Voice-recognition safety system for aircraft and method of using the same

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/908,309, filed Jul. 17, 2001, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/588,863, filed Jun. 6, 2000, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,288,643 and claims priority to the following U.S. Provisional Applications: U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/137,962 entitled “Graffiti Detection System,” filed Jun. 7, 1999; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/180,771 entitled “Olfactory Detection of Graffiti,” filed Feb. 7, 2000; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/194,082 entitled “Acoustical Detection of Firearm,” filed Apr. 3, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates, in general, to a safety system and method for an aircraft, and, in particular, to a voice-recognition safety system and method for an aircraft.

[0004] 2. Related Art

[0005] The following description of the background of the invention is intended to aid in the understanding of the invention, but is not admitted to describe or constitute prior art to the invention.

[0006] The terrorist attacks that occurred on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. have revealed that terrorists have found an almost perfect weapon in a hijacked aircraft, especially if the terrorists are suicidal. The inventors of an aspect of the present invention have recognized that a need exists for a method and system to lock out the controls of an aircraft, putting the aircraft in an automatic-pilot mode and/or ground-control mode, in the event of an emergency situation such as a hijacking, engine failure, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A further aspect of the invention involves a method of detecting an emergency situation in an aircraft. The method includes providing in an aircraft a voice-recognition safety system for detecting an emergency situation in an aircraft, the voice-recognition safety system including one or more sensors to pick up one or more spoken words or phrases of an aircraft pilot in an aircraft and transmit one or more signals in response to the one or more spoken words or phrases of the aircraft pilot in the aircraft, and a base unit including electronics to process the one or more signals and the electronics adapted to determine if the one or more signals represent one or more code words or phrases representative of an emergency situation in the aircraft; and an alarm to indicate that an emergency situation has been detected in the aircraft; sensing with the one or more sensors one or more spoken words or phrases of the aircraft pilot in the aircraft and transmitting one or more signals in response to the one or more spoken words or phrases to the electronics; processing the one or more signals in response to the one or more spoken words or phrases of the aircraft pilot in the aircraft with the electronics and determining whether the one or more signals represent one or more code words or phrases representative of an emergency situation in the aircraft; and initiating an alarm indicating that an emergency situation took place if the one or more signals represent one or more code words or phrases representative of an emergency situation in the aircraft. In one implementation, initiating an alarm may include one or more of the following: communicating to one or more entities that an emergency situation occurred and information related to the emergency situation, locking out one or more controls in a cockpit of the aircraft, putting the aircraft on automatic pilot, allowing the aircraft to be controlled from a remote location, recording an image of a perpetrator in the aircraft with a camera, and recording sound in the aircraft with a voice recorder.

[0008] Another aspect of the invention involves a voice-recognition safety system for detecting an emergency situation in an aircraft. The system includes one or more sensors to pick up one or more spoken words or phrases of an aircraft pilot in an aircraft and transmit one or more signals in response to the one or more spoken words or phrases of the aircraft pilot in the aircraft, and a base unit including electronics to process the one or more signals and the electronics adapted to determine if the one or more signals represent one or more code words or phrases representative of an emergency situation in the aircraft, and an alarm to indicate that an emergency situation has been detected in the aircraft.

[0009] Other and further objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with the following detailed description of the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:

[0010] The drawings illustrate both the design and utility of embodiments of the present invention, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is an illustration of an embodiment of a graffiti detection system and method in an exemplary environment.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the graffiti detection system illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0013]FIG. 3A is block diagram of an embodiment of a time domain characterization mechanism.

[0014]FIG. 3B is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment of a time domain characterization mechanism.

[0015]FIG. 4A is an illustration of an embodiment of a detection system similar to that illustrated in FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b>, but for use in detection of a firearm shot, and is shown in an exemplary environment.

[0016]FIG. 4B is an illustration of an alternative embodiment of a firearm shot detection system and method and is shown in an alternative exemplary environment.

[0017]FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the voice-recognition safety system.

[0018]FIG. 6 is an illustration of an embodiment of a detection system similar to that illustrated in FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b>, but for use in detection of a vehicle tire leak, and is shown in an exemplary environment.

[0019]FIG. 7 is an illustration of an embodiment of a detection system similar to that illustrated in FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b>, but for use in detecting the use of equipment such as a computer, and is shown in an exemplary environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] With reference to FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>7</b>, a variety of different aspects of the invention will be described in the following sections I-VI. Section I describes an embodiment of a graffiti detection system and method of using the same. Section II describes an embodiment of a firearm shot detection system and method of using the same. Section III describes an embodiment of a voice-recognition safety system for a chauffeured vehicle and method. Section IV describes an embodiment of a voice-recognition safety system for an aircraft. Section V describes an embodiment of a vehicle tire leak detection system and method. Section VI describes an embodiment of an equipment use detection system and method. Each of these aspects will be described in turn below.

[0021] I. Graffiti Detection System

[0022] The graffiti detection system <b>100</b> detects a graffiti-making act and initiates one or more alarms to indicate that a graffiti-making act occurred. Examples of graffiti-making acts that are capable of being detected by the system <b>100</b> include, but not by way of limitation, the spraying noise that occurs with the spraying or tagging of a surface with a spray paint can, the rattling noise that occurs when shaking a spray paint can to mix the paint inside, the sound of a felt marker on a surface as the surface is being marked, and the sound of an abrasive device such as a glass cutter, diamond, razor, etc. as it scratches, defaces, or etches a surface such as glass. The graffiti detection system <b>100</b> includes one or more primary sensors <b>110</b> and a control unit or base unit <b>120</b>.

[0023] Each primary sensor <b>110</b> is preferably a sonic sensor capable of picking up sound waves and converting the sound waves into electronic signals for further processing. Each sonic sensor may be capable of sensing a wide variety of sound frequencies, even sounds in the ultrasound frequency range. Examples of sensors <b>110</b> that may be used as a sonic sensor include, but not by way of limitation, a piezoelectric sensor, a dynamic sensor, an electret sensor, a carbon sensor, a bolometer sensor, an optical reflection sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sound sensor, and an ultrasonic sensor used to detect and respond to specific sound spectrum patterns.

[0024] A graffiti-making act <b>130</b> such as the spraying noise from an aerosol spray paint can <b>140</b> by a perpetrator or tagger <b>150</b> has a specific sound spectrum frequency pattern or sound signature. The one or more sensors <b>110</b> may convert the sound of the spraying noise into a corresponding electronic signal.

[0025] Depending on the type of sonic sensor, each sensor <b>110</b> may be adapted to pick up a narrow frequency range or individual frequency of sound waves or a broad frequency spectrum of sound waves.

