WO1999014721A1 - Mobile personnel protection system - Google Patents

Mobile personnel protection system Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1999014721A1
WO1999014721A1 PCT/GB1998/002796 GB9802796W WO9914721A1 WO 1999014721 A1 WO1999014721 A1 WO 1999014721A1 GB 9802796 W GB9802796 W GB 9802796W WO 9914721 A1 WO9914721 A1 WO 9914721A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
alarm signal
alarm
portable
transmit
remote
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB1998/002796
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Michael Gloster
Original Assignee
Blick Plc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Blick Plc filed Critical Blick Plc
Publication of WO1999014721A1 publication Critical patent/WO1999014721A1/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
    • G08B25/01—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium
    • G08B25/016—Personal emergency signalling and security systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G08—SIGNALLING
    • G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
    • G08B25/009—Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a mobile personnel protection system of the type which is typically used by people travelling m vehicles fitted with some form of radio system and who work away from their vehicles.
  • Radio system e.g. packet radio, mobile radio, radio data network? GSM, etc.
  • a central controller can obtain assistance by initiating either an automatic alarm signal, typically by depressing a button provided on the radio system, or by sending a voice message. If the radio equipment is fitted to and powered by the vehicle, then once the person leaves the vehicle this capability of initiating an alarm is no longer available.
  • a preferred embodiment of the -present invention provides a method ana apparatus by which a person having left a vehicle can still communicate and summon assistance over the radio network and can also receive vital messages from a central controller and can transmit back acknowledgements and further messages.
  • FIG. 1 shows a radio system embodying the invention
  • Figure 2 shows a more detailed block diagram of the link between an m-vehicle radio and a portable unit embodying the invention.
  • Figure 1 shows a central call control unit (2) wnich is used to schedule messages to and from m-vehicle radios and other radios in a communication system. This is coupled to a fixed base transmitter receiver (d) which is provided for the vehicle radio system. This is provided with an antenna (6) for transmitting and receiving signals.
  • a central call control unit (2) wnich is used to schedule messages to and from m-vehicle radios and other radios in a communication system.
  • d fixed base transmitter receiver
  • This is provided with an antenna (6) for transmitting and receiving signals.
  • a vehicle (8) is provided with an m-vehicle radio (10) .
  • This receives signals from the fixed base station (4) via antenna(12). It can be used by the person in the vehicle and also communicates by a serial communication link with an m-vehicle low power transceiver ( 14) .
  • This is provided with a further antenna (16) for sending signals to and receiving signals from a portable alarm low power transceiver device (18).
  • This is provided with a further antenna (20) to transmit signals from and receive signals from the m-vehicle low power transceiver (14 ) .
  • the portable alarm transceiver When a person is away from a vehicle provided with this system, he takes the portable alarm transceiver (18 ) with him.
  • the portable alarm In the event that an emergency arises, the portable alarm is provided with at least one alarm button. When this button is depressed, it sends an alarm signal via antennas (20) and (16) to the m-vehicle low power transceiver which communicates the alarm to the m-vehicle rad ⁇ o(l ⁇ ). This in turn sends the alarm signal back to the central call control unit (2) via the antennas (12) and (6) and the fixed base transmitter rece ⁇ ver(4).
  • the central call control unit can then send an acknowledgement signal via the same route to the portable alarm transceiver to acknowledge that an alarm has been received and at the same time can send a message to a third party to send assistance to the person. Similarly, if the central call control unit has a message for a particular person, this can be transmitted via the same route to the m-vehicle radio or, if the person is not present in the vehicle, to the portable alarm transceiver.
  • FIG. 2 shows the m-vehicle transceiver and the portable mobile alarm transceiver.
  • the portable alarm device has a microprocessor controller (22) controlling all its activities. It includes an audible alarm device coupled to the microcontroller for alerting the person carrying the portable alarm in response to signals received from the central call control unit (2). Also coupled to the microcontroller is an LCD d ⁇ splay(26) to display messages from the central call control unit once the person carrying the device has been alerted.
  • two alarm buttons (28) are coupled to the microcontroller (22) and can be depressed by the carrier of the device to cause the microcontroller (22) to generate an alarm signal which is then sent by a low power transmitter (30) and an aerial switch (32) to the antenna (16) for transmission back to the m-vehicle transceiver (10) and thence onward to the central call control unit.
  • Two alarm buttons (28) are shown in this embodiment but in practice only one is required.
  • An acknowledgement generated by the central call control unit is received back by the microcontroller and the audible device (24) can generate an audible acknowledgement and/or the LDC display (26) can display an acknowledgement.
  • the signal passes via the aerial switch ( ' 2) to a receiver unit (34) and then on to the microcor- roller(22) .
  • a motion detector (36) is also provided in the portable alarm. This could be replaced by some other type of monitoring device m dependence on the application for which the device is to be used. This detector can also be used to generate an alarm signal and send it to the central call control un ⁇ t(2).
  • the microcontroller (2) When detecting an alarm, the microcontroller (2) cause to be transmitted to the m-vehicle unit (10) the identity of the portable alarm unit which it stores along with the type of alarm, i.e. an alarm generated by a button (28) or by a motion detector or similar device (36) .
  • a signal from the portable device is received on antenna (12) and passes to aerial sw ⁇ tch(38). This passes it on to a receive un ⁇ t(40) and this in turn passes it to a microcontroller (42) .
  • Serial interface circuitry then passes the signal to the m- vehicle radio which causes the signal to be sent back to the call control un t.
  • the serial interface circuitry is activated by the microcontroller. All the signals sent to the vehicle radio include the identity of the portable unit and the alarm type.
  • aerial switches (32) and (38) allow common antennas to be used for the portable alarm and fo: the in-vehicle unit.

