EP4714138A1

EP4714138A1 - Apparatus, method and system for communicating with first responder equipment

Info

Publication number: EP4714138A1
Application number: EP24806734.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Joshua N. BURNHEIMER; Richard J. SABACINSKI
Original assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Co
Current assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Co
Priority date: 2023-05-18
Filing date: 2024-04-25
Publication date: 2026-03-25
Also published as: WO2024236386A1

Abstract

An apparatus, method, and system for communication between a wireless beacon and first responder equipment. The communication may include passively downloading first responder equipment data from the first responder equipment, and/or causing the first responder equipment to broadcast a locator indication.

Description

APPARATUS, METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR COMMUNICATING WITH FIRST RESPONDER EQUIPMENT

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to communication between a wireless beacon and first responder equipment; to passive recording, storing, and uploading of first responder equipment data from first responder equipment to a cloud-based server via a wireless beacon and base station; and to related technologies and operations.

BACKGROUND

A first responder’s equipment, such as a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), may contain a data log, which may be referred to as “black-box data,” intended to record and store equipment data which provides details, e.g., to an investigator, for assisting in recreating the sequence of events in the case of a serious injury or deadly accident occurring while the first responder was using/wearing the equipment. For example, in some existing systems, a first responder equipment may be configured to store a rolling amount (e.g., 30 hours) of equipment data. Such equipment may have a limited amount of on-device storage space (e.g., may only have enough memory for storing a maximum of 30 hours’ worth of equipment data), and thus, once the storage space is full, any additional equipment data may be discarded or may overwrite the previously stored equipment data, which may result in valuable equipment data being lost and unavailable for later accident-recreation.

Existing accident recreation systems may be configured to download/upload/transfer such equipment data from a first responder’s equipment to another device (e.g., a computer terminal), for example, by manually switching the first responder equipment into a programming/pairing mode, by manually connecting the first responder equipment to the other device, using a software solution/interface, using hard-wired cables, etc., which require that the user actively request/perform a transfer of such equipment data. Further, in existing systems, such equipment data may be significant in size, and may take a significant amount of time (e.g., more than 10 minutes) for the data transfer, and/or such transferring may require a plurality of sessions (e.g., a session may be defined as the time between when a first responder equipment is powered on until the time it has been powered off again).

Over time, additional ‘events’ may be added to the first responder equipment data log, such as remaining air pressure, physiological data such as the user’s breathing rate at defined intervals, etc. This data may be used by a first responder’s employer or organization (e.g., a fire department) for various analyses, such as ensuring that the first responder equipment has been properly checked every day (e.g., which could be determined by data showing the equipment being powered on and then powered off), identifying incidents where the equipment was worn, validating that the equipment has been checked/inspected, analyzing user biometrics, performing accident recreation analysis, etc. Existing systems may record such data in local memory, e.g., as an equipment data log (e.g., a “black box”), and there may be limited storage space in the first responder equipment for such equipment data. Further, such existing systems may require that the user manually, intentionally, proactively, etc. transfer the equipment data to another device, and may require such user intervention on a regular basis (e.g., every day, after each use, etc.), for example, to prevent equipment data from being overwritten or discarded (e.g., due to the limited storage space of first responder equipment). Existing systems thus require the first responder to actively and periodically upload the stored equipment data, which may require additional first responder time/training, may increase the possibility of human error, and may increase the likelihood that the equipment data will not be properly or completely uploaded (e.g., the first responder forgets or does not have sufficient time to execute the equipment data transfer procedure, the first responder does not execute the procedure properly, etc.). If the equipment data is not properly and regularly uploaded, some data may be discarded and/or overwritten, and therefore not available for further analysis and record keeping. Further, existing systems may lack the ability to efficiently transfer such data from multiple first responders’ equipment in different locations to a central database.

Further, the first responder/user’s employer may wish to ensure that first responder equipment is being regularly inspected, e.g., at defined intervals (daily, weekly, etc.), to ensure the equipment is in working order when needed, and may wish to prevent errors, gaps, inconsistencies, etc. in the inspection records. Such errors/gaps/inconsistencies/etc. may be caused, e.g., by users/administrators/first responders/etc. being unable to perform the inspections, such as during a mass casualty incident (e.g., mass shootings), major incidents (e.g., wildfires in residential areas, a chemical plant explosion, a truck/train accident in an urban area releasing toxic gas, etc.), etc. Such users/administrators/first responders may need to urgently utilize first responder equipment in such scenarios without sufficient time/manpower/etc. to perform such inspection, requiring that such inspection be delayed until later. Similarly, users, administrators, or first responders may be in the process of inspecting such equipment and may then be called away, may be distracted, etc., before being able to complete the inspection procedure. Existing systems, however, may not be configurable for such analysis, validation, or error/gap/inconsistency/etc. prevention. For example, existing systems may provide the user with a form (e.g., in a hand-written notebook) in which to mark that the first responder equipment has been inspected per protocol, but such existing systems may be subject to errors/gaps/inconsistencies/etc.. For example, a user may manually mark that the first responder equipment was inspected without the user actually powering on the equipment. As another example, the first responder equipment may locally record each instance of power on/power off, but, as discussed above, the user may intentionally or unintentionally neglect to upload such data to a central database and/or such data may become overwritten if not uploaded regularly. SUMMARY

The present disclosure addresses various shortcomings of the existing systems described above. For example, as described herein, the first responder equipment maintains, stores, protects, encrypts, authenticates, and/or validates equipment data. The first responder equipment may be configured to prevent the user from intentionally or unintentionally modifying or deleting the equipment data, to prevent the user from recording false inspection information, and/or to prevent the equipment data from being lost/overwritten prior to the data being uploaded to a remote server, as described herein. The first responder equipment, in communication with a beacon and/or a base station, may be configured to automatically, autonomously, passively, and/or periodically upload the recorded equipment data, e.g., via the beacon and/or base station, to a remote server, e.g., a cloud-based computer and/or database. The first responder equipment may be configured to appear in an “off’ state until the passive equipment data upload process is complete. The user equipment and/or beacon may be configured to determine when and where to autonomously perform the equipment data upload procedure. The first responder equipment and beacon may be configured so that the equipment data upload procedure can be triggered by the first responder equipment and the beacon coming into wireless communication range with each other after being out of wireless communication range with each other; this may be caused by movement of the first responder equipment, movement of the beacon, or both.

Further, the data collected/recorded/stored on the first responder equipment may be recorded over time and used for broader analysis, e.g., regarding the device and/or the user. To be used for broader analysis, multiple data sets from multiple equipment may be collected and stored in a cloudbased database which may be remotely accessible via a public internet connection.

The first responder equipment and the beacon may be configured so that the beacon can send an inquiry signal which, if received by the first responder equipment, can cause the first responder equipment to broadcast a locator notification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of embodiments described herein, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of various devices and components according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a first responder equipment, a beacon, a base station, and a remote server, according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process in a first responder equipment according to some embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a beacon according to some embodiments of the present invention; and FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in a system according to some embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail various exemplary embodiments, it is noted that some embodiments may reside at least on part in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to communication between a beacon and first responder equipment, e.g. to passive downloading of first responder equipment data. Accordingly, the system and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

The term “equipment data” as used herein may include any data or information generated by, collected by, and/or recorded by first responder equipment, including, for example, usage data (e.g., each instance in which the device is turned on or off), sensor data, location data, environmental data, temperature data, audio/visual data, movement/acceleration data, health/biometric data, configuration data, battery/power data, status/condition data, alert/notification data, failure/error data, user identification data, etc. Such data broadly encompasses, for example, data that relates to the status or operating condition of the equipment itself (including e.g. the ability of the equipment to perform various functions, to communicate with other entities, etc.) and data that relates to the condition or health of a person using the equipment.

