APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A FIREARM IN A COMMUNICATION SYSTEM

• US 20160086472A1
• Filed: 09/23/2014
• Published: 03/24/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: HERRERA, RICHARD, ALLEN, VERNON A., PRESTON, JOHN B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,666,056 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F41C 33/029 combined with electronic devices, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence

Abstract

A communication system (100) provides a wearable firearm detection system comprising a first body area network (BAN) node (120) coupled to the firearm, a second BAN node (122) coupled to a body wearable apparatus, such as a holster, and a third BAN node (124) coupled to a portable radio (150). The first BAN node detects the presence or absence of the firearm in and out of the holster and communicates the presence or absence of the firearm to the third BAN node coupled to the radio. In response to the firearm being withdrawn from the holster, the radio can enable one or more actions such as an alert to the user, an alert to a dispatch center (170), or enabling a recording (140) of firearm movement.

Claims

1. A wearable firearm detection system, comprising:

a first body area network (BAN) node coupled to a firearm;

a second BAN node coupled to a body wearable apparatus;

a third BAN node coupled to a portable radio; and

the first node detecting a presence or absence of the firearm in and out of the body wearable apparatus, and the first BAN node communicating the presence or absence of the firearm to the third BAN node coupled to the portable radio.

2. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, further comprising:

a capacitive isolator coupled to the holster.

3. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, wherein the holster further comprises a capacitive isolator integrated therein.

4. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, further comprising:

a capacitive isolator having predetermined permittivity sufficiently low for capacitively isolating the second BAN node from a user'"'"'s skin.

5. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, wherein the first BAN node further comprises a capacitive touch plate.

6. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 5, wherein the first, second and third BAN nodes are in sleep mode while the firearm is in the body wearable apparatus, and the first BAN node enters into a periodic communications loop with the second BAN node in response to activation of the capacitive touch plate.

7. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 6, wherein withdrawal of the firearm interrupts the periodic loop communications and causes the first BAN node to send an alert to the third BAN node.

8. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, wherein the body wearable apparatus comprises a holster or a gun belt.

9. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, further comprising:

an accelerometer coupled to the first BAN node for detecting gunshots when the firearm is held outside of the holster.

10. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, further comprising:

a compass integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the first BAN node for detecting orientation of the firearm when the firearm is held outside of the holster.

11. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, further comprising a fourth BAN node coupled to a shoulder mounted camera, wherein the shoulder mounted camera automatically records in response to the gun being withdrawn from the holster.

12. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, wherein the portable radio communicates information acquired from the first BAN node to a dispatch center.

13. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 1, wherein the first and second BAN nodes communicate via periodic loop communications when the firearm is in the body wearable apparatus.

14. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 13, wherein the periodic loop communications are interrupted when the firearm is withdrawn from the body wearable apparatus.

15. The wearable firearm detection system of claim 14, wherein the communication are interrupted by the isolator preventing coupling from the first BAN node to the second BAN node when the firearm is withdrawn from the holster.

16. A communication system, comprising:

a portable radio;

a radio body area network (BAN) node coupled to the portable radio;

a holster for carrying a firearm, the firearm having a firearm BAN node coupled thereto;

a holster BAN node coupled to the holster; and

the firearm BAN node for detecting withdrawal of the firearm from the holster and capacitively coupling an alert to the radio BAN node indicating withdrawal of the firearm from the holster.

17. The communication system of claim 16, wherein the radio generates a signal indicating withdrawal of the firearm from the holster in response to the alert from the radio BAN node.

18. The communication system of claim 17, further comprising:

a dispatch center for receiving the signal from the portable radio indicating withdrawal of the firearm from the holster.

19. The communication system of claim 16, further comprising:

a body worn camera having a camera BAN node, the camera BAN node being capacitively coupled to the firearm BAN node when the firearm is withdrawn from the holster, the camera recording movement of the withdrawn firearm in response to the alert from the firearm BAN node.

20. The communication system of claim 16, further comprising:

a compass integrated circuit (IC) coupled to the firearm BAN node for detecting orientation of the firearm when the firearm is held outside of the holster; and

an accelerometer coupled to the firearm BAN node for detecting gunshots when the firearm is held outside of the holster.

21. The communication system of claim 16, further comprising:

a capacitive isolator coupled to the holster for isolating the holster BAN node from a wearer of the holster.

22. A method of detecting a gun in a communication system, comprising:

monitoring, by a gun body area network (BAN) node, communications between the gun BAN node and a holster BAN node;

detecting, by the GUN band node, that the communications have been interrupted; and

generating an alert signal by the gun BAN node to a radio BAN node indicating that a gun has been withdrawn from a body worn holster.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the alert signal enables one or more of:

alerting, by a portable radio, a dispatch center of the withdrawn gun;

generating an audible signal indicating the withdrawn gun;

recording images of the gun; and

detecting gunshots from the gun.

24. The method of claim 22, further comprising, after the step of monitoring:

interrupting the communications by withdrawing a gun from a holster.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising, after the step of monitoring:

isolating the communications from the gun BAN node to the holster BAN node through a capacitive isolator.

26. The method of claim 22, wherein the gun BAN node is coupled to a gun, the holster BAN node is coupled to a body worn holster, and the radio BAN node is coupled to a portable radio.