Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-05
2001-03-13
Wu, Daniel J. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S573300, C340S573400, C340S529000, C340S531000, C340S539230, C340S579000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06201476
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a device for monitoring the activity of a person and/or detecting a fall, in particular with a view to providing help in the event of an incident hazardous to life or limb. An incident of the above kind can be a fall suffered by the person, for example.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There currently exist networks for monitoring persons, in particular elderly persons, comprising a monitoring center able to call in helpers (qualified medical personnel, neighbors, family members, etc) in response to alarms that can be generated by the persons monitored. The latter are usually in their home which is within the coverage area of the network and can therefore, in the event of an incident, alert the monitoring center by operating an alarm button on a unit worn on the wrist or around the neck, for example. The unit contains an alarm signal generator providing a wireless connection to a home unit that transmits the signal to the monitoring center, usually via the public switched telephone network.
A problem with this type of alert procedure is that it requires the intervention of the person at risk (active alarm implying action by the wearer) with the result that if the situation is serious to the point of causing panic in the person affected, total immobilization or even total loss of consciousness, no alarm signal can be sent Furthermore, existing systems do not include any means of determining if the unit is actually being worn by the person.
An aim of the invention is to propose a device of the general type indicated hereinabove which remedies the drawbacks of prior art monitoring devices.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore consists in a device for monitoring the activity of a person and/or detecting a fall suffered by a person with a view in particular to summoning help in the event of an incident hazardous to life or limb, the device being adapted to be worn by the person and including means for transmitting a danger signal to a remote monitoring center, the device further including:
means for generating acceleration, speed and/or position signals representative of the behavior and/or the spatial attitude of the person,
means for establishing a probability factor representative of the probability that a risk is present from how the acceleration, speed and position signals change with time; and
means for triggering in accordance with the value of the probability factor an alarm generator capable of causing the danger signal to be transmitted to the center.
The monitoring device preferably further includes means for monitoring the activity of the person.
As a result of the above features, although intentional action remains possible, the monitored person does not need to be involved in the procedure of alerting the monitoring center, which constitutes an evident safety improvement.
The features stated hereinabove enable other advantageous features to be provided for facilitating analysis of the risk situation by the monitoring personnel. The invention thus makes it possible to examine sudden changes in the behavior of a monitored person and therefore to deduce very quickly from the signals transmitted to the monitoring center which personnel, what type of help, which equipment, etc is needed to provide affective assistance to the person at risk.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description given by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5045839 (1991-09-01), Ellis et al.
patent: 5652570 (1997-07-01), Lepkofker
patent: 5670944 (1997-09-01), Myllymaki
patent: 5853005 (1998-12-01), Scanlon
patent: 5940004 (1999-08-01), Fulton
Depeursinge Yves
El-Khoury Mario
Krauss Jens
CSEM-Centre Suisse d'Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A.
Nguyen Hung
Wu Daniel J.
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