Dangerous condition detection with user feedback

• US 9,514,632 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2015
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/10/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Hunter, Charles Eric, Ballou, Bernard L., Hebrank, John H., Fallon, James, Summer, Robert D.
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US14/923,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20160110991A1
• Time in Patent Office: 407 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 19/00 Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/12 responsive to undesired emission of substances, e.g. pollution alarms
• 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 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/00 Combined visual and audible advertising or displaying, e.g. for public address
• 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 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

A method for disseminating emergency notification content from an emergency originating source. The method comprising: delivering the emergency notification content from the emergency originating source to at least one transmitting party; selecting a subset of users from among a set of users for dissemination of the emergency notification content based on the subject matter of the emergency notification content; and delivering the emergency notification content from the at least one transmitting party to a device corresponding to each user from the selected subset of users.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

an emergency notification device being disposed at a location, the emergency notification device having a sensor for sensing an environmental parameter at the location, the emergency notification device being programmed with a predefined sensor-data profile indicative of a dangerous condition, the emergency notification device being configured to wirelessly output an emergency notification in the event that sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location corresponds to the predefined sensor-data profile that is indicative of a dangerous condition;

a handheld computing device for obtaining the emergency notification wirelessly outputted by the emergency notification device, the handheld computing device being configured to output a visual representation of the emergency notification, the handheld computing device being configured to enable user feedback related to the emergency notification; and

a host facility being communicatively coupled via a back channel to the emergency notification device or the handheld computing device for obtaining information related to the user feedback or information related to the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor of the emergency notification device is a plurality of sensors for sensing a plurality of environmental parameters at the location, wherein sensor-data profile is based on the plurality of environmental parameters.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the location of the emergency notification device is a home, a business, or a vehicle.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the user feedback acknowledges that the emergency notification has been received.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the user feedback confirms or denies the existence of the dangerous condition at the location.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the emergency notification includes an audible alarm at the location, and the user feedback causes the audible alarm to be silenced.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the handheld computing device is configured to output an audible representation of the emergency notification.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the emergency notification device at the location receives from the handheld computing device the user acknowledgement or a control command, wherein the user acknowledgement or the control commend results from a user interaction with the handheld computing device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the host facility is configured to transmit an emergency notification for receipt by a plurality of emergency notification devices located within a predetermined proximity to the location, wherein the emergency notification includes emergency notification content that is at least partially based on the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the environmental parameter is temperature, radiation, toxic chemical or gases, smoke, water, air quality, humidity, shock, or pressure.

11. A method, comprising:

obtaining, by an emergency notification device, sensor data related to an environmental parameter at a location, the emergency notification device being disposed at the location, wherein the sensor data is sensed by a sensor at the location;

comparing, by the emergency notification device, the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location to a predefined sensor-data profile that is indicative of a dangerous condition;

determining, by the emergency notification device, that the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location corresponds to the predefined sensor-data profile that is indicative of the dangerous condition;

wirelessly outputting, by the emergency notification device, an emergency notification indicative of the dangerous condition, the emergency notification being received by a handheld computing device, the handheld computing device being configured to output a visual representation of the emergency notification, the handheld computing device being configured to enable user feedback related to the emergency notification, wherein emergency information that is related to the emergency notification is received at a host facility that is communicatively coupled via a back channel to the emergency notification device or the handheld computing device, wherein the emergency information includes information related to the user feedback or information related to the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor that senses the sensor data at the location is included in the emergency notification device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the location of the emergency notification device is a home, a business, or a vehicle.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the user feedback acknowledges that the emergency notification has been received.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the user feedback confirms or denies the existence of the dangerous condition at the location.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the emergency notification includes an audible alarm at the location, and the user feedback causes the audible alarm to be silenced.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the handheld computing device is configured to output an audible representation of the emergency notification.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the emergency notification device at the location receives from the handheld computing device the user acknowledgement or a control command, wherein the user acknowledgement or the control commend results from a user interaction with the handheld computing device.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the host facility is configured to transmit an emergency notification for receipt by a plurality of emergency notification devices located within a predetermined proximity to the location, wherein the emergency notification includes emergency notification content that is at least partially based on the sensor data sensed by the sensor at the location.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the environmental parameter is temperature, radiation, toxic chemical or gases, smoke, water, air quality, humidity, shock, or pressure.