[0026] In the first instance, detection of a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> may occur, in essence, at the sensor <b>110</b>. The system <b>100</b> may rely more on the inherent frequency characteristics of sensor(s) <b>110</b> for identification of a sound signature of a graffiti making act <b>130</b>. For example, the sensor(s) <b>110</b> may only transmit a single frequency signal, e.g., a 900 megahertz signal, if a certain frequency or certain frequencies of sound are picked up by the sensor(s) <b>110</b>. Thus, a specific sensor <b>110</b> may be used to detect a specific graffiti-making act <b>130</b>, without the requirement of much identification processing by the base unit <b>120</b>. In this embodiment, if the specific sensor <b>110</b> transmits an electronic signal, the base unit <b>120</b> may be able to assume, except for some minor processing and possible confirmation, that the specific graffiti-making act <b>110</b>, which the specific sensor <b>110</b> is adapted to sense, has occurred. In this embodiment, different sensors <b>110</b> may be assigned to sense different graffiti-making acts <b>130</b>, one or more of which may be used in the system <b>100</b>. For example, a sensor A may be used to detect the spraying noise that occurs with the spraying or tagging of a surface with a spray paint can, a sensor B may be used to detect the sound of the rattling noise that occurs when shaking a spray paint can to mix the paint inside, a sensor C may be used to detect the sound of a felt marker on a surface as the surface is being marked, and a sensor D may be used to detect the sound of an abrasive device such as a glass cutter, diamond, razor, etc. as it scratches, defaces, or etches a surface such as glass.

[0027] In the latter instance, detection of a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> may occur, in essence, at the base unit <b>120</b>. The system <b>100</b> may rely more on the base unit <b>120</b> to identify a graffiti-making act <b>130</b>. In this embodiment, the sensor(s) <b>110</b> may pick up a broader range of frequencies and transmit them to the base unit <b>120</b> as a spread spectrum signal for processing and identification. Thus, in order to reduce the number of sensors used to detect a number of different types of graffiti-making acts, a single sensor <b>110</b> may be used to sense all the sound frequencies or sound frequency ranges of the graffiti-making acts <b>130</b> of interest and use the base unit <b>120</b> to process and determine whether the transmitted signal(s) correspond to a graffiti-making act.

[0028] The sensor(s) <b>110</b> may be one or more of the same or different types of sensors <b>110</b>. For example, the sensor(s) <b>110</b> may include multiple sonic sensors of one or more different sonic sensor types. For example, as described above, specific sensors may be adapted to pick up specific sound frequencies or ranges of sound frequencies. The different types of sensors <b>110</b> may be used to pick up different frequency ranges for the same type of graffiti-making act, e.g., different frequency ranges for different spray noises made from different types of spray paint cans, or to pick up different frequency ranges for different types of graffiti-making acts, e.g., a first sensor may be used to detect spray painting, a second sensor may be used to detect the sound of a felt marker on a surface as the surface is being marked, etc.

[0029] Further, not only may the one or more sensors <b>110</b> be one or more different types of sonic sensors, the one or more sensors <b>110</b> may include one or more sensors other than sonic sensors in addition to or instead of one or more sonic sensors. For example, the one or more sensors <b>110</b> may include one or more olfactory sensors in addition to or instead of the one or more sonic sensors. An exemplary olfactory sensor that may be used in the system <b>100</b> is the NOSE CHIP™ made by Cyrano Sciences, Inc. of Pasadena, Calif. An olfactory sensor may be used in conjunction with the base unit <b>120</b> to sense the presence of one or more odors indicative of a graffiti-making act. For example, the olfactory sensor may be used to sense the odor of the propellant from a spray paint can, one or more other chemicals such as those from the paint of a spray paint can, the odor of xylene from a felt-tip marker, etc. One or more olfactory sensors may be used as one or more primary sensors <b>110</b> or primary means for detecting the occurrence of a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> or as a secondary sensor <b>335</b> or secondary means for confirming the occurrence of a graffiti-making act <b>130</b>.

[0030] The one or more sensors <b>110</b> may communicate wirelessly with the base unit <b>120</b> or may be wired to the base unit <b>120</b>. In a wireless embodiment, the one or more sensors <b>110</b> include a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting the signal(s) to the base unit <b>120</b> and a battery or other power supply. If one or more wireless piezoelectric sensors are used, the sensor(s) <b>110</b> may be located up to a distance of 400 ft. from the base unit <b>120</b> and still communicate therewith. If a 2.4 GHz sensor is used, the sensor(s) <b>110</b> may be located at a distance greater than 400 ft. from the base unit <b>120</b>. A wireless piezoelectric sensor can also sense the noise from a graffiti making at a distance of 1000 ft or more from the graffiti-making act, especially if focusing an baffling mechanisms are used.

[0031] It is important to note, although the one or more sensors <b>110</b> are shown in FIG. 1 as being separate or remote from the base unit <b>120</b>, in an alternative embodiment, the one or more sensors <b>110</b> may be integral with the base unit <b>120</b> so that the system <b>100</b> forms a single unit. Further, one or more of the sensors <b>110</b> may be integral with the base unit <b>120</b> and separate therefrom.

[0032] The one or more sensors <b>110</b> are preferably small, a few inches or less in size, making the sensor(s) <b>110</b> easy to conceal. The one or more sensors <b>100</b> are preferably strategically located at one or more locations in a vicinity <b>170</b> of a surface <b>180</b> prone to graffiti. The one or more sensors <b>110</b> may be mounted in direct contact with a surface such as, but not by way of limitation, a glass surface, a concrete wall, a brick wall, and the side of a building. Preferably, each sensor <b>110</b> is mounted at a location that is inconspicuous and inhibits tampering or deactivation.

[0033] The distance between the one or more sonic sensors and the graffiti-making act may be increased, allowing sensing from a more distant, inconspicuous position, if one or more sound focusing mechanisms <b>190</b> are used. Examples of sound focusing mechanisms that may effectively increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the sound detected by the one or more sonic sensors include, but not by way of limitation, a parabolic reflector, boom, shotgun directional microphone, phase array, or lens. FIG. 1 illustrates a sound focusing mechanism <b>190</b> in the form of a parabolic reflector adjacent to one of the sensors <b>110</b> in order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the sound detected by the sensor <b>110</b>.

[0034] With reference additionally to FIGS. 2 and 3, the base unit <b>120</b> is also preferably strategically located in the vicinity <b>170</b> of the surface <b>180</b> prone to graffiti, at a location that is inconspicuous and inhibits tampering or deactivation. The base unit <b>120</b> may include a water-resistant housing <b>200</b> made of metal or plastic. The base unit <b>120</b> may include electronics <b>210</b> comprising hardware or hardware and software that processes the signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b>, and initiates one or more alarms if a graffiti-making act is identified. The hardware and/or software of the base unit <b>120</b> may also determine whether a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> occurred by determining whether the signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b> correspond to a graffiti-making act. The hardware and/or software may also perform other functions described herein. Examples of hardware that may perform the functions described herein include, but not by way of limitation, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a set of wired logic circuits, and a hardwired circuit of electrical components, e.g., transistors, capacitors, and resistors. Examples of hardware and software that may perform the functions described herein include, but not by way of limitation, a programmed computer and an application specific computer.

[0035] In an embodiment of the base unit <b>120</b>, the hardware and/or software may include a preamplifier <b>220</b>, a mixer <b>230</b>, a low pass filter <b>240</b>, a precision rectifier <b>250</b>, and a time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b>. The preamplifier <b>220</b>, the mixer <b>230</b>, the low pass filter <b>240</b>, and the precision rectifier <b>250</b> may form part of a sensor interface for processing the incoming signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b>, which will now be described. A signal from the one or more sensors <b>110</b> is amplified by the preamplifier <b>220</b> to a distinguishable level. The mixer <b>230</b> may combine the resulting signal with a predetermined center frequency from a local oscillator <b>270</b>. If the frequency of the signal from the one or more sensors <b>110</b> closely matches the frequency of the local oscillator signal, heterodyning occurs, producing a high gain product signal. Next, the low pass filter <b>240</b> and the precision rectifier <b>250</b> combine to improve the signal to noise ratio by eliminating noise such as AC signals and passing only DC signals. The signal may then be authenticated, i.e., a determination may be made as to whether the signal represents a graffiti-making act, by the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b>.