Referring now to the drawing figures, in which like reference designators refer to like elements, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a system 10 in which each of one or more first responders 12a-n (collectively, first responders 12) is associable with (e.g., wears, holds, is equipped with, is assigned by an administrator, etc.) a corresponding first responder equipment 14a-n (collectively, first responder equipment 14), each of which includes an equipment data recorder 160-/7 (collectively, equipment data recorders 16) and a location determiner 180-/7 (collectively, location determiners 18). First responder equipment 14 may include one or more devices used by /worn by /associable with a first responder 12, such as a SCBA, a mask, an alarm device, a handheld device, sensors, weapons, etc. In some embodiments, one or more of equipment data recorder 16 and/or location determiner 18 may be part of (e.g., physically integrated in, co-located with, etc.) first responder equipment 14, such as part of a self- contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), a mask, an alarm device, a handheld device, etc., while in other embodiments, equipment data recorder 16 and/or location determiner 18 may be located in a physically separate device from first responder equipment 14 and may communicate via a wired or wireless connection with first responder equipment 14.

Each of the first responder equipment 14 may be configured to be in communication (e.g., via communication channels 20a-n, collectively, communication channels 20) with a beacon 22, at least at some times. In some embodiments, beacon 22 may include a beacon signal determiner 24, equipment data router 26, and/or location determiner 27. In some embodiments, beacon 22 may be configured to be in communication (e.g., via a communication channel 28) with a base station 30, at least at some times. In some embodiments, base station 30 may include an equipment data uploader 32. In some embodiments, beacon 22 and base station 30 may be co-located/part of the same device, or may be located in one or more physically separate devices which are in communication with one another, via a wired or wireless connection (e.g., communication channel 28). Base station 30 may be in communication (e.g., via a network 34) with a remote server 36. Remote server 36 may include an equipment data database 38.

In some embodiments, first responder equipment 14 may send equipment data, e.g., as data packets encoded in communication channel 20, which may be received by beacon 22, base station 30, remote server 36, and/or any other component/device of system 10 configured for wired or wireless communications.

Each of communication channels 20 may be wired and/or wireless, and may include direct communications (e.g., peer-to-peer, device-to-device, near field communications, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, etc.) and/or may include indirect communications (e.g., via a local area network, a Wi-Fi network, a mesh network, a wired or wireless connection to a public internet service provider, etc.) between first responder equipment 14 and beacon 22.

Communication channel 28 may be wired and/or wireless, and may include direct communications (e.g., peer-to-peer, device-to-device, near field communications, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, etc.) and/or may include indirect communications (e.g., via a local area network, a Wi-Fi network, a mesh network, a wired or wireless connection to a public internet service provider, etc.) between beacon 22 and base station 30.

Network 34 may be wired and/or wireless, and may include direct communications (e.g., peer- to-peer, device-to-device, near field communications, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, universal serial bus (USB), Ethernet, etc.) and/or may include indirect communications (e.g., via a local area network, a Wi-Fi network, a mesh network, a wired or wireless connection to a public internet service provider, etc.) between beacon 22 and base station 30. For example, network 34 may include a public internet connection between base station 30 and remote server 36.

One or more of first responder equipment 14, beacon 22, base station 30, remote server 36, and/or any other component/device of system 10 may be configured to communicate with a public land mobile network (PLMN), such as a 4G/5G network, and to send/receive data via the PLMN to one another and/or to other devices/entities, such as a remote and/or cloud-based server, e.g., remote server 36.

Referring now to FIG. 2, which shows an embodiment of the system 10 shown in FIG. 1, each first responder equipment 14 may include hardware 40, including communication interface 42, GPS 43, and processing circuitry 44. The processing circuitry 44 may include a processor 46 and a memory 48. In addition to, or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 44 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 46 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 48, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

First responder equipment 14 may further include software 50 stored internally in, for example, memory 48 or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by first responder equipment 14 via an external connection. The software 50 may be executable by the processing circuitry 44. The processing circuitry 44 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by first responder equipment 14. Processor 46 corresponds to one or more processors 46 for performing first responder equipment 14 functions described herein. The memory 48 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 46 and/or processing circuitry 44, causes the processor 46 and/or processing circuitry 44 to perform the processes described herein with respect to first responder equipment 14. For example, first responder equipment 14 may include an equipment data recorder 16 configured to perform one or more first responder equipment 14 functions as described herein, such as recording, storing, protecting, authenticating, validating, overwriting, uploading, etc. equipment data generated by first responder equipment 14, as described herein. First responder equipment 14 may also include a location determiner 18 configured to perform one or more first responder equipment 14 functions as described herein, such as determining a location of first responder equipment 14 based on, e.g., GPS 43, location signals received by communication interface 42 (e.g., from a PLMN), etc.

Communication interface 42 of first responder equipment 14 may include a radio interface configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection (e.g., with beacon 22 via communication channel 20, with base station 30, with remote servers 36 (e.g., via a PLMN), with any other component/device of system 10, etc.). The radio interface may be formed as, or may include, for example, one or more radio frequency (RF) transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. In some embodiments, communication interface 42 may be configurable to receive/transmit/forward equipment data (e.g., generated/stored by equipment data recorder 16) to one or more other first responder equipment 14, beacon 22, base station 30, remote server 36, etc. Communication interface 42 may also include a wired interface configured to set up and maintain a wired connection (e.g., with beacon 22, base station 30, remote server 36, etc.). The wired interface may include/implement/support one or more wired communication protocols, e.g., USB, Ethernet, etc.

GPS 43 of first responder equipment 14 may include one or more devices configured for receiving signals, e.g., from a global positioning satellite, one or more cell towers, etc., which may be usable (e.g., by location determiner 18) for determining a location of first responder equipment 14.

Beacon 22 may include hardware 52, including communication interface 54, GPS 55, and processing circuitry 56. The processing circuitry 56 may include a processor 58 and a memory 60. In addition to, or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 56 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 58 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 60, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Beacon 22 may further include software 62 stored internally in, for example, memory 48 or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by beacon 22 via an external connection. The software 62 may be executable by the processing circuitry 56. The processing circuitry 56 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by beacon 22. Processor 58 corresponds to one or more processors 58 for performing beacon 22 functions described herein. The memory 60 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 58 and/or processing circuitry 56, causes the processor 58 and/or processing circuitry 56 to perform the processes described herein with respect to beacon 22. For example, beacon 22 may include an beacon signal determiner 24 configured to perform one or more first responder equipment 14 functions as described herein, such as determining a beacon signal to transmit to one or more first responder equipment 14, as described herein. Beacon 22 may also include an equipment data router 26 configured to perform one or more beacon 22 functions as described herein, such as receiving equipment data from one or more first responder equipment 14, storing the equipment data (e.g., in memory 60), transmitting/routing/forwarding some or all of the equipment data to a base station 30, e.g., via communication interface 54 and communication channel 28, and/or instructing base station 30 to forward/route the equipment data to a remote server 36, e.g., via network 34. Beacon 22 may also include a location determiner 27 configured to perform one or more beacon 22 functions as described herein, such as determining a location of beacon 22 based on, e.g., GPS 55, location signals received by communication interface 54 (e.g., from a PLMN), etc., as described herein.

Communication interface 54 of beacon 22 may include a radio interface configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection (e.g., with one or more first responder equipment 14 via communication channel 20, with base station 30 via communication channel 28, with remote servers 36 via network 34, with any other component/device of system 10, etc.). The radio interface may be formed as, or may include, for example, one or more radio frequency (RF) transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. In some embodiments, communication interface 54 may be configurable to receive/transmit/forward/route equipment data (e.g., generated/stored by equipment data router 26) to one or more other first responder equipment 14, one or more other beacon 22, base station 30, remote server 36, etc. Communication interface 54 may also include a wired interface configured to set up and maintain a wired connection (e.g., with one or more first responder equipment 14, one or more other beacons 22, base station 30, remote server 36, etc.). The wired interface may include/implement/support one or more wired communication protocols, e.g., USB, Ethernet, etc.

GPS 55 of beacon 22 may include one or more devices configured for receiving signals, e.g., from a global positioning satellite, one or more cell towers, etc., which may be usable (e.g., by location determiner 27) for determining a location of beacon 22.

In some embodiments, a beacon 22 may be portable e.g. that it can be carried by a designated user, whether by hand, in a pocket, attached to a holder that is in turn attached to the user’s clothing or equipment, and so on. In some embodiments, a portable beacon 22 may be a dedicated, special-purpose device that is used only for interacting with first responder equipment 14. In other embodiments, a portable beacon 22 may take the form of a general-purpose device, e.g. a cellular telephone, tablet computer, or laptop computer, that can be used for a wide variety of purposes in addition to interacting with the first responder equipment. In such instances, the arrangements disclosed herein may be facilitated by way of the general-purpose device having a software application (an “app”) installed therein so that the device can perform the functions disclosed herein. With a beacon 22 that is portable (e.g. so that it can be carried around a firehouse to locations at which first responder equipment 14 is present), at least some of the interactions discussed herein may be performed by way of relatively short- range wireless communication, e.g. by way of a wireless personal area network of the type exemplified by Bluetooth Low Energy technology. In some embodiments, at least some interactions may be performed by way of relatively long-range wireless communication, e.g. over a cellular network, a wireless area network (“wi-fi”), and so on.

In some embodiments, a beacon 22 may be fixed in position, e.g. installed and/or hardwired at a suitable location e.g. in a firehouse. In some such embodiments, the beacon may comprise wireless communication capability that is relatively long-range (e.g. as achieved via a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network, etc.) so that the beacon can communicate with all locations e.g. within and/or immediately adjacent to a firehouse. For example, it may be helpful that the beacon have sufficient range to reach bays within the firehouse and/or parking or staging areas outside the firehouse, so that signals may be sent to first responder equipment that is e.g. present on a fire truck that is parked outside the firehouse. In some embodiments, the arrangements may rely on a so-called “mesh” network in which multiple beacons, repeaters, or the like, are provided at various locations e.g. within a firehouse or other structure. It is emphasized that the above are illustrative examples and that any communication apparatus and method, e.g. long-range or short-range, may be used with a portable beacon and/or with a fixed-in-position beacon, as desired.

Base station 30 may include hardware 64, including communication interface 66 and processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In addition to, or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read- Only Memory).

Base station 30 may further include software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72 or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by base station 30 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., base station 30. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing base station 30 functions described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to base station 30. For example, base station 30 may include equipment data uploader 32 configured to perform one or more base station 30 functions as described herein, such as receiving equipment data from beacon 22, transmitting/routing/forwarding/uploading the equipment data, e.g., to a remote server 36 via a network 34, e.g., for persistent storage in a cloud-based database (e.g., equipment data database 38), as described herein.

Communication interface 66 may include a radio interface configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection (e.g., with one or more first responder equipment 14, with one or more beacons 22 via communication channel 28, with remote servers 36 via network 34, via a PLMN, etc.). The radio interface may be formed as, or may include, for example, one or more radio frequency, RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. In some embodiments, base station 30 may receive equipment data from one or more first responder equipment 14, one or more beacons 22, other base stations 30, and/or remote server 36. Base station 30 may also include a wired interface configured to set up and maintain a wired connection (e.g., with one or more beacons 22, with one or more first responder equipment 14, with other base stations 30, with remote server 36, e.g., via a fiber optic internet connection, etc.). The wired interface may include/implement/support one or more wired communication protocols, e.g., USB, Ethernet, etc.

Remote server 36 may include hardware 76, including communication interface 78 and processing circuitry 80. The processing circuitry 80 may include a processor 82 and a memory 84. In addition to, or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 80 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 82 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Remote server 36 may further include software 86 stored internally in, for example, memory 84 or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by remote serve 36 via an external connection. The software 86 may be executable by the processing circuitry 80. The processing circuitry 80 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., remote server 36. Processor 82 corresponds to one or more processors 82 for performing remote server 36 functions described herein. The memory 84 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 86 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 82 and/or processing circuitry 80, causes the processor 82 and/or processing circuitry 80 to perform the processes described herein with respect to remote server 36. For example, remote server may include equipment data database 38 (e.g., a cloud-based database) configured to perform one or more remote server 36 functions as described herein, such as receiving equipment data from beacon 22/base station 30, storing, sorting, filtering, searching, validating, querying, backing-up, etc. equipment data, as described herein.

Communication interface 78 may include a radio interface configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection (e.g., with one or more first responder equipment 14, with one or more beacons 22, with base station 30 via network 34, via a PLMN, etc.). The radio interface may be formed as, or may include, for example, one or more radio frequency, RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. In some embodiments, remote server 36 may receive equipment data from one or more first responder equipment 14, one or more beacons 22, one or more base stations 30, and/or one or more other remote servers 36. Remote server 36 may also include a wired interface configured to set up and maintain a wired connection (e.g., with one or more beacons 22, with one or more first responder equipment 14, with one or more base stations 30, with one or more other remote servers 36, e.g., via a fiber optic internet connection, etc.). The wired interface may include/implement/support one or more wired communication protocols, e.g., USB, Ethernet, etc.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process in a first responder equipment 14 according to some embodiments of the invention. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of first responder equipment 14, such as by one or more of hardware 40, communication interface 42, GPS 43 processing circuitry 44, processor 46, memory 48, equipment data recorder 16, location determiner 18, and/or software 50. First responder equipment 14 is configured to store (Block S100) equipment data. First responder equipment 14 is configured to receive (Block S102) a beacon signal from a beacon 22, e.g. when first responder equipment 14 and beacon 22 come within wireless communication range of each other after being out of communication range for a time. First responder equipment 14 is configured to determine (Block S104) at least one parameter based on the received beacon signal. First responder equipment 14 is configured to autonomously cause transmission (Block S106) of the stored equipment data to the beacon 22 based on the determined at least one parameter.

According to one or more embodiments, the determined at least one parameter includes at least one of a beacon identifier, a mapping of beacons 22 and first responder equipment 14, a premises identifier, and a beacon location value.

According to one or more embodiments, the first responder equipment 14 is further configured to store at least one authorized beacon identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a beacon identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon 22 being based on the beacon identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized beacon identifier.

According to one or more embodiments, the first responder equipment 14 is further configured to store at least one authorized premises identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a premises identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon 22 being based on the premises identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized premises identifier.

According to one or more embodiments, the determined at least one parameter is a beacon location value, the first responder equipment 14 being further configured to: store a distance threshold; determine a first responder equipment location; and determine a difference between the beacon location value and the first responder equipment location, the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the difference being below the distance threshold

According to one or more embodiments, the determined at least one parameter is a beacon location value, and the first responder equipment 14 is further configured to: store a distance threshold, determine a first responder equipment 14 location, and determine a difference between the beacon location value and the first responder equipment 14 location, where the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon 22 is based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

According to one or more embodiments, the first responder equipment 14 is further configured to store a distance threshold, store at least one authorized upload location, determine a first responder equipment location, and determine a difference between at least one of the at least one authorized location and the first responder equipment location, where the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon is based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an example process in a beacon 22 according to some embodiments of the invention. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of beacon 22, such as by one or more of hardware 52, GPS 55, processing circuitry 56, processor 58, memory 60, beacon signal determiner 24, equipment data router 26, location determiner 27, software 62, and/or communication interface 54. Beacon 22 is configured to determine (Block S108) a beacon signal for transmission to the first responder equipment 14. Beacon 22 is further configured to cause transmission (Block S 110) of the beacon signal to the first responder equipment 14. Beacon 22 is further configured to receive (Block S 112) equipment data from the first responder equipment 14based on the transmitted beacon signal. Beacon 22 is further configured to forward (Block SI 14) the received equipment data to the base station 30.

According to one or more embodiments, the determining the beacon signal includes determining at least one parameter for inclusion in the beacon signal, where the at least one parameter including at least one of a beacon identifier, a mapping of beacons 22 and first responder equipment 14, a premises identifier, and a beacon location value.

According to one or more embodiments, the parameter includes a mapping of beacons 22 and first responder equipment 14, the receiving equipment data from the first responder equipment being based on the mapping of beacons 22 and first responder equipment 14.

According to one or more embodiments, the beacon 22 is further configured to store at least one authorized premises identifier, where the determined at least one parameter is a premises identification parameter, and receiving the equipment data is based on the premises identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized premises identifier.

Some embodiments include a first responder’s equipment, such as a SCBA, which is configured to record event data in an on-board memory, e.g., equipment data recorder 16.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example process in a system 10 according to some embodiments of the invention. The user, such as first responder 12, initially powers on (Block SI 16) the first responder equipment 14, e.g., via a manual switch. Alternatively, first responder equipment 14 may already be powered on, e.g., the first responder is returning from an emergency scene carrying the first responder equipment 14 and enters a premises (e.g., a fire station, a fire truck, a hospital, etc.) containing a beacon 22. First responder equipment 14 continuously/periodically collects equipment data, as described herein, and stores the equipment data, e.g., using equipment data recorder 16. First responder equipment 14/equipment data recorder 16 may be configured to verify data integrity, e.g., checking that data in a particular field falls within an expected range of values, and may delete and/or flag data which fails such integrity check. For example, a first responder 12’s heart rate may be detected and stored by equipment data recorder 16, but if the heart rate falls outside of a predefined range (e.g., from 0 beats per minute to 200 beats per minute), then that data is deleted and/or flagged as out of range. First responder equipment 14/equipment data recorder 16 may be configured to protect the stored equipment data, e.g., encrypting the equipment data, preventing unauthorized modification to the equipment data, generating/storing error correction codes associated with the equipment data, compressing the data, etc. Equipment data recorder 16 may be configured to take snapshots of equipment data, e.g., every second, every minute, etc., and/or may continuously record equipment data. Equipment data recorder 16 may be configured to stop recording equipment data if memory 48 runs out of space, and/or may be configured to overwrite some or all of the stored equipment data if memory 48 runs out of space. Which equipment data gets overwritten may depend on the type of equipment data. For example, low importance equipment data may be overwritten by more recently acquired equipment data, whereas high importance equipment data may be protected from such overwriting.

The powered-on first responder equipment 14 then detects (Block S 118) beacon 22, e.g., detects a beacon signal emitted by beacon 22. The beacon signal may include, for example, an identifier associated with beacon 22 (e.g., a “beacon ID” field), a location of beacon 22 (e.g., a geographic coordinate, a premises identifier (ID) identifying a premises in which beacon 22 is located, etc.), a list/mapping of associated first responder equipment 14 (e.g., first responder equipment 14 which have been assigned to beacon 22), one or more instructions to the first responder equipment 14 (e.g., an instruction to upload equipment data, an instruction to upload data/power on/power off/etc. at certain times/locations, an instruction to update software 50, an instruction to display a message to first responder 12, an instruction to override an upload procedure, for example, an instruction to upload equipment data without checking if beacon 22 is associated with first responder equipment 14, an instruction to erase/override equipment data stored by equipment data recorder 16, etc.), and/or one or more security keys, e.g., for first responder equipment 14 to use in authenticating the identity of beacon 22 prior to uploading equipment data to beacon 22. Alternatively, or additionally, beacon 22 may detect a signal emitted by first responder equipment 14, such as an identifier signal, a request to upload data, etc.

First responder equipment 14 may then determine (Block S120) whether to connect to (e.g., whether to begin transferring data to) beacon 22, e.g., based on the received beacon signal. In some embodiments, first responder equipment 14 may connect to beacon 22 based on determining that beacon 22 is associated with first responder equipment 14, which may be determined based on the received beacon signal and/or other information. For example, the first responder equipment 14 may determine (e.g., using location determiner 18) that beacon 22 is in a location/premises/geofence associated with first responder equipment 14 (e.g., a fire station premises to which first responder equipment 14 has been assigned), and/or the beacon signal may include location information (e.g., a geographic coordinate of beacon 22, a premises identifier, etc.).

In one or more embodiments, each first responder equipment 14 may be associated with a respective first responder equipment identifier (ID), and each beacon 22 may be associated with a respective beacon ID. First responder equipment 14 may determine that first responder equipment 14 is on a list of associated/authorized first responder equipment 14 received from beacon 22, e.g., first responder equipment 14 is associated with a first responder equipment ID which is included in a list of first responder equipment IDs received from beacon 22. Additionally, or alternatively, first responder equipment 14 may determine that beacon 22 is on a list/mapping of associated/authorized beacons 22 (e.g., where such list is received by/stored in first responder equipment 14). For example, beacon 22 may be associated with a beacon ID which is included in a list of beacon IDs stored in first responder equipment 14.

In further detail, each individual first responder equipment (14a, 14b, etc.) may have a unique equipment identifier that serves to distinguish that particular first responder equipment from other first responder equipment (for example, each SCBA of numerous SCBAs, may have its own unique equipment identifier). In some embodiments, beacon 22 will be configured so that a beacon signal that is issued by beacon 22 will include an equipment identifier for a particular first responder equipment. When a first responder equipment receives a beacon signal, it can check to determine whether the beacon signal includes an equipment identifier for that particular first responder equipment. If so, any of the various operations disclosed herein may commence.

In some embodiments, the beacon signal may include an instruction from beacon 22 to first responder equipment 14. For example, the beacon signal may include an instruction configured to cause the first responder equipment 14 to transfer equipment data to beacon 22. The instruction may cause the first responder equipment 14 to first check/authenticate whether beacon 22 is associated with first responder equipment 14. The instmction may alternatively cause the first responder equipment 14 to upload equipment data irrespective of whether beacon 22 is associated with first responder equipment 14, for example, causing first responder equipment 14 to override one or more checks/authentications. The beacon signal may include one or more security keys and/or encryption keys, for example, for authenticating the identity of beacon 22 and/or first responder equipment 14, for encrypting/decrypting the beacon signal, for encrypting/decrypting the uploaded equipment data, etc. The beacon signal may include one or more instructions configured to cause the first responder equipment 14 to upload equipment data, e.g., initiating/stopping a data transfer, scheduling one or more data transfers to occur at certain times/locations, instmcting the first responder equipment 14 to upload the equipment data to one or more other beacons 22, etc. The beacon signal may include one or more instructions configured to cause the first responder equipment 14 to delete and/or overwrite stored equipment data. The beacon signal may include one or more instructions configured to cause the first responder equipment 14 to power on/off, e.g., once a data transfer is complete, after a timer expires, if battery charge drops below a threshold, etc.

In parallel or serially with the detecting (Block SI 18) and the connecting (Block S120) first responder equipment 14 may execute a system check (Block S122), e.g., to determine first responder equipment 14 condition/status, and may generate/store additional equipment data (e.g., by equipment data recorder 16) based on the results of the system check.

During this process, the user may (attempt to) power off the first responder equipment 14 (Block S124), (e.g., by pressing a manual switch). In some embodiments, the equipment data upload process may continue despite the user attempting to power off the device, e.g., the first responder equipment 14 may appear to be off but is still executing a data transfer procedure. For example, the first responder equipment may appear to be in an off state (Block S128), e.g., it may turn off a user interface display, may turn off/change one or more indicator lights, etc., but the first responder equipment 14 will not actually turn off unless the equipment data transfer (e.g., to beacon 22) is complete, until a timer expires, until instructed to turn off by beacon 22, until first responder equipment 14 runs out of battery power (and is not plugged in to an outlet), and/or unless a user manually overrides the equipment data upload process (e.g., by manually entering an override code which forces the first responder equipment 14 off).

Once connected to beacon 22, the first responder equipment 14 transfers the equipment data (Block S 126) to beacon 22. First responder equipment 14 may transfer the equipment data to beacon 22 via communication channel 20 according to one or more wired or wireless communication protocols, e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a mesh network/ad-hoc network, near field communication, etc. First responder equipment 14 may transfer the equipment data to beacon 22 as one or more packets (e.g., as defined by a communication protocol), each of which contains a portion of the equipment data. First responder equipment 14 may transfer the equipment data to beacon 22 in an encrypted format and/or may include error correction coding with the equipment data (e.g., to improve data integrity).

As the first responder equipment 14 transfers the equipment data to the beacon 22, beacon 22 (Block S130) transfers/forwards/routes the equipment data to base station 30, e.g., using a Wi-Fi communication protocol. The beacon 22 may wait until first responder equipment 14 has transferred all equipment data to the beacon 22 before forwarding the equipment data to the base station 30, or beacon 22 may begin forwarding the equipment data while it is still receiving equipment data from first responder equipment 14. Beacon 22 may receive equipment data from multiple first responder equipment 14 simultaneously, and/or may restrict the number of first responder equipment 14 permitted to upload data (e.g., to prevent interference between signals transmitted by multiple first responder equipment 14, to avoid overloading the radio and/or processing resources of beacon 22, etc.), for example, using a queue. If there are multiple first responder equipment 14 queued for uploading equipment data, beacon 22 may prioritize equipment data upload from a first responder equipment 14 which is in a low battery state and/or a low available memory state.

Once the first responder equipment 14 has transferred all (or some predefined portion) of equipment data to the beacon 22, first responder equipment 14 may fully power off (Block S 132), and/or may indicate (e.g., via an indicator light, user display message, etc.) that equipment data transfer is complete. First responder equipment 14 may receive a second beacon signal from beacon 22 indicating that the data transfer is complete, and/or first responder equipment 14 may itself determine that the data transfer is complete. Alternatively, first responder equipment 14 may determine that the transfer was unsuccessful (e.g., a timer expires before receiving a confirmation from beacon 22 indicating that data transfer is complete, a message is received from beacon 22 indicating that the transfer was unsuccessful, etc.) and first responder equipment 14 may subsequently re-attempt the equipment data transfer to beacon 22 (e.g., after a second timer expires, upon receiving another beacon signal instructing first responder equipment 14 to re-attempt the transfer, etc.), and/or may first responder equipment 14 may attempt an equipment data transfer with one or more other beacons 22. First responder equipment 14 may erase the stored equipment data, e.g., based on the transfer being successful, based on a timer expiring, based on an instruction from beacon 22, etc.

The above descriptions have mainly focused on exemplary arrangements in which a first responder equipment 14, when not in use and after all transfer of equipment data has been completed, can be powered completely down to a fully “off’ state, e.g. by way of a user turning off a manual switch provided on the first responder equipment for this purpose. However, in some embodiments, a first responder equipment 14 may not necessarily be taken to a fully off state (i.e., a state in which all electronics aboard the equipment are completely powered down); and/or, this may not necessarily be controlled by a dedicated manual on/off switch.

For example, in some embodiments a first responder equipment 14 may be an SCBA that is configured so that it can go into a “sleep” state in which many or most of the electrically-powered components and systems of the SCBA are powered down but in which a pressure-monitoring system is maintained in an active state so that it can monitor the system air pressure in the SCBA. Upon detecting an increase in air pressure (as occurs e.g. when a user opens the valve to the air tank(s) of the SCBA) the monitoring system will activate some or all of the electrically powered components and systems of the SCBA (in particular, the monitoring system may activate a so-called PASS (Personal Alert Safety System) that is configured to automatically broadcast a visual and/or audible alert in the event that motion of the user of the SCBA is not detected for some predetermined length of time).

With an SCBA that is configured in such a manner, the arrangements presented above can be modified so that upon the completion of data transfer the SCBA may enter a minimally-powered “sleep” state rather than being completely powered down into an “off’ state. Furthermore in at least some such embodiments, the SCBA need not necessarily include a dedicated on/off switch; rather, the sensing of system air pressure in the SCBA can serve as a “switch” that serves e.g. to fully power up the SCBA when a sufficiently high system air pressure is detected and to power-down the SCBA to a low-powerconsuming “sleep” state when sufficiently low system air pressure is detected.

