System containing location-based personal emergency response device

• US 20100285771A1
• Filed: 05/11/2009
• Published: 11/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: VoCare, Inc.
• Original Assignee: VoCare, Inc.
• Inventors: Peabody, Steven R.
• Granted Patent: US 8,116,724 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72412 using two-way short-range wireless interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72424 with manual activation of emergency-service functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/02 Terminal devices

Abstract

A safety system comprising a plurality of wearable transceiver devices for operation in independent use with a plurality of a landline-based phone and a cell phone to establish contact between a user of a wearable transceiver device and a central monitoring station. The wearable transceiver devices sense a crash or a fall and notify a monitor by a landline-based phone or a cell phone of this incident and the assisted GPS determined location of the incident. The information is provided to the monitor a short predetermined time following activation unless the device is deactivated by pressing a communication button. When the device has not been activated by a crash or fall, the user may press the communication button to communicate with the monitor to obtain a wide variety of services. A cell phone having reserve batteries, accelerometers, and assisted GPS location capabilities is also disclosed.

Claims

1. A safety and security system comprising:

a plurality of wearable transceiver devices carried by a plurality of spaced-apart users, each of said wearable transceiver devices comprising at least one button including a communication button, a radio receiver, and a preprogrammed radio transmitter;

at least one cell phone with an assisted GPS chip for locating the geographical coordinates of the cell phone;

at least one landline-based phone; and

a central monitoring station having at least one human monitor, the communication button, the receiver, and the transmitter of each such wearable transceiver device being operationally connected in such a way that a user may press the communication button to establish voice-to-voice contact with the human monitor of the central monitoring station via the landline-based phone or the cell phone and to send the geographical coordinates of the device to the central monitoring station and to establish voice-to-voice communication between the human monitor of the central monitoring station and the user, each such wearable transceiver device capable of operating independently of the other such devices in connecting with the central monitoring station via the landline-based phone or the cell phone.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the wearable transceiver contains at least one 3-axis G-force sensor programmed to be activated by at least one of a crash and a fall, and a count-down timer, each wearable transceiver device being programmed so that upon activation of the 3-axis G-force sensor the countdown timer is initiated and there is an audible countdown from the time a fall or crash is sensed until the timer reaches zero, each such wearable transceiver device being programmed such that the countdown may be deactivated by the pressing of the communication button in which case no signal is sent by the transmitter, each such device further being programmed such that if the timer is not deactivated by the pressing of the communication button, the transmitter automatically contacts a landline-based phone or a cell phone and sends information to the central monitoring station by way of the connected phone.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein there is one sensor which will be activated by a crash producing at least 5 g of force and one sensor which will be activated by a perceived fall producing 1-5 g of force.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein one user is wearing or carrying a wearable transceiver device selected from the group consisting of a key fob, a pendant, a belt clip, and a watch, and one other user is independently wearing or carrying a wearable transceiver device.

5. The system of claim 2, wherein the wearable transceiver devices comprise first batteries to enable the operation of the features requiring electrical energy and there are reserve batteries which are capable of charging the first batteries when an emergency is detected and the charge of the first batteries is too low to transmit voice.

6. A system comprising a protected area having preset boundaries in which the activation of a cell phone or a landline-based phone by a signal from a wearable transceiver device will cause the cell phone or landline-based phone to contact a central monitoring station, a series of location alarms for advising a user who should be within the protected area that the user is traveling outside a protected range of either the cell phone or the landline-based phone, which alarms are staged so that if the user gets within a preset distance of the boundaries the user is advised of this and if the user gets outside of the protected area, the wearable transceiver device will initiate a call made by the cell phone or landline-based phone to the central monitoring station to notify the central monitoring station that the user is outside of the protected area.

7. A cell phone comprising a first accelerometer programmed to detect a crash, a communication button, a pre-programmed audible timer, such that the pressing of the communication button will connect the cell phone with a central monitoring station, and such that the event of a crash will activate the countdown timer to initiate an audible countdown from the time a perceived fall or crash is sensed until the timer reaches zero, the cell phone being programmed such that the countdown may be deactivated by the pressing of the communication button in which case no signal is sent, and the cell phone being programmed such that if the countdown is not deactivated and the timer reaches zero, the cell phone is automatically connected with the central monitoring station.

8. The cell phone of claim 7, comprising first batteries to enable the operation of the features requiring electrical energy and reserve batteries which are capable of charging the first batteries when an emergency is detected and the first batteries are too low to make a call.