CELL PHONE PERSONAL SAFETY ALARM

• US 20130260825A1
• Filed: 03/26/2013
• Published: 10/03/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Erik N. Hagenstad
• Original Assignee: Erik N. Hagenstad
• Inventors: HAGENSTAD, ERIK N.
• Granted Patent: US 9,451,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/556.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 15/004 using portable personal devices hand-held or body-worn self-defence devices using repellent gases or chemicals F41H9/10
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0202 Portable telephone sets, e.g. cordless phones, mobile phones or bar type handsets constructional features of telephone transmitters or receivers, e.g. of speakers or microphones H04M1/03
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver

Abstract

The cell phone personal safety alarm is a cell phone having a panic alarm button on the back of the phone that activates the alarm when pressed. An alarm shield prevents accidental push of the button and is flipped open to expose the button. Activating the alarm causes a loud alarm tone or siren to sound and red and blue lights or other visual alarm displays to flash. Front and rear cameras transmit live video to an online secure database, where it is recorded to preserve evidence. Front and rear lights may be included for night or low-light level video. An e-911 call is made to notify law enforcement and provide the location of the emergency via the phone'"'"'s integral global positing system (GPS). In another embodiment, the device is a retrofitting case for existing cell phones that would be able to achieve the same results.

Claims

1. A cell phone personal safety alarm, comprising:

a cell phone having a GPS receiver, a camera, a microphone, an autodialer, and a speaker, the cell phone having a front face, a rear face, opposing side faces, and opposing end faces;

an emergency alert button disposed on the cell phone;

an emergency alert button guard disposed proximate the emergency alert button, the guard being positionable to prevent accidental activation of the alert button;

flashing lights disposed on at least one surface of the cell phone;

a switch disposed on the cell phone, the switch activating the flashing lights;

a first electronic circuit for generating an alarm, the first electronic circuit being disposed in the cell phone; and

a second electronic circuit connected to the emergency alert button for activating the autodialer to automatically dial e-911, for activating the camera to stream live video of an emergency situation to a secure remote database server for storage thereon, for obtaining coordinates of the cell phone'"'"'s location from the GPS receiver, and for transmitting the coordinates to the automatically dialed e-911 emergency response center when the emergency alert button is pressed.

2. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 1, wherein the second electronic circuit is connected to the first electronic circuit to generate the alarm responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

3. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 1, wherein the guard is in operable communication with the first electronic circuit to generate the alarm responsive to moving the guard to a position allowing actuation of the emergency alert button.

4. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 3, wherein the second electronic circuit is in operable communication with the first electronic circuit to silence the alarm responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

5. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 1, wherein the guard is a U-shaped alarm shield pivotally attached to the cell phone by a hinge biased to lock the shield in a closed position over the emergency alert button.

6. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 1, wherein the switch is in operable communication with the camera to initiate video recording to the phone'"'"'s internal memory responsive to actuating the switch.

7. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 6, wherein the second electronic circuit is in operable communication with the camera to divert said internal memory recording to said live video streaming responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

8. A cell phone personal safety alarm, comprising:

a two-part shell case, the two parts snapping together to form a case dimensioned and configured for holding a cell phone therein, the case having a front face, a rear face, opposing side faces, and opposing end faces;

an emergency alert button disposed on the case;

an emergency alert button guard disposed proximate the emergency alert button, the guard being positionable to prevent accidental activation of the alert button;

flashing lights disposed on the case;

a switch disposed on one of the case faces, the switch activating the flashing lights;

a first electronic circuit disposed in the case for generating an alarm; and

a second electronic circuit disposed in the case, the second electronic circuit being connected to the emergency alert button; and

a port connection on the case adapted for connecting the second electronic circuit to the cell phone, the cell phone having a GPS receiver, a camera, a microphone, an autodialer, and a speaker, the second electronic circuit generating a signal to the cell phone for activating the autodialer to automatically dial e-911, the second electronic circuit generating a signal to the cell phone for activating the camera to stream live video of an emergency situation to a secure remote database server for storage thereon, the second electronic circuit generating a signal to the cell phone for obtaining coordinates of the cell phone from the GPS receiver and for transmitting the coordinates to the automatically dialed e-911 emergency response center.

9. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 8, wherein the second electronic circuit is connected to the first electronic circuit to generate the alarm responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

10. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 8, wherein the guard is in operable communication with the first electronic circuit to generate the alarm responsive to moving the guard to a position that allows actuation of the emergency alert button.

11. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 10, wherein the second electronic circuit is in operable communication with the first electronic circuit to silence the alarm responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

12. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 8, wherein the guard is a U-shaped alarm shield pivotally attached to the cell phone by a hinge biased to lock the shield in a closed position over the emergency alert button.

13. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 8, wherein the switch is in operable communication with the camera to initiate video recording to the phone'"'"'s internal memory responsive to actuating the switch.

14. The cell phone personal safety alarm according to claim 13, wherein the second electronic circuit is in operable communication with the camera to divert said internal memory recording to said live video streaming responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

15. A computer software product operable in a mobile cellular device, the software product comprising a non-transitory medium readable by a processor, the non-transitory medium having stored thereon a set of instructions for a cell phone personal safety alarm, the set of instructions including:

(a) a first sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to activate flashing lights disposed on the mobile cellular device responsive to actuation of a switch disposed on the device;

(b) a second sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to generate an audible alarm responsive to displacement of an emergency alert button guard on the device;

(c) a third sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to, responsive to pressing an emergency alert button on the device, activate an autodialer in the device, said autodialer automatically dialing an e-911 emergency response center;

(d) a fourth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to, responsive to pressing said emergency alert button on the device, activate a camera on the device, said camera transmitting a stream of live video to a secure remote database server for storage thereon; and

(e) a fifth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to, responsive to pressing said emergency alert button on the device, transmit GEO-location aware data of said device to said emergency response center.

16. The computer software product according to claim 15, further comprising a sixth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to initiate video recording to the mobile cellular device'"'"'s internal memory responsive to the actuation of said switch.

17. The computer software product according to claim 15, further comprising a seventh sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to silence the alarm responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.

18. The computer software product according to claim 16, further comprising an eighth sequence of instructions which, when executed by the processor, causes said processor to divert said internal memory recording to said live video streaming responsive to pressing the emergency alert button.