Upon receiving equipment data from beacon 22, base station 30 may begin uploading (Block S134) the equipment data to the cloud, e.g., to remote server 36, via network 34. For example, base station 30 may receive equipment data from multiple beacons 22 via multiple Wi-Fi connections, and may forward/route the received equipment data to remote server 36 via a wired or wireless connection to an internet service provider. The base station 30 may wait until beacon 22 has forwarded all equipment data to the base station 30 before uploading the equipment data to the remote server 36, or base station 30 may begin forwarding the equipment data to remote server 36 while base station 30 is still receiving equipment data from first beacon 22. Remote server 36 is configured to store the received equipment data, e.g., in an equipment data database 38, which may be later retrieved by a user, e.g., for analytic purposes, to verify that first responder equipment 14 was inspected regularly, to analyze first responder equipment 14 conditions, etc. Remote server 36/equipment data database 38 may be configured to verify data integrity, e.g., checking that data in a particular field falls within an expected range of values, and may delete and/or flag data which fails such integrity check.

In some embodiments, arrangements of the general type disclosed herein may be used for one or more purposes in addition to, or instead of, the above-discussed autonomous transfer of equipment data. For example, in some embodiments a beacon 22 may send a beacon signal that causes the first responder equipment 14 to broadcast (e.g. via a broadcaster 47) a locator indication in the form of e.g. a visual or audible alert. This may be advantageous e.g. if it is desired to locate a particular first responder equipment (e.g., 14b) in a facility that contains numerous other first responder equipment (e.g., 14a... 14n). Firehouses and, in particular, training facilities and the like, may have dozens or even hundreds of first responder equipment 14 such as SCBAs, which are not necessarily stored according to any particular order or arrangement. (Indeed, some first responder equipment may be stored out of sight in cabinets or closets.) The locating of one particular first responder equipment of interest can thus be daunting in the absence of the arrangements disclosed herein.

A beacon signal that is sent for the purpose of locating a particular first responder equipment of interest, e.g. from amongst other, similar equipment, will be referred to herein as an inquiry signal. An inquiry signal is a special-purpose signal that does not necessarily cause the first responder equipment 14 to transmit any equipment data in the manner previously described. In fact, in some embodiments an inquiry signal may cause an first responder equipment 14 only to broadcast a locator indication (i.e. in audible and/or visual form as emitted by a broadcaster 47) without causing the first responder equipment 14 to transmit equipment data.

Such arrangements may be useful e.g. in the event that it is desired to locate a particular first responder equipment 14 to take it to a servicing workstation for inspection, maintenance, and so on. Such a scenario, in which a particular first responder equipment is to be located and e.g. transported, differs in character from scenarios described earlier herein. In at least some such earlier-described scenarios it was desired to obtain data from first responder equipment 14 e.g. upon the first responder equipment coming within wireless communication range of a beacon 22. In such cases, it was not necessarily required that the first responder equipment be traveled to or even that its exact location be ascertained. In contrast, the presently-discussed arrangements facilitate, for example, a designated person (e.g. a maintenance technician) traveling to a particular first responder equipment and transporting it to a servicing workstation.

It will thus be appreciated that the arrangements disclosed herein allow multiple modes of functioning for various purposes. In some embodiments such modes of functioning can be independent. For example, the arrangements disclosed herein may be used to determine the specific location of a particular first responder equipment 14, whether or not the arrangements also cause any equipment data to be transmitted from that first responder equipment 14 to a beacon 22. Conversely, the arrangements disclosed herein may be used to provide for autonomous data transfer from a first responder equipment 14, whether or not the exact physical location of that first responder equipment is ever determined. In some embodiments, a single beacon 22 may be configured to perform both of these general types of operations. In other embodiments, a first beacon 22 may be configured e.g. to receive equipment data from first responder equipment, and a second beacon 22 may be configured to ascertain the exact location of first responder equipment.

In some embodiments, a first responder equipment 14 that is desired to be contacted, located, and/or equipment data obtained therefrom according to the arrangements herein, will be portable. By this is meant that the first responder equipment is configured to be transported from a place of storage to a place of use (e.g. an incident location), and to be used by a first responder at least at that location. By definition, a portable first responder equipment is not permanently attached and/or hardwired to any large-scale structure (e.g., a firehouse or other building) and is moved, on average, at least once per month to a use location from a storage location. A portable first responder equipment as defined herein is distinguished from devices such as fire sensors, smoke detectors, heat detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, burglar alarms, motion detectors, security cameras, glass-break detectors, and so on, that are typically installed at a fixed locations e.g. within the inside or outside of a building and are rarely if ever moved. In many embodiments, a portable first responder equipment may be powered by one or more internal power sources, e.g. one or more batteries (which term broadly encompasses any portable source of stored electrical energy, e.g. single-use batteries, rechargeable batteries, capacitors, etc.).

In particular embodiments, a first responder equipment 14 may be an SCB A, as noted elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, such an SCB A may be configured for use in firefighting, e.g. it may meet the requirements established by the National Fire Protection Association in NFPA Standard 1981 (e.g. as found in the 2019 edition). In some embodiments, an SCBA may be configured for non-firefighting use, e.g. for industrial use or for medical use (e.g. for protection of persons who are treating patients that have certain airborne infection diseases such as Ebola). It will be appreciated that many such first responder equipment (in particular, SCB As and components and systems thereof) are subject to rather complex and rigorous evaluation and servicing procedures. For example, the operating condition of a SCBA is often evaluated by the use of a calibrated breathing machine (e.g. of the type exemplified by the product known as a PosiChek). Such an evaluation typically cannot be done in the form of a selfcheck performed by the first responder equipment itself in response to e.g. a wireless signal from a beacon. Rather, the first responder equipment typically must be serviced by a maintenance technician or other designated person, with it often being necessary to transport the equipment to a servicing workstation. Thus in at least some embodiments, the arrangements disclosed herein include a step of physically transporting a first responder equipment to a servicing workstation (whether by hand, by a suitable cart, etc.). In some embodiments, the arrangements disclosed herein specifically exclude the performing any self-check or audit of the equipment’s operating condition in response to the equipment’s receiving of a beacon signal.

While discussions above have primarily focused on locating a first responder equipment 14 that is e.g. in a firehouse, e.g. for purposes of maintenance and servicing the equipment, the arrangements disclosed herein offer other useful functions. For example, a response to a major incident may involve firefighters from numerous different firetrucks, firehouses, and so on. First responder equipment from many such sources may be present at the incident site and may become jumbled together due to the circumstances. In such cases, a portable (e.g. handheld) beacon 22 may be advantageously used to locate a particular first responder equipment from this large assortment of onsite first responder equipment. Thus in some embodiments a portable beacon may be configured e.g. so that it can be mounted in a vehicle such as a firetruck and can be readily removed from its mounting location for hand-held use if need be. Once a first responder equipment 14 of interest is located, an operator of beacon 22 (e.g. a designated person, e.g. a maintenance technician desiring to check/evaluate/service the first responder equipment 14) can deactivate the locator indication, e.g. by sending a cease command from beacon 22. In some embodiments, the first responder equipment 14 may be configured to broadcast the locator indication only for a predetermined period (e.g. a few minutes), and/or the beacon may be configured to broadcast the inquiry signal for only a similar period, e.g. so that an internal power source of the first responder equipment 14 is not unduly drained by broadcasting a location indication for an extended period of time.

