Compu-TTY KA300TX Uživatelský manuál stáhnout pdf (Strana 17)

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7,170,404

B2

1

ACOUSTIC

ALERT

COMMUNICATION

SYSTEM

WITH

ENHANCED

SIGNAL

TO

NOISE

CAPABILITIES

This

application

is

a

continuation-in-part

of

application

Ser.

No.

10/897,488

?led

Jul.

23,

2004.

BACKGROUND

OF

THE

INVENTION

This

invention

relates

generally

to

sound

monitoring

methods,

systems

and

devices

useful

in

the

home

to

enhance

personal

safety

and

to

provide

health

monitoring.

Hazards

people

try

to

avoid

at

their

homes

and

Workplaces

include

damaging

?res

and

unWanted

intruders

such

as

burglars.

These

haZards

cannot

alWays

be

avoided,

but

damage

from

them

can

be

limited

if

prompt

noti?cation

is

given

When

they

occur.

At

least

one

embodiment

of

this

invention

relates

more

particularly

to

methods,

systems

and

devices

that

provide

an enhanced

alarm

and

means

of

Waking

children

and

the

hearing

impaired

including

the

elderly

in

response

to

an

emergency

such

as

a

?re.

In

other

embodiments

the

invention

provides

safety

and

security

monitoring

and

acoustic

alerting

systems

having

improved

alert

signaling,

detection

and

identi?cation

capabilities.

In

yet

other

embodiments

the

invention

provides

health

monitoring

for

a

large

number

of

chronic

diseases.

Each

of

these

areas,

including

systems

using

a

personal

computer,

is

discussed

beloW.

Smoke

Alarm

The

annual

“cost”

of

residential

?res

in

the

US.

includes

billions

of

dollars

of

property

damage,

and

thousands

of

deaths

and

life-threatening

injuries.

This occurs

even though

there

are

smoke

alarms

in

most

of

the

US.

households

and

small

businesses.

The

annual

death

rate

is

heavily

biased

toWard

the

young

and

the

old.

It

is

noW

understood

that

the

audio

alarm

used

in

standard

smoke

detectors

is

simply

not

alWays

e?‘ective

for

aWaken

ing

children.

Many

children

under

the

age

of

13

sleep

so

soundly,

especially

in

the

?rst

tWo

hours

of

sleep,

that

a

smoke

alarm

may

not

be

loud

enough

to

Wake

them.

Smoke

detectors

have an

intensity

of

about

80

decibels

and

studies

have

shoWn

that

in

deep

sleep,

only

one

in

20

children

Will

aWaken

to

a

sound

of 120

decibels.

Deaf

and

elderly

people

With

hearing

impairments,

and

anyone

Who

Wears

or

needs

a

hearing

aid,

are

at

a

signi?

cantly

increased

risk

of

not

aWakening

to

the

smoke

alarm

sounds.

In

fact,

most

smoke

alarms

produce

their

audio

alert

in

the 3

to

4

KHZ

range

Which

is

in

the

Zone

of

age-related

hearing

de?cits.

The

problem

is

compounded

by

the

fact

that

many

resi

dences

have

smoke

detectors

outside

of

bedrooms.

This

is

actually

recommended

to

provide

as

early

a

Warning

as

possible.

For

example,

by

the

time

a

?re

reaches

a

bedroom

and

a

sleeping

resident

is

aWakened

by

an

in-room

detector,

the

?re

may

be

Widespread

making

it

too

late

to

escape.

(This

problem

can

be

avoided

in

neW

construction

Where

communicating

Wired

or

Wireless

smoke

detectors are

designed

so

that

When

any

one

alarm

sounds,

they

all

sound,

and

they

can

therefore

be

placed

both

in

and

outside

bed

rooms.)

Additionally,

?re

experts

suggest

that

bedroom

doors

be

closed

at

night

to

act

as

functional

?re

and

smoke

barriers

Which

can

provide

an

extra

margin

of

escape

time.

This

sounds

good

but

it

presents

a

serious

physics

problem.

