GB2526572A

GB2526572A - Location beacon

Info

Publication number: GB2526572A
Application number: GB1409445.2A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Bullock; Gary Jessup
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2014-05-28
Filing date: 2014-05-28
Publication date: 2015-12-02
Also published as: GB201409445D0

Abstract

A beacon 2 preferably comprising a 360 degree bright green LED light cluster 11 which flashes to provide a visual indication of the location of the property. The beacon 2 is attachable to a building, e.g. house exterior, via a mounting bracket 1. The product aids emergency response personnel when locating the relevant property where assistance is required. The beacon 2 features a base unit containing batteries 6 and receiver 7 and may be activated by a radio frequency remote 13. Alternatively the unit can also contain a mobile phone SIM card receiver for activation by an emergency call centre 8 and/or a transmitter 9 allowing a receiver 10 in an emergency vehicle to identify the beacons approximate distance and direction. Above the light cluster is a solar panel 12 to recharge batteries 6. Additionally the item may be used with extension arms 3, 4 to ensure beacon is visible on house.

Description

Location beacon In a busy street it is difficult for the emergency services to identify the particular house in need of assistance once the GPS has directed the emergency vehicle to the vicinity. In rural situations it Is even harder to identify remote properties down narrow lanes and away from obvious Street names or light sources.

Also, a lone person in need of medical assistance cannot go outside and attract the emergency response vehicle and if only 1 other household member is present they may not be willing or able to leave the patient to do the same.

To overcome this the invention proposes a beacon which is a bright green flashing light, visible during daylight hours that is fixed to the external elevation of the property in a location that would be prominent from as far away as possible. The unit is solar powered and activated by a radio frequency remote. Once activated it allows the emergency vehicle to proceed at speed until they see the light in order to reduce the time of attendance to the patient.

The beacon wilt ensure the correct property is found quickly and easily.

Preferably the unit will be mounted at high level on a pole to further ease visibility and reduce the risk of vandalism.

Preferablythe emergency services will support this venture and when told about the beacon relay the information to the crew who will know to look for it.

Preferably the beacon will be on a registered database and activated by the emergency services call centre by mobile phone in order to increase the effectiveness if a patient falls unconscious and reduce malicious or erroneous usage.

Preferably the beacon will contain a transmitter which can be activated at the same time and transmit to a receiver in the emergency vehicle, thereby further increasing the effective range beyond line of sight.

Preferably the beacon will primarily help users in need of medical assistance but this is non-restrictive and could be used for attracting the police, for example, when an intruder is present or for attracting the fire service, for example, when a fire is underway, potentially incapacitating the householders due to smoke inhalation without being large enough to be easily visible from the outside of the property at a distance.

An example of the invention will now be described by referring to the accompanying drawing: Figure 1 shows the proposed beacon and its accessories.

The mounting bracket (1) attaches securely to the external wall of the property as high as possible in an ideal situation or in any other location to give the maximum viewing distance. The mounting bracket (1) allows horizontal or vertical attachment of the beacon (2) to maximise the location options. Further extension beyond the base can be achieved with the straight extension arm (3) or cranked extension arm (4) designed to get around soffits etc. and allow the unit to be visible above the roof line where necessary. The beacon itself (2) consists of the mount to the bracket / pole (5), the base of the unit containing batteries (6), receiver (7) and optional mobile phone sim card receiver for remote activation (8) and optional transmitter (9) which allows the optional receiver (10) in the emergency vehicle to identify the approximate distance and direction of the beacon.

Above the base of the beacon is the 360 degree bright green led light cluster (11) which is visible during daylight hours and at night and gives the visual indication of the location of the property in need of assistance and above the light cluster is the solar panel (12) capable of charging the batteries (6) to ensure a sufficient usage period is always possible when required. The unit is activated by the remote (13) powered by a small battery (14) and wearable around the customer's neck via lanyard (15) or on their wrist (16) or wall mounted via bracket (17) all to the customers preference. The remote has button (18) to activate the light which requires a firm press to minimise the chance of accidental activation and buzzer (19) and led (20) to confirm activation. The same button (18) can be used to deactivate the unit if accidentally activated or to allow periodic testing of the beacon, especially important if it is remotely activated via the emergency call centre.

Claims

Claims I A remotely activated bright green flashing light to allow the emergency vehicles to proceed at speed until they see the light in order to reduce the time of attendance to the property.
2 The light, according to claim 1 will be solar powered.
3 The light, according to claim 1 will be activated by a radio frequency remote in the vicinity of the light.
4 The light according to claim 1 will be activated when emergency services assistance is required at the property in order to direct the response to the correct location as quickly as possible with minimal fuss or inconvenience.
S The light according to according to claim I will mount in the most effective location by either fixing directly to a mounting bracket or to a range of optional extension pieces that then mount to the original bracket.
6 The light, according to claim 1 will be optionally activated remotely by the emergency call centre to increase effectiveness and cut down misuse.
7 The light, according to claim 1 will contain an optional beacon to transmit a signal to an optional receiver in the emergency services vehicle to denote the approximate range and direction of the light in order to increase the effective range.