Fall protection radio frequency emergency beacon

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10729922-B2
Application number	US-202016744292-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 16, 2020
Priority date	Mar 11, 2016
Publication date	Aug 4, 2020
Grant date	Aug 4, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments relate generally to systems and methods for quickly detecting a fall and alerting appropriate parties of the fall. A fall protection device may comprise a fall detection module operable to sense when a fall occurs and generate wireless beacon, where the beacon may be received (or picked up) by any number of wireless devices, including wireless gateways, monitoring stations, and mobile devices.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A fall safety device comprising:
a harness configured to be worn by a user, at least a portion of the harness comprising a deforming member configured to be operably coupled to a secure structure;
a sensor configured to detect deformation experienced by the deforming member; and
a communications module in communication with the sensor and configured to, in response to the sensor detecting a deformation of the deforming member, cause communication of an alarm or information indicative of the deformation to an interstitial device, said interstitial device configured to collect or receive additional information comprising at least one of motion data and biological information about the user, and cause communication of the alarm or information indicative of the deformation, with said additional information, to a receiving device.

2. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the deforming member is configured to deform longitudinally in response to the user experiencing a fall.

3. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the motion data, comprising motion of the user before, during, and after a fall, are collected by the interstitial device.

4. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the deforming member comprises a shock absorber, the shock absorber being incorporated into a lanyard configured to extend between the harness and the secure structure.

5. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the deforming member comprises a break-away strap coupled to or located on the harness.

6. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the biological information about the user comprises heart rate information.

7. The fall safety device of claim 1 , wherein the sensor and communications module are housed together in a fall detection module.

8. A method comprising:
providing a fall safety device comprising a harness configured to be worn by a user and comprising a deforming member configured to deform in response to a fall by the user wearing the harness;
detecting deformation of the deforming member indicative of when a fall by the user;
causing, in response to said detected deformation of the deforming member, communication of a first wireless transmission comprising an indication of the fall by the user to an interstitial device;
transmitting, from the interstitial device, in response to said interstitial device receiving the indication of the fall by the user, a second wireless transmission to a receiving device, wherein said second wireless transmission comprises the indication of the fall by the user and additional user information comprising one or more of motion data collected by the interstitial device and biological information about the user.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the motion data collected by the interstitial device comprises motion before, during, and after the fall.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the biological information about the user comprises heart rate information.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the fall safety device further comprises a wireless transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising:
in an instance in which the fall safety device is worn by the user and the fall has not occurred, transmitting, from the transceiver to one or more of the interstitial device and the receiving device, an update indicative of health and operation of the fall safety device.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein transmitting the update occurs periodically throughout the life of the fall safety device.

14. The method of claim 11 , wherein the deforming member comprises a shock absorber, and wherein deformation of the shock absorber is detected using at least a sensor operably coupled to the shock absorber.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the sensor and transceiver are housed together as a fall detection module.

16. The method of claim 11 , wherein the deforming member comprises a break-away strap, and wherein deformation of the break-away strap is detected using at least a sensor operably coupled to the break-away strap.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the sensor and transceiver are housed together as a fall detection module.

18. A method for detