Personal monitoring system

ES 2 223 925 T3

DESCRIPTION

System to monitor people.

The present invention relates to a system for monitoring people, especially children and adults who need monitoring, according to the preamble of claim 1.

It is known that young children especially like to explore the environment and for this they escape from the person who watches them. With this there is the danger that children will escape and lose or take some risk.

For this reason, it is necessary for children to hold hands or be observed permanently. Holding hands greatly limits children's instinct for freedom, while permanent observation is tiring and often not possible. For this reason, tie bands have also been disclosed which, like a rope, are attached to the hand of children and can be held by the guardian. It is true that this simplifies surveillance. However, the child's ability to move is here relatively severely limited.

A system of the kind mentioned at the beginning is known from document US-A-5 289 163. This document describes a system for monitoring people, in which an acoustic or vibrating signal is emitted to signal an inadmissible distance to the person being monitored. . This system further comprises an indication for the approximate position of the person under surveillance. These are eight circularly arranged light-emitting diodes, which light up depending on the position of the person being monitored.

US-A-6 084 517 describes a satellite location system, which is not only complicated and expensive, but is also unsuitable for surveillance of people in buildings. Contact is made here precisely in each case via satellites.

The invention has set itself the task of improving a system of the kind mentioned at the beginning.

This mission is solved by the particularities of claim 1.

By dispensing with a mechanical restraint means, the freedom of movement of the child or adult who needs supervision is not limited. At the same time, constant observation of the child or adult is not required, since a warning signal is emitted as soon as the child or adult moves further than the preset value.

This is due to the recognition that up to a certain distance between the child and the guardian it is not necessary to know exactly where the child is at that moment. For example within a radius of 5 m around the guard person it is possible to quickly find the child again, even after he is out of sight. Until the child has moved further away there is no risk of the child getting lost. In the case of the system according to the invention, a warning signal is now emitted as soon as the child moves further away, so that it can then react immediately and the child can rediscover itself in time.

In the case of adults who need surveillance, corresponding considerations apply. In this way, the system according to the invention can be used in particular in dwellings in which people who need surveillance can move freely.

If the person now leaves the home and moves further away from it than the preset value, the warning signal is issued and steps can be taken immediately to find the person again and bring them back to the home as well as protect them from damage. The permitted distance can be set here with a correspondingly larger magnitude.

It is particularly advantageous that the value of the permitted distance can be adjusted. The monitoring can thereby be adapted to the respective circumstances. In this way, for example, in a department store a lower authorized distance can be set than in a playground. This only gives the guardian a warning when there is a real risk of loss or danger to the child.

The basic idea of ​​the invention consists in sending a message when the predetermined distance is exceeded, especially to a fixed network or a mobile phone by SMS (Short Message Service) or as email to a computer. In this way it is also possible to inform other people or several people simultaneously. Thus, it is preferable that the sender and / or receiver have GSM capability (Global System for Mobile Communication = Global System for Mobile Communication). The system can be used by means of this also outside the borders of the country.

A message can also be transmitted as an emergency call to a police station. In special cases or when a particularly great distance is exceeded, a police action can be triggered by this quickly.

According to one embodiment of the invention, means have been provided by which the edition of the warning signal is terminated again when the distance again falls below the preset value. In this way it is possible to inform the monitoring person that the person to be monitored is within the preset distance again. This makes locating easier.

The transmitter and / or receiver are preferably battery operated. With this there is no dependence on a power network.

By means of a possibility of connecting and disconnecting the transmitter and / or the receiver, the operating time of these devices is advantageously increased.

In order to reduce the construction size of the transmitter and / or receiver, these devices preferably have a plate in SMD technique. Apart from this, the transmitter can use a patterned antenna for this purpose.

The transmitter and receiver preferably work according to the radio transmission principle, in particular with high-frequency modulation. This has proven to be especially suitable for the present operational purpose.

It is therefore particularly advantageous if the transmitter and / or receiver have a plastic housing. Broadcasting is thereby possible largely unhindered.

As a warning signal, an optical or acoustic warning signal or both can be provided. It is therefore advantageous for the warning signal to vary as the distance between transmitter and receiver increases, for example it becomes stronger or faster. It is also possible to provide several light-emitting diodes, of which a number that increases with distance is activated. The surveillance person gets with this on the one hand

ES 2 223 925 T3 additional information. On the other hand, the attention value of the warning signal is increased, by means of which the surveillance person can react more quickly.

