User-configurable person detection system, method and apparatus

1. An apparatus for configuring a dwell time of the apparatus, comprising:

a detector for detecting a presence of a person in an area;

a memory for storing processor-executable instructions and the dwell time;

a transceiver for sending and receiving wireless signals;

a processor coupled to the detector, the memory and the transceiver, for executing the processor-executable instructions that causes the apparatus to:

receive, by the processor via the transceiver, a command from a remote device to change the dwell time, the command comprising a new dwell time;

in response to receiving the command from the remote device to change the dwell time, store, by the processor, the new dwell time in the memory;

determine, by the processor via the detector, the presence of the person in the area; and

in response to the processor determining the presence of the person in the area, determine, by the processor, that an elapsed time between the processor determining the presence of the person in the area and a time since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area is greater than the new dwell time and, when the processor determines that the elapsed time is greater than the dwell time, transmit, by the processor via the transceiver, a new signal indicative of the presence of the person in the area;

wherein the detector comprises at least one of an ultrasonic, an infra-red, and a thermal sensor.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor-executable instructions comprise further instructions that cause the apparatus to: determine, by the processor, that a time less than the dwell time has elapsed since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area; and when the processor determines that a time less than the dwell time has elapsed since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area, refrain, by the processor, from transmitting the new signal indicative of the presence of the person in the area.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the new dwell time comprises an instruction to increase or decrease the dwell time by a predetermined amount.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the new dwell time comprises a time period.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the processor-executable instructions comprise further instructions that cause the apparatus to: compare, by the processor, the time period to an upper dwell time threshold; determine, by the processor, that the time period exceeds the upper dwell time threshold; and transmit, by the processor via the transceiver, an error message to the remote device when the processor determines that the time period exceeds the upper dwell time threshold.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor-executable instructions comprise further instructions that cause the apparatus to: measure, by the processor, a remaining battery life of a battery used to power the apparatus; and transmit, by the processor via the transceiver, the remaining battery life to the remote device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein measuring and transmitting the remaining battery life is performed by the processor in response to receiving the new dwell time.

8. A method for configuring a dwell time of a person detection device, comprising:

receiving, by a processor via a transceiver, a command from a remote device to change the dwell time of the person detection device, the command comprising a new dwell time;

in response to receiving the command from the remote device to change the dwell time, storing the new dwell time in the memory;

determining, by the processor via a detector, the presence of a person in an area monitored by the person detection device; and

in response to the processor determining the presence of the person in the area monitored by the person detection device, determining, by the processor, that an elapsed time between the processor determining the presence of the person in the area and a time since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area is greater than the new dwell time and, when the processor determines that the elapsed time is greater than the dwell time, transmitting, by the processor via the transceiver, a new signal indicative of the presence of the person in the area;

wherein the person detection device comprises at least one of an ultrasonic, an infra-red, and a thermal sensor.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: determining, by the processor, that a time less than the new dwell time has elapsed since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area; and when the processor determines that a time less than the dwell time has elapsed since the transceiver previously transmitted a signal indicative of the presence of a person in the area, refraining, by the processor, from transmitting the new signal indicative of the presence of the person in the area.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the new dwell time comprises an instruction to increase or decrease the dwell time by a predetermined amount.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the new dwell time comprises a time period.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising: comparing, by the processor, the time period to an upper dwell time threshold; determining, by the processor, that the time period exceeds the upper dwell time threshold; and transmitting, by the processor via the transceiver, an error message to the remote device when the processor determines that the time period exceeds the upper dwell time threshold.

13. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: measuring, by the processor, a remaining battery life of a battery used to power the apparatus; and transmitting, by the processor via the transceiver, the remaining battery life to the remote device.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein measuring and transmitting the remaining battery life is performed by the processor in response to receiving the new dwell time.