Child seat safety system

• US 8,217,796 B2
• Filed: 09/17/2009
• Issued: 07/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Marcus Alexander Trummer
• Original Assignee: Marcus Alexander Trummer
• Inventors: Trummer, Marcus Alexander
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Tai T
• Application Number:
  US12/561,509
• Publication Number:
  US 20100090836A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,027 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/438, 340/439, 340/457.1, 340/522, 340/665, 340/667, 340/668
• US Class Current: 340/573.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/272 Buckle lock sensors for child seat safety belts
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/2812 for securing the child to the child seat
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4816 for sensing locking of buckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2022/4866 Displaying or indicating arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/48 Control systems, alarms, or interlock systems, for the correct application of the belt or harness

Abstract

The Child Seat Safety System provides drivers (common vehicles) with an alarm and monitoring system for the attachment of safety harnesses and temperature readings for respective child seat occupants within the car. The monitoring component details the attached “status” of said harnesses through indicator lights on the main operator dashboard along with on the system device. Alarm features automatically warn either the driver or surrounding bystanders or emergency personnel of alarm situation including temperature variances, harness disengagement, accident or unattended occupant warnings. The Child Seat Safety System can reduce the risk of small children being injured due to unattached seat belts during accident, braking or collision, and can reduce exposure to unhealthy temperatures either during driving or from extended lengths of time being unattended in a car.

Claims

1. A system for providing monitoring of a child safety seat, the child safety seat being associated with a seat restraint system, the system being coupled to an indicator system of a vehicle and interfacing with mobile devices, comprising:

a seat module having a connection sensor and a temperature sensor, the connection sensor being coupled to the seat restraint system and configured to provide a seat restraint status signal indicative of the status of the seat restraint system, the temperature sensor being configured to provide real time temperature readings near the child safety seat and responsively provide a temperature signal in response thereto; and

,

a control module coupled to the seat module and configured to receive the seat restraint signal and the temperature signal, the control module being configured to allow a user to establish acceptable interior temperature levels, the control module being further configured (a) to compare the seat restraint signal with a set of predetermined restraint parameters and to provide on-going monitoring and a first alarm signal using the indicator system if the seat restraint signal is outside of the predetermined restraint parameters and (b) to compare the temperature signal to the acceptable interior temperature levels and to provide a second alarm signal using the indicator system if the temperature signal is outside of the acceptable interior temperature levels.

2. The system according to claim 1, the seat module and the control module being power through a vehicle power source, the indicator system including at least one of engine indicators, safety/accident systems, car horn or alarm system.

3. The system according to claim 2, further including a battery backup module for powering the seat module and the control module and being configured to be re-charged by common method via attachment to a battery of the vehicle.

4. The system according to claim 1, the seat module being linked through encased wiring to the control module.

5. The system according to claim 1, the control module being configured to process, sensor and input information and to trigger pre-programmed and/or user directed alarm sequences.

6. The system according to claim 1, the control module being linked to the vehicle'"'"'s in-dash and horn/alarm systems to be able to communicate an alarm situation.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising an LCD display which details a system status at the seat or control modules in real time basis.

8. The system according to claim 1, the control module being programmable by the user to specify ranges of operations including engine idle time, acceptable temperature range, user media and communication channels, and emergency system or user contact information.

9. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a communication system which provides real time feedback to occupants and automatically initiates/communicates alarms.

10. The system according to claim 1, the seat module including independent warning lights and alarms.

11. The system according to claim 1, the control module including connections to communicate alarms via an in-dash indicator panel or a horn or alarm system.

12. The system according to claim 11, the control module being configured to allow for third party communication of on-going system status, or alarms via electronic media or voice message.

13. The system according to claim 12, the control module being configured to determine when driving, to notify a driver when an occupied seat restraint is disengaged.

14. The system according to claim 12, the control module being configured to determine when driving, to notify the driver when an occupied seat is experiencing excessive temperatures.

15. The system according to claim 1, the control module being configured to initiate accident protocols for light and sound signals, and external alarms, user media and third party communications, to alert emergency personnel in the case when the driver is not available or is incapacitated from an accident.

16. The system according to claim 1, the control module including an ignition sensor input coupled to a programmable vehicle ignition monitoring system and a safety sensor input coupled to a vehicle safety system, the ignition sensor being configured to receive a vehicle status signal from the vehicle ignition monitoring system indicative of an on/off status of the vehicle, the safety sensor input being configured to receive an emergency status signal from the vehicle safety system indicative of an emergency situation.

17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the restraint parameters includes an on state of the vehicle and the control module being configured to provide an indication using the indicator system of the seat restraint system being disconnected as a function of the seat restraint status signal.

18. The system according to claim 1, the indicator system in including in-dash indicators and seat indicators on the seat module, the control module being configured to provide visual indication of the temperature as a function of the temperature signal using the in-dash indicators, user media, and the seat indicators.

19. The system according to claim 1, the indicator system in including in-dash indicators, and horn/alarms systems and seat indicators on the seat module, the control module being configured to provide audio and/or visual indication of the status of the seat restraint system as a function of the seat restraint status signal using the in-dash indicators, user media, and the seat indicators.

20. The system according to claim 19, the control system providing an alarm using the in-dash indicators, user media, and horn/alarms systems and seat indicators if the vehicle has been turned off or is idle for a predetermined period of time and the seat restraint system remains connected.