GB2481605A

GB2481605A - Apparatus for raising an alarm following a fall from a horse, bicycle or motorcycle

Info

Publication number: GB2481605A
Application number: GB1010935.3A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Mary Thompson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-06-29
Filing date: 2010-06-29
Publication date: 2012-01-04
Also published as: GB201010935D0

Abstract

An apparatus is provided for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation such as a horse, bicycle or motorcycle. The apparatus comprises an alarm unit to be worn on a rider; a cord connecting the alarm unit to the means of transportation; a microcontroller to detect when the cord is disconnected from the alarm unit; a wireless communication component within the alarm unit operated by the microcontroller to communicate with other wireless devices in the surrounding area. The wireless communication component may communicate with rider's mobile phone. The phone may then be prompted to call a pre-determined telephone number such as the emergency services.

Description

.n apparatus for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation

Background of the Invention

[1] The present invention relates to emergency systems, more specifically, systems for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation such as a horse, bicycle or motorcycle.

[2] In emergency situations, it is often desirable to alert other people so that they may call for help, or provide help themselves. Alarm and alert systems for use in such situations are known in the art and are widely commercially available.

The simplest form of these alarms is a small unit with a button that, when pressed, emits a loud noise to be heard by people nearby. These alarms have been developed further -rather than simply emitting a noise, some are capable of communicating wirelessly to base stations or call centres, informing people in remote locations that the alarm-user is in danger so that help can be arranged.

[3] A significant disadvantage of these alarm systems is that they require user input from the person, or people, in an emergency situation. This is not always possible. When a person is out alone and is thrown from a horse, bicycle or motorcycle, there is usually a very hard impact and the person is often rendered unconscious. If this should occur, the rider clearly cannot operate an alarm system requiring user input, meaning that help is not called until the person is found by a passer-by. The injured rider could be left alone for many hours without emergency medical attention.

[4] Very few methods of solving this problem are known in the art. The Ride Alert service commercially available in the UK provides adhesive labels and wristbands printed with a unique ID number and a phone number. If a rider is found injured, the person who has found the rider should call the number citing their location and the unique ID number, allowing a call centre to contact emergency services, family members and provide information on allergies other medical conditions that the rider suffers from. Though this is a useful resource, it relies upon the rider being found by a passer-by and cannot raise alarm that emergency assistance is required.

[5] GB0003591 to Tunstall Group Ltd. discloses a fall detector worn on the person that emits an alarm noise if a fall is detected. The fall is detected using an impact sensor and an orientation sensor, to detect when a person has fallen and is in a horizontal position.

[6] F120035106 to Istoy discloses a fall detector also worn on the person that communicates wirelessly with a central, manned control centre. It detects falls based on sudden changes in height.

[7] Both of these inventions are aimed primarily at detecting the falls and trips of elderly people and would not be suitable for use when riding a horse, bicycle or motorcycle. All of these things necessarily involve impacts and changes in height at some stage -when riding a horse, for example, a rising trot requires the rider to move up and down in time with the rhythm of the horse. When riding horses, bicycle or motorcycles it is likely that the rider will ride over bumps and hills. It is therefore important that any alarm system is not triggered by impact sensors or height sensors,

which the prior art rely upon.

Brief Summary of the Invention

[8] It can be seen by the forgoing that a need has arisen for an emergency alarm system that does not require user input, yet is only triggered by a rider being thrown from a horse, bicycle or motorcycle rather than impacts or changes in height. It can also be seen that any such system must effectively raise alarm to someone at another location from the rider -the simple emission of a noise may not be enough to raise alarm.

[9] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a system and apparatus to achieve this.

[10] To this end, disclosed is an apparatus for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation, comprising: an alarm unit to be worn on the person; a cord connecting the alarm unit to the means of transportation; a microcontroller to detect when the cord is disconnected from the unit; a wireless communication component within the unit operated by the microcontroller to communicate with other wireless devices in the surrounding area.

[11] The rider attaches the alarm unit to their person, perhaps on a belt around the waist. The cord is then connected to both the alarm unit and the means of transportation, for example, on the saddle of a horse. If the rider is thrown from the means of transportation, the cord is disconnected from the alarm unit. The microcontroller within the alarm unit detects the disconnection, and activates the wireless communication component. The wireless communication component makes contact with any other wireless-enabled devices within the area, such as the rider's own phone. The phone may then be prompted to take action as appropriate, pre-prograrnmed into the phone. For example, the phone may call a pre-determined telephone number such as the emergency services.

[12] An advantage of the present invention is that cannot be triggered by routine impacts or changes in height.

[13] A further advantage is that it may be activated without user input, and will therefore raise alarm even if the rider is rendered unconscious.

Brief Description of the Several Views of the Drawing [14] The invention can be better understood with reference to the following drawings, in which: [15] Figure one shows an isometric view of a preferred embodiment of the alarm unit.

[16] Figure two shows a flow chart of the process of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of an Embodiment

[17] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, an apparatus for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation is disclosed, comprising: an alarm unit to be worn on the person, shown in Figure 1; a cord connecting the alarm unit to the means of transportation; a microcontroller that can detect when the cord is disconnected from the unit; a wireless communication component within the unit operated by the microcontroller to communicate with other wireless devices in the surrounding area.

[18] The alarm unit worn on the person comprises a casing 101 formed of a strong material such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene to withstand falls and impacts if the rider wearing the alarm unit is thrown from their means of transportation. The casing 101 may comprise apertures to attach the unit to a belt on the person.

[19] Both the microcontroller and wireless communication component are ideally held within the casing 101 of the alarm unit. The microcontroller is connected to a circuit also held within the casing of the alarm unit. All of these electrical components held within the unit may be powered by a battery.

The battery may be a cell battery, or any other type of battery able to provide power for extended periods. It may or may not be rechargeable.

[20] The alarm unit comprises an aperture 102 in the casing 101 to receive the cord. When the cord is inserted into the aperture 102, it completes the circuit connected to the microcontroller.

[21] If the cord is removed from the alarm unit, the circuit is broken. This is detected by the microcontroller, which activates the wireless communication component. The microcontroller may be programmed to incorporate a delay in activating the wireless communication component, in case the cord has been removed accidentally, allowing the rider to re-insert the cord before it is activated.

[22] The aperture 102 in the casing 101 of the alarm unit may comprise an internal spring clip, to increase the amount of force required to remove the cord from the unit and ensure it is only activated when the user is thrown from their means of transportation.

[23] The casing 101 may comprise a series of light emitted diodes (LEDs) 103 to indicate the status of the cord. For example, a green LED 103 being on could indicate that the cord is inserted, and a red LED 103 being on could indicate that the cord is not inserted. The LEDS may be powered by the same circuit that is connected to the microcontroller, completed by the cord.

[24] The cord itself should be formed of a strong material unlikely to break or rip in the case of the rider being thrown from their means of transportation. This material may be, for example, nylon, polypropylene, or a polyethylene terephthalate fibre such as polyester. At its free end, it comprises a means of attachment, such as a carabiner, to attach it to the means of transportation.

[25] The wireless communication component may utilise Bluetooth technology, as this is widely used for wireless communications by the devices the invention will communicate with, such as mobile phones. Alternatively, any other type of wireless communication technology known in the art may be used.

[261 Once the wireless communication component within the alarm unit has been activated, it will communicate with any wireless devices in the surrounding area.

[27] It is envisaged that the rider's own mobile phone will be the most likely wireless device in the surrounding area.

Once the alarm unit has communicated with the mobile device, the mobile device should generate an alert.for the emergency situation. This alert may be an automatically generated telephone call to a pre-programmed number, such as that of the emergency services or the next of kin. The call may provide details of the location of the individual using the GPS technology within the mobile device.

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[28] The rider attaches the alarm unit to their person, perhaps on a belt around the waist. The cord is then connected to both the alarm unit and the means of transportation, for example, on the saddle of a horse.

[29] If the rider is thrown from the means of transportation, the cord is disconnected from the alarm unit.

The circuit within the alarm unit is broken by the removal of the cord, and this is detected by the microcontroller. The microcontroller activates the wireless communication component. The wireless communication component makes contact with any other wireless-enabled devices within the area, such as the rider's own phone. The phone is then prompted to take the action as specified, for example, calling a pre-programmed phone number.

Claims

Claims 1. An apparatus for raising alarm following a fall from a means of transportation, comprising: an alarm unit to be worn on the person; a cord connecting said alarm unit to said means of transportation; a microcontroller that detects when said cord is disconnected from said alarm unit; a wireless communication component within said alarm unit operated by said microcontroller capable of communicating with other in-range wireless devices.
2. The apparatus of the preceding claim where said alarm unit comprises a casing.
3. The apparatus of any preceding claim where said alarm unit comprises a plurality of light emitting diodes that indicate the status of said cord.
4. The apparatus of any preceding claim where said alarm unit comprises a casing formed of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.
5. The apparatus of claims 2 and 3 where said casing holds said microcontroller and said wireless communication device.
6. The apparatus of any preceding claim where said cord completes a circuit connected to said microcontroller.
7. The apparatus of the preceding claim where completion of said circuit with said cord prompts said microcontroller to activate said wireless communication component.
8. The apparatus of any preceding claim where communication between said other in-range wireless devices and said wireless communication component results in a telephone call being generated from said other in-range wireless devices to a pre-programmed telephone number.
9. The apparatus of any preceding claim where said cord is formed of nylon, polypropylene or polyester.
10. The apparatus of any preceding claim where said cord comprises a carabiner.*::r: INTELLECTUAL . ... PROPERTY OFFICE Application No: GB1010935.3 Examiner: Richard Kersiake Claims searched: 1-10 Date of search: 21 October 2010 Patents Act 1977: Search Report under Section 17 Documents considered to be relevant: Category Relevant Identity of document and passage or figure of particular relevance to claims X 1-10 GB2364414A (LONG) See whole document X 1-10 GB24IOIIOA (MADELEY) See whole document X 1 at least DE102006045875 Al (NEUBAUER) See figure 1 & WPI abstract Categories: X Document indicating lack of novelty or inventive A Document indicating technological background and/or state step of the art.Y Document indicating lack of inventive step if P Document published on or after the declared priority date but combined with one or more other documents of before the filing date of this invention.same category.& Member of the same patent family E Patent document published on or after, but with priority date earlier than, the filing date of this application.Field of Search:Search of GB, EP. WO & US patent documents classified in the following areas of the UKCX Worldwide search of patent documents classified in the following areas of the IPC GO8B The following online and other databases have been used in the preparation of this search report EPODOC,WPI,TXTE International Classification: Subclass Subgroup Valid From GO8B 0021/02 01/01/2006 GO8B 0021/22 01/01/2006 Intellectual Property Office is an operating name of the Patent Office www.ipo.gov.uk