Systems and Methods for Forming and Operating an Ecosystem for a Conducted Electrical Weapon

• US 20170336294A1
• Filed: 12/15/2016
• Published: 11/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Axon Enterprise, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Taser International Incorporated
• Inventors: Dimino, JR., Joseph Charles, Heroor, Siddharth, Gish, Michael E., Gagnon, Reinhard J., Michaels, Teri Dawn
• Granted Patent: US 11,255,645 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 17/063 comprising a transponder
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 13/0012 Electrical discharge weapons, e.g. for stunning
• CPC Class Codes: F42B 35/00 Testing or checking of ammunition apparatus for measuring the energy of projectiles G01L5/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 99/008 by doing functionality tests
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/265 Personal security, identity or safety
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 90/00 Systems or methods specially adapted for administrative, commercial, financial, managerial or supervisory purposes, not involving significant data processing

Abstract

A system that creates an environment (e.g., ecosystem) for using, transmitting, and storing data from a CEW and other equipment. The information from a CEW includes a log maintained by the CEW. The log may include information related to the operation, maintenance, software, and deployment units used by the CEW. The information may be used alone or in combination with other information received and stored by an evidence management system for managing inventory, generating use-of-force reports, incident reports, and/or providing information related to equipment, such as a CEW, to the supplier of the equipment. Sources of information provided to an evidence management system includes equipment suppliers, CEWs, other cooperating equipment, records management systems of an agency, a dispatch system of an agency, and third parties. A CEW or other equipment may also receive information for storing in the log.

Claims

1. A conducted electrical weapon (“

CEW”

) for providing a current through a target to impede locomotion of the target and for communicating with a provided electronic device, comprising;

a communication circuit for wireless communication;

a user interface that includes a control and at least one of a display and a speaker;

a processing circuit;

a memory; and

a signal generator that responsive to the control provides the current through the target to impede locomotion of the target;

wherein;

the processing circuit stores in a log in the memory information regarding one or more operations performed by the CEW including providing the current through the target to impede locomotion of the target and a status of the CEW;

the communication circuit wirelessly transmits the log to the electronic device;

the communication circuit wirelessly receives a notice from the electronic device responsive to the electronic device analyzing the information of the log;

the user interface provides the notice to the user via at least one of a display or a speaker.

2. The CEW of claim 1 wherein the notice comprises information regarding a status of the CEW.

3. The CEW of claim 2 wherein the status comprises information regarding an amount of charge stored in a battery of the CEW.

4. The CEW of claim 2 wherein the status comprises information regarding an expiration date of a cartridge that cooperates with the CEW.

5. The CEW of claim 2 wherein the status comprises information regarding an expiration date of the CEW.

6. The CEW of claim 2 wherein the status comprises information regarding a fault of the CEW.

7. The CEW of claim 2 wherein the status comprises information regarding a fault of a cartridge that cooperates with the CEW.

8. The CEW of claim 1 wherein the communication circuit transmits and receives within a short-range.

9. A method performed by a conducted electrical weapon (“

CEW”

) for providing a current through a target to impede locomotion of the target and for communicating with an electronic device, comprising;

storing in a log in a memory of the CEW information regarding one or more operations performed by the CEW including providing the current through the target to impede locomotion of the target and a status of the CEW;

wirelessly transmitting the log to an electronic device;

wirelessly receiving a notice from the electronic device responsive to the electronic device analyzing information in the log; and

presenting the notice to the user via a user interface of the CEW.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the notice comprises information regarding the status of the CEW.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the status comprises information regarding an amount of charge stored in a battery of the CEW.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the status comprises information regarding an expiration date of a cartridge that cooperates with the CEW.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein the status comprises information regarding an expiration date of the method.

14. The method of claim 10 wherein the status comprises information regarding a fault of the CEW.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein the status comprises information regarding a fault of a cartridge that cooperates with the CEW.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein wirelessly transmitting comprises transmitting over a short range.

17. The method of claim 9 wherein wirelessly receiving comprises receiving over a short range.