[0036] With reference to FIG. 3A, in an embodiment of the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b>, the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b> may include a charge pump <b>270</b> for determining whether the signal represents a graffiti-making act <b>130</b>. The charge pump <b>270</b> may include an electric circuit having one or more capacitors. The incoming signal charges the one or more capacitors, causing a rise in voltage over time until a signature signal of sufficient duration is authenticated, i.e., signal is transmitted to the one or more capacitors for a predetermined period of time determined by the time constant selected. Requiring that a signature signal be transmitted for a certain period of time helps to ensure that a graffiti-making act is accurately identified. After the signal is identified, a comparitor is triggered, causing an alarm <b>280</b> (FIG. 2) to be actuated. This embodiment of the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b> may be desirable if the one or more sensors <b>110</b> are adapted to pick up a narrow sound frequency range or individual sound frequency similar to or the same as that of a predetermined graffiti-making act because the components of the electronics <b>210</b> described above assume that if a signal is transmitted to the electronics <b>210</b>, the signal is similar to or the same as that of a graffiti-making act, i.e., the one or more sensors <b>110</b> only deliver a signal if the frequency of the signal is similar to or the same as that of a graffiti-making act. The charge pump <b>270</b> functions to set a minimum time duration condition on the sound sensed by the one or more sensors <b>110</b>, inhibiting false alarms caused by transient sounds from non-graffiti-making acts of the same or similar frequency. Thus, the charge pump <b>270</b> serves to authenticate the signal as one by a graffiti-making act by the ensuring the signal is of a predetermined duration as determined by the type of capacitor used.

[0037] With reference to FIG. 3B, in an alternative embodiment, the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b> may include a quantization characterization mechanism <b>290</b>. The quantization characterization mechanism <b>290</b> may include a microprocessor <b>300</b>, which may be the same as or different from any other microprocessor used in the system <b>100</b>, and memory <b>310</b>. The microprocessor <b>300</b> may use a digital signal processing application <b>320</b> stored in memory <b>310</b> to convert an analog signal from the low pass filter <b>240</b> into a digitized signal, and quantitize the resulting digital signal. The resulting quantitized information may be compared to a matrix of numbers <b>330</b> stored in memory <b>310</b> or a different memory for authentication of the signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b>. The memory <b>310</b> may include multiple matrices of numbers <b>330</b> representing multiple respective predetermined graffiti-making acts <b>130</b> that the quantitized information from one or more signals may be compared to for determining the occurrence of multiple graffiti-making acts <b>130</b>. The quantitized information may also include the duration of the signal(s) to ensure that the signal(s) is for at least a minimum duration to ensure that a graffiti-making act is accurately identified, inhibiting false alarms. After the signal is identified, the microprocessor <b>300</b> may cause the alarm <b>280</b> (FIG. 2) to be actuated. This embodiment of the time domain characterization mechanism <b>260</b> is desirable if the one or more sensors <b>110</b> are adapted to pick up a broad sound frequency range or different broad sound frequency ranges because the quantization characterization mechanism <b>290</b> may identify the signals from one or more different types of graffiti-making acts, allowing the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> to detect one or more different types of graffiti-making acts.

[0038] Those skilled in the art will recognize other well-known sound signature identification techniques may be used such as, but not by way of limitation, digitized algorithm analysis and Fourier Transform analysis.

[0039] The electronics <b>210</b> of the base unit <b>120</b> may include one or more of the following secondary sensors <b>335</b> or confirming means to confirm or further ensure that a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> occurred: a motion sensor to detect motion of the tagger <b>150</b>, a heat sensor to sense body heat of the tagger <b>150</b>, an olfactory sensor to detect an odor of a graffiti-making act, and a sonic sensor to detect a sound of a graffiti-making act.

[0040] The alarm <b>280</b> initiated or actuated after a graffiti-making act has occurred may include, but not by way of limitation, one or more of the following: an alarm to alert the tagger <b>150</b> and/or anyone in the vicinity that a graffiti-making act has been detected such as a bell, a light, a horn, a whistle, or a speaker; a marking mechanism adapted to mark the tagger <b>150</b> so that the police can easily identify the tagger <b>150</b> and have probable cause to arrest the tagger <b>150</b>; a water sprinkler to wash the tagged surface <b>180</b>; an infrared security video camera for recording and/or monitoring the tagger <b>150</b> committing the graffiti-making act <b>130</b>, a flash camera to capture a still image of the tagger <b>150</b> committing the graffiti-making act, a disabling mechanism such as a cage, trap, e.g., two doors that automatically lock the tagger <b>150</b> in an area therebetween; and one or more communication devices <b>340</b> or interfaces. In a preferred embodiment, the alarm <b>280</b> does not alert the tagger <b>150</b> that a graffiti-making act has been detected by the system <b>100</b>, but causes the communication device <b>340</b> to communicate to one or more entities or locations such as, but not by way of limitation, a police dispatcher so that a nearby police officer can be alerted as to the situation, one or more police officers on patrol in the general area of the graffiti-making act, an owner of the property where the graffiti-making act took place, and/or a security system center that a graffiti-making act has occurred. The communication device <b>340</b> may be any well-known communication device such as, but not by way of limitation, a dialer, a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, a short-wave radio, etc. that may communicate voice, text, and/or video information to the one or more entities or locations. For example, the communication device <b>340</b> may be a dialer that dials one or more predetermined telephone numbers, pager numbers, wireless cellular or digital telephone numbers, and/or internet phone or device numbers for communicating a prerecorded voice, text message, and/or video clip indicating that the graffiti-making act took place. The voice and/or text message may include one or more of the following: the location of the graffiti-marking act, the type of graffiti-marking act, and/or the time the graffiti marking act took place.

[0041] In a preferred embodiment, a dialer is used as the communication device <b>340</b> and is capable of both listening at the site where detection has occurred as well as receiving audio and voice messages. The ability to listen as well as emit voice messages at the site where detection has occurred may be used to confirm that a graffiti-making act took place and is not, for example, an owner or city employee lawfully spray painting a surface. The ability to listen may be used to record voice or other sound activity as evidence for a later criminal proceeding, e.g., record voice of the perpetrator that committed the graffiti. The ability to emit an audio and voice message may also be used to confront the perpetrator.

[0042] The electronics <b>210</b> of the base unit <b>120</b> may include an automatic location identification device <b>350</b> such as a Global Positioning System (“GPS”) device for automatically identifying the location of the base unit <b>120</b>. Alternatively, the base unit <b>120</b> may include a broadcasting mechanism <b>360</b> that broadcasts a signal from which the location of the system <b>100</b> can be identified and/or that a graffiti-making act <b>130</b> has been committed.

[0043] If the one or more sensors <b>110</b> are wireless, the base unit <b>120</b> preferably includes one or more receivers <b>370</b> for receiving the respective signal(s) and transmitting the signal(s) to the electronics <b>210</b> of the base unit <b>120</b>.

[0044] The base unit <b>120</b> is preferably powered by one or more batteries <b>380</b>, but may be powered by any well-known internal or external power source. If the battery <b>380</b> gets low, the electronics <b>210</b> may cause the communication device <b>340</b> to communicate to one or more entities responsible for replacing the battery <b>380</b> that the battery <b>380</b> is low and needs to be replaced.

[0045] Although the detection system <b>100</b> has been described above in conjunction with detection of a graffiti-making act, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the detection system <b>100</b> may be used in other applications to detect other occurrences, besides detecting graffiti.

[0046] II. Firearm Shot Detection System

[0047] For example, with reference to FIG. 4A, a detection system <b>500</b>, which is similar in construction to the detection system <b>100</b> described above, may be used to detect the report of a firearm shot <b>510</b> from a firearm <b>520</b>, e.g., a handgun, automatic weapon, rifle, etc., of a perpetrator <b>530</b>, and an initiate an alarm in response thereto. In the past, when a crime was committed, the police would often show up at the scene of the crime without knowing whether the perpetrator(s) <b>530</b> were still in the area of crime scene, and, if so, whether the perpetrator(s) <b>530</b> were carrying a lethal weapon such as a firearm <b>520</b> that had been discharged. If the police knew one or more shots of a firearm had occurred at a crime scene, the police would know that investigating the crime may be dangerous. The police could prepare accordingly and alert the appropriate medical agencies. Thus, the inventors of the firearm shot detection system and method recognized that such a system and method could detect whether a firearm shot had occurred and alert the police accordingly.

[0048] The firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> illustrated in FIG. 4A is for fixed use, i.e., the object that the firearm detection system <b>500</b> is mounted to is not designed to move or be mobile, such as in possible armed robbery situations. For example, the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> may be mounted to a wall <b>540</b> or counter <b>545</b> of an establishment <b>550</b>, e.g., a convenience store such as 7-Eleven™, a jewelry store, a bank, a fast-food restaurant, a home, or any other establishment susceptible to an robbery, accidents, or violence involving a firearm. FIG. 4A illustrates an employee <b>560</b> such as a clerk behind the counter <b>545</b> of the establishment <b>550</b>.

[0049] The firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> includes a base unit <b>570</b> and one or more sensors <b>580</b>. Instead of the one or more sensors <b>110</b> and/or base unit <b>120</b> described above with respect to FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b> being configured to determine whether the sound signature of an act such as a graffiti-making act occurred, the one or more sensors <b>580</b> and/or base unit <b>570</b> determine whether the sound signature of a firearm shot <b>510</b> occurred. In FIG. 4A, a single sonic sensor <b>580</b> is illustrated as being integral with the base unit <b>570</b>. As described above, in an alternative embodiment, the one or more sensors <b>580</b> may be separate or remote from the base unit <b>570</b>.

[0050] Because the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> is so similar in construction to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> described above, further details as to the construction or structure of the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> will not be described in additional detail. The discussion above with respect to the construction of the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> is equally applicable to the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b>, and is thereby incorporated by reference.

[0051] An embodiment of a method of using the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> will now be described. During a hold-up, burglary, robbery, etc., the perpetrator <b>530</b> of the crime (or the employee <b>560</b> of the establishment <b>550</b> in defense) may fire a firearm <b>120</b> such as a handgun, automatic weapon, rifle, etc. The report of the firearm shot <b>510</b> includes sound waves having a characteristic sound signature frequency or frequency pattern. A firearm shot <b>510</b> from each type of firearm, e.g., handgun, automatic weapon, rifle, etc., and each brand of firearm, e.g., Smith &amp; Wesson™, Colt™, etc. has a unique sound signature frequency or frequency pattern similar to each different graffiti-making acts having a unique sound signature frequency or frequency pattern, as described above. The one or more sensors <b>580</b> convert the sound from the firearm shot <b>510</b> into an electronic signal or electronic signals that are processed by the electronics <b>210</b> in the base unit <b>570</b> for determining whether the electronic signal(s) are from a firearm shot <b>510</b> using any of the techniques described above or any other well-known technique used in sound signature analysis. If it is determined that the electronic signal(s) represents a firearm shot, one or more alarms are initiated. The one or more alarms may include one or more of the alarms described above with respect to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> and method. One type of alarm that may be initiated upon detection of a firearm shot <b>510</b> is the locking of one or more automatic locking mechanisms for one or more doors <b>590</b>. This may be desirable, for example, to lock the perpetrator <b>530</b> in an area between a pair of door <b>590</b> assuming that no innocent bystanders are in this detaining area with the perpetrator. Preferably, the one or more alarms include actuating a communication to an entity or location such as a police dispatcher, one or more police officers in the area, and/or a security system center alerting the entity that a firearm shot <b>510</b> was detected at the location of the establishment. Communicated information may include, but not by way of limitation, a firearm shot <b>520</b> was detected, the location of the firearm shot, the time of the firearm shot, the number of firearm shots detected, and/or the type of firearm shot. Thus, the firearm detection system <b>500</b> detects the sound signature of the report of one or more firearm shots, and may automatically alert the police in response thereto.

[0052] With reference to FIG. 4B, in another embodiment of the invention, a firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> similar to the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> described above may be mounted to a mobile object <b>610</b> or be part of the mobile object <b>610</b>. Examples of mobile objects include, but not by way of limitation, a police car, a police motorcycle, an armed money truck, an emergency vehicle, a limousine, an expensive car, a navigational system such as a GPS system, a wireless phone, a wireless internet device, a radio communication system, and any other portable communication device. Police officers are often shot at when investigating a crime or in the process of making an arrest. If a police officer is alone and is shot, the police officer may not be found in time for appropriate medical care to arrive. Further, if the police officer becomes engaged in a gun fight with one or more perpetrators, the police officer may not be able to radio a police dispatcher or other police officers for assistance without the risk of getting shot or allowing the one or more perpetrators to escape.

[0053]FIG. 4B illustrates a number of exemplary embodiments of and locations for the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b>. For example, the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may be mounted on a mobile object <b>610</b> such as a police car driven by a police officer <b>620</b>. The firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may be in the vehicle, as part of a radio communication system of the police car. The firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may also be a wearable device or part of a wearable device such as part of a mobile object <b>610</b> that is a two-way radio. Similar to the firearm shot detection system <b>500</b> described above, the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> detects the sound signature from the report of a firearm shot from a firearm <b>630</b> of a perpetrator <b>640</b>, and may initiate one or more of the alarms described above. Preferably, the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> will automatically communicate with a police dispatcher that a firearm shot has been detected. If the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> is part of a communication device such as two-way radio or wireless phone, the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may communicate with one or more entities such as a police dispatcher using the existing communication device. Similar to the detection system <b>100</b> described above, the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may include an automatic location identification device such as a GPS device for automatically identifying the location of the firearm shot detection system <b>600</b>, and, hence, the general location of the firearm shot detected. The firearm shot detection system <b>600</b> may automatically report to the police dispatcher one or more of the following: a firearm shot was detected, the location of the firearm shot, the time of the firearm shot, the number of firearm shots detected, and/or the type of firearm shot.

