System, device, and method of detecting dangerous situations

• US 10,803,724 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2017
• Issued: 10/13/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innovation By Imagination LLC
• Original Assignee: Innovation By Imagination LLC
• Inventors: Bodi, Robert Francis
• Primary Examiner(s): Suh, Joseph
• Application Number:
  US15/786,114
• Publication Number:
  US 20180040223A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,092 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0415 detecting absence of activity per se
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/043 detecting an emergency event, e.g. a fall
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0446 worn on the body to detect changes of posture, e.g. a fall, inclination, acceleration, gait
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0476 Cameras to detect unsafe condition, e.g. video cameras
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0492 Sensor dual technology, i.e. two or more technologies collaborate to extract unsafe condition, e.g. video tracking and RFID tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/08 responsive to the presence of persons in a body of water, e.g. a swimming pool; responsive to an abnormal condition of a body of water
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/086 by monitoring a perimeter outside the body of the water
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/088 by monitoring a device worn by the person, e.g. a bracelet attached to the swimmer
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/002 Distress signalling devices, e.g. rescue balloons vehicle optical signalling for indicating emergencies B60Q1/52
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/69 Control of means for changing angle of the field of view, e.g. optical zoom objectives or electronic zooming

Abstract

A safety device, and more particularly a device or system of devices for detecting dangerous situations such as the act of drowning of an individual in a body of water or a child that suddenly goes missing or otherwise inactive in a defined area, and issuing a warning to others that the potential dangerous situation is taking place so that the individual can be rescued.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring a swimmer swimming in a swimming area, said method comprising the steps of:

generating swimmer status data using a sensor, wherein said swimmer status data provides information about a status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area in real time;

transmitting the swimmer status data to a computer system using a communication network for reception by the computer system;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, that the swimmer is in distress, by performing the steps of;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, when the swimmer is in an active stage of swimming,

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage of swimming, and

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions, that the swimmer is in distress at least in part by detecting a transition in status of the swimmer from the active stage of swimming to the substantially inactive stage of swimming;

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing instructions to display, on a display, an image or a location of the swimmer that is in distress.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensor is worn by the swimmer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensor includes a video camera located in or near the swimming area, and wherein if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, an image of the swimmer is displayed by the computer system on a display.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the image of the swimmer is displayed on the display and is obtained using the video camera or another video camera to zoom in on the swimmer when the swimmer is determined to be in distress.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensor includes a video camera, said method further comprising the step of generating audio swimmer status data using an audio sensor, wherein said audio swimmer status data provides additional information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area, and wherein the step of determining when the swimmer is active stage and a substantially inactive stage both also include the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the audio swimmer status data to determine that the swimmer is in distress.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said sensor includes a video camera, said method further comprising the step of generating additional swimmer status data using an additional sensor mounted on the swimmer, wherein said additional swimmer status data provides additional information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area, and wherein the step of determining when the swimmer is an active stage and when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage both also include the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the additional swimmer status data to determine that the swimmer is in distress.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the swimmer status data is generated using a plurality of sensors including at least two video cameras located in different locations in or near the swimming area.

8. A method for monitoring a swimmer swimming in a swimming area, said method comprising the steps of:

generating first swimmer status data using a first sensor, wherein said first swimmer status data provides information about a status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area;

transmitting the first swimmer status data to a computer system for reception by the computer system;

generating second swimmer status data using a second sensor, wherein said second swimmer status data provides information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area;

transmitting the second swimmer status data to the computer system for reception by the computer system;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the first swimming status data and the second swimmer status data, when the swimmer is in an active stage of swimming,

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the first swimming status data and the second swimmer status data, when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage of swimming, and

determining that the swimmer is in distress by detecting the transition from the active stage of swimming to the substantially inactive stage of swimming;

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing instructions to display, on a display, an image of the swimmer that is in distress;

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing instructions to provide an indication that the swimmer is in distress; and

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing instructions to provide an indication of the location of the swimmer in the swimming area.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said second sensor is an audio sensor.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein said second sensor is a sensor configured to be worn by the swimmer.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first sensor is a video camera.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the first and second sensors are video cameras.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the first sensor is a video camera, and wherein the image of the swimmer displayed by the display is obtained using the video camera to zoom in on the swimmer when the swimmer is determined to be in distress.

14. A method for monitoring a swimmer swimming in a swimming area, said method comprising the steps of:

generating first swimmer status data using a video camera located in or near the swimming area, wherein said first swimmer status data provides information about a status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area;

transmitting the first swimmer status data to a computer system for reception by the computer system;

generating second swimmer status data using a second sensor provided on the swimmer, wherein said second swimmer status data provides information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area;

wirelessly transmitting the second swimmer status data to a computer system for reception by the computer system;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the first swimming status data and the second swimmer status data, that the swimmer is in distress by performing the steps of;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the first swimming status data and the second swimmer status data, when the swimmer is in an active stage of swimming,

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the first swimming status data and the second swimmer status data, when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage of swimming, and

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the first swimming status data, that the swimmer is in distress by detecting a transition in status of the swimmer from the active stage of swimming to the substantially inactive stage of swimming;

and

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing software instructions to display an alarm indication, on the display, indicating that the swimmer is in distress; and

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing software instructions to provide an indication of the location of the swimmer in the swimming area by displaying, on a display, an image of the swimmer that is in distress obtained from the video camera and to indicate a location of the swimmer in the swimming area.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the image of the swimmer displayed by the display is obtained using the video camera to zoom in on the swimmer when the swimmer is determined to be in distress.

16. A method for monitoring a swimmer swimming in a swimming area, said method comprising the steps of:

generating swimmer status data using a video camera, wherein said swimmer status data provides information about a status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area in real time;

transmitting the swimmer status data to a computer system using a communication network for reception by the computer system;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, that the swimmer is in distress, by performing the steps of;

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, when the swimmer is in an active stage of swimming,

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions utilizing the swimming status data, when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage of swimming, and

determining, using the computer system executing software instructions, that the swimmer is in distress at least in part by detecting a transition in status of the swimmer from the active stage of swimming to the substantially inactive stage of swimming;

if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, the computer system executing instructions to display, on a display, an image or a location of the swimmer that is in distress.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said video camera is located in or near the swimming area, and wherein if it is determined that the swimmer is in distress, an image of the swimmer is displayed by the computer system on a display.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the image of the swimmer is displayed on the display and is obtained using the video camera or another video camera to zoom in on the swimmer when the swimmer is determined to be in distress.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising an audio sensor, said method further comprising the step of generating audio swimmer status data using said audio sensor, wherein said audio swimmer status data provides additional information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area, and wherein the step of determining when the swimmer is in the active stage and the step of determining when the simmer is in a substantially inactive stage both also include the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the audio swimmer status data.

20. The method of claim 16, said method further comprising the step of generating additional swimmer status data using an additional sensor mounted on the swimmer, wherein said additional swimmer status data provides additional information about the status of the swimmer swimming in the swimming area, and wherein the step of determining when the swimmer is the active stage and the step of determining when the swimmer is in a substantially inactive stage both also include the computer system executing software instructions to utilize the additional swimmer status data to determine that the swimmer is in distress.