Enhanced firefighter door chock

• US 7,907,052 B2
• Filed: 09/11/2008
• Issued: 03/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John B. Delaney Jr
• Original Assignee: John B. Delaney Jr
• Inventors: Delaney, John B. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland; Donnie L
• Application Number:
  US12/208,339
• Publication Number:
  US 20090072966A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.11
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 99/00 Subject matter not provided for in other groups of this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/73 Portable

Abstract

A portable electronic integrated fire fighting device used by firefighters and other emergency response workers to acquire and relay information, store sensory information, provide location data, and provide a point-to-point network with repeater capability. The portable electronic fire fighting device may include a housing, a radio frequency transmitter, a radio frequency receiver, a microprocessor, a communications interface, electronic memory, a power supply, and one or more sensors and may be configured in the form of a door chock, an axe handle, a fire fighter'"'"'s hook handle, and a fire fighter'"'"'s helmet. The portable electronic fire fighting device may also interface with a firefighter'"'"'s heads-up display or other handheld device, or with other electronic fire fighting devices that are known in the art.

Claims

1. A portable electronic fire fighting device for use in a point-to-point network, comprising:

a housing;

a radio frequency transmitter;

a radio frequency receiver;

a microprocessor;

a communications interface;

electronic memory;

a power supply; and

one or more sensors;

wherein the microprocessor, electronic memory, and communications interface comprise a microcontroller;

wherein the power supply powers the microcontroller, transmitter, receiver, and one or more sensors;

wherein the microcontroller is programmed with interfacing firmware;

wherein the microcontroller interfaces with the receiver, the transmitter, and the one or more sensors;

wherein the one or more sensors collects sensor information selected from the group consisting of temperature, carbon monoxide gas, hydrogen sulfide gas, oxygen gas, GPS, and radiation; and

,

wherein the housing takes a shape selected from the group consisting of a door chock, an axe handle, a fire fighter'"'"'s hook handle, and a fire fighter'"'"'s helmet,

wherein the microcontroller provides each portable electronic fire fighting device with a unique electronic identification;

wherein the microcontroller is programmed with communications firmware to communicate with other portable electronic fire fighting devices;

wherein the microcontroller is programmed with additional communications firmware to communicate with a firefighter'"'"'s heads-up display device and handheld electronic devices;

wherein the microcontroller is programmed with repeater firmware that collects sensor information and unique electronic identification information transmitted from local portable electronic fire fighting devices and transmits said sensor information and unique electronic identification information using the radio frequency transmitter.

2. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising a switch electrically connected to said device for turning on and off said one or more sensors.

3. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 2, wherein said switch is manually activatable by a switch button provided on an outer surface of said housing.

4. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 2, wherein said switch is automatically activatable when said device is in its operation position.

5. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, wherein said housing is a wedge-shaped door chock having a hypotenuse surface, a vertical surface and a bottom surface.

6. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 5, further comprising a switch located within said housing that is activatable to turn on said one or more sensors by application of a compressive force applied to said housing.

7. The door chock of claim 6, further comprising wherein the compressive force comprises an amount of force within the range of force caused when said door chock is used on a door.

9. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein the device repeats radio communication signals from fire fighter hand-held communication radios.

10. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein the transmitter of the device communicates with other devices within a network.

11. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein said electronic fire fighting device transmits position and sensor information that is receivable and interpretable by other electronic devices.

12. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein said electronic fire fighting device stores data from said sensors in electronic memory.

13. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein said electronic fire fighting device transfers stored data to another electronic device.

14. The portable electronic fire fighting device of claim 1, further comprising wherein said electronic fire fighting device has a panic button.

15. A method of establishing point-to-point network communication between portable electronic fire fighting devices described in claim 1, comprising the step of:

repeating sensor and electronic identification information from a first portable electronic fire fighting device to a second portable fire fighting device, wherein the first device has collected, stored, and transmitted information to the second portable fire fighting device and the second portable fire fighting device further transmits the information.

8. The door chock of 1, further comprising a lamp disposed within said housing and electrically connected to said power supply and said microcontroller.