DE29521401U1 - Communication device - Google Patents

Description

Dr. Johannes Bohnenberger, Dipl.-Ing., Munich Volkmar Kruspig, Dipl.-Ing., Munich Fritz Endlich, Dipl.-Phys., Munich Kay Rupprecht, Dipl.-Ing., Munich Dr. Claus Reinländer, Dipl.-Ing., Munich Dr. Reinhard Kockläuner, Dipl.-Chem., Munich Meissner, Bolte & Partner · PO Box 860624 ■ D-81633 Munich _{Hans Melssner)} Dipl.-Ing. (until 1980), Bremen

Erich Bolte, Dipl.-Ing., Bremen Friedrich Möller, Dipl.-Ing., Bremen Karsten Heiland, Dipl.-Ing., Bremen

Applicant:

IWN Elektronik GmbH Attorneys at Law

Am We i de g rund 10 Dr. Peter Schade, Munich (Ott)

82194 GrÖbenzell Franz Schaible, Munich (Ott)

Dr. Frank Dettmann, Bremen Michael Grau (notary), Berlin

ADDRESS: Widenmayerstraße 48

D-80538 Munich Phone: (089) 222631

P.O.Box860624 Telex: 5213222 epo d D-81633 Munich Fax: (0 89) 221721

Your reference Our reference Date

Yourref. Ourref. Date

M/IWN-Oll-DE/G 19 December 1996

KR/ka/kh/ef

Communication facility

Description

The invention relates to a communication device according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

There are currently around 500,000 to 700,000 physically disabled people living in Germany who are wheelchair users or reliant on the daily use of a motor vehicle due to their disability. The use of motor vehicles is an essential prerequisite for the integration of this population group, which is disadvantaged due to its disability. It is therefore necessary to adapt the services offered in connection with the use and servicing of motor vehicles to this population group.

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For example, the current expansion of self-service filling stations is an extraordinary problem for disabled people, as they are generally unable to get out of the vehicle and fill up the tank, check the oil level or check the tire pressure without outside help.

In this case, the only option left for the user of the vehicle is to draw attention to themselves by honking, for example, and to request help from third parties. However, such communication is also psychologically stressful and unpleasant for the disabled person, as the attempt to make contact is often misunderstood.

To solve this problem, it has already been proposed to equip disabled vehicles with portable radio telephones and then use them to provide assistance.

However, this is unsatisfactory for cost reasons, and in most cases it would be necessary to modify or convert the control unit, i.e. the headset, to meet the ergonomic requirements of disabled people. It is also extremely time-consuming, for example, to find out the telephone number and the corresponding area code at a gas station in order to then request help.

Further problems arise when communicating in public institutions, such as public administrations, banks and the like, since there too the disabled person does not have the opportunity to draw attention to his need for assistance in a simple, neutral and unobtrusive way.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a communication device, consisting of at least one transmitter and at least one receiver for wireless information exchange

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to propose a communication device that is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to use and is also suitable for requesting help from third parties for disabled people in an unobtrusive and as neutral a manner as possible. 5

The object of the invention is achieved with the features of patent claim 1, wherein the subclaims comprise at least expedient embodiments and further developments of the basic idea of the invention.

The basic idea of the invention is to propose a communication device that is specifically designed to support the physically disabled, whereby a defined call signal can be emitted by means of a transmitter in a simple manner by pressing a button and whereby the type and location of the desired assistance can be determined by means of a receiver based on the specific call signal. The keyboard or the input unit of the transmitter is adapted to the ergonomic requirements of a wide range of disability cases.

Another basic idea of the invention is to provide the communication device for use at self-service filling stations. In this case, the transmitter of the communication device is detachably attached to the disabled vehicle, and the help signal can be triggered after entering a specially marked or otherwise marked filling station lane.

In this case, the transmitter only needs to have an extremely short range; therefore, only low radio frequency power or low energy is required for inductive or infrared message transmission.

A query is not necessary with the communication device according to the invention, since by means of specially trained

Receiver, &zgr;. B. channel-selectively recognizes in which of the gas station lanes or at which gas station pump the person seeking help is located. This is particularly advantageous when, as is usual at modern large gas stations, up to twelve lanes with a large number of pumps are arranged and visual contact between the cash desk or the service room and the pumps is very limited.

Thanks to the simple one-way communication and a coded, channel-selective information transfer between transmitter and receiver, the communication device can be manufactured extremely cost-effectively and vehicles and petrol stations for the disabled can be retrofitted without great effort.

It is within the scope of the invention that public facilities such as public administrations, banks, theaters, educational institutions and the like are also equipped with the described receivers, so that a disabled person is also able to request help from third parties in a simple way. For this case, the transmitter of the communication device is manufactured in a handheld version and is powered by a battery.

It is also possible to equip wheelchairs with such a transmitter or to arrange a holder on the wheelchair into which the transmitter can be plugged or fixed.

The basic idea of the portable, mobile design of the communication device transmitter avoids the need for the disabled person to purchase several such devices. In addition, the request for help can be confirmed back to the person seeking help.

The invention will be explained in more detail below using an embodiment.

