SYSTEM HAVING A CENTRAL SERVER AND A SECOND SERVER FOR ALERTING CAREGIVERS EACH CARRYING A MOBILE DEVICE TO A CHILD ABANDONED IN A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT
A child safety system for alerting caregivers that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned. The system includes a child presence detecting device having a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon that transmits a signal only when a child is detected in a location. A local mobile device receives and interprets the signal so as to generate a local alert when the signal strength falls below a threshold. The local alert tells a caregiver carrying the local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned. The local mobile device also sends a remote alert via internet to a central server that communicates the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device. The local mobile device also sends the remote alert via an internet connection to a second server that communicate the remote alert to at least one additional remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection.
This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/443,640, filed Feb. 27, 2017, the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.
FIELD OF INVENTIONThis invention relates generally to child safety devices, and more particularly to child safety devices that monitor a separation distance between a child and a caregiver's mobile device, such as a smartphone.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONMany fatalities and injuries of children have occurred because a parent or other caregiver left a child alone in a potentially or clearly harmful situation. Children are sometimes left alone in cars or other potentially dangerous locations by absent-minded, forgetful, ignorant, or careless parents or caregivers. For example, if the weather is hot, and the car has its windows rolled up because the air conditioning was on, and a child is left in the car sitting in a car seat, then the child's cries could be difficult to hear by the parent or other caregiver while walking away from the car. If the parent or other caregiver is distracted or absentminded, the child can suffer great physical and/or emotional harm by being left behind in an increasingly hot car. Many small children die each year because of being left behind in a hot car.
There is presently no adequate system to alert caregivers, such as parents, guardians, supervisors, and/or other authorized parties as to when a child has been left in a car seat while the caregiver is walking away, before harm can occur.
Also, there is presently no adequate system to alert parents that a caregiver, such as a babysitter, a mother's helper, or an older sibling, has walked too far away from a baby in a bathtub, or has left a baby alone in a playpen for a dangerously extended period of time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONUnder certain circumstances, it may be acceptable to leave a baby alone for a short period of time in locations such as a crib or a playpen, but leaving a baby alone and unmonitored for a long time is risky, and can be dangerous.
The invention alerts one or more caregivers to the potential danger of leaving a baby alone in locations such as in a baby safety seat in a car, or in a baby bath tub, etc.
A baby can be left alone by mistake by a well-meaning caregiver, or can be intentionally left alone by a reckless caregiver. In either case, the system of the invention will alert the caregiver, as well as additional authorized users. If a baby is left alone by mistake, an alert on the caregiver's smartphone will remind him or her to not leave the baby alone. Additionally, one or more other caregivers, such as a parent or guardian can be notified by the invention, even if they are not in immediate geographical proximity, thereby providing beneficial remote monitoring, which is useful to detect, monitor and discourage unscrupulous caregivers.
The invention detects the presence of a child in a potentially dangerous location, such as in a car seat, and displays an alert on the caregiver's smartphone if the caregiver's smartphone moves away from the car, leaving the child behind. The system can also alert other caregivers, such as caregivers or parents that are not within geographical proximity of the event.
The system provides positive indications to the primary caregiver, and optionally to other remote caregivers, that a child's presence in the car seat is detected, that the monitoring system is active, and that the remote alert system is enabled and functional.
The present invention monitors the distance of separation between a child's location and a caregiver's location, and alerts multiple other interested parties, such as parents, grandparents, etc., when the distance of separation increases enough to warrant attention, or when a connection between a caregiver's smartphone and the safety device is lost due to distance, or due to Bluetooth communications being disabled on the smartphone.
The present invention also logs the physical presence of a caregiver's mobile device in a monitored location, and alerts caregivers, parents, guardians, supervisors and/or other authorized parties when a child is potentially left alone in a monitored location. While a caregiver is able to leave the mobile device next to the child and walk away without the mobile device, prompting the caregiver to click, touch, or move the mobile device can address that by initiating both a local and a remote alert if the caregiver's response is delayed.
Although the device of the invention can advantageously be used for protecting a child in a car seat, such a device can also be used in conjunction with any other child-related equipment where a baby can possibly be left alone, including a stroller, a crib, a playpen, a cot, a travel bed, a bassinet, or a cradle, for example.
A water resistant embodiment can be used in a bathtub.
The device can be used to monitor and log physical proximity at all times between a caregiver's smartphone and a baby in child-related equipment, such as a child seat, a crib, a stroller, or a bathtub, for example.
A caregiver can log an occasional visit by clicking “I am here” in a smartphone app. This will cause current time and caregiver's device ID to be logged, and a detailed notification will be sent to all subscribed and authorized parties accordingly.
