Method and apparatus for a body position monitor using radar

• US 8,068,051 B1
• Filed: 01/28/2011
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Josef Osterweil
• Original Assignee: Josef Osterweil
• Inventors: Osterweil, Josef
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): BYTHROW, PETER M
• Application Number:
  US12/931,278
• Time in Patent Office: 305 Days
• Field of Search: 342/22, 342/27, 342/28, 340/573.1, 340/573.4, 340/573.5, 340/573.7, 340/575, 382/115
• US Class Current: 342/28
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1102 Ballistocardiography
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1117 Fall detection
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/113 occurring during breathing
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/56 for presence detection presence detection using near field arrangements G01V3/00, e.g. G01V3/08, G01V3/12; burglar, theft or intruder alarms with electrical actuation G08B13/22 - G08B13/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/886 for alarm systems alarms with electrical actuation G08B13/22
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/006 using shared front-end circuitry, e.g. antennas G01S13/765, G01S13/825 take precedence

Abstract

A radar system for monitoring a premises in a home or building. The radar system includes transmitter and receiver antennae and a signal processor that processes a reflected signal. Doppler analysis of the reflected signal determines the activity and location of a subject'"'"'s upper torso, and the subject'"'"'s presence within the monitored premises.

Claims

1. A radar system for determining the presence of a subject, comprising:

a radio wave radar transmitter having one of a fixed antenna and a steerable antenna for transmitting radar signals penetrable through obstructions;

a radio wave radar receiver having one of a fixed antenna and a steerable antenna for receiving radar signals penetrable through obstructions;

a signal processor that analyzes random movements of a subject and the intensity of said random movements as a continuous function of the distance from a floor; and

wherein the signal processor determines a vertical profile of the intensity of said random movements and based on said vertical profile further determines the presence of a subject based on the location of their upper torso.

2. The radar system of claim 1, wherein the radar signals comprise at least one of Ultra Wideband, Spread Spectrum and modulated wave formats.

3. The radar system of claim 2, further comprising a radar cluster containing one radar transmitter and multiple radar receivers, such that at least a two dimensional location of the subject is resolved.

4. The detector system of claim 2, wherein the signal processor determines the distance of the subject from the floor based on an analysis of the distribution of intensity of said random movements along a vertical axis relative to the floor.

5. The radar system of claim 2, wherein the determination of the distance of the subject from the floor is further determined by analysis of the spectral pattern over time of the activity/motion of the subject as determined by observing over time the vertical profile of the intensity of said random movements.

6. The radar system of claim 2, wherein the signal processor provides an alert via a communications link.

7. The radar system of claim 2, further comprising a receiver programmable signal gating, such that the distance over which the signal processor performs its analysis is limited to a desired maximum distance from the transmit and receive radar antennae.

8. The radar system of claim 4, where at least two receiver antennae are displaced in a proximate vertical orientation.

9. The radar system of claim 4, where at least one antenna is multiplexed such that operations to determine the height of the subject from the floor occur during some time periods and other time periods are utilized for housekeeping or alert related operations.

10. The radar system of claim 9, where said at least one antenna of a first radar system communicates with at least one antenna of a second radar system during said time periods utilized for housekeeping or alert related operations.

11. A radio wave radar system, comprising:

a single radio wave radar unit for monitoring a volume within a premises, wherein radio waves emitted by at least one radio wave transmitter contained within said unit and received by at least one radio wave receiver contained within said unit are penetrable through obstructions;

a communications link between said radio wave radar system and an emergency responder;

a signal processor that analyzes random movements of the subject and the intensity of said random movements as a continuous function of the distance from a floor;

wherein the signal processor determines a vertical profile of the intensity of said random movements and based on said vertical profile further determines the distance of the subject'"'"'s upper torso relative to the floor; and

wherein an alert is transmitted to the emergency responder when the radio wave radar system has determined that a subject whose upper torso is a specific distance from the floor is within the monitored volume based on detected motion of their upper torso.

12. The radio wave radar system of claim 11, wherein at least one transmitter and at least one receiver are multiplexed in order to implement said communications link between said radio wave radar g system and an emergency responder during time periods when said transmitter and receiver are not used for monitoring said volume, within said premises.

13. A radar system for detecting the presence of a subject'"'"'s upper torso within a monitored premises, comprising:

a radio wave radar transmitter having one of a fixed antenna and a steerable antenna for transmitting radar signals penetrable through obstructions;

a radio wave radar receiver having one of a fixed antenna and a steerable antenna for receiving radar signals penetrable through obstructions in order to monitor a subject within the premises, and comprising at least one of Ultra Wideband, Spread Spectrum and modulated wave formats; and

a signal processor that analyzes random movements of the subject and the intensity of said random movements as a continuous function of the distance from a floor, wherein the signal processor determines a vertical profile of the intensity of said random movements over time and based on said vertical profile further determines the presence of a subject within the monitored premises based on determined activity of the subject'"'"'s upper torso.

14. The radar system of claim 13 wherein said transmitter and receiver are multiplexed in order to implement a communications link between said radar system and an emergency responder during time periods when said transmitter and receiver are not used for monitoring said subject within the premises.