[0054] III. Voice-Recognition Safety System for Chauffeured Vehicle

[0055] In chauffeured motor vehicles such as, but not by way of limitation, taxi cabs, buses, limousines, and paratransit vehicles (e.g., private sedans, vans, airport shuttles, minibuses), the drivers or chauffeurs are often robbed, attacked, and/or killed by their passengers. The driver is particularly vulnerable when robbed or attacked in the chauffeured motor vehicle because the driver customarily has his back turned to the perpetrator and is confined to a small space. If an incident occurs, the driver becomes a prisoner in his only vehicle.

[0056]FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of a voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> for a chauffeured vehicle. In one or more embodiments, the system <b>642</b> may be installed at any convenient location of the chauffeured vehicle, e.g., in the dash, under the dash, on the dash, the system <b>642</b> may be a portable unit that may be carried from vehicle to vehicle, the system <b>642</b> may be integral with the radio communication system (e.g., two-way radio) of the chauffeured vehicle, and/or the system <b>642</b> may be separate from, but connected with the radio communication system of the chauffeured vehicle.

[0057] The system <b>642</b> may include one or more components similar to those in the systems <b>100</b>, <b>500</b>, <b>600</b> described above with respect to FIGS. 2, 4A, and <b>4</b>B. For this reason, many of these components will not be described in additional detail and the discussion above with respect to the construction of the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> and firearm detection systems <b>500</b>, <b>600</b> is equally applicable to the system <b>642</b>, and is thereby incorporated by reference.

[0058] The system <b>642</b> may include one or more sensors <b>110</b> and/or a base unit <b>120</b> that may recognize spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) from the driver for activating an alarm <b>280</b> in the event of an emergency. The one or more sensors <b>110</b> and/or the base unit <b>120</b> may also determine whether the sound signature of a firearm shot occurred such as in the event that the driver of the chauffeured vehicle is shot at by a passenger. The one or more sensors <b>110</b> may be integral with and/or separate from the base unit <b>120</b>.

[0059] The base unit <b>120</b> may include electronics <b>210</b> comprising hardware or hardware and software that processes the signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b>, and initiates one or more alarms if code word(s)/phrase(s) are spoken by the driver and/or firearm shot(s) are detected. The hardware and/or software of the base unit <b>120</b> may determine whether spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) from the driver and/or firearm shot(s) occurred by determining whether the signal(s) from the one or more sensors <b>110</b> correspond to pre-recorded spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) and/or firearm shot(s).

[0060] The electronics <b>210</b> of the base unit <b>120</b> may include a voice-recognition chip <b>644</b> to determine whether spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) from the driver correspond to pre-recorded spoken code word(s)/phrase(s). Examples of voice-recognition chips <b>644</b> that may be used include, for example, the RSC-300 or RSC-364 speech-recognition chips sold by Sensory, Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., or the VP-2000 voice-recognition chip sold by Primestar Technology Corporation of Taoyuan, Taiwan. The voice-recognition chip <b>644</b> may replace one or more of the components shown in the electronics in FIG. 5.

[0061] The voice-recognition chip <b>644</b> may be used for speaker-dependent speech recognition or speaker-independent speech recognition. For speaker-dependent speech recognition, the speaker trains they system to recognize his/her voice by speaking each of the words in the inventory several times. In speaker-independent recognition, the device is not trained by the speaker's voice, since it was previously trained on samples from many different speakers during manufacturing. The voice-recognition chip <b>644</b> preferably allows for speaker-dependent speech recognition because this is a more accurate type of speech recognition. Further, with speaker-dependent speech recognition, the system <b>642</b> is less likely to accidentally cause a false alarm if a passenger uses one or more key words or phrases. Memory such as RAM or disk storage are provided in the system <b>642</b> if speaker-dependent speech recognition is used because the features in the voice that is training the system must be temporarily stored.

[0062] The voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> may operate in continuous recognizer mode or may operate generally in a sleep mode where a key word awakens the system <b>642</b> to listen for one or more expected words or phrases. Operating generally in a sleep mode conserves power consumption of the system <b>642</b>. The system <b>642</b> may allow the driver to switch between a continuous mode and a sleep mode. For example, when the vehicle is not running, the driver may switch to a sleep mode to conserve the power in the battery/batteries.

[0063] One or more of the one or more sensors <b>110</b> are microphones for picking up spoken words or phrases of the driver. The microphone(s) may be omni-directional microphone(s) or directional microphone(s). The microphone(s) may be integral with the base unit <b>120</b> and/or may be located remotely relative to the base unit <b>120</b>. The microphone(s) may be mounted close to the mouth of the driver for better detection of spoken words or phrases from the driver. For example, the microphone(s) may be clipped to the driver-side visor or the microphone(s) may be part of a headset worn by the driver. The same microphone(s) used for communication with a dispatcher may be used for voice recognition of one or more key words or phrases.

[0064] The alarm <b>280</b> initiated or actuated after spoken code word(s) and/or firearm shot(s) have been detected may include, but not by way of limitation, one or more of the following: one or more communication devices <b>340</b> or interfaces that place a communication with one or more entities; an infrared security video camera that records and/or monitors the perpetrator in the vehicle; a flash or non-flash camera (e.g., infrared camera) that captures one or more still images of the perpetrator; a microphone and/or audio recorder that listens in on or records sound activity in the vehicle; a disabling mechanism such as a mechanism that kills the engine or an automatic door-locking mechanism that locks at least one of the doors of the vehicle or maintains at least one of the doors in a locked condition; and one or more external emergency lights (preferably not viewable from inside the vehicle) that alerts anyone in the vicinity of the chauffeured vehicle that the driver is having an emergency. In a preferred embodiment, the alarm <b>280</b> does not alert the perpetrator that spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) and/or firearm shot(s) have been detected by the system <b>100</b>, but causes the communication device <b>340</b> to communicate to one or more entities or locations such as, but not by way of limitation, a police dispatcher, police, a taxi cab dispatcher; and/or a security system center that an emergency situation has occurred and information related to the emergency situation.

[0065] The communication device <b>340</b> may be any well-known communication device such as, but not by way of limitation, a dialer, a two-way radio (e.g., may be the same two-way radio or other communication device already used in the vehicle), a pager, a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, a short-wave radio, etc. that may communicate voice, text, and/or video information to the one or more entities or locations. For example, the communication device <b>340</b> may be a dialer that dials one or more predetermined telephone numbers, pager numbers, wireless cellular or digital telephone numbers, and/or internet phone or device numbers for communicating a pre-recorded voice, text message, and/or video clip indicating that the graffiti-making act took place. The voice and/or text message may include one or more of the following: the location of the chauffeured vehicle (this may be determined by the automatic identification location device, e.g., GPS receiver, broadcasting mechanism <b>360</b>), the type of emergency (e.g., firearm shot detected, robbery, flat tire, accident), and/or the time of the emergency.

[0066] As mentioned above, an image of the perpetrator and any words spoken by anyone in the chauffeured vehicle or sound activity may be recorded and viewed/listened to later and/or viewed/listened to during the emergency event. The ability to view/listen may be used as evidence for a later criminal proceeding, e.g., image of the perpetrator, recorded voice of the perpetrator.

