Method and apparatus for testing emergency locator beacons incorporating over the air responses back to the emergency locator beacon

• US 9,197,316 B1
• Filed: 08/06/2013
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ACR Electronics, Inc. (Drew Marine USA, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ACR Electronics, Inc. (Drew Marine USA, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hoffman, Christopher Paul, Cox, William, Pack, Thomas J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Alam, Fayyaz
• Application Number:
  US13/959,829
• Time in Patent Office: 840 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18519 Operations control, administration or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

An emergency locator beacon device that includes sending a test signal from a first satellite transmitter of the device to a Cospas-Sarsat emergency monitoring service; receiving from a beacon testing service a test confirmation signal corresponding to the test signal, the confirmation signal being received on a second satellite receiver of the beacon; wherein the emergency monitoring service and the beacon testing service are in communication over the Internet. The first satellite transmitter comprises a 406 MHz emergency transmitter configured to communicate with a Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. The second satellite receiver comprises a SEND receiver configured to communicate with a commercial satellite system. The emergency monitoring service is in communication with a rescue coordination center and the rescue coordination center is further in communication with the beacon testing service by way of the Internet. The test signal includes a beacon identification number which is pre-registered with the beacon testing service.

Claims

1. A method for testing a 406 MHz emergency locator beacon:

accessing a website for testing said beacon;

registering said beacon by entering requested information on said website, including a beacon identification number (ID) and payment information;

receiving, at said beacon testing service, said requested information;

processing, at said beacon testing service, a payment corresponding to said payment information;

registering said beacon identification number for a testing program activating said beacon for testing

transmitting, from said beacon, a signal containing said beacon identification number;

receiving, on a Cospas-Sarsat satellite, said signal containing said beacon identification number;

relaying said signal from said Cospas-Sarsat satellite to a Local User Terminal (LUT);

transferring said signal from said LUT to a Data Hub;

processing, at said Data Hub, said signal by matching said received beacon identification number with said requested information;

sending test information from said Data Hub to a back end service provider server;

matching, by way of said back end service provider server, said beacon identification number with an International Mobile Equipment Identity number of said beacon;

sending, by way of the Internet, a return message from said back end service provider server to a satellite server;

transmitting said return message from said satellite server to a commercial satellite by way of a commercial satellite gateway;

transmitting said return message to said beacon by way of said commercial satellite; and

providing, on said beacon, a successful test result.