Abstract

The mobile personnel protection system has a control centre (2) for receiving signals from and transmitting to a plurality of remote units (8). Each remote unit has at least one portable device (18) associated with it. The remote unit may transmit signals to and receive signals from each portable device associated with it. The portable devices each comprise alarm buttons (28) to generate an alarm signal and a transmitter (30) to transmit the alarm signal to the remote device. The remote device has means to transmit the alarm signal back to the control centre. The control centre is also capable of transmitting a message to the remote device and either the remote device or the portable device associated with it will have means to display the message.

Description

MOBILE PERSONNEL PROTECTION SYSTEM
This invention relates to a mobile personnel protection system of the type which is typically used by people travelling m vehicles fitted with some form of radio system and who work away from their vehicles.
People travelling in vehicles which are provided with a radio system (e.g. packet radio, mobile radio, radio data network? GSM, etc.) connecting them to a central controller, and can obtain assistance by initiating either an automatic alarm signal, typically by depressing a button provided on the radio system, or by sending a voice message. If the radio equipment is fitted to and powered by the vehicle, then once the person leaves the vehicle this capability of initiating an alarm is no longer available.
Usually, once a person has left his or her venicle, he or she is much more vulnerable to attacK or accident than when they are not in the vehicle. Furthermore, if the person is out of the vehicle, they are not able to receive incoming messages, some of which may be vital to their security if they are working on hazardous equipment, or the like
A preferred embodiment of the -present invention provides a method ana apparatus by which a person having left a vehicle can still communicate and summon assistance over the radio network and can also receive vital messages from a central controller and can transmit back acknowledgements and further messages.
The invention is defined with more precision in the appended claims to which reference should now be maαe . A preferred embodiment of the system will now oe described in detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Figure 1 shows a radio system embodying the invention; and
Figure 2 shows a more detailed block diagram of the link between an m-vehicle radio and a portable unit embodying the invention.
Figure 1 shows a central call control unit (2) wnich is used to schedule messages to and from m-vehicle radios and other radios in a communication system. This is coupled to a fixed base transmitter receiver (d) which is provided for the vehicle radio system. This is provided with an antenna (6) for transmitting and receiving signals.
A vehicle (8) is provided with an m-vehicle radio (10) . This receives signals from the fixed base station (4) via antenna(12). It can be used by the person in the vehicle and also communicates by a serial communication link with an m-vehicle low power transceiver ( 14) . This is provided with a further antenna (16) for sending signals to and receiving signals from a portable alarm low power transceiver device (18). This is provided with a further antenna (20) to transmit signals from and receive signals from the m-vehicle low power transceiver (14 ) .
When a person is away from a vehicle provided with this system, he takes the portable alarm transceiver (18 ) with him. In the event that an emergency arises, the portable alarm is provided with at least one alarm button. When this button is depressed, it sends an alarm signal via antennas (20) and (16) to the m-vehicle low power transceiver which communicates the alarm to the m-vehicle radιo(lθ). This in turn sends the alarm signal back to the central call control unit (2) via the antennas (12) and (6) and the fixed base transmitter receιver(4). The central call control unit can then send an acknowledgement signal via the same route to the portable alarm transceiver to acknowledge that an alarm has been received and at the same time can send a message to a third party to send assistance to the person. Similarly, if the central call control unit has a message for a particular person, this can be transmitted via the same route to the m-vehicle radio or, if the person is not present in the vehicle, to the portable alarm transceiver.
The block diagram of Figure 2 shows the m-vehicle transceiver and the portable mobile alarm transceiver.
The portable alarm device has a microprocessor controller (22) controlling all its activities. It includes an audible alarm device coupled to the microcontroller for alerting the person carrying the portable alarm in response to signals received from the central call control unit (2). Also coupled to the microcontroller is an LCD dιsplay(26) to display messages from the central call control unit once the person carrying the device has been alerted.
In this embodiment, two alarm buttons (28) are coupled to the microcontroller (22) and can be depressed by the carrier of the device to cause the microcontroller (22) to generate an alarm signal which is then sent by a low power transmitter (30) and an aerial switch (32) to the antenna (16) for transmission back to the m-vehicle transceiver (10) and thence onward to the central call control unit. Two alarm buttons (28) are shown in this embodiment but in practice only one is required. An acknowledgement generated by the central call control unit is received back by the microcontroller and the audible device (24) can generate an audible acknowledgement and/or the LDC display (26) can display an acknowledgement. On the return path the signal passes via the aerial switch ('2) to a receiver unit (34) and then on to the microcor- roller(22) .
In this embodiment, a motion detector (36) is also provided in the portable alarm. This could be replaced by some other type of monitoring device m dependence on the application for which the device is to be used. This detector can also be used to generate an alarm signal and send it to the central call control unιt(2).
When detecting an alarm, the microcontroller (2) cause to be transmitted to the m-vehicle unit (10) the identity of the portable alarm unit which it stores along with the type of alarm, i.e. an alarm generated by a button (28) or by a motion detector or similar device (36) .
At the m-vehicle unit, a signal from the portable device is received on antenna (12) and passes to aerial swιtch(38). This passes it on to a receive unιt(40) and this in turn passes it to a microcontroller (42) . Serial interface circuitry then passes the signal to the m- vehicle radio which causes the signal to be sent back to the call control un t. The serial interface circuitry is activated by the microcontroller. All the signals sent to the vehicle radio include the identity of the portable unit and the alarm type.
When an acknowledgement is received back by the vehicle radio from the call control umt(2), it is passed to the m-vehicle unit (10) via the serial interface circuitry and then to the microcontroller ( 42) . This passes the data to a low power transmitter ( 46) which applies the necessary type of modulation to it before sending it to the aerial (12) via antenna switch(38).
The use of the aerial switches (32) and (38) allow common antennas to be used for the portable alarm and fo: the in-vehicle unit.

