Child seat monitoring system for a vehicle and associated methods
A child seat monitoring system includes an OBD dongle that the plugs into an OBD port within the vehicle, and a child safety clip carried by the child seat. The OBD dongle and the child safety clip include Bluetooth modules paired with one another. A parent mobile phone is carried by an occupant of the vehicle and includes a Bluetooth module paired with the Bluetooth modules in the OBD dongle and the child safety clip. The parent mobile phone periodically transmits status messages to a backend server. The backend server analyzes the received status messages based on alert generation rules, and generates an alert in response to a measured temperature value within the vehicle exceeding a threshold, and the parent mobile phone is no longer in proximity to the vehicle while a child is still secured in a child seat. Alerts are transmitted by the backend server to mobile phones identified in a contact list.
1 . A child seat monitoring system for a vehicle with a child seat for carrying a child, comprising:
an on-board diagnostics (OBD) dongle configured to plug into an OBD port within the vehicle, and comprising a first Bluetooth module and a first thermistor configured to measure temperature within the vehicle;
a child safety clip to be carried by the child seat and having a device identification (ID) associated therewith, and comprising a second Bluetooth module paired with the first Bluetooth module, and a second thermistor configured to measure the temperature within the vehicle;
a parent mobile phone to be carried by an occupant of the vehicle and comprising a third Bluetooth module paired with the first and second Bluetooth modules and configured to periodically receive measured temperature values from the first and second thermistors, and a transceiver configured to periodically transmit status messages that include the received measured temperature values, the device ID and a location of the parent mobile phone; and
a backend server configured to periodically receive from the parent mobile phone the status messages, and comprising:
a database configured to store device IDs, alert generation rules associated with each device ID, and a contact list associated with each device ID, and
a processor coupled to the database and configured to perform the following:
analyze the received status messages based on the alert generation rules,
generate an alert in response to at least one of the following:
one of the measured temperature values in the status messages exceeds a threshold, and
the parent mobile phone is no longer in proximity to the child safety clip in order to periodically receive the measured temperature values from the first and second thermistors while the child remains in the child seat, and
a transceiver coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the alert to mobile phones identified in the contact list.
2 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein the parent mobile phone is configured to execute a child seat safety app that directs the status messages to the backend server, with the alert generation rules and the contact list being provided to the backend server via the child seat safety app.
3 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein a first one of the status messages includes a start monitoring command in response to the child safety clip initially communicating with the parent mobile phone indicating that the child is in the child seat.
4 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein a last one of the status messages includes a stop monitoring command in response to the child safety clip stopping communications with the parent mobile phone indicating that the child has been removed from the child seat.
5 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein the contact list includes phone numbers of the parent mobile device and at least one guardian mobile device, and wherein the backend server is configured to transmit the alerts to each of the phone numbers in the contact list.
6 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 5 wherein the alert comprises a text message that includes a last known location provided by the parent mobile phone.
7 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein in response to the OBD dongle and the child safety clip being in proximity to each other but not in proximity to the parent mobile phone, the OBD dongle is configured to perform the following:
transmit a Bluetooth beacon with the device ID of the child seat clip for reception by a nearby mobile phone in proximity to the vehicle, wherein the nearby mobile phone automatically relays the Bluetooth beacon with the device ID and a location of the nearby mobile phone to the backend server.
8 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 7 wherein the backend server is configured to generate and transmit the alert in response to receiving the relayed Bluetooth beacon.
9 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 7 wherein the alert comprises a text message that includes a last known location provided by the nearby mobile phone.
10 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein the parent mobile phone communicates with the backend server via a cellular network, and wherein the OBD dongle comprises a wireless chipset configured to communicate with the backend server via a mesh network that is separate from the cellular network, with the wireless chipset periodically transmitting secondary status messages that include the device ID of the child safety clip, temperature measured by the first thermistor, vehicle state information and vehicle location.
11 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 10 wherein the OBD port is coupled to a controller area network (CAN) bus within the vehicle, and wherein the backend server is configured to send vehicle commands to the OBD dongle to change the vehicle state.
12 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 11 wherein the vehicle state includes an on/off state of an air condition system within the vehicle, and wherein the vehicle commands include turning on the air conditioning system.
13 . The child seat monitoring system according to claim 1 wherein the child safety clip comprises first and second housing portions configured to be clipped together when the child is secured in the child seat and unclipped when the child has been removed from the child seat, and wherein the child safety clip communicates with the OBD dongle and the parent mobile phone in response to the child safety clip being clipped together, and stops communicating with the OBD dongle and the parent mobile phone in response to the child safety clip not being clipped together.
14 . A method for operating a child seat monitoring system for a vehicle with a child seat for carrying a child, comprising:
plugging an on-board diagnostics (OBD) dongle into an OBD port within the vehicle, the OBD dongle comprising a first Bluetooth module and a first thermistor configured to measure temperature within the vehicle;
securing a child safety clip to the child seat, the child safety clip having a device identification (ID) associated therewith, and comprising a second Bluetooth module paired with the first Bluetooth module, and a second thermistor configured to measure the temperature within the vehicle;
operating a parent mobile phone to be carried by an occupant of the vehicle, the parent mobile phone comprising a third Bluetooth module paired with the first and second Bluetooth modules and configured to periodically receive measured temperature values from the first and second thermistors, and a transceiver configured to periodically transmit status messages that include the received measured temperature values, the device ID and a location of the parent mobile phone; and
providing a backend server configured to periodically receive from the parent mobile phone the status messages, the backend server comprising a database, a processor and a transceiver, and operating the backend server to perform the following steps:
storing in the database device IDs, alert generation rules associated with each device ID, and a contact list associated with each device ID,
operating the processor to perform the following:
analyze the received status messages based on the alert generation rules,
generate an alert in response to at least one of the following:
one of the measured temperature values in the status messages exceeds a threshold, and
the parent mobile phone is no longer in proximity to the child safety clip in order to periodically receive the measured temperature values from the first and second thermistors while the child remains in the child seat, and
operating the transceiver to transmit the alert to mobile phones identified in the contact list.