[0067] The base unit <b>120</b> may be powered by the battery of the chauffeured vehicle and/or may be powered by one or more batteries <b>380</b> with the system <b>642</b>.

[0068] An exemplary method of using the voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> will now be described. The driver may train the voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> by speaking one or more words or phrases that the driver wants the system <b>642</b> to remember as key word(s)/phrase(s) in the event of an emergency. The driver may also train the system <b>642</b> to remember different word(s)/phrase(s) for different types of emergencies (e.g., robbery, hijacking, accident, flat tire). If a speaker-independent process is used, this step will not be necessary because the keyword(s)/phrase(s) or a list of keyword(s)/phrase(s) will already come pre-recorded with the system <b>642</b>. If the system <b>642</b> is to be operated generally in a sleep mode, the driver may train the system <b>642</b> by speaking one or more keyword(s)/phrase(s) for waking up the system. If the system <b>642</b> is to be operated in a continuous mode, one or more spoken words/phrases will not be required to wake up the system <b>642</b>. The key word(s)/phrase(s) used to 1) awaken the system <b>642</b>, and/or 2) actuate the alarm(s) <b>280</b> in the event of an emergency are recorded and stored in memory associated with the voice-recognition chip <b>644</b>. As indicated above, the key word(s)/phrase(s) may be recorded and stored, i.e., pre-recorded and stored, at the factory, or by the consumer/user. If the key word(s)/phrase(s) are recorded by the driver, the driver may be prompted by the system <b>642</b> to perform this process.

[0069] In operation, when the driver faces an emergency situation such as an attempted robbery by a passenger, a hijacking, an accident, a flat tire, the user speaks the one or more key words or phrases. The microphone/sensor <b>110</b> transmits the signal(s) to the electronics <b>210</b>. The voice-recognition chip <b>644</b> determines whether it recognizes the signal(s) as representing the key words or phrases indicative of an emergency. If the one or more key words or phrases are recognized, the alarm(s) <b>280</b> will be activated. The driver may speak different word(s)/phrase(s) for different types of emergencies (e.g., robbery, hijacking, accident, flat tire), which the system <b>642</b> may recognize and activate one or more different types of alarms <b>280</b>. As indicated above, the alarm may include, but not by way of limitation, one or more of the following: one or more communication devices <b>340</b> or interfaces that place a communication with one or more entities (e.g., call to taxi cab dispatcher, police dispatcher, police); an infrared security video camera that records and/or monitors the perpetrator in the vehicle; a flash or non-flash camera (e.g., infrared camera) that captures one or more still images of the perpetrator; an audio recorder and/or microphone that records and/or listens in on sound activity in the vehicle, a disabling mechanism such as a mechanism that kills the engine or an automatic door-locking mechanism that locks at least one of the doors of the vehicle or maintains at least one of the doors in a locked condition; and one or more external emergency lights (preferably not viewable from inside the vehicle) that alert anyone in the vicinity of the chauffeured vehicle that the driver is having an emergency.

[0070] Preferably, the system <b>642</b> will automatically communicate with one or more entities/locations (e.g., police dispatcher, taxi cab dispatcher, police) that an emergency has been detected. If the system <b>642</b> is part of or connected with a communication device such as two-way radio, wireless phone, pager, or the like, the system <b>642</b> may communicate with the one or more entities using the existing communication device. The system <b>642</b> may include an automatic location identification device such as a GPS device for automatically identifying the location of the chauffeured vehicle. The system <b>642</b> may automatically report to the police dispatcher one or more of the following: an emergency was detected, the type of emergency detected, the vehicle (e.g., vehicle number) where the emergency occurred, the location of the vehicle, the time of the emergency.

[0071] As described above with respect to FIGS. 4A and 4B, if a firearm shot occurs, the system <b>642</b> may detect and automatically actuate the alarm(s) <b>280</b> in a similar manner. If the system automatically reports information on the emergency to one or more entities, this information may include one or more of the following: a firearm shot was detected, the vehicle (e.g., vehicle number) where the firearm shot occurred, the location of the vehicle, the time of the firearm shot, the number of firearm shots detected, and/or the type of firearm shot.

[0072] The voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> is advantageous over systems such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,277 in that the system <b>642</b> automatically communicates to police, a police dispatcher, taxi cab dispatcher that an emergency occurred upon detection of a spoken key word by the driver as opposed to relying on a passerby to report an emergency, especially when the emergency lights on a vehicle in the '277 patent are likely to be mistaken for hazard lights, which are often used by taxi cab drivers when stopping, standing, dropping off a passenger or picking a passenger up. Voice-recognition is also a more accurate way to trigger an alarm than the foot switch described in the '277 patent. Such a foot switch is likely to be accidentally actuated during normal use of the vehicle. The system <b>642</b> is easier to install than the system described in the '277 patent because of all the different elements that have to be installed all over the automobile in the '277 system. Installation of the '277 system requires a foot switch to be installed in the floorboard, lights to be installed on the front and rear of the vehicle, and a control apparatus to be installed under the hood, in the engine compartment. Voice-recognition also allows different types of emergencies to be easily indicated are reported using different keywords/phrases. The additional firearm shot detection aspect of the system <b>642</b> is advantageous because the alarm <b>280</b> is actuated in the event of an emergency situation even though the driver didn't say code word(s)/phrase(s).

[0073] IV. Voice-Recognition Safety System for Aircraft

[0074] Although the voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> described above has been described as being used with a chauffeured vehicle, the safety system <b>642</b> may be used with an aircraft such as a commercial airplane. For example, as mentioned above in the Background of the Invention, the terrorist attacks that occurred on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. have revealed that terrorists have found an almost perfect weapon in a hijacked aircraft, especially if the terrorists are suicidal. The voice-recognition safety system <b>642</b> may be used to lock out the controls of an aircraft, putting the aircraft in an automatic-pilot mode and/or ground-control mode, in the event of a hijacking. As described above, the one or more sensors <b>110</b> may serve as one or more microphones that pick up one or more spoken words/phrases by the driver, in this case, the pilot. As used herein, “pilot” means the pilot, the co-pilot, and/or anyone else that normally is in the cockpit of an aircraft during flight, such as a flight attendant or other host. In addition, the spoken words/phrases could be uttered by non-airline personnel including passengers or the highjackers themselves. Examples of spoken words/phrases include key words such as “terrorists,” “attack,” “highjack,” “gun,” “bomb,” “knife,” “weapon,” “hand grenade” as well as possible screams and curses in various dialects. The electronics <b>210</b>, which may include one or more of the components shown in FIG. 5 such as the voice-recognition chip <b>644</b>, determines whether any spoken words by the pilot/co-pilot match one or more pre-recorded or stored code words or phrases. Likewise, the electronics <b>210</b> may determine whether a firearm shot is detected on the aircraft. If one or more code words/phrases and/or one or more firearm shots are detected by the electronics <b>210</b>, one or more alarms <b>280</b> may be actuated.

