from at least some of the plurality of presence determining devices after expiration of the training period to produce post-training status signals; determining, at the portable unit, whether each monitored identifier is included in at least one respective post-training status signal received during a predetermined time interval; and alerting a user of the portable unit in the event that at least one monitored identifier is not included in at least one respective post-training status signal received during the predetermined time interval. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for automatically detecting unauthorized removal of a person from a person support device, the person being under care of a caregiver, the method comprising:
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electronically detecting a presence of the person in the person support device; subsequent to detecting the presence of the person in the person support device, wirelessly transmitting a status signal to a portable unit in possession of the caregiver, the status signal indicating that the person is present in the person support device; subsequent to wirelessly transmitting the status signal, electronically detecting that the person has been removed from the person support device; responsive to detecting removal of the person from the person support device, ceasing wireless transmission of the status signal; and responsive to detecting cessation of transmission of the status signal, activating an alert in the portable device to notify the caregiver of the removal of the person from the person support device.
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Specification