Method and apparatus for forwarding local-alert messages within a communication system

• US 9,640,062 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2015
• Issued: 05/02/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Motorola Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Schuler, Francesca, Miller, Trent J
• Primary Examiner(s): Lau, Hoi
• Application Number:
  US14/747,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20160379472A1
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 34087016, 3404071, 34053911, 34053912, 3405731, 34087009, 34080701
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0438 Sensor means for detecting
• 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 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• 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 52/0254 detecting a user operation or a tactile contact or a motion of the device
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and apparatus for forwarding detected environmental conditions are provided herein. During operation, sensors will continuously sample an environment surrounding a public-safety officer. The sensors are preferably body-worn sensors, but could be vehicle or incident area sensors as well. The sensors continuously monitor and report any detected condition to a hub (which could be body-worn) as a local status alert message. Once the hub receives a detected condition within a local status alert, the hub will make a determination if a dispatch center needs to be notified of the detected condition. The notification of the condition is transmitted to the dispatch center as a global status alert, which may simply comprise a forwarded local status alert.

Claims

1. A method for forwarding local-alert messages within a communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a receiver configured to receive a local-disarm message at a body-worn hub from a body-worn sensor, wherein the body-worn hub and the body-worn sensor are part of a personal-area network;

receiving by the receiver, a local-alert message over the personal-area network, wherein the local-alert message is generated from a gun-draw sensor that is part of the personal-area network;

determining by the body-worn hub, whether or not to forward information contained within the local-alert message over a wide-area network, wherein the determination whether or not to forward the information contained within the local-alert message is based on whether or not the local-disarm message was received by the body-worn hub;

forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message over the wide-area network if the local-disarm message was not received, otherwise discarding the information contained within local-alert message without forwarding the information contained within local-alert message over the wide-area network.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

determining if conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message;

and forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message over the wide-area network if the local-disarm message was not received, and if conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

determining a current location;

and wherein the conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message based on the current location.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

sending instructions to other sensors within the personal-area network to enter a low-power state when the local-disarm message is received.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising the steps of:

determining if conditions exist for re-arming the other sensors within the personal-area network;

and sending, by the body-worn hub, a re-arm message to the other sensors within the personal-area network when the conditions exist for rearming the other sensors, wherein the re-arm message causes the other sensors within the personal-area network to exit the low-power state.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the steps of:

determining a current location;

and wherein the conditions exist for re-arming the other sensors within the personal-area network based on the current location.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

storing the information contained within the local-alert message within local storage if the local-disarm message was not received, otherwise discarding information contained within the local-alert message.

8. A method comprising the steps of:

providing a receiver configured to receive a local-disarm message at a hub, received from a body-worn sensor, wherein the hub and the body-worn sensor are part of a personal-area network;

sending instructions to other sensors within the personal-area network to enter a low-power state when the local-disarm message is received at the body-worn hub;

receiving by the receiver, a local-alert message over the personal-area network, wherein the local-alert message was generated by a gun-draw sensor that is part of the personal-area network;

determining by the hub, whether or not to forward information contained within the local-alert message over a wide-area network, wherein the determination whether or not to forward the information contained within the local-alert message is based on whether or not the local-disarm message was received by the hub;

forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message over the wide-area network if the local-disarm message was not received, otherwise discarding the information contained within local-alert message without forwarding the information contained within local-alert message over the wide-area network.

9. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

determining if conditions exist for re-arming the other sensors within the personal-area network;

and sending instructions to other sensors within the personal-area network to enter a high-power state when conditions exist for re-arming the other sensors within the personal-area network.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising the steps of:

determining a current location;

and wherein the conditions exist for re-arming the other sensors within the personal-area network based on the current location.

11. The method of claim 8 further comprising the steps of:

storing the information contained within the local-alert message within local storage if the local-disarm message was not received, otherwise discarding information contained within the local-alert message.

12. A hub comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a local-disarm message from a body-worn sensor, wherein the body-worn hub and the body-worn sensor are part of a personal-area network;

logic circuitry configured to determine whether or not to forward information contained within the local-alert message over a wide-area network, wherein the determination whether or not to forward the information contained within the local-alert message is based on whether or not the local-disarm message was received by the hub;

a transmitter configured to forward the information contained within the local-alert message over the wide-area network if the local-disarm message not was received, otherwise the logic circuitry discards the information contained within local-alert message without forwarding the information contained within local-alert message over the wide-area network.

13. The hub of claim 12 wherein:

the logic circuitry is also configured to determine if conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message;

and the transmitter is configured to forward the information contained within the local-alert message over the wide-area network if the local disarm message was not received, and if conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message.

14. The hub of claim 13 further comprising:

context-aware circuitry configured to determine a current location;

and wherein the conditions exist for forwarding the information contained within the local-alert message based on the current location.