[0075] The alarm(s) <b>280</b> actuated after a spoken code word and/or a firearm shot has been detected may include, but not by way of limitation, one or more of the following: one or more communication devices <b>340</b> or interfaces place a communication with one or more entities such as air-traffic control at the nearest airport/major airport; a disabling mechanism locks out one or more cockpit controls (e.g., all or substantially all of the cockpit controls may be locked out, eliminating control from the aircraft itself); an automatic-pilot mechanism puts the aircraft in automatic-pilot mode, a ground-control mechanism allows the aircraft to be controlled from a remote location such as from the ground (e.g., from air-traffic control); a security camera such as an infrared security video camera records and/or monitors activity in the cockpit and/or cabin; a flash or non-flash camera (e.g., infrared camera) captures one or more still images of activity in the cockpit and/or cabin; a microphone and/or audio recorder listens in on or records sound activity in the cockpit and/or cabin.

[0076] The communication device <b>340</b> may be any well-known communication device such as, but not by way of limitation, a dialer, a two-way radio (e.g., may be the same two-way radio or other communication device already used in the aircraft), a pager, a modem, a network interface (such as an Ethernet card), a communications port, a PCMCIA slot and card, a short-wave radio, etc. that may communicate voice, text, and/or video information to the one or more entities or locations. For example, the communication device <b>340</b> may be a dialer that dials one or more predetermined telephone numbers, pager numbers, wireless cellular or digital telephone numbers, and/or internet phone or device numbers for communicating a pre-recorded voice, text message, and/or video clip indicating that a hijacking or other emergency event on the aircraft occurred. The voice and/or text message may include one or more of the following: the location of the aircraft (this may be determined by the automatic identification location device, e.g., GPS receiver, broadcasting mechanism <b>360</b>), the type of emergency (e.g., hijacking, engine out), and/or the time of the emergency.

[0077] In a preferred embodiment, when the electronics of the system <b>642</b> detects one or more spoken code word(s)/phrase(s) and/or firearm shots, the system <b>642</b> causes the cockpit controls to be locked out, eliminating control of the aircraft from the cockpit, and puts the aircraft in automatic-pilot mode. In another embodiment, the aircraft may be controlled from the ground (e.g., from air traffic control) or another remote location once the cockpit controls are locked out in addition to the automatic-pilot mode or instead of the automatic-pilot mode. Whether in a remote/ground-control mode or automatic-pilot mode, the aircraft may be safety landed at an airport, avoiding intentional crashes into structures by suicidal hijackers.

[0078] V. Vehicle Tire Leak Detection System

[0079] With reference to FIG. 6, another application of the detection system will now be described. A detection system <b>700</b> similar to the detection system <b>100</b> described above may be used to detect a tire leak <b>710</b> from a tire <b>725</b> of a vehicle <b>720</b> such as a truck <b>730</b> and/or trailer <b>740</b> and initiate an alarm in response thereto. A damaged or blown tire <b>725</b> can be a dangerous hazard for the driver of a vehicle <b>720</b> and/or other drivers on the road in the vicinity of the vehicle. For example, a blown tire from a large truck can cause the truck to swerve erratically and jackknife. Not only is this dangerous for the driver and any passengers of the truck, but it poses a real hazard to surrounding vehicles. The swerving truck may collide with other vehicles on the road or may cause vehicles to swerve, increasing the probability of one or more vehicle accidents. Further, if the blown tire remains on the road, vehicles may swerve to miss the tire or may collide with the tire, increasing the probability of additional vehicle accidents.

[0080] A blown or severely damaged tire usually results from a small hole or tear in the tire <b>725</b>. This small hole or tear usually emits a leaking noise <b>710</b> caused by compressed air escaping the small hole or tear in the tire <b>725</b>. If a vehicle driver and/or dispatcher, e.g., truck dispatcher, knew of a tire leak <b>710</b> in one of the tires <b>725</b> of the vehicle <b>720</b>, the driver could have the tire repaired, replaced, or take the necessary precautions. Thus, the inventors of the vehicle tire leak detection system <b>700</b> and method recognized that such a system and method could detect whether a tire leak <b>710</b> had occurred and alert the vehicle driver and/or dispatcher accordingly.

[0081] The tire leak detection system <b>700</b> includes a base unit <b>750</b> and one or more sensors <b>760</b>. Instead of the one or more sensors <b>110</b> and/or base unit <b>120</b> described above with respect to FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b> being configured to detect whether the sound signature of a graffiti-making act occurred, the one or more sensors <b>760</b> and/or base unit <b>750</b> may detect whether the sound signature of a tire leak <b>710</b> occurred.

[0082] It should be noted, the one or more sensors <b>760</b> and/or base unit <b>750</b> may determine whether a tire <b>725</b> is going flat by detecting sounds indicative of a tire going flat other than a tire leak <b>710</b>. For example, as a tire <b>725</b> goes flat, a unique noise may be made as the tire <b>725</b> contacts the road, e.g., the tire may make a slapping sound of a detectable characteristic frequency or frequencies. This sound or other sounds may be the basis of determining whether a tire <b>725</b> is going flat.

[0083] The base unit <b>750</b> may be mounted to the vehicle <b>720</b> in a strategic location such as, but not by way of limitation, a rear side <b>770</b> of a cab <b>780</b> if the vehicle <b>720</b> is a truck or somewhere on a chassis <b>790</b> of the vehicle <b>720</b>. Similarly, the one or more sensors <b>760</b> may be mounted to the vehicle <b>720</b> in a strategic location such as, but not by way of limitation, on the chassis <b>790</b> of the vehicle <b>720</b>, adjacent the tires <b>725</b>. As described above, the one or more sensors <b>760</b> may be integral with the base unit <b>750</b> or separate therefrom. Because the tire leak detection system <b>700</b> is so similar in construction to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> described above, further details as to the construction or structure of the tire leak detection system <b>700</b> will not be described in additional detail. The discussion above with respect to the construction of the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> is equally applicable to the tire leak detection system <b>700</b>, and is thereby incorporated by reference.

[0084] An embodiment of a method of using the tire leak detection system <b>700</b> will now be described. It is common for the tire <b>725</b> of a vehicle <b>720</b> to become damaged during normal use by sharp objects such a nails, glass, etc. A cut or hole in the tire <b>725</b> caused by the sharp object may cause a leak <b>710</b>. The tire leak <b>710</b> is a precursor to further tire damage, and a potential multiple vehicle accident, as described above. The tire leak <b>710</b> emits sound waves having a characteristic sound signature frequency or frequency pattern. The tire leak <b>710</b> may have a unique sound signature frequency or frequency pattern for different types of leaks, at different tire pressures, for different types of tires, etc.

[0085] The one or more sensors <b>760</b> convert the sound from the tire leak <b>710</b> into an electronic signal or electronic signals that are processed by the electronics <b>210</b> in the base unit <b>750</b> to determine whether the electronic signal(s) represent one or more different types of tire leaks. If it is determined that the electronic signal(s) represents a tire leak, one or more alarms are initiated. The one or more alarms may include one or more of the alarms described above with respect to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> and method. Preferably, the one or more alarms include a communication to the driver of the vehicle <b>720</b> alerting the driver that a tire leak <b>710</b> has been detected. If the vehicle <b>720</b> is a large truck <b>730</b> and/or trailer <b>740</b>, an additional alarm may include a communication to a truck dispatcher alerting the dispatcher that a tire leak <b>710</b> has been detected.