Sound,

like

other

radiated

energy

(e.g.,

heat

and

light),

obeys

the

Inverse

PoWer

LaW.

The

Inverse

PoWer

LaW

means

that

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

60

65

2

the

sound

intensity

decreases

proportionately

to

the

square

of

the

distance

from

the

source.

So,

for

example,

a

typical

85

dB

smoke

detector

signal

that

must

pass

through

a

Wall

or

closed

door

and

traverse

the

distance

across

and

doWn

to

a

sleeping

child

or

adult

is

greatly

diminished

in

intensity,

thereby

also

diminishing

the

chance

to

Wake

a

child

or

hearing

impaired

adult.

The

KidSmartTM

smoke

detector

addresses

this

problem

by

having

a

detector

above

the

child’s

bed

and

utiliZing

a

doWnWard,

directional

speaker

to

try

to

increase

the

sound

intensity

at

the

child.

While

this

improves

the

chances

of

Waking

the

child,

using

in-bedroom

smoke

detectors

to

deliver

a

louder

alert

due

to

proximity

is

also

not

desirable,

as

discussed

above,

because

there

must

be

smoke

present

in

the

room

prior

to

the

alarm’s

sounding,

thus

reducing

the

time

available

for

escape.

Remote

monitoring

of

smoke

detectors

is

also

available

With

specialiZed

?re

detection

systems

and

With

most

secu

rity

systems,

but

it

is

expensive

and

therefore

not

generally

used

for

middle

and loW income

housing

including

single

family

and

multi-family

buildings.

There

is

a

need

for

enhanced

?re

alarms

that

are

more

e?‘ective

for

Waking

sleeping

children,

the

elderly

and

the

hearing

impaired,

as

Well

as

a

need

for

simple

and

inexpen

sive

monitoring

of

home

?re

alarms.

Safety

and

Security

Monitors

When

individuals

are

alone

or

sleeping,

they

can

feel

especially

vulnerable.

For

example,

most

burglaries

occur

at

night

When

people

are

sleeping.

Elderly

and

handicapped

people

living

alone

can

fall

or

have an

accident

and

not

get

assistance

for

extended

periods

of

time.

“Latch-key”

chil

dren

can

have an

accident

on

the

Way

home

from

school

and

it

may

go

unnoticed

until after

the

parents

get

home

from

Work.

Not

only

are

these

situations

dangerous,

but

the

potential

for

such

situations

also

causes

signi?cant

anxiety.

To

reduce

the

dangers

and

relieve

some

of

the

related

anxiety,

a

number

of

home

security

systems

have

been

brought

to

the

market.

Some

of

these

systems

include

motion

detectors

that

attempt

to

di?ferentiate

betWeen

humans

and

pets,

glass-break

detectors,

door

and

WindoW

contacts,

and

even

video

surveillance

cameras.

Also,

Wire

less

pendant

security

transmitters

are

marketed

to

alloW

the

elderly,

in

a

sudden

emergency

event

such

as

a

fall

or a heart

attack,

to

simply

push

a

button

to

notify

emergency

help.

These

types

of

electronic

instruments

and

associated

moni

toring

services

can

be

quite

expensive,

so

there

is

a

need

for

monitoring

services

that

are

readily

available

to

middle

and

loWer

income

levels.

Additionally,

monitoring

services

are

not

generally

avail

able

for

Working

parents

checking

on

their

school

children.

Parents

often

require

their

children

to

call,

e-mail

or

instant

message

them

at

Work

once

they

get

home

from

school,

and

this

is

very

helpful.

HoWever,

it

Would

be

preferable

to

automatically

notify

the

parent

When

the

situation

occurs;

there

is

consumer

demand

and

a

real

need

for

such

a

noti?cation

system.

Health

Monitor

The

long-term

value

of

disease

management

is

noW

becoming

clear,

especially

for

people

Who

have

one

or

more

chronic

conditions

or

diseases.

Disease

management

pro

grams

designed

to

get

the

optimum

treatment

to

the

patient

as

early

as

possible

can

improve

health

care

quality

as

Well

as

save

costs.

Such

program

advantages

apply

to

both

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