Systems and methods for monitoring a subject in a premise

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10045512-B2
Application number	US-201514741159-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 16, 2015
Priority date	Jun 16, 2015
Publication date	Aug 14, 2018
Grant date	Aug 14, 2018

Abstract

A system is described that includes communications modules, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a computing platform. The system includes placing each communications module at a location in a premise, wherein each communications module periodically transmits a unique number, wherein the application detects and stores each unique number. The system includes the application organizing linking information by linking each unique number with a distance and a function and transmitting the linking information to the wearable device. The wearable device may detect a transmission of a communications module, use information of the transmission to identify the communications module's unique number and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to its location. The wearable device may use the linking information to identify the corresponding function and distance and perform the function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance.

First claim

We claim:

1. A system comprising:
at least one communications module, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the at least one communications module, the wearable device and the application are configured to communicate through wireless communications, wherein each communications module of the at least one communications module is located in an environment;
each communications module of the at least one communications module configured to periodically transmit a unique identifying number corresponding to and identifying the transmitting communications module, wherein the application is configured to detect each unique identifying number of one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module;
the application configured to organize linking information, the organizing linking information comprising linking each unique identifying number of the one or more communications modules with a distance value and a function, wherein the application is configured to transmit the linking information to the wearable device;
the wearable device configured to detect a transmission of a communications module of the one or more communications modules, the wearable device configured to use information of the detected transmission to identify the unique identifying number of the communications module and to estimate a distance from the wearable device to the location of the communications module, the wearable device configured to use the linking information to identify the corresponding function and distance value, the wearable device configured to perform the function when the estimated distance meets at least one criterion with respect to the distance value.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wearable device is configured to store the linking information in a database.

3. The system of claim 2 , the wearable device using the linking information comprising a database lookup.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the application detecting each unique identifying number includes storing each unique identifying number.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being less than the distance value.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being greater than the distance value.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one criterion comprises the estimated distance being between a range of distance values.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wearable device comprises a collar.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein an animal wears the collar.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the mobile computing device comprises one or more of a smartphone, tablet, and laptop computer.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the performed function comprises logging information of the performed function.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the logged information includes one or more of a time, an occurrence, and a duration of the performed function.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the logging the information comprises associating the time and the occurrence with the unique identifying number of the communications module.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the wearable device is configured to transmit the logged information to the application.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the application is configured to provide access to the logged information through an electronic interface.

16. The system of claim 1 , wherein the performed function comprises an avoidance function, wherein the avoidance function comprises applying a negative stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

17. The system of claim 1 , wherein the performed function comprises a tracking function, wherein the tracking function comprises applying a positive stimulus to a user of the wearable device.

18. The system of claim 1 , the linking each unique identifying number comprising linking each unique identifying number with a permitted time, the wearable device using the linking information to identify the corresponding permitted time, the wearable device performing the function when a time of the performing comprises the permitted time.

19. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communications comprises a Bluetooth low energy communications protocol.

20. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one communications module comprises a Bluetooth enabled device.

21. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wearable device comprises a Bluetooth enabled beacon.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein the application is configured to provide an electronic interface.

23. The system of claim 22 , wherein the application detecting each unique identifying number of one or more communications modules selected from the at least one communications module comprising selecting the one or more communications modules using the electronic interface.

24. The system of claim 22 , wherein the organizing linking information includes using the electronic interface to link each unique identifying number with a distance value and a function.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device are communicatively coupled via Wi-Fi connection to a local router, local area network or local personal area network.

26. The system of claim 25 , wherein the coupling provides internet connectivity.

27. The system of claim 26 , wherein the one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device is communicatively coupled with a cloud computing platform comprising one or more applications running on at least one processor of a remote server.

28. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more of the wearable device, the at least one communications module, and the mobile computing device at least one of transmit data to and receive data from the cloud computing platform.

29. A system comprising:
at least one communications module, a wearable device, and an application running on a processor of a mobile computing device, wherein the at least one communications module, the wearable device and the application are configured to communicate through wireless communications, wherein each communications module of the at least one communications module corresponds to a unique identifying number, wherein one or more communications modules of the at least one communications module is located in an environment;
the application configured to transmit to the wearable device identification information, the identification information comprising the corresponding unique identifying number for each communications module of the one or more communications modules, wherein the wearable device stores the identification information;
the application configured to transmit data to the one or more communications modules, the transmitting the data comprising transmitting a corresponding function and distance value for each communications module of the one or more communications modules;
a communications module of the one or more communications modules configured to periodically transmit the corresponding unique identifying number, the corresponding function and the corresponding distance value;
the wearable device configured to dete

Assignees

• Radio Systems Corp

Inventors

• Mainini Christopher
• Seltzer Richard Alan

Classifications

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• H04W4/029

  Location-based management or tracking services · CPC title

• A01K11/008 Primary

  incorporating global positioning system [GPS] · CPC title

• H04W4/02

  Services making use of location information · CPC title