Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-21
2001-09-25
Wu, Daniel J. (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S539230, C340S690000, C340S628000, C340S870030, C073S170160, C073S384000, C702S003000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295001
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to the field of tornado and severe warning systems and, more particularly, to a dedicated pager system for providing tornado and severe weather alerts, as well as a method of providing a distributed warning signal on a county-by-county basis (or other geographically defined grid system, such as a five mile by five mile grid system) using a paging system. As used herein, the term “grid block” refers to either a square or rectangular area based on latitude and longitude.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Tone activated alert receivers are well known and are regularly used by emergency agencies including fire, police, ambulance, and rescue services. The National Weather Service (NWS) transmits an alert signal to activate commonly available weather alert receivers to warn of impending severe and potentially life threatening weather such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, flash floods, blizzards and others. Known receivers can be set to issue a siren, flash a warning light, and/or announce the voice weather alert message in response to receiving and decoding an alert signal.
The National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as other emergency agencies, broadcasts a digital code as a header preceding each alert message. This digital header usually contains the type of warning, the effective time and expiration time of the warning and the areas effected.
Such an alert message is commonly referred to as a Mass News Disseminator. An example of such a Mass News Disseminator is as follows:
RDUTORMHX
TTAA00 MKHX 061730
NCC013-147-061815-
The text “NCC013-147” represents the North Carolina county codes for Pitt and Beaufort Counties, i.e., the warned area. Further, each transmission includes a CAP code which distinguishes between various weather phenomena announced by the NWS. For example, a tornado receives a different CAP code than a severe weather warning.
Although the type of the warning can be obtained through decoding the header, it has been found that most of the effected public doesn't feel a compelling need for all of the information contained in the alert message, or even all the information contained in just the header. What the public wants is an alert of an impending severe weather condition, such as a tornado or severe thunderstorm, that is specifically directed to them, in sufficient time to take evasive action.
Such warnings are often extremely time critical. Warnings must automatically be received by the ultimate end user, preferably on a dedicated system that will not be interfered with by other communications channels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,852 to Gropper describes a capable system which provides an alert receiver interface. The receiver automatically detects the issuance of an emergency message broadcast on a radio channel, or on another communication system. The system records that alert message into the receiver with an audible day and time stamp for later playback. The system also provides an interface between the alert receiver and other communications systems, including paging system, whereby an alert message, or an alarm tone, is automatically relayed and repeated on the other communication system. The system also teaches selectively activating another communication system for only those alert messages of specific concern to users of the other communications system. In that mode, the alert receiver interface can be set by a user for specific needs such as to detect a fire company's alert signal on a public service radio channel and then go through the recording, day, and time stamp and playback sequences.
While the system described in the '852 patent is a very capable system, recent tragedies, such as that in Oklahoma City, indicate that a broadly available alert warning system is still badly needed. Such a system should be dedicated to a specific need, without the requirement of being selected by a user. Further, the system should eliminate the mystery of the known complex systems, and be readily acceptable in the market.
Sales figures show that consumers today readily accept pagers and smoke detectors. Consequently, an alert warning system preferably should extend the already widely accepted pager and smoke detector systems to provide an audible early warning of a tornado. Further, such a system should be specifically directed to only those areas that will be affected by the tornado or severe weather so that if an alert is received, the user knows to immediately take action.
In my previous application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,915, filed Jun. 14, 1999, warning areas were based on county lines, or portions of counties. While this system has proved very effective, there are many large and or populous counties in which many people would receive a warning signal in the previous system which did not immediately or directly effect them. This recognition lead to the present invention, in which warning areas are based on a grid system of latitude and longitude.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention teaches a method and apparatus for receiving and detecting a tornado alert from the National Weather Service, determining the region to which the alert applies, and broadcasting an alert signal to a plurality of pager receivers, all with the same sub-address, within that region. Weather alerts are commonly issued today on a county-by-county basis, and it is anticipated that advancing technology will soon permit the NWS to issue such alerts that are broken down into an even smaller area than a county, and based on a five mile by five mile latitude/longitude grid, or even smaller. The present invention anticipates such advancements within the scope of the present invention.
An object of the present invention is to create a dedicated, simple, and reliable tornado or severe weather alert system. The system is preferably housed within the same enclosure as a common smoke detector, or in an enclosure that mimics but is distinguishable from a common smoke detector.
In the system of the present invention, a monitoring station continuously monitors broadcasts from the National Weather Service. All but tornado alerts or other selected severe weather are eliminated, so that the system only selects tornado alerts which are broadcast. The system may also distinguish between tornado alerts, severe weather alerts, flash flood alerts, and other warnings from the NWS, and issue a distinctive audible or visible warning for that selected weather phenomenon.
The system next determines the region to which the alert applies, in the preferred embodiment a grid or a plurality of grids in the lat/long system. For a selected market region, the system broadcasts one, predetermined number, such as a CAP code, one CAP code per market region. In a preferred embodiment, the entire area is divided by latitude and longitude into a grid or five, two, or one mile squares, so that if one receives an alert signal, one knows that the effected area is at most five miles, two miles, or one mile away, and to take safe action immediately.
Within the region are installed a plurality of cell towers and a plurality of pager receivers, each pager receiver installed within its own previously described enclosure. Thus, the tornado or other weather alert may be received by thousands of pager receivers, each assigned the same sub-address, and all within the specified geographic market area. That way, if a pager receiver installed within the system of this invention receives a number directed to it and sub-address, the receiver may be within the region to which the tornado alert applies. The broadcast signal also includes a command code, and the command code specifically identifies the pagers within the market region to which the alert applies. The pager receiver then activates a distinctive audible and/or visible alert which is readily distinguishable from some other, non-applicable weather phenomenon or a smoke alarm.
The system of this invention is adapted to use well know pager receivers, but
Bracewell & Patterson L.L.P.
Wu Daniel J.
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