Portal announcing method and system

• US 6,930,607 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2002
• Issued: 08/16/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kiel Safety Portals, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Kiel Safety Portals, Inc.
• Inventors: Kiel, Gerald H., Kiel, Roberta
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Benjamin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TANG, SON M
• Application Number:
  US10/172,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20030231114A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,160 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539, 340/532, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/5.2, 340/5.33, 340/5.6, 340/5.74, 340/5.8, 340/5.82, 340/825.36, 340/825.49
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/20 involving the use of a pass
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons

Abstract

A method and system are disclosed for providing an automatic announcement to a person seeking a particular portal in a facility that any particular portal is the one sought. The method comprises the steps of providing the person with a wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device bearing a particular code, providing the portal with a corresponding wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device bearing the particular code, identifying when the code of the device of the person which has been received by the portal device is the same as the code of the portal device and announcing when the personal code and the portal code have been identified as being the same to the person that this portal is the one sought.

Claims

1. A method for providing an automatic announcement to a person seeking a particular portal in a facility that any particular portal is the one sought, comprising the steps of:

providing said person with a wearable, wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device bearing a unique preset code;

providing said portal with a corresponding wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device bearing said unique code;

responding only to said unique code at the portal for automatically identifying when the unique code of the device of the person which has been received by the portal device is the same as the unique code of the portal device; and

automatically announcing when the personal unique code and portal unique code have been identified as being the same to the person that this portal is the one sought.

2. The method of claim 1, including the step of announcing aurally that the personal code and portal code have been identified as being the same so that the portal is the one sought.

3. The method of claim 1, including the step of announcing visually that the personal code and portal code have been identified as being the same so that the portal is the one sought.

4. A system for providing an automatic announcement to a person seeking a particular portal in a facility that any particular portal is the one sought comprising:

a first wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device to be worn by the person and having a unique preset code for identifying that person;

a second wireless, electronic transmitting and/or receiving device attached to said portal and having the same unique code;

said first and second devices directly communicating with each other;

means at the portal responsive only to the unique code at the second device for automatically identifying when the unique code of the first device of the person has been received by said second device; and

means at the portal responsive to the identifying means for automatically announcing to the person that this portal is the one sought.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the announcing means provides an aural announcement.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the person is a blind person in a facility for blind persons.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein the announcing means provides a visual announcement.

8. The method of claim 4, wherein the person is a patient in a nursing home or hospital and the particular portal is the door to the patient'"'"'s own room.

9. The system of claim 5, wherein the facility is one where a sightless environment is possible due to smoke or the like and the person is one who seeks a portal under such conditions.

10. The system of claim 4, wherein said first and second wireless, electronic transmitting receiving devices operate by RF techniques.

11. The system of claim 4, wherein said first and second wireless, electronic transmitting devices operate by infrared techniques.

12. The system of claim 4, wherein the first wireless, electronic device is a transmitter and the second wireless, electronic device is a receiver.

13. The system of claim 4, wherein the first wireless, electronic device is a transceiver and the second wireless, electronic device is also a transceiver.