Claims

1. A mobile personnel protection system comprising a control centre for receiving signals from and transmitting signals to a plurality of remote units, each remote unit having at least one portable -device associated with it which it may transmit signals to and receive signals from, each portable device comprising means to generate an alarm signal and means to transmit the alarm signal to the remote device, each remote device comprising means to transmit the alarm signal to the control centre, the control centre comprising means to transmit a message to a remote device, either the remote device or the portable device having means to display the message.
2. A system according to claim 1 in which the control centre comprises means to generate an acknowledgement of an alarm signal and to transmit this to a remote unit for transmission on to a portable device.
3. A system according to claim 1 or 2 in which each portable device has a unique identity associated with it and the means to transmit an alarm signal, also transmits the unique -identity of the portable unit with the alarm signal.
4. A system according to claim 2 in which the means to transmit an acknowledgement request transmits the acknowledgement to the in-vehicle unit from which the alarm signal was received and includes in the acknowledgement the unique identity of the portable device from which the alarm signal was received.
5. A portable alarm device comprising means for activating an alarm signal, means for transmitting an alarm signal along with an identification signal for the portable device, and means for receiving an alarm acknowledgement signal.
PCT/GB1998/002796 1997-09-15 1998-09-15 Mobile personnel protection system WO1999014721A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB9719632.3 1997-09-15
GB9719632A GB2329270A (en) 1997-09-15 1997-09-15 Mobile personnel protection system

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1999014721A1 true WO1999014721A1 (en) 1999-03-25

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/GB1998/002796 WO1999014721A1 (en) 1997-09-15 1998-09-15 Mobile personnel protection system

Country Status (2)

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GB (1) GB2329270A (en)
WO (1) WO1999014721A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB0107522D0 (en) * 2001-03-26 2001-05-16 C M Hammar Utveckling Ab A closed user group alarm management system with a global distress search and rescue fallback facility

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3668526A (en) * 1969-09-12 1972-06-06 Jerome S Raskin Communication system having means for causing a distress signal
DE19601196A1 (en) * 1996-01-15 1997-07-17 Pietzsch Ibp Gmbh Communication and monitoring system for ill, old or handicapped people

Family Cites Families (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
SE382271C (en) * 1974-02-13 1979-02-22 Innovationsteknik Inst Ab WAY TO ALARM IN THE EVENT OF AN ATTACK TO ROBBERY, ATTACK, ETC, JEMTE ALARM SYSTEM FOR EXERCISE OF THE SET
GB2220778B (en) * 1988-07-11 1992-03-25 Automated Security Vehicle security
SE510220C2 (en) * 1994-03-03 1999-05-03 Telia Ab Device for radio communication systems

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3668526A (en) * 1969-09-12 1972-06-06 Jerome S Raskin Communication system having means for causing a distress signal
DE19601196A1 (en) * 1996-01-15 1997-07-17 Pietzsch Ibp Gmbh Communication and monitoring system for ill, old or handicapped people

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB9719632D0 (en) 1997-11-19
GB2329270A (en) 1999-03-17

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