Since the purpose of locating a particular first responder equipment 14 is often so that the equipment can be transported to a location for servicing as noted above, in some embodiments a beacon 22 as used for such purposes may be portable. As noted earlier, in some embodiments a portable beacon 22 may be provided by a general purpose device such as e.g. mobile phone, tablet computer, laptop computer, or the like, that has an app installed for this purpose. In other embodiments, a beacon 22 may be a dedicated, special-purpose portable electronic unit configured only to serve as a beacon 22. In some embodiments, a beacon 22 need not necessarily be portable. For example, in some embodiments a beacon 22 may be resident e.g. in a firehouse and may be fixed in place in the firehouse as noted earlier herein. In some such cases, a fixed beacon may be e.g. co-located with a base unit that e.g. forwards any equipment data to a remote server in the manner described earlier herein. In some embodiments, a hybrid approach may be used e.g. in which a fixed beacon 22 (e.g. that is capable of wireless communication with a first responder equipment at a considerable range, e.g. over the entirety of a fire station) is present, but in which one or more portable, e.g. hand-held, beacons 22 are also present. A hand-held beacon may be used e.g. if the fixed beacon does not succeed in communicating with a first responder equipment 14 due e.g. to the particular location or condition of the first responder equipment.

To facilitate the equipment-locating arrangements disclosed herein it can be helpful that in at least some embodiments, a first responder equipment 14 is configured so that it can determine that a signal that is received from a beacon is intended for that particular first responder equipment 14. Accordingly, in some embodiments, an inquiry signal from a beacon 22 may include a unique equipment identifier for a particular first responder equipment 14. In actual use, an operator of a beacon 22 may e.g. choose from a list of individual first responder equipment 14a... 14n as presented on a display screen of beacon 22, with this selection causing the unique equipment identifier for the chosen first responder equipment to be included in the inquiry signal.

According to the arrangements disclosed herein, a beacon 22 may send a beacon signal to at least a selected first responder equipment, to multiple first responder equipment, etc.. Such a signal may be sent wirelessly, whether by Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low-Energy, or via a wi-fi network or a cellular network using any of the methods and protocols disclosed herein. If the signal is an inquiry signal (and if the inquiry signal includes a proper unique equipment identifier for a particular first responder equipment 14 that the inquiry signal is intended for), the first responder equipment can broadcast an audible and/or visual locator indication. In some embodiments, a beacon signal may cause equipment data to be returned to the beacon as noted earlier herein; in some such embodiments, this equipment data may include location data also as noted earlier. Such location data may further assist a designated person in finding a particular first responder equipment 14. For example, location data that is returned to beacon 22 may disclose the general location of a particular first responder equipment 14; a user of the beacon can go to that general location and can then pinpoint the particular first responder equipment 14 by following its audible or visual alert.

Arrangements disclosed herein with regard to receiving and acting on an inquiry signal, necessitate that first responder equipment 14 is able to receive an inquiry signal and act on it in the general manner described herein. The first responder equipment 14 can thus include hardware 40 and software 50 that is configured for such purposes. For convenience of description, the combination of hardware 40 and software 50 of a first responder equipment 14 may be referred to herein as an electronics package; a requirement that the hardware and software be configured to receive and respond to an inquiry signal may be referred to herein as requiring that the electronics package of the first responder equipment must include a locator module.

It will be appreciated that the above-disclosed arrangements will require a locator module of an electronics package of a first responder equipment 14 to be active (i.e., so that it can monitor for an incoming inquiry signal from beacon 22) at least at some times when the first responder equipment 14 is not in actual use. Thus in at least some embodiments a first responder equipment 14 must be configured to maintain at least sufficient electric power so that it can keep at least the locator module of the electronics package in operation at least during certain times. However, many other (e.g., more power-hungry) modules of the electronics package may be completely powered during such times. Such a low-energy-consumption state, in which many modules of the electronics package of the first responder equipment are powered off but one or more low-energy -consuming modules, including e.g. a locator module, are kept powered up, will be referred to herein as a sleep state. Thus in at least some embodiments, a first responder equipment 14 may be configured so that when it is not in active use (in particular, when it is stored at a firehouse, training facility, etc.) it can be maintained in a sleep state in which at least the locator module of the electronics package of the first responder equipment is powered up, rather than the entire electronics package being completely powered down.

In some embodiments in which the first responder equipment 14 of interest is an SCBA, the above arrangements may leverage the ability of an electronics package of an SCBA to go into a sleep state. For example, as discussed earlier herein, a SCBA (e.g. that is equipped with a so-called PASS) may be configured so that the electronics package can be put into a low-power sleep state in which it is able to monitor the air pressure in the SCBA and to activate from the sleep state upon detecting an increase in air pressure. According to the present arrangements, the electronics package of an SCBA may be configured so that in addition to monitoring the air pressure in the SCBA, the electronics package can also monitor for an inquiry signal (or other beacon signal). Such an arrangement may require very little additional power consumption beyond what is already needed for the pressuremonitoring, while providing the additional features and advantages disclosed herein. Such arrangements may be achieved e.g. by modification of hardware, firmware, software, as needed. In some embodiments a locator indication that is broadcast in response to an inquiry signal may use the same audible and/or visual transmitter as the PASS (but e.g. with the intensity of the sound level being reduced from the e.g. 95 dB signal that is characteristically broadcast when a PASS system is activated).

In some embodiments, arrangements as disclosed herein may be integrated into the electronics package of a first responder equipment 14 such as e.g. an SCBA. In some embodiments these arrangements may be powered by one or more of the same power sources (e.g. one or more batteries) that are used to power other electronic components present in the electronics package of the SCBA. In some embodiments, these arrangements may be powered by a separate power source, e.g. one or more batteries that are dedicated solely to powering the circuitry and associated components that are used to receive and act on beacon signals in the manner described herein. Electrically -powered components and systems of an SCBA, that may or may not be powered by the same power source used to power the arrangements disclosed herein, include but are not limited to: buddy light(s), console light(s), electronic air pressure sensor(s), motion sensor(s), accelerometer(s), temperature sensor(s), data recording devices, and so on. Some components and systems of an electronics package of an SCBA may provided on or in, mounted to, or otherwise associated with, a facepiece (facemask) of the SCBA. Such items may include e.g. one or more communication units, a hands-free thermal imaging camera, a powered eyepiece/display for presenting images captured by a thermal imaging camera, and other possible items. Still further, some components and system of an electronics package of an SCBA may be provided on a regulator (e.g. a mask-mounted regulator) of the SCBA. Such items may include e.g. lights for a head- up display that allow, for example, the pressure in the air tank to be presented to the wearer. Any of these various components, systems, etc., along with the arrangements disclosed herein, may be powered, individually or in various combinations with other components and systems, by any combination of one or more batteries as desired. In some embodiments, the arrangements disclosed herein may be used to individually, selectively control the power supplied to one or more of these particular components or systems in addition to, or instead of, being used to control the power provided to the overall electronics package of the SCBA. In some embodiments, the arrangements disclosed herein may be implemented in a unit that is not integrated into an SCBA (e.g., into an electronics package of an SCBA) but that can be detachably attached to, mounted on, or otherwise associated with an SCBA so that the unit can function in the general manner disclosed herein. Such arrangements may be used e.g. with certain SCBAs (e.g. some SCBAs configured for industrial or medical use) that do not have a PASS integrated into the SCBA.

