SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING AND REPORTING HAZARDS ON A PATHWAY

• US 20160110981A1
• Filed: 10/16/2014
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: Elwha LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Chin, Hon Wah, Hyde, Roderick A., Kare, Jordin T., Sweeney, Elizabeth A.
• Granted Patent: US 9,582,976 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/00 Scaring or repelling devices, e.g. bird-scaring apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/10 using light sources, e.g. lasers or flashing lights
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/16 using sound waves
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/18 using ultrasonic signals
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/22 using vibrations A01M29/16 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 29/24 using electric or magnetic effects, e.g. electric shocks, magnetic fields or microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons

Abstract

A safety system and associated methods of operation, for detecting an object on a pathway and reporting to a user information relating to the object to help the user avoid a collision with the object. The safety system includes a first sensor system for detecting the presence of the user and a second sensor system for detecting the object within the pathway. Upon detection of the object, the second sensor system obtains information relating to the object and generates a signal based on the obtained information. The signal is received by a reporting system, which generates a warning signal to communicate the object information to the user. The object information may include a location of the object on the pathway and an identification of the object for the user.

Claims

1. A safety system for detecting a hazard on a pathway and reporting information relating to the hazard to a user, the system comprising:

a first sensor system configured to detect a presence of a user within an activation field of the first sensor system;

a second sensor system configured to detect an object within a sensor field of the second sensor system, the sensor field including at least a portion of the pathway, wherein, in response to detecting the object within the sensor field, the second sensor system obtains object information relating to the object and generates an object signal based on the object information; and

a reporting system in communication with the second sensor system, the reporting system receiving the object signal from the second sensor system and generating a warning signal based on the object signal, the warning signal communicating the object information to the user.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor system is further configured to determine positional information of the user relative to the pathway.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first sensor system is further configured to determine motion information of the user relative to the pathway.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the second sensor is further configured to detect a presence of the user within the sensor field, and wherein the object information includes positioning information of the user relative to the object.

54. The system of claim 1, wherein the pathway includes an entry portion and an exit portion opposite the entry portion, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor with a first activation field and a second activation sensor with a second activation field, wherein the first activation field includes a first region proximal the entry portion of the pathway and the second activation field includes a second region proximal the exit portion of the pathway.

74. The system of claim 1, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor, and wherein the activation field of the first sensor system includes a region proximal to at least one step of the staircase.

112. The system of claim 1, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor with a first activation field and a second activation sensor with a second activation field, wherein the first activation field includes a first region proximal the top step of the staircase and the second activation field includes a second region proximal the bottom step of the staircase.

131. The system of claim 1, wherein the second sensor system includes a first object recognition sensor configured to obtain the object information relating to the object.

146. The system of claim 131, wherein the first object recognition sensor is configured to receive positioning information generated by a position determination system attached to the object.

148. The system of claim 131, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and wherein the first object recognition sensor is configured to detect the object when the object is positioned on a first step of the one or more steps of the staircase.

152. The system of claim 1, wherein the second sensor system includes one or more object recognition sensors, each sensor located at a different position along the pathway, and wherein each sensor has a corresponding sensor field for which the sensor is configured to detect the object when the object is located within the sensor field.

154. The system of claim 131, wherein the object information includes positioning information of the object relative to the pathway.

155. The system of claim 131, wherein the object information comprises a direction of motion of the object relative to the pathway.

157. The system of claim 154, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a plurality of steps, and the positioning information identifies at least one step of the plurality of steps at which the object is located.

158. The system of claim 157, wherein the reporting system further communicates to the user the at least one step of the plurality of steps at which the object is located.

159. The system of claim 157, wherein the reporting system further communicates to the user whether the step at which the object is located is above or below a step at which the user is located.

160. The system of claim 157, wherein the reporting system further communicates to the user the number of steps separating the user and the object on the staircase.

173. The system of claim 1, wherein the second sensor system is further configured to detect a plurality of objects on the pathway, and wherein the object signal of the second sensor system includes positioning information of a location of the object relative to the pathway for each of the plurality of objects.

175. The system of claim 1, further comprising an illumination system in communication with one or both of the second sensor system and the reporting system, wherein the illumination system is activated to illuminate the object on the pathway in response to the second sensor system detecting the object on the pathway.

177. The system of claim 175, wherein the second sensor system is further configured to detect a plurality of objects on the pathway, and wherein the illumination system is further configured to illuminate the plurality of objects detected on the pathway.

196. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting system is further configured to track a position of the object as it moves through the pathway.

197. The system of claim 196, wherein the reporting system includes one or more output devices positioned along or near the pathway, the one or more output devices configured to output sound at different intensity levels depending on a status of the object.

206. The system of claim 1, wherein the reporting system is configured to generate the warning signal based upon positioning information of the object relative to the user.

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224. A method for detecting a hazard on a pathway and reporting information relating to the hazard to a user, the method comprising:

detecting, via a first sensor system, a presence of a user within an activation field of the first sensor system;

detecting, via a second sensor system, an object within a sensor field of the second sensor system, the sensor field including at least a portion of the pathway;

in response to detecting the object within the sensor field, obtaining, via the second sensor system, object information relating to the object;

generating, via the second sensor system, an object signal based on the object information;

receiving, via a reporting system, the object signal from the second sensor system; and

generating, via the reporting system, a warning signal based on the object signal, the warning signal communicating to the user the object information.

232. The method of claim 224, further comprising determining, via the first sensor system, positional information of the user relative to the pathway.

233. The method of claim 224, further comprising determining, via the first sensor system, motion information of the user relative to the pathway.

241. The method of claim 224, further comprising detecting, via the second sensor system, a presence of the user within the sensor field, and wherein the object information includes positioning information of the user relative to the object.

283. The method of claim 224, wherein the pathway includes an entry portion and an exit portion opposite the entry portion, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor with a first activation field and a second activation sensor with a second activation field, wherein the first activation field includes a first region proximal the entry portion of the pathway and the second activation field includes a second region proximal the exit portion of the pathway.

302. The method of claim 224, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor, and wherein the activation field of the first sensor system includes a region proximal to at least one step of the staircase.

343. The method of claim 224, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and wherein the first sensor system includes a first activation sensor with a first activation field and a second activation sensor with a second activation field, wherein the first activation field includes a first region proximal the top step of the staircase and the second activation field includes a second region proximal the bottom step of the staircase, and wherein the method further comprises detecting, via one of the first or second activation sensors, the presence of the user.

364. The method of claim 224, wherein the second sensor system includes a first object recognition sensor configured to obtain the object information relating to the object.

379. The method of claim 364, further comprising:

generating, via a position determination system attached to the object, positioning information of the object; and

delivering the positioning information to the first object recognition sensor to detect the presence of the object.

383. The method of claim 364, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a top step, a bottom step, and one or more steps between the top and bottom step, and further comprising detecting, via the first object recognition sensor, the object when the object is positioned on a first step of the one or more steps of the staircase.

387. The method of claim 224, wherein the second sensor system includes one or more object recognition sensors, each sensor located at a different position along the pathway, and wherein each sensor has a corresponding sensor field for which the sensor is configured to detect the object when the object is located within the sensor field.

389. The method of claim 364, wherein the information includes positioning information of the object relative to the pathway.

390. The method of claim 389, wherein the pathway includes a staircase having a plurality of steps, and the positioning information identifies at least one step of the plurality of steps at which the object is located.

391. The method of claim 390, further comprising communicating to the user, via the reporting system, the at least one step of the plurality of steps at which the object is located.

392. The method of claim 390, further comprising communicating to the user, via the reporting system, whether the step at which the object is located is above or below a step at which the user is located.

393. The method of claim 390, further comprising communication to the user, via the reporting system, a number of steps separating the user and the object on the staircase.

406. The method of claim 224, further comprising detecting, via the second sensor system, a plurality of objects on the pathway, and generating, via the second sensor system, an object signal including positioning information of a location of the object relative to the pathway for each of the plurality of objects.

408. The method of claim 224, further comprising illuminating, via an illumination system in communication with one or both of the second sensor system and the reporting system, the object on the pathway in response to the second sensor system detecting the object on the pathway.

410. The method of claim 408, further comprising:

detecting, via the second sensor system, a plurality of objects on the pathway; and

illuminating, via an illumination system, the plurality of objects detected on the pathway.

431. The method of claim 224, tracking, via the reporting system a position of the object as it moves through the pathway.

432. The method of claim 431, wherein the reporting system includes one or more output devices positioned along or near the pathway, the method further comprising outputting sound, via the one or more output devices at different intensity levels depending on a status of the object.

441. The method of claim 224, the method further comprising generating, via the reporting signal, the warning signal based upon positioning information of the object relative to the user.

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