CARE SYSTEM

• US 20130073303A1
• Filed: 09/11/2012
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tseng Jan Hsu
• Original Assignee: Tseng Jan Hsu
• Inventors: Hsu, Tseng Jan
• Application Number:
  US13/610,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073303A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2823 Reporting information sensed by appliance or service execution status of appliance services in a home automation network device-related reporting H04L43/065; arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom H04Q9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2825 Reporting to a device located outside the home and the home network access arrangements H04L12/2856; for remote control or remote monitoring of applications H04L67/025; telephonic communication systems adapted for combination with telemetering systems H04M11/002

Abstract

A care system uses sensors and a gateway to collect activity or health information of a home user and reports the information to a service that provides the information to the home user and authorized remote users. A motion sensor can sense an activity level of the home user, e.g., indicating the amount of motion per minute, and reports the motion data periodically at a reporting period selected to provide manageable data rates. A pillbox sensor can sense and report use of medication by the home user. The service that provides data can employ a business method that sells care systems and separate sensors, licenses interfaces that enable use of sensors in a care system, sells Internet advertisements on web pages that contain the health data, and sells enhanced service, e.g., higher data collection frequencies, to remote users.

Claims

1. A care system comprising:

a sensor configured to detect activity in a home environment within a plurality of detection periods, count the detection periods during which activity was sensed, and report one or more counts of activity; and

a gateway configured to receive reports from the sensor and to send information based on the counts and indicating the activity sensed in the home environment.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a motion sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor comprises a wireless interface through which the sensor reports to the gateway.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is battery powered.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensors configured to communicate with the gateway.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein in the gateway controls a local network of sensors and communicates with the service provider through a wide area network.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is deployed in the home environment.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the information quantifies levels of activity of a home user at different times.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of sensors configured to detect activity in a home environment and transmit data to the gateway.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the gateway is configured to combined data from multiple reports into a data packet sent to a service provider.

11. A monitoring process comprising:

operating a sensor during a series of count intervals, wherein each count interval includes a plurality of detection intervals;

for each of the count intervals, determining a count of the detection intervals that are in the count interval and during which the sensor detected activity in a home environment of a first user;

reporting the counts to a local gateway; and

sending from the local gateway to a remote service provider information based on the counts and indicating the activity sensed in the home environment.

12. The process of claim 11, wherein reporting the counts comprises sending a series of discrete transmissions from the sensor to the gateway, and wherein each of the transmissions represents an array of the counts.

13. The process of claim 12, wherein the transmissions are separated in time at least by a reporting period.

14. The process of claim 11, further comprising the service provider sharing the information with a second user that the first user authorized to receive the information.

15. The process of claim 14, wherein sharing the information comprises the service provider processing the information and generating a message to the second user when the information satisfies a predetermined condition.

16. The process of claim 15, wherein the predetermined condition is a user selected condition.

17. The process of claim 15, wherein the predetermined condition is based on a medical criterion.

18. The process of claim 11, further comprising powering down a portion of the sensor in response to the counts indicating no activity for a period of time.

19. The process of claim 18, wherein the portion of the sensor powered down comprises a control module of the sensor.

20. A dispenser comprising:

a plurality of medication compartments;

a plurality of sensors arranged to detect accesses to respective medication compartments; and

an interface coupled to the sensors and configured to report the accesses.

21. The dispenser of claim 20, wherein each of the medication compartments has a door, and each of the sensors comprises a switch that is operated by movement of an associated one of the doors.

22. The dispenser of claim 20, wherein the interface comprises a radio transmitter.

23. The dispenser of claim 22, wherein the radio transmitter is configured to communicate with a local gateway.

24. The dispenser of claim 22, wherein the radio transmitter is battery powered.

25. A process comprising:

establishing a care system in a home environment of a home user;

reporting health information from the care system to a service accessible by a remote user, wherein the care system reports the health information with a first frequency; and

in response to a purchase, reporting the health information to the service at a second frequency that is higher than the first frequency.

26. The process of claim 25, further comprising:

employing a knowledge base to analyze the health information from the care system; and

based on analysis by the knowledge base, selecting information to be provided.