Methods and apparatus notifying a user of the operating condition of a remotely located household appliance
AssigneeTwin Harbor Labs, LLC
InventorsJames D Logan, Eric Carr, Richard A Baker, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Sounds, alarms or other indications of conditions of potential interest that are produced by appliances and other household devices are detected by one or more sensors to trigger a notification signal that is sent to a remotely located user. The signals produced by the sensors are advantageously compared with a database of signals representing conditions of potential interest produced by known appliances and devices, producing the appropriate notification signal when a match is found. Notifications may be relayed to one or more selected users only when predetermined conditions are satisfied.
Claims18
A method of notifying a user when a sound in a household indicates a condition of potential interest to the user comprising:
- employing one or more sensors to convert ambient sounds into an output signal using a signal processor;
- transmitting the output signal to a remotely located computing device;
- comparing, in the computing device, the output signal to a searchable database of stored control sounds by comparing identification values that represent the output signal to identification values that are in the searchable database, each of which is associated in the searchable database with status identifying information and notification parameters, the stored control sounds related to household sounds, and the notification parameters specifying conditions related to a determination of whether to issue notifications;
- producing an alert notification indication when the output signal matches one of the stored control sounds and when the conditions in the notification parameters for the matching stored control sounds are satisfied;
- and
- in response to said notification alert indication, transmitting a wireless alert message containing the status identifying information associated with the matched control sound to a remotely located notification unit, implemented by a programmed smartphone or other handheld computer, located near said user, wherein the remotely located notification unit is carried by the user and programmed to produce an output that is perceptible to the user and indicative of the condition.
An apparatus for notifying a user when an event occurs that is accompanied by a production of sounds or vibrations having predetermined properties, the apparatus comprising, in combination:
- a computing device responsive to a wireless notification message including an electrical sensor output signal from a remote device having a time-varying amplitude that represents the sounds or vibrations;
- and
- a signal comparator operating on the computing device for comparing the electrical sensor output signal with a plurality of control signals stored in a searchable database, by comparing identification values that represent the output signal to identification values that are in the searchable database, which further stores identification information and notification parameters associated with each of the control signals, the notification parameters specifying conditions related to the determination of whether to issue notifications, the signal comparator producing an alert signal whenever the output signal matches one of the control signals and when the conditions in the notification parameters are satisfied, the control signals related to household sounds;
- the alert signal incorporated in a wireless alert message sent to a remote notification unit located near said user, the wireless alert message containing the status identifying information associated with the matched control sound, wherein the remote notification unit is programmed to produce an output that is perceptible to the user and indicative of the condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.