In one embodiment of the invention, the transmitter of the communication device is battery-operated and is installed in a holder, for example near the steering wheel in the disabled vehicle. The power supply is provided during operation of the motor vehicle via the vehicle's electrical system, for example using the cigarette lighter connection.

In this embodiment, the transmitter is portable, i.e. removable, so that it can also be carried by the disabled person outside of the vehicle. The transmitter has a keyboard or input unit with a few large keys that are easy to operate even with a severe physical disability. The keypad is also illuminated in the dark.

Alternatively, it is possible to equip the transmitter with an input unit so that it can also be operated with the mouth, e.g. like a joystick.

The buttons on the transmitter's input unit are assigned special functions or commands to be transmitted, which can, for example, be transmitted in coded form or sent on different channels and can be received and displayed by the receiver of the communication device.

The receiver therefore has an optical and/or acoustic display device, for example an LCD or LED display and a piezoelectric buzzer.

In the embodiment of using the communication device in the motor vehicle at self-service filling stations

The receiver is located in the checkout or service area of the petrol station.

When a disabled driver drives into the petrol station, he either activates the transmitter using a numeric keypad so that the petrol pump he has driven to and the type of assistance is displayed on the receiver.

Alternatively, self-service petrol stations may have certain lanes marked at their entrances, with at least one selected pump reserved specifically for wheelchair users. In this case, the input operation or the input unit itself can be simplified, as only one button needs to be pressed to enter the respective lane.

Another button is provided to indicate a higher-level request for help. The help signal received can be confirmed by the gas station attendant, for example. This confirmation, which works together with an optical display in a receiver part of the communication device, for example, enables the person seeking help to see whether the call for help was received correctly and that help is imminent.

By selling the communication device transmitters only to disabled people and, if necessary, using specially designed coding, it is impossible for third parties to own or operate such devices.

0 In a further embodiment, the transmitter of the communication device is designed so that it can be carried and used by disabled people outside the vehicle. For example, the transmitter can be attached to the wheelchair and carried when visiting a public administration office, for example. If, in this example, a corresponding receiver is provided there, the

Disabled people should discreetly announce their arrival and express their request for help, e.g. to climb stairs or open doors.

The transmitter with acknowledgement receiver can be designed as a handheld device, which can be worn hanging around the neck with a cord or similar. In this version, the cord is connected to an emergency switch for issuing an urgent request for help. The emergency signal can be triggered with a short, strong pulling movement.

When the above-mentioned buttons on the handheld transmitter are pressed, a signal tone is emitted, as well as a brief activation of existing optical displays, e.g. in the form of LEDs, and the transmission sequence is sent. If the locally arranged receiving station has correctly received the transmitted transmission sequence and recognized it as information, in another embodiment the receiving station automatically sends a confirmation signal, which is received by the receiver in the handheld transmitter and visually displayed with a flashing signal. After a person willing to provide assistance has recognized the type of assistance on the display of the receiving station, this is confirmed with an acknowledgement button and transmitted to the handheld transmitter. If no manual acknowledgement is made after a specified period of time, the information sent and displayed in the receiving station is deleted. The station is then ready to receive a new message.

In a further embodiment, the transmitter is provided with a voice input module so that even if the disabled person is not able to use a keyboard, commands can be entered and recognized, processed and transmitted accordingly by the transmitter.

Claims (9)

Protection claims 1. Communication device consisting of at least one transmitter and at least one receiver for wireless information exchange, characterized by the use for assisting the physically handicapped, in particular for generating a call signal with determination of the type and location of the desired assistance, whereby the transmitter has a keyboard or similar input unit and individual keys or similar commands or functions are assigned, which, if necessary encrypted, are transmitted to the receiver and displayed there acoustically and/or visually, so that the type and location of the desired assistance can be determined without additional inquiry. —2— 2. Communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that that the transmitter has at least two large, preferably push buttons, whereby when the buttons are pressed a predetermined, different, possibly encrypted or coded pulse sequence is transmitted to the receiver and is displayed visually and/or acoustically on a display unit after demodulation and possibly decoding. 10 3. Communication device according to claim 1, characterized in that the transmitter is designed as a portable, buffered battery or accumulator-operated device. 15 4. Communication device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the transmitter is designed for installation in a disabled vehicle 0. 5. Communication device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the receiver is arranged in the cash desk or service room of a gas station. 6. Communication device according to one of the preceding claims, 0 characterized by that the pump number and/or a selected fuel lane as well as the request for assistance are entered using the input unit and transmitted to the cash desk or service room and displayed. 35 7. Communication device according to one of the preceding claims, marked by -3- an automatic confirmation of a correctly received transmission sequence and a manually triggered, wireless acknowledgement of the request for assistance recognized by the receiver. 8. Communication device according to one of claims 1 to 3, marked by the arrangement of receivers in public facilities, such as public administrations, banks, theaters, educational institutions, restaurants, department stores, etc., as a service call system to indicate the type and/or location of a request for assistance from a physically disabled person. 9. Communication device according to one of the preceding claims, marked by coded, hand-selective information transfer between sender and receiver.