Condition responsive indication assembly and method

• US 9,177,458 B1
• Filed: 01/06/2015
• Issued: 11/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guardhat, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ockham Razor Ventures, LLC
• Inventors: Dey, Saikat, Reepmeyer, Gerrit, Sengupta, Anupam, Zhavoronkov, Mikhail
• Primary Examiner(s): HUNNINGS, TRAVIS R
• Application Number:
  US14/590,596
• Time in Patent Office: 301 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A42B 3/046 Means for detecting hazards or accidents
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• 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 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/014 Alarm signalling to a central station with two-way communication, e.g. with signalling back
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 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

Abstract

A communications assembly includes a central processing unit and a plurality of portable communication assemblies. The central processing unit transmits central signals and for receiving remote communications from the portable communications assemblies. The portable communications assemblies are operatively connected to the central processing unit transmit the remote communications and receive the central communications. A communications hub is operatively connected between the central processing unit and each of the portable communications assemblies to control independent communication between the central processing unit and the portable communications assemblies. The central processing unit includes an incident identification module for receiving the remote communications and for identifying a portion of the remote communications from a portion of the portable communications assemblies as indicating a situation requiring a communication to be sent to the portion of the portable communications assemblies. The portion may include one or more than one portable communications assembly.

Claims

1. A method for communicating between a central processing unit and a plurality of portable communications assemblies, the method comprising the steps of:

identifying each of the plurality of portable communications assemblies with the central processing unit;

transmitting communications from each of the plurality of portable communications assemblies to the central processing unit;

receiving communications from a communications hub operatively connected between the central processing unit and each of the plurality of portable communications assemblies to control independent communication between the central processing unit and each of the plurality of portable communications assemblies;

identifying a portion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies that is sending communication indicating a conditional threshold is met;

transmitting threshold limit communication to the portion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies regarding the threshold limit status; and

rebroadcasting the threshold limit communication to more than the portion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies when the conditional threshold is determined to affect more than the portion of the plurality of portable communication assemblies.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 including the step of broadcasting the threshold limit communication to a group of the plurality of portable communications assemblies local to the portion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies.

3. A method as set forth in claim 2 wherein the group of the plurality of portable communications assemblies is at least as large as the portion of the plurality of portable communications assemblies.

4. A method as set forth in claim 3 wherein each of the plurality of portable communications assemblies communicate with each other and the central processing unit.

5. A method as set forth in claim 1 including maintaining communication between the plurality of portable communications assemblies after the step of transmitting the threshold limit communication.