DEVICES AND METHODS FOR DETECTING ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES AND RESPONDING WITH DESIGNATED COMMUNICATION ACTIONS

• US 20080180243A1
• Filed: 01/30/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Aaron, Jeffrey
• Granted Patent: US 8,199,003 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/04 responsive to non-activity, e.g. of elderly persons G08B21/06 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions

Abstract

Provided are a wireless communication device and a communication device control method that include a set of templates corresponding to a plurality of potential environmental circumstances. The templates may be stored in a database in the computer readable memory of the communication device. At predetermined intervals, a suite of environmental sensors integral to the communication device may periodically sample the user'"'"'s environment. The user'"'"'s environmental circumstances may be derived or inferred by an analysis module based on the output of the suite of environmental sensors and then may be compared to the templates to determine a matching template. An action script is then executed based at least partially on the matching template which may include the contacting of a responding party.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

a set of environmental sensors;

a user input module;

an analysis module in communication with the set of environmental sensors and the user input module, wherein the analysis module classifies a current user situation at least partially based on an output from the set of environmental sensors and an input to the user input module; and

an emergency action module in communication with the analysis module and at least one operating feature of the personal communication device, wherein the emergency action module receives a command from the analysis module to assume control of the at least one operating feature at least partially based on the user situation classification, wherein the at least one operating feature includes a transceiver in communication with a communication network.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the set of environmental sensors comprises at least one of:

a motion sensor;

a global positioning system receiver; and

a weather sensor.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the emergency action module dials a responding party at a telephone number determined partially by the situation classification.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising an alternate transceiver.

5. The device of claim 3, wherein the emergency action module enables the responding party to assume control over the operating feature.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the operating feature controlled by the responding party belongs to a group of features comprising a camera, a microphone, a transceiver, an alternate transceiver, a speaker, an on/off switch, a smoke element, a GPS repeater, a user interface display and a keypad.

7. The device of claim 4 wherein the alternate transceiver is a short range radio transceiver capable of communicating using a short range radio standard including Bluetooth®

, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Zigbee (IEEE 802.15.4), Wireless USB (WUSB), Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11), WiMAX. WiBro, infrared, near-field magnetics and HiperLAN standards.

8. A communication device control method comprising:

periodically sampling a user environment via a set of environmental sensors integrated into the communication device;

classifying a current set of environmental circumstances from an output of the set of environmental sensors by an analysis module in communication with the database and the set of environmental sensors;

comparing the derived set of environmental circumstances to a set of templates to determine a matching template; and

executing an action script at least partly in response to the matching template.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein periodically sampling includes taking an elapsed time sample.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein comparing the derived set of environmental circumstances to the templates includes determining a best-match template by applying a set of logic rules to the templates if more than one of the templates matches the derived set of environmental circumstances.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the method includes relinquishing control of at least one operating feature of the communication device to the responding party.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the operating feature relinquished to the responding party belongs to a group of features comprising a camera, a microphone, a transceiver, an alternate transceiver, a speaker, an on/off switch, a smoke element, a GPS repeater, a user interface display and a keypad.

13. The method of claim 8 wherein an environmental circumstance includes the non-occurrence of an expected event.

14. A computer readable medium upon which are recorded instructions to:

periodically sample a user environment via a set of environmental sensors;

classify a set of environmental circumstances from the input of the set of environmental sensors by an analysis module in communication with the database and the set of environmental sensors;

select from the database a template matching the current set of environmental circumstances;

executing an action script as directed by the matching template.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further comprise an application of a set of logic rules to the derived environmental circumstances to determine the template.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions further include a relinquishment of control of at least one operating feature of the communication device to the responding party.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the operating feature relinquished to the responding party belongs to a group of features consisting of a camera, a microphone, a transceiver, an alternate transceiver, a speaker, an on/off switch, a smoke element, a GPS repeater, a user interface display and a keypad.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the periodic sampling step further comprises taking elapsed time samples.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 14, wherein the steps further comprise retrieving environmental information from a central telecommunications server.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein an environmental circumstance includes the non-occurrence of an expected event.