For example, three light-emitting diodes can be provided in the receiver, one of which lights up at a free distance of 5 m, two at a free distance of 10 m and all three at a free distance of 15 m.

If the free connection between the transmitter and the receiver is interrupted, for example by a wall, the distances become correspondingly smaller than those that the respective light-emitting diodes light up.

It is also advantageous that the receiver can be switched to a mode in which the warning signal becomes stronger, especially stronger or faster as the distance decreases. This mode is chosen as soon as a warning signal has been issued and now the person must meet the sender. The intensity of the signal that increases as the distance decreases facilitates the location as a bearing.

According to one configuration of the invention, the receiver is also configured in a portable manner. This configuration is especially suitable for children to be watched by guardians who wish to move freely with the children.

According to another configuration of the invention the receiver is fixedly installed. This configuration is especially suitable in the case of surveillance of adults who need surveillance, who are housed in a dwelling. No portable receiver is required here.

In this application it is furthermore advantageous if the receiver has several channels for different transmitters. Through this, several people can be monitored with one receiver.

According to another configuration of the invention, the transmitter has a plug device or a fixing band. The transmitter can thus be attached quickly and easily to the person to be monitored.

In the case of using the system to monitor children, it is preferable that the transmitter has a housing with a shape that is pleasant for the child, for example in the shape of a moon or a star. Acceptance of the appliance by children is thereby increased.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown in the drawing and are described below. Here they show, in each case in a schematic presentation:

figure 1 a portable transmitter and a portable receiver ^Y FIG. 2 a fixedly installed receiver with several portable transmitters.

The emitter 1 represented in FIG. 1 is configured as small as possible and with a fixing device, provided for example with a clip or a band to be able to fix it to a person, for example a jacket or a child's wrist. The emitter 1 has, for example, a diameter of between 0.5 and 0.7 cm and has a weight of approx. 20 g. In order to configure the emitter 1 as small as possible, it comprises a board with a circuit in SMD technique as well as a small battery for power supply. The antenna is preferably stamped on the emitter 1.

The receiver 2 shown in FIG. 1 can also be configured in a portable manner and have a reduced size. For this, it can also have a board with a circuit in SMD technique as well as a small battery for power supply. The receiver can also be provided with a stamped receiving antenna. However, receiver 2 can also be configured somewhat larger than transmitter 1.

The transmitter 1 and the receiver 2 act in particular connected to one another according to the radio transmission principle, whereby the radio waves are preferably modulated at high frequencies. Reception is thereby ensured even in the event of obstacles between transmitter 1 and receiver 2. Receiver 2 comprises a warning device, which is activated as soon as the distance between transmitter 1 and receiver 2 exceeds a value. preset, which can be especially adjustable. The warning signal emitted by the warning device can be both optically and acoustically or of another kind and depend on the magnitude of the distance between transmitter 1 and receiver 2. A set distance can be, for example, between 5 and 15 cm . The operating time of transmitter 1 and receiver 2 can be, for example, three hours. The current source may also be rechargeable configured.

In the case of the version shown in FIG. 2, the receiver 2 is permanently installed and has several channels that are assigned in each case to several transmitters 1. To each channel, an optical warning device 3 is also assigned, for example a warning lamp. Apart from this the receiver 2 can present an acoustic warning device for all the channels in common. While the acoustic warning device serves to attract the attention of the surveillance person, the latter can determine through the optical warning devices 3 which of the transmitters 1 has led to an editing of the warning signal. In this way, the surveillance person can recognize which person under surveillance has moved further than the preset value.

This variant can be used in a particularly suitable way to monitor people who need vigilance. The authorized distance can therefore be greater, for example 30 m. The differentiation of the different emitters 1 can also be carried out in another way.

With the system according to the invention, a particularly advantageous surveillance of persons is made possible which confers on the person under surveillance as much freedom of movement as possible, without requiring permanent monitoring of the person, but at the same time ensuring sufficient surveillance. The surveillance person is reliably informed of a walk away and can react quickly, to find the person under surveillance and protect them from danger.