Method and apparatus for covertly detecting and reporting a distress condition in a vehicle control cabin
First Claim
1. A method of covertly detecting and reporting a distress condition in a control cabin of a vehicle, the cabin having designated areas expected to be occupied by respective operators under normal operating conditions of the vehicle, wherein the cabin includes cabin-installed, mechanically activated panic buttons each positioned within or near to a respective one of the designated areas for access by the respective operator, comprising:
- (a) attaching to each operator a transponder tag configured to wirelessly transmit a response signal, unique to the operator to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal;
(b) wirelessly transmitting interrogator signals into the designated areas;
(c) attempting to detect response signals, if any, from the transponder tags;
(d) only if all of the response signals are concurrently not detected, then wirelessly transmitting a first distress signal from the vehicle,(e) determining if any of the panic buttons are activated; and
(f) if at least one of the panic buttons is activated and at least one of the response signals is detected, then transmitting a second distress signal from the vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of covertly detecting and reporting a distress condition in a control cabin of a vehicle, the cabin having designated areas expected to be occupied by respective operators under normal operating conditions of the vehicle. The method comprises (a) attaching to each operator a transponder tag configured to wirelessly transmit a response signal, unique to the operator to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal; (b) wirelessly transmitting interrogator signals into the designated areas; (c) attempting to detect response signals, if any, from the transponder tags; and (d) if all of the response signals are concurrently not detected, then wirelessly transmitting a distress signal from the vehicle.
26 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method of covertly detecting and reporting a distress condition in a control cabin of a vehicle, the cabin having designated areas expected to be occupied by respective operators under normal operating conditions of the vehicle, wherein the cabin includes cabin-installed, mechanically activated panic buttons each positioned within or near to a respective one of the designated areas for access by the respective operator, comprising:
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(a) attaching to each operator a transponder tag configured to wirelessly transmit a response signal, unique to the operator to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal; (b) wirelessly transmitting interrogator signals into the designated areas; (c) attempting to detect response signals, if any, from the transponder tags; (d) only if all of the response signals are concurrently not detected, then wirelessly transmitting a first distress signal from the vehicle, (e) determining if any of the panic buttons are activated; and (f) if at least one of the panic buttons is activated and at least one of the response signals is detected, then transmitting a second distress signal from the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of covertly detecting and reporting a distress condition in a cockpit of an airplane, the cockpit having designated areas expected to be occupied by respective pilots under normal operating conditions of the vehicle, wherein the cockpit includes cockpit-installed, mechanically activated panic buttons each positioned within or near to a respective one of the designated areas for access by the respective pilot, comprising:
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(a) attaching to each pilot a transponder tag configured to wirelessly transmit a response signal, unique to the pilot to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal; (b) wirelessly transmitting interrogator signals into the designated areas; (c) attempting to detect response signals, if any, from the transponder tags; (d) only if all of the response signals are concurrently not detected, then wirelessly transmitting a first distress signal from the aircraft, (e) determining if any of the panic buttons are activated; and (f) if at least one of the panic buttons is activated and at least one of the response signals is detected, then transmitting a second distress signal from the airplane.
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14. A system for covertly detecting and reporting an emergency condition in a control cabin of a vehicle, the cabin having designated areas expected to be occupied by respective operators under normal operating conditions of the vehicle, comprising:
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transponder tags each configured to (i) be attached to a respective operator, and (ii) wirelessly transmit a response signal, uniquely encoded to identify the operator to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal;
interrogator units, each includinga transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit an interrogator signal, a receiver configured to detect a wireless response signal if received, and a controller, coupled with the receiver, configured to issue a result message indicating whether a response signal is detected; mechanically activated panic buttons each positioned within a respective one of the designated areas for access by the respective operator; a control module, coupled with each of the panic buttons and the interrogator units, configured to (a) issue a first distress message only when the result messages issued from all of the interrogators indicate that all of the response signals are not detected concurrently, (b) determine if any of the panic buttons are activated, and (c) issue a second distress message when at least one of the panic buttons is activated and at least one of the response signals is detected; and a radio configured to wirelessly transmit the first and second distress messages. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system for covertly detecting and reporting an emergency condition in a cockpit of an airplane, the cockpit having designated areas, between a cockpit control console and pilot seats, expected to be occupied by respective pilots under normal operating conditions of the airplane, comprising:
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transponder tags each configured to (i) be attached to a respective pilot, and (ii) wirelessly transmit a response signal, uniquely encoded to identify the pilot to which it is attached, responsive to an interrogator signal; interrogator units each mounted to either a respective portion of the cockpit control console that faces a respective pilot seat, or a respective pilot seat, each of the interrogator units including a transmitter configured to wirelessly transmit an interrogator signal, a receiver configured to detect a wireless response signal from a corresponding one only of the transponder tags, and a controller, coupled with the receiver, configured to issue a result message indicating whether the response signal is detected; mechanically activated panic buttons each positioned within a respective one of the designated areas for access by the respective pilot; a control module, coupled with each of the panic buttons and the interrogator units, configured to (a) issue a first distress message only when the result messages issued from all of the interrogators indicate that all of the response signals are not detected concurrently, (b) determine if any of the panic buttons are activated, and (c) issue a second distress message when at least one of the panic buttons is activated and at least one of the response signals is detected; and a radio configured to wirelessly transmit the first and second distress messages.
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Specification