The arrangements disclosed herein, e.g. for downloading equipment data from a first responder equipment 14 and/or sending an inquiry signal to a first responder equipment 14 so that the first responder equipment 14 broadcasts a locator signal in response, can be configured so that they do not interfere with actual use of the first responder equipment 14 e.g. at a fire or other incident. Thus for example, the arrangements disclosed herein may be configured so that when a first responder equipment 14 is activated to a fully powered-up, operational state (whether triggered e.g. by a manual switch or by an increase in system air pressure caused by opening an air-tank valve of an SCBA) the ability of the first responder equipment 14 to receive a beacon signal (or, at least, the ability of the first responder equipment 14 to transmit equipment data and/or to issue a locator indication) may be disabled.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example process in a first responder equipment 14 according to some embodiments of the arrangements disclosed herein. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of first responder equipment 14, such as by one or more of previously-described hardware 40, communication interface 42, GPS 43 processing circuitry 44, processor 46, broadcaster 47, memory 48, equipment data recorder 16, location determiner 18, and/or software 50. As noted above, in some embodiments, some or all of these items and functionalities may be found in a so-called electronics package of the first responder equipment 14. However, it is not necessary that any or all components of such an electronics package must be located together e.g. in a single housing; rather, in some embodiments at least one or more components may be distributed in various locations of the first responder equipment 14.

In the depicted arrangement of FIG. 6, first responder equipment 14 is configured to maintain a sleep state (Block S140) in which most modules of the electronics package of the first responder equipment are quiescent but in which state a wireless beacon signal can be detected. First responder equipment 14 is further configured to receive a beacon signal in the particular form of an inquiry signal (Block S142). This may often occur when a designated person (e.g. a user of beacon 22) brings beacon 22 to within close enough range of first responder equipment 14 that the first responder equipment is able to receive the inquiry signal. First responder equipment 14 is further configured to confirm that the beacon signal includes a unique equipment identifier for that particular first responder equipment 14 (Block S144). First responder equipment 14 is further configured to, upon receipt of the inquiry signal and confirmation that the unique equipment identifier of the inquiry signal corresponds to the first responder equipment 14, broadcast a locator notification (Block S146). It is noted that FIG. 6 (and other Figures herein) are provided in order to generically illustrate the concepts disclosed herein and that numerous variations and modifications are available.

While discussions herein have primarily concerned first responder equipment 14 in the form of SCB As, it will be appreciated that the arrangements disclosed herein may, in various embodiments, be used with other first responder equipment 14. In general, any portable apparatus, device, etc., that is used by a first responder and that may benefit from being located and/or that may accumulate equipment data that may be downloaded therefrom, may benefit from the arrangements disclosed herein. Such first responder equipment 14 may include, but are not limited to, powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), thermal imaging cameras, communication systems, firefighter-locator systems (e.g. of the general type exemplified by the product known as a Pak-Tracker), wireless gas monitors, and so on. The arrangements disclosed herein may be used in conjunction with, e.g. data management systems, inventory systems, and the like. In some embodiments, these arrangements may include the ability to e.g. print out work tickets and/or tags (e.g. a physical tag to be attached to an first responder equipment 14 to identify the first responder equipment 14 e.g. even if it is fully powered off so that it no longer responds to an inquiry signal).

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present embodiments are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. First responder equipment configured to communicate with a beacon, the first responder equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to: store equipment data associated with the first responder equipment; receive a beacon signal from the beacon; determine at least one parameter based on the received beacon signal; and autonomously cause transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon based on the determined at least one parameter.

2. The first responder equipment of claim 1, wherein the determined at least one parameter includes at least one of: a beacon identifier, a mapping of beacons and first responder equipment, a premises identifier, and a beacon location value.

3. The first responder equipment of any one of claims 1 and 2, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to store at least one authorized beacon identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a beacon identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the beacon identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized beacon identifier.

4. The first responder equipment of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to store at least one authorized premises identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a premises identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the premises identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized premises identifier.

5. The first responder equipment of any one of claims 1-4, wherein the determined at least one parameter is a beacon location value, the processing circuitry being further configured to: store a distance threshold; determine a first responder equipment location; and determine a difference between the beacon location value and the first responder equipment location, the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

6. The first responder equipment of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to: store a distance threshold; store at least one authorized upload location; determine a first responder equipment location; and determine a difference between at least one of the at least one authorized location and the first responder equipment location, the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

7. A method implemented in a first responder equipment in communication with a beacon, the method comprising: storing equipment data associated with the first responder equipment; receiving a beacon signal from the beacon; determining at least one parameter based on the received beacon signal; and autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon based on the determined at least one parameter.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determined at least one parameter includes at least one of: a beacon identifier, a mapping of beacons and first responder equipment, a premises identifier, and a beacon location value.

9. The method of any one of claims 7 and 8, the method further comprising storing at least one authorized beacon identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a beacon identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the beacon identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized beacon identifier.

10. The method of any one of claims 7-9, wherein the method further comprises storing at least one authorized premises identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a premises identification parameter, the autonomously causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the premises identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized premises identifier.

11. The method of any one of claims 7-10, wherein the determined at least one parameter is a beacon location value, the method further comprising: storing a distance threshold; determining a first responder equipment location; and determining a difference between the beacon location value and the first responder equipment location, the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

12. The method of any one of claims 7-11, wherein the method further comprises: storing a distance threshold; storing at least one authorized upload location; determining a first responder equipment location; and determining a difference between at least one of the at least one authorized location and the first responder equipment location, the autonomous causing transmission of the stored equipment data to the beacon being based on the difference being below the distance threshold.

13. A beacon configured to communicate with a first responder equipment and a base station, the beacon comprising processing circuitry configured to: determine a beacon signal for transmission to the first responder equipment; cause transmission of the beacon signal to the first responder equipment; receive equipment data from the first responder equipment based on the transmitted beacon signal; forward the received equipment data to the base station.

14. The beacon of claim 13, wherein the determining the beacon signal includes determining at least one parameter for inclusion in the beacon signal, the at least one parameter including at least one of: a beacon identifier, a mapping of beacons and first responder equipment, a premises identifier, and a beacon location value.

15. The beacon of claim 14, wherein the parameter includes a mapping of beacons and first responder equipment, the receiving equipment data from the first responder equipment being based on the mapping of beacons and first responder equipment.

16. The beacon of any one of claims 14 and 15, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to store at least one authorized premises identifier, the determined at least one parameter being a premises identification parameter, the receiving of the equipment data being based on the premises identification parameter matching at least one of the at least one authorized premises identifier.

17. A method implemented in a first responder equipment in communication with a beacon, the method comprising: wirelessly receiving an inquiry signal from the beacon; confirming that the inquiry signal includes a unique equipment identifier for the first responder equipment; and, broadcasting an audible and/or visual locator indication in response to receiving the inquiry signal and confirming that the inquiry signal includes the unique equipment identifier.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the first responder equipment is a portable first responder equipment and wherein the beacon is a portable, handheld beacon.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the method includes locating the portable first responder equipment and transporting the portable first responder equipment to a servicing workstation.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the portable first responder equipment is a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) that meets the requirements of National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standard 1981 (2019 edition).

21. The method of claim 19 with the exclusionary proviso that the receipt of the inquiry signal by the portable first responder equipment method does not cause the portable first responder equipment to perform a self-check of the portable first responder equipment.