Alert system with enhanced waking capabilities
View Patent ↗Methods and systems for waking an individual to an alert condition such as smoke or a fire have greatly improved ability to wake sleeping individuals compared to conventional methods. For example, preferred waking devices include a fluid spray directed toward the head of a bed and the person sleeping in that bed. Used in conjunction with standard digital processing techniques, the systems offer greatly improved reliability and the ability to save lives.
1. A method for providing for alarm monitoring for a residence, comprising:
receiving at a monitoring service site a request to monitor a bedside alarm monitoring unit along with response instructions;
receiving at the monitoring service site a fire alarm indicating signal sent from the bedside alarm monitoring unit when the bedside unit detects an alarm, and transmitting a notification signal from the monitoring service site in response;
receiving at the monitoring service site a motion detection signal sent from the bedside alarm monitoring unit representing the occurrence of motion and, determining the probability an individual remains asleep in bed; and
transmitting an activation signal from the monitoring service site to a fluid spray waking device at the residence bedside in response to a determination that an individual likely remains in bed.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the fluid spray waking device, when activated, sprays a fluid directed at the bed.
3. The method of claim 2 wherein the fluid comprises carbon dioxide.
4. The method of claim 2 wherein the fluid is a non-toxic, nonflammable liquid.
5. The method of claim 4 wherein the nontoxic liquid is water.
6. A system for waking an individual in response to a fire alarm, comprising:
an alert mechanism for monitoring for conditions indicating a fire and adapted to trigger in response thereto;
a code generator adapted for generating a repeating sequence of two or more pseudo-random signal pulses when triggered by the alert mechanism;
a bedside unit comprising a receiver for receiving the sequence of pseudo-random signal pulses, a microprocessor utilizing software for recognizing the sequence of pseudo-random signal pulses, the bedside unit being adapted to generate a waking signal in response to the identified alarm; and
a waking device comprising a fluid spray directed at the bed and adapted to activate in response to the waking signal.
7. The system of claim 6 wherein the fluid is selected from the group consisting of carbon dioxide, air, and water.
8. The system of claim 6 wherein the pseudo-random signal pulses are selected from the group consisting of radio frequency signal pulses, acoustic signal pulses, and visible light signal pulses.
9. A home security system comprising:
a security sensor capable of triggering in response to detection of a security condition;
a code generator adapted for generating a repeating sequence of pseudo-random signal pulses when triggered by the security sensor;
a receiving system comprising a receiver, communication means, and a microprocessor utilizing software for recognizing the sequence of pseudo-random acoustic signal pulses; and
a waking device adapted to activate in response to the sequence of pseudo-random signal pulses representing a security condition, and, when activated, to eject a fluid spray directed at a bed for waking an individual asleep in the bed.
10. The home security system of claim of 9 comprising two or more security sensors, at least one of which detects a fire-indicating security condition, each sensor capable of triggering a separate code generator, and wherein each code generator is adapted to generate a repeating sequence of pseudo-random signal pulses that is measurably distinct from the other sequence(s) of pseudo-random signal pulses.
11. The home security system of claim 9 wherein the pseudo-random signal pulses are selected from the group consisting of radio frequency signal pulses, acoustic signal pulses, infrared signal pulses, and visible light signal pulses.
12. The home security system of claim 9 wherein the fluid is selected from the group consisting of carbon dioxide, air, and water.