Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
This invention relates to child safety seats, and more particularly to a child safety seat having a phone alert function.
A child's death from heatstroke as a result of being inadvertently left in a vehicle is something no parent wants to face. Yet every year in the United States someone, without malice or ill intent, will forget about their small, usually sleeping child in a parking lot or driveway.
Therefore, there is a need for a device that can sense when a child has been left in a vehicle car seat with the vehicle turned off for more than a predetermined period of time, such as sixty seconds. Such a needed invention would alert the parent first, via SMS text or otherwise, and alert more people as necessary if the child has not been removed from the vehicle. Such a needed device would be easy to install in a car seat, and easy to set-up with a mobile phone, laptop computer, or other electronic device. The present invention accomplishes these objectives.
The present device is an alert system for sending an alert through a network when a child is abandoned in a car seat fixed with a vehicle of the type having an electronic ignition system that has an on state and an off state. In some embodiments the alert system is adapted to monitor two or more car seats in the vehicle.
A control circuit includes a controller, a battery, a battery recharging circuit, a location sensing circuit, a network communication circuit, a weight sensor, and a memory. The battery recharging circuit is adapted to connect with the vehicle ignition system for power and for detecting the on/off state of the ignition system. The battery is adapted for recharging by the recharging circuit when the vehicle ignition system is in the on state.
The memory is adapted to retain at least a location in the form of location coordinates from the location sensing circuit.
The weight sensor is disposed below the child when the child is seated in the car seat. The controller is adapted to determine if the child is occupying the car seat based on data from the weight sensor.
The control circuit is housed at least partially within an enclosure. The battery recharging circuit may include a cigarette lighter adapter or a 12 volt outlet for interfacing with the electronic ignition system of the vehicle through a 12 volt DC socket of the vehicle.
In use, if the child remains in the car seat beyond a first predetermined time, such as 60 seconds, after the controller senses with the battery recharging circuit that the ignition state of the ignition system has been set to the off state, the controller then records into the memory a current location, preferably in the form of geographic coordinates such as latitude and longitude, as reported by the location sensing circuit. The controller then sends at least one message through the network with the network communication circuit, so as to alert a parent or emergency services.
In some embodiments the control circuit further includes an interface circuit adapted to connect with an electronic device, such as a computer or mobile phone, for example. As such, the alert system allows the electronic device to act as an input device for vehicle identification information that is stored in the memory, such as a make, model and color of the vehicle as well as a license plate number of the vehicle. With such vehicle information included in the at least one message, emergency services personnel can quickly locate the correct vehicle nearest the location to take corrective action to free the child from the vehicle.
The present invention is a device that can sense when a child has been left in a vehicle car seat with the vehicle turned off for more than a predetermined period of time, such as sixty seconds. The present device alerts the parent or parents first, via SMS text or otherwise, and afterwards even more people, such as emergency services workers, as necessary if the child has not been removed from the vehicle after another predetermined time, such as another 60-180 seconds. The present invention is easy to install in a car seat, and easy to set-up with a mobile phone, laptop computer, or other electronic device. Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following more detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. The following explanation provides specific details for a thorough understanding of and enabling description for these embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand that the invention may be practiced without such details. In other instances, well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list. When the word “each” is used to refer to an element that was previously introduced as being at least one in number, the word “each” does not necessarily imply a plurality of the elements, but can also mean a singular element.
A control circuit 60 includes a controller 70, a battery 90, a battery recharging circuit 100, a location sensing circuit 110, such as a GPS location sensing circuit 111, a network communication circuit 120, a weight sensor 130, and a memory 140. Preferably the network communication circuit 120 includes an SMS network communication circuit 121, a GPRS network communication circuit 122, and/or a Bluetooth communication protocol 123 that is adapted for establishing a direct connection with a portable electronic device 55 owned, for example, by a parent 30 of the child 18 (
The battery recharging circuit 100 is adapted to connect with the vehicle ignition system 21 for power and for detecting the on/off state 22,23 of the ignition system 21. The battery 90 is adapted for recharging by the recharging circuit 100 when the vehicle ignition system 21 is in the on state 22. The memory 140, such as a SIM card or other flash-type memory, is adapted to retain at least a location 16 in the form of location coordinates from the location sensing circuit 110.
The weight sensor 130 is disposed below the child 18 when the child 18 is seated in the car seat 40 (
The control circuit 60 is housed at least partially within an enclosure 170 (
In use, if the child 18 remains in the car seat 40 beyond a first predetermined time T1, such as 60 seconds, after the controller 70 senses with the battery recharging circuit 100 that the ignition state of the ignition system 21 has been set to the off state 23 (
Preferably the at least one message 200 sent by the controller 70 includes a first SMS text message 201 to a first mobile phone number 56, such as the mobile phone number 56 associated with the portable electronic device 55 of the parent 30, such that the parent 30 may quickly remember the child 18 and go back to the vehicle 20. In some embodiments both the first mobile phone number 56, a second phone number 57, or more may be simultaneously sent the first SMS text message 201. As an alternative to SMS text protocols, a voice message may be sent through a telephone network by the network communication circuit 120, although SMS messages 200 are the preferred method.
If after a second predetermined period of time T2, such as another sixty seconds for example, the child 16 still remains in the car seat 40 with the vehicle ignition system 21 in the off state 23, the controller 70 preferably sends a second SMS text message to the second mobile phone number 57, so as to perhaps alert a second parent (not shown) as to the danger of the child 18 being left in the vehicle 20.
Finally, if after a last predetermined period of time TN, the child 16 still remains in the car seat 40 with the vehicle ignition system 21 in the off state 23, the controller 70 preferably sends a third SMS text message 203 to the third mobile phone number 57, so as to perhaps alert emergency services 240 as to the danger of the child 18 being left in the vehicle 20. The third mobile phone number 57 may be also be a dispatch center, for example, set-up to receive such calls or messages 203 and, based on the location 16 of the vehicle 20 as reported in the message 203 contact the appropriate police department that has jurisdiction over that location 16, for example.
The first, second and third SMS text messages 201,202,203 may all be the same message, or get progressively more detailed. For example, the first SMS text message 201 might read “Is your child still in your vehicle?” whereas the second or third SMS text message 202,203 might read “A child has been detected left in a WHT HOND CIVIC LIC #2GPA417 at lat/lon 36.05825, −115.045046.”
In the embodiment illustrated in
In some embodiments the control circuit 60 further includes an interface circuit 210 adapted to connect with an electronic device 50, such as a computer with a USB port, for example. This interface circuit 210 may be included in the network communication circuit 120, for example as the Bluetooth communication protocol 123 that communicates with the electronic device 50 such as a mobile phone 55. As such, the alert system 10 allows the electronic device 50 to act as an input device for vehicle identification information 220 that is stored in the memory 140. Such vehicle identification information 220 may include at least a make 221 of the vehicle 20 (
In some embodiments the control circuit 60 is adapted to monitor the weight sensor 130, and an additional weight sensor 131, and potentially even more additional weight sensors 131, each weight sensor 130,131 associated with one of a multiple number of car seats 40 to accommodate and monitor more than one child 18.
While a particular form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the appended claims.
Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention.
The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed above or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
All of the above patents and applications and other references, including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the various references described above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.
Changes can be made to the invention in light of the above “Detailed Description.” While the above description details certain embodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can be practiced in many ways. Therefore, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.
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