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US 12,311,732 B2Granted
Electronic system with integrated alerting and cooling mechanisms to save the life of an unattended child in a vehicle
OwnerAnya Vaishinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention describes a safety system for cooling air around a child in a car when an engine of the car is turned off, and a cooling mechanism of the safety system is automatically activated above a specified temperature when a child is left in the car. The safety system incorporates an audio alert, a visual alert, and a mechanism to send a distress signal or call to emergency services after two minutes after the car engine is turned off and the child is not removed from the car. An open-source Firmware code was used to control thermoelectric cooling via Arduino and an Android software code for emergency calls.
Claims16
A safety system for cooling air around a child in a car when an engine of a car is turned off comprising:
- a pressure sensing device configured to sense the child by the child's weight, a cooling device, an electrical system configured to carry a signal, from the pressure sensing device sensing the child, to activate the cooling device, a system battery, connected to the electrical system, configured to provide power to the safety system, and a power relay and a diode connected in series and connecting the system battery to a car battery, wherein the power relay and the diode ensure that the system battery provides power to the safety system when the car engine is turned off,
- wherein the electrical system is connected to a key fob via a radio transmitter, wherein the key fob is configured to sound an alarm when the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child and the distance between the child car seat and the key fob exceeds over 10 feet when the car engine is turned off or when the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child for more than 2 minutes after the car engine is turned off,
- wherein the safety system is incorporated in a child car seat, wherein the pressure sensing device is configured to be placed under the child, the car comprises a trunk, and the cooling device and the system battery are configured to be placed in the trunk of the car, and wherein the electrical system is connected to a smartphone via a global positioning system (GPS) system, wherein the smartphone is configured to send an emergency call or 911 call to an emergency service after the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child in the car for 2 minutes, or wherein the smartphone is configured to sound an audio alarm when the distance between the child car seat and the smartphone exceeds over 10 feet when the car engine is turned off or after the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child in the car for 2 minutes.
A method for saving life of a child left unattended in a car comprising:
- (a) providing a safety system for cooling air around a child in a car when an engine of a car is turned off comprising:
- a pressure sensing device configured to sense the child by the child's weight, a cooling device, an electrical system configured to carry a signal, from the pressure sensing device sensing the child, to activate the cooling device, a system battery, connected to the electrical system, configured to provide power to the safety system, and a power relay and a diode connected in series and connecting the system battery to a car battery, wherein the power relay and the diode ensure that the system battery provides power to the safety system when the car engine is turned off, (b) providing a child car seat with, a global positioning system (GPS) connected to the electrical system, a cell phone connected the safety system wirelessly, a thermometer connected to the electrical system configured to measure the temperature of the interior of the car, (c) sensing that the child is in the car seat after the car engine is turned off, (d) turning on the cooling device when the car reaches a temperature above 76° F. as measured by the thermometer, and (e) placing a call using the cell phone to an emergency service and providing the location of the child two minutes after the car engine is turned off,
- wherein the electrical system is connected to a key fob via a radio transmitter, wherein the key fob is configured to sound an alarm when the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child and the distance between the child car seat and the key fob exceeds over 10 feet when the car engine is turned off or when the pressure sensing device senses the presence of the child for more than 2 minutes after the car engine is turned off.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.