[0086] Similar to the detection system <b>100</b> described above, the tire leak detection system <b>700</b> may include an automatic location identification device such as a GPS device for identifying the location of the tire leak detection system <b>700</b>, and, hence, the location of the vehicle.

[0087] Reported information to the driver and/or dispatcher may include, but not by way of limitation, a tire leak has been detected, the time of the tire leak, the wheel that the leak is from, the location of the vehicle, and/or the type of tire leak. Thus, the tire leak detection system <b>700</b> detects the sound of one or more tire leaks <b>710</b> of a vehicle <b>720</b>, and automatically alerts the driver and/or the dispatcher in response thereto.

[0088] VI. Equipment Use Detection System

[0089] With reference to FIG. 7, another application of the detection system will now be described. Problems can occur as a result of conduct or acts that cause the emission of a sound of a characteristic frequency or frequencies. If the conduct or act could be detected and reported immediately, the frequency of the resulting problem may be eliminated or reduced. An exemplary scenario is the unauthorized use by an unauthorized co-worker or other individual <b>800</b> of an authorized individual's equipment. A detection system <b>810</b> similar to the detection system <b>100</b> described above may be used to detect a sound or other characteristic <b>820</b> indicative of the use of equipment <b>830</b> such as a computer, cash register, copy machine or any other equipment one wishes to protect or prevent the unauthorized use of and initiate an alarm in response thereto.

[0090] During operation or use of equipment <b>830</b>, especially electronic equipment, one or more sounds or other characteristics <b>810</b> occur that indicate the equipment <b>830</b> is being used. Examples include, but not by way of limitation, one or more beeps from a computer upon start-up, the ring of a cash register when a the register drawer is opened, the humming of a fan or hard drive in a computer, the transmittance of signals in a computer, the typing on a computer keyboard, the dialing or connecting sound of a facsimile machine, and the noise emitted during the scanning step of a copy machine. If an authorized individual, employer, etc. knew the equipment <b>830</b> was being used without authorization, the necessary precautions, remedial action, etc. could be taken. Thus, the inventors of the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> and method recognized that such a system and method could detect whether one or more sounds or other characteristics <b>820</b> indicative of equipment use had occurred and alert the authorized individual, employer, etc. accordingly.

[0091] The equipment use detection system <b>810</b> includes a base unit <b>840</b> and one or more sensors <b>850</b>. Instead of the one or more sensors <b>110</b> and/or base unit <b>120</b> described above with respect to FIGS. <b>1</b>-<b>3</b> being configured to detect whether the sound signature of a graffiti-making act occurred, the one or more sensors <b>850</b> and/or base unit <b>840</b> may detect whether one or more sounds or other characteristics <b>810</b> indicative of equipment use occurred.

[0092] The base unit <b>840</b> and one or more sensors <b>850</b> (if the one or more sensors <b>850</b> are separate from the base unit <b>840</b>) are preferably mounted in one or more strategic locations that are inconspicuous and where they are not likely to be tampered with or damaged. In one embodiment, the base unit <b>840</b> and one or more sensors <b>850</b> are not connected directly to the equipment <b>830</b> being monitored, inhibiting the unauthorized individual <b>800</b> from spotting the equipment. The base unit <b>840</b> could be mounted on a wall <b>860</b>, under a desk or table <b>870</b>, or any other strategic location. As described above, the one or more sensors <b>850</b> may be integral with the base unit <b>840</b> or separate therefrom. Because the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> is so similar in construction to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> described above, further details as to the construction or structure of the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> will not be described in additional detail. The discussion above with respect to the construction of the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> is equally applicable to the equipment use detection system <b>810</b>, and is thereby incorporated by reference.

[0093] An embodiment of a method of using the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> will now be described. The equipment <b>830</b> may emit sound waves <b>820</b> having a characteristic sound signature frequency or frequency pattern. Different types of equipment use may cause different sounds having a unique sound signature frequency or frequency pattern. Further, the same type of equipment <b>830</b> may emit different sounds indicative of equipment use.

[0094] The one or more sensors <b>850</b> may include one or more sonic sensors that convert the sound from the equipment use into an electronic signal or electronic signals that are processed by the electronics <b>210</b> in the base unit <b>840</b> to determine whether the electronic signal(s) represent one or more different types of equipment use. If it is determined that the electronic signal(s) represents equipment use, one or more alarms are initiated. The one or more alarms may include one or more of the alarms described above with respect to the graffiti detection system <b>100</b> and method. Preferably, the one or more alarms include a communication to the authorized individual, the employer, security, police, etc. indicating that equipment use has been detected. An additional type of alarm that may be initiated if, for example, the equipment <b>830</b> is electronic is an automatic shut-down mechanism that shuts down, e.g., cuts power to, the equipment <b>830</b>.

[0095] Similar to the detection system <b>100</b> described above, the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> may include an automatic location identification device such as a GPS device for identifying the location of the equipment use detection system <b>810</b>. Such an automatic location identification device may be desirable if the equipment is of a mobile nature such as an automobile.

[0096] Reported information to the authorized individual, the employer, security, police, etc. may include, but not by way of limitation, an equipment use has been detected, the time of the equipment use, the type of equipment use, and/or the location of the equipment use. Thus, the equipment use detection system <b>810</b> detects the use of one or more different types of equipment use, and automatically alerts the authorized individual, the employer, security, police, etc. in response thereto.

[0097] The detection system <b>810</b> may be used to detect the use of electronic and non-electronic equipment <b>830</b>. Further, the one or more sensors <b>850</b> may include one or more types of sensors other than sonic sensors that detect use of the equipment other than through detection of an emitted sound. For example, the one or more sensors could determine that a carbon monoxide detector has been actuated and communicate this to one or more entities in the manner described above.

[0098] In another scenario, instead of the detection system <b>810</b> detecting and reporting the act of equipment use, the detection system <b>810</b> may detect and report other acts such as the conduct of a baby crying. With more and more parents becoming full-time working parents, the need for baby or childcare has increased dramatically in recent years. One of the biggest concerns of parents who have hired full or part-time baby or childcare is that their baby or child be treated properly by the childcare. This has been an increasing concern in recent times with the numerous reports of nannies severely abusing babies. In another embodiment, the detection system <b>810</b> may be adapted to detect and report an act of interest such as the crying of a baby. The one or more sensors <b>850</b> may pick up the characteristic frequency or frequencies or a baby's cry and the base unit <b>840</b> may process the signal(s) to determine if the signal(s) correspond to a baby's cry, and, if so, initiate one or more alarms. One alarm may be communicating to one or both of the parents that the baby is crying. This communication may be made by any well-known manner, e.g., e-mail, page, telephone call, cellphone call, videophone call, etc. The parent(s) could then check on the baby's condition by, for example, contacting the hired childcare, viewing a video image of the baby transmitted by the communication or by other means, etc.

[0099] Although the detection system has been described in conjunction with detecting a graffiti-making act, a firearm shot, a vehicle tire leak, and an act or conduct such as equipment use and the crying of a baby, and actuating an alarm in response thereto, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that the detection system described above may be used in other applications such as, but not by way of limitation.

[0100] While preferred methods and embodiments have been shown and described, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that numerous alterations may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited except in accordance with the following claims.