Automatic emergency and position indicator

• US 6,175,329 B1
• Filed: 11/22/1999
• Issued: 01/16/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: University of South Carolina
• Original Assignee: University of North Carolina At Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina System)
• Inventors: Vicci, Leandra
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US09/447,446
• Time in Patent Office: 421 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/357.09, 342/357.13, 701/208, 701/211, 701/213
• US Class Current: 342/357.4
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0492 Sensor dual technology, i.e. two or more technologies collaborate to extract unsafe condition, e.g. video tracking and RFID tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

An automatic emergency and position indicator includes a trigger; a global positioning system receiver for receiving a plurality of global positioning system satellite signals; a processor, responsive to the global positioning system receiver, for providing global positioning system coordinates from the received global positioning system satellite signals; a geographic information system database coupled to the processor wherein the processor, in response to the global positioning system coordinates and the database, generates a local geographic position; and a transmitter, responsive to the trigger, for transmitting to a predetermined receiving station the local geographic position.

Claims

1. An automatic emergency and position indicator system comprising:

(a) a field unit, the field unit comprising;

(i) a trigger;

(ii) a global positioning system receiver for receiving a plurality of global positioning system satellite signals;

(iii) a processor, responsive to the global positioning system receiver, for providing global positioning system coordinates from the received global positioning system satellite signals; and

(iv) a transmitter, responsive to the trigger, for transmitting to a predetermined receiving station the global positioning system coordinates; and

(b) at least one receiving unit, remote from the field unit, the receiving unit comprising;

(i) a computer; and

(ii) a geographic information system database, coupled to the computer wherein the computer, in response to the received global positioning system coordinates and the database, generates a local geographic position.

2. The system of claim 1 in which the receiving unit further includes voice synthesis means, coupled to the computer and responsive to the local geographic position, for generating a voice synthesized local geographic position.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the field unit comprises a microphone operatively associated with the transmitter for conveying to the receiving unit circumstances of an emergency.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the microphone is adapted to automatically receive sounds originating from or around a victim during the emergency and the transmitter is adapted to send the voice communications to the receiving unit.