A general aspect of the invention is system for alerting a caregiver of a child that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned, with the intention of preventing harm to the child. The system includes: a child presence detecting device having a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon, the child presence detecting device being configured to transmit a signal using the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon only when a child is detected as being present in a location; a local mobile device configured to: receive and interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon of the child presence detecting device, generate a local alert when a signal strength of the signal becomes lower than a threshold, the local alert being for alerting a caregiver carrying the local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned, and send a remote alert via an internet connection to a central server and a second server; a central server configured to: receive a remote alert via the internet connection from the local mobile device, and communicate the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection; and a second server configured to: receive a remote alert via the respective individual internet connection from the local mobile device, and communicate the remote alert to at least one additional remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection.
In some embodiments, the local alert includes: time, proximity, location, and device ID.
In some embodiments, the system further includes: a second local mobile device configured to interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon, and configured to generate a second local alert when a signal strength of the signal becomes lower than a threshold, the second local alert being for alerting at least a second caregiver carrying the second local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned.
In some embodiments, the local mobile device is configured to receive and interpret a plurality of signals provided by a respective plurality of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, and is configured to generate a respective local alert whenever a signal strength of one of the signals becomes lower than a threshold.
In some embodiments, the local mobile device is one of: a smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a laptop computer.
In some embodiments, the child presence detecting device further includes: at least one pressure sensor configured to detect the presence of a child in the location, the pressure sensor functioning as an open switch when no detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor; and a battery electrically connected to both the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon and the at least one pressure sensor, thereby energizing the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon when detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor, and deactivating the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon when no detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor.
In some embodiments, the local mobile device that is configured to receive and interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon is also configured to generate a remote alert, the central server being configured to communicate the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection, a remote alert being generated when any of the following events occur: a child has been placed or strapped into a monitored location having a child presence detecting device; the distance between a local mobile device and a child presence detecting device has exceeded a preset threshold distance; a local mobile device has lost communication with a previously detected child presence detecting device due to physically moving away from the child presence detecting device; and child presence is no longer detected by a child presence detecting device, indicating that either the child presence detecting device has malfunctioned, or the child was taken out of a monitored location having the child presence detecting device.
In some embodiments, the central server is configured to: periodically ping each local mobile device that is in local relationship with a child presence detecting device that is actively detecting presence of a child; and send a remote alert to at least one remote mobile device whenever a child presence detecting device is turned off while monitoring a child.
The invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description, in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:
Bluetooth Low Energy beacons are hardware transmitters—a class of Bluetooth low energy (LE) devices that broadcast their identifier to nearby portable electronic devices, such as a smart phone or a tablet computer. The technology enables smartphones, tablets, and other devices to perform actions when in close proximity to a beacon.
Bluetooth beacons use Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing to transmit a universally unique identifier picked up by a compatible app or operating system running on a smartphone, for example. The identifier and several bytes sent with it can be used to estimate the distance between a Beacon 410 and a receiving device, such a smartphone. The smartphone can be utilized to assess its physical location, track beacons, or trigger a location-based action on the smartphone.
Bluetooth beacons differ from some other location-based technologies in that the broadcasting device (beacon) is only a one-way transmitter to the receiving smartphone or receiving device, and necessitates a specific app installed on the receiving device to interact with the beacons.
This one-way communication allows a Bluetooth device to transmit information, but not listen for it. These one-way “beacons” do not require a paired connection like conventional Bluetooth devices, but are rather identified by means of a vendor specific code. Each beacon can also be configured to transmit a small amount of digital information, so the beacons have new useful applications, such as in the present invention.
Bluetooth LE beacon transmitters come in a variety of form factors, including small coin cell devices, USB sticks, and generic Bluetooth 4.0 capable USB dongles.
A caretaker receives a positive indication on his mobile device or smartphone 600 whenever a baby's presence is detected by pressure sensor 500, and beacon 520 is within an acceptable range. This provides positive verification that the system is indeed working, and baby presence is indeed being detected. Conversely, if the beacon 520 is NOT within an acceptable range, such as when a caretaker leaves a baby in a car seat that incorporates the device of the invention, the smart phone carried by the caretaker will alert the caretaker that an unacceptable distance has been traversed without the child. This then reminds the caretaker that he/she should bring the baby with him/her, or abandon the excursion and return to the baby. Any number of devices 600 can simultaneously monitor distance to beacon 520, such as the cell phones of both a mother and a father, each of whom assumed that the other parent was minding the child.
Remote monitoring devices 700 can be notified when any of the following occurs:
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- a) A child is placed and strapped into a monitored location
- b) The distance between any tracking device 600 and a beacon 520 exceeds a preset threshold distance.
- c) A tracking device 600 loses connection to a previously detected beacon 520, while physically moving away from the beacon 520.
- d) Child presence is no longer detected by the pressure sensor, indicating that either child presence sensing is malfunctioning, or the child was taken out of a monitored location.
A smartphone assesses its distance to a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon by interpreting the strength of the radio frequency signal emitted by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon. Such conversion of radio frequency signal strength to actual distance is not very accurate, and can only provide an approximation of the actual distance. It is common practice to refrain from referring to actual distance to a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon in quantitative terms such as inches, feet, meters, yards etc., and to prefer more qualitative terms such as “immediate”, “near”, and “far”. For example, as a caregiver moves away from a device 200, while baby presence is sensed by the pressure sensor 500, the distance to the beacon 520 as sensed by the caregiver's smartphone 600 will change from “immediate” to “near”, then to “far”, and eventually the beacon 520 will no longer be sensed by the caregiver's smartphone 600.
There is no direct way to distinguish between a smartphone 600 that moved away from a beacon 520, a smartphone 600 that was turned off, and a smartphone 600 that disabled its Bluetooth functionality. We distinguish between those states indirectly, in software.
Our software running on the smartphone 600 monitors Bluetooth availability, and will alert to the server 720, that will in turn alert all other authorized users 700, if a caregiver disables Bluetooth functionality while being in any proximity to a monitored baby.
Our server 720 software periodically pings each smartphone 600 that is in proximity to a baby device 750 that is actively sensing a baby. An alert will be issued whenever a device 750 is turned off while monitoring a baby.
We consider a device 600 as moving too far from a monitored location if a beacon 520 is no longer available after being “far”. This is in contrast to a beacon 520 disappearing while being “immediate” or “near”, as this may mean that a baby was simply taken out and is no longer sensed by the pressure sensor 500.
Additional logic can be applied to better manage alerts. For example, there is no need to issue an alert when a smartphone 600 moves away from a monitored baby while another authorized smartphone 600 is in immediate vicinity of the baby. This represents one caregiver moving away while another is still watching the baby.
Another use of smartphone capabilities is an attempt to detect a smartphone 600 left near a baby while a caregiver moves away. Some smartphones allow us to always monitor their GPS and accelerometers to determine if the smartphone 600 is moving or how long since it last moved. If a smartphone 600 that is actively monitoring a baby is not moving for longer than a preset time period, the caregiver will be prompted to touch a button on the smartphone 600, or an alert will be issued from the smartphone 600.
Remote monitoring of the child presence-related events above requires authorization by a child's parent or other care giver. Such authorizations can be managed via software running on server 720.
Mobile devices 600 and beacons 520 can be associated with a friendly name when accessed via software running on server 720.
All events sent to the server are logged for future reference and pattern analysis that can be performed asynchronously, not necessarily as they happen in real time. Saved logs can be remotely accessed by users. The length of time the logs will be kept depends on server storage availability and consumer willingness to pay a fee. There may also be an option to receive any log via email, before such log is deleted.
Referring to
Once a nearby beacon 520 is detected, indicating that a child is present, a success notification 820 “Beacon Detected” will be displayed on the device, and information regarding current time, mobile device identification, and location (e.g., global position when available) are sent 830 to the server. In case of communication errors, such as when the server is busy, or when an Internet connection is temporary not available, all data will be saved and retransmitted at a later time. All backlogged data will be saved on the mobile device, and later sent to the remote server when server access is restored.
The device of the invention can advantageously work in any location where the presence of a baby can be detected by a weight-activated pressure sensor. A smaller sensor is sufficient when a baby is strapped into a specific predetermined location, such as a car seat or a stroller. A larger pressure sensor, covering the general area where a baby can be present, is required for a playpen or a crib. A specially designed water resistant sensor and electronics are required for use in a bath tub or other wet locations.
Manage Devices 920 is where all device 750 related activity is performed. Add New 960 is where you associate a new safety device 750 with the logged in account. Remove 970 is where you disassociate an existing safety device 750 from this account. Test 980 is where you test connectivity and confirm functionality of any associated safety device 750.
Activity Log 930 is where you view a full activity log 940 of all alerts for all devices 750 associated with this account.
The mobile app 900 could be a single-function app dedicated to monitoring one or more safety devices 750, or a more general multi-purpose app that performs various tasks, where monitoring a safety device 750 is just one of the functions. In a single-function mobile app 900, Main Screen 910 could indeed be the app's main screen. In a multi-functional app 900, Main Screen 910 may refer to the main screen associated with our safety device management and operation, but it could also refer to the multi-functional app's main screen that would include the two safety device related options Manage Devices 920 and Activity Log 930.
When a change in beacon status occurs, or when a continuous endless loop starts, it is important to identify Beacon Detected 1005 status.
If Beacon Detected 1005 status is “Yes”, and the detected beacon is My beacon 1010, as identified by the standard beacon UUID, then we check if the distance to the beacon changed 1020 as compared to the previously saved distance 1030.
If either there is no change in distance 1020, or the distance is not greater than a predetermined max 1040, then the process ends 1080. If the new distance is greater than the predetermined max 1040, then the user is notified 1050 and alert information is sent to the server 720. Such alert information may include one or more of time, distance, location coordinates, beacon UUID, mobile device ID, etc.
If Beacon Detected 1005 status is “No” then it is important to check if a beacon was previously available 1015 the last time this process was executed 1030. If no beacon was available from 1030, then this execution loop may end 1080. If saved beacon status from 1030 is available from a previous run of the execution loop, then it is important to update the last status 1030 as “Beacon is absent” 1025. The next decision depends on the last distance saved 1030 as it was before it was marked as “absent”.
If the previous distance 1035 was less than far, then the baby was taken out of the safety device 1055. If the previous distance 1035 was far, then we interpret it as if the baby was let in the car. In either case, we notify the user 1065, and send appropriate information to the server 1075.
All communications with our server 720 are utilizing standard TCP/IP protocols, over standard Internet connectivity of the mobile device 600. No communications to the server 720 are possible if the mobile device 600 has no internet connectivity.
Main logic 1130 utilizes Repository Manager 1140 to retrieve Account 1150 and beacon 1170 information, and determines whether an alert should be issued and who should receive such alert. All alerts are then stored in Pending Alerts 1180 for delivery by the Notification Module 1190.
Notification Module 1190 delivers Pending Alerts 1180 in the order they have been created, using any means approved by the users, selected from one or more of email, SMS, phone call, and In-app messages, for example.
Other modifications and implementations will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the above description is not intended to limit the invention, except as indicated in the following claims.
Claims
1. A system for alerting a caregiver of a child that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned, with the intention of preventing harm to the child, the system comprising:
- a child presence detecting device having a Bluetooth Low Energy beacon, the child presence detecting device being configured to transmit a signal using the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon only when a child is detected as being present in a location;
- a local mobile device configured to: receive and interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon of the child presence detecting device, generate a local alert when a signal strength of the signal becomes lower than a threshold, the local alert being for alerting a caregiver carrying the local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned, and send a remote alert via an internet connection to a central server and a second server;
- a central server configured to: receive a remote alert via the internet connection from the local mobile device, and communicate the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection; and
- a second server configured to: receive a remote alert via the respective individual internet connection from the local mobile device, and communicate the remote alert to at least one additional remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the local alert includes:
- time, proximity, location, and device ID.
3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:
- a second local mobile device configured to interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon, and configured to generate a second local alert when a signal strength of the signal becomes lower than a threshold, the second local alert being for alerting at least a second caregiver carrying the second local mobile device that the child has been unintentionally or recklessly abandoned.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the local mobile device is configured to receive and interpret a plurality of signals provided by a respective plurality of Bluetooth Low Energy beacons, and is configured to generate a respective local alert whenever a signal strength of one of the signals becomes lower than a threshold.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the local mobile device is one of:
- a smart phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, a laptop computer.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the child presence detecting device further includes:
- at least one pressure sensor configured to detect the presence of a child in the location, the pressure sensor functioning as an open switch when no detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor; and
- a battery electrically connected to both the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon and the at least one pressure sensor, thereby energizing the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon when detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor, and deactivating the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon when no detectable pressure is applied to the pressure sensor.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the local mobile device that is configured to receive and interpret the signal provided by the Bluetooth Low Energy beacon is also configured to generate a remote alert, the central server being configured to communicate the remote alert to at least one remote mobile device via a respective individual internet connection, a remote alert being generated when any of the following events occur:
- a child has been placed or strapped into a monitored location having a child presence detecting device;
- the distance between a local mobile device and a child presence detecting device has exceeded a preset threshold distance;
- a local mobile device has lost communication with a previously detected child presence detecting device due to physically moving away from the child presence detecting device; and
- child presence is no longer detected by a child presence detecting device, indicating that either the child presence detecting device has malfunctioned, or the child was taken out of a monitored location having the child presence detecting device.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein the central server is configured to:
- periodically ping each local mobile device that is in local relationship with a child presence detecting device that is actively detecting presence of a child; and
- send a remote alert to at least one remote mobile device whenever a child presence detecting device is turned off while monitoring a child.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 13, 2018
Publication Date: Mar 14, 2019
Inventor: Isaac Rubinstein (Haworth, NJ)
Application Number: 16/189,941