Mobile telephone with a GPS receiver and EKG electrodes

• US 6,546,232 B1
• Filed: 08/26/1999
• Issued: 04/08/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Vitaphone Gmbh
• Original Assignee: Vitaphone Gmbh
• Inventors: Sack, Stefan, Erbel, Raimund
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Cong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gantt, Alan T.
• Application Number:
  US09/367,846
• Time in Patent Office: 1,321 Days
• Field of Search: 455/90, 607/30, 342/57, 379/93
• US Class Current: 455/90.1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2560/0468 Built-in electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1112 Global tracking of patients, e.g. by using GPS
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6887 mounted on external non-worn devices, e.g. non-medical devices
• 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 1/677 Preventing the dialling or sending of predetermined telephone numbers or selected types of telephone numbers, e.g. long distance numbers
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/6775 by providing access to preprogrammed keys
• 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

A mobile telephone with a housing (1), a transmitter, at least one receiver, a call number memory, and keys (2) located on the housing. The keys (2) include at least one emergency key (5) which is rendered prominent in size and/or color relative to the other keys and which when activated causes dialing of an emergency number stored in the call number memory. Furthermore, at least two electrodes, and preferably four electrodes (6, 7, 8, 9) which enable reception of EKG signals are connected to the housing, an EKG signal converter being provided which evaluates the EKG signals, transforms them to a form suitable for transmission, and transmits them to the transmitter.

Claims

1. Mobile telephone capable of transmitting EKG signals and permitting voice communication from a remote location to a EKG monitoring center comprising:

a housing,

a transmitter, at least one receiver, and a call number memory located within the housing,

keys located on a front side of the housing wherein said keys include a set of dialing keys for initiating wireless telephone calls and at least one emergency key which is rendered prominent in at least one of size and color relative to other of said keys and which when activated causes dialing of an emergency number stored in the call number memory,

at least two electrodes which enable reception of EKG signals and which are connected to an EKG signal converter in the housing, and

an EKG signal converter located within the housing which evaluates the EKG signals, transforms them to a form suitable for transmission, and transmits them to the transmitter;

wherein the EKG electrodes are located in a back side of the housing opposite the front side of the housing facing away from the keys and positioned to enable the back side of the mobile phone to be placed directly on a patient'"'"'s bare chest in order that the at least two EKG electrodes are able to make contact with the bare chest and can receive EKG signals from the patient while permitting access to the keys on the front side of the housing and voice communication during cardiac monitoring.

2. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 1, wherein said at least two electrodes comprises four electrodes.

3. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an identification means for causing identification data to be transmitted when the emergency key is activated.

4. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 3, further comprising release means for releasing position data when the emergency key is activated.

5. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 1, further comprising release means for releasing position data when the emergency key is activated.

6. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 5, further comprising a position receiver which receives and evaluates external position signals and a position signal converter connected to the position receiver, the position signal converter transforming signals produced by the position receiver into a form suitable for transmission and transmits them to the transmitter.

7. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a receiving level sensor for detecting departure of the telephone from a receiving/transmitting area of a mobile radiotelephone network and for causing a warning signal to be output when said departure is detected.

8. Mobile telephone as claimed in claim 1, comprising a receiving level sensor for detecting departure of the telephone from a receiving/transmitting area of a mobile radiotelephone network and for causing a warning signal to be output when said departure is detected.