Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reissue Patent
1999-08-10
2001-12-11
Mullen, Thomas (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S522000, C340S545300, C340S567000, C340S666000, C340S691400
Reissue Patent
active
RE037467
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to apparatuses and methods for monitoring personnel.
In one class of personnel monitoring system, a detector is positioned near exits or in passageways to determine when a person or an object is moving through the passageway or door. At that time, a signal is transmitted to a monitoring station indicating that a person or object is going through the door. Among other uses, such systems are used as security systems to determine if unauthorized patients are leaving a nursing home or the like. One such system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,214.
In some such systems, a first signal is generated when the patient enters a first region. If a second condition occurs, such as the opening of a door, an alarm signal is given. A system of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,682,155. In some of the known systems, a person carries an active device such as a transmitter, and an others, the person carries a passive device which receives signals and retransmits the signals when the person is in a predetermined range of the transmitter. Still other such devices rely upon a pressure pad which may be stepped upon or a combination of a device carried by a person and a location mounted device such as a device that detects the pressure of a foot step or the opening of a door.
The prior art personnel monitoring system of this class may generate a signal when the personnel being monitored are near a passageway but do not provide an alarm or warning unless a monitored person gives further indications of trying to go through the passageway.
The prior art personnel monitoring systems have several disadvantages, such as for example: (1) they do not provide advanced warning that a monitored person may be about to go through the passageway; (2) the signals may be given at a time when the central station doing the monitoring is unattended, thus permitting the persons to proceed a substantial distance before it is detected that they have left: (3) the systems can be defeated by a careful person attempting to avoid detection until the last minute and then quickly proceed through the passageway; and (4) the systems are susceptible to failure because of a temporary malfunction because there may be inadequate warning.
Devices are known which give a plurality of different signals depending on the amount of time that an object is at a particular station. For example, some detectors utilized by drive-ins give one signal when a car is near a service window and another signal if a car remains there unserviced after a particular period of time.
While such a system could be employed to detect a person who is spending a prolonged time attempting to exit through the passageway, they have not been applied in this manner even though they have been available for a substantial number of years in other localities. Moreover, they are not adapted to merely alert personnel to wait for an actual attempt to go through the passageway but instead the second signal is provided only to indicate that someone has been waiting a long time for service.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a novel personnel monitoring system.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel method for alerting personnel that an object or a person may shortly attempt to go through a passageway.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a monitoring system which provides an alert condition indicating that an object or a person is about to pass through or be carried through a passageway and then another distinct signal indicating that the unauthorized person or object has proceeded or is proceeding through the passageway.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a personnel monitoring system in which one signal or no signal at all is given an unauthorized person is near a passageway unless the object or person dwells before the passageway for a predetermined time, thus indicating a planned attempt to go through the passageway.
In accordance with the above and further objects of the invention, a passageway or a doorway contains first and second regions within which an unauthorized person or object can be detected. A detecting means is provided that can detect the person or object in the first region and can detect a person or object in the second region either by physical actuation of a device or by the presence of the object or the person.
An example of the actuation of a device indicating that a person is in the second region is when a switch is actuated upon opening a door indicating that a person is at the threshold of the doorway. Another example is the actuation of a pressure pad in the doorway. Examples of detecting the presence of an object by the mere presence of the object are: (1) when the object is a transmitter carried by a monitored person, which transmitter triggers a receiver within the second region; (2) when the object is a passive transponder which generates a signal upon receiving a radio signal from a fixed station at the second region; or (3) when a direct detector, such as an infrared sensor, is mounted at a monitored doorway or passageway. Similar detection devices can be used in the first region to provide an alert signal.
In the preferred embodiment, an alert signal is displayed whenever a monitored person is in the monitored area and an alarm signal is provided only after an alert signal has been generated and a door is opened. However, in another embodiment, a signaling device is provided which gives an alert signal only if the person or object dwells near the passageway for a predetermined time. There may be no signal if the person or object is there for a shorter time, or two distinctive signals may be used, one for only a short time and a different one when the time before the passageway is increased. Another signal is provided, different than the alert signal, to indicate that a person is actually in the second region or passing through the second region, and this signal may follow the alert signal or may be provided within an alert signal in those instances where the person or object quickly moves through the first region and the second region.
The signals may be provided by plurality of different readout devices such as a plurality of lamps, one of which indicates an alert condition and one of which indicates movement through the passageway by the unauthorized object or person or a single device such as a light or an audible alarm may be utilized with different modes of signaling, such as a periodic signal as an alert condition and a steady signal when an object or person goes through the passageway. Moreover, the alert signal may actually be video presentation of a person at the doorway triggered by the alert condition or a combination of different audible and visual signals, so that the alert condition is a visual presentation of the doorway and the signal indicating passage through the doorway is a change in the presentation provided by the video image, although it is desirable to have additional signals likely to attract attention to the video screen. An alarm may be provided at the second region to serve as a warning to the person being monitored.
In operation, as a patient or another person carrying an unauthorized object approaches a doorway or other monitored passageway, a signal is generated. A monitoring station provides the alert alarm if the person is in a predetermined region before the monitored location. In one mode of operation, the alarm is only given after the signal has persisted for a predetermined period of time such as more than three seconds and preferably ten seconds. In this embodiment, if the monitored person or object dwells in the region before the door less than the selected time, either no signal is given or a signal different than the alert signal is given. If the object has moved through the door or the patient passes through the door, a different signal is given indicating an alarm condition.
Different signaling devices may be utilized or the same s
Brasch John J.
Cross Alan W.
Greer Burns & Crain Ltd.
Mullen Thomas
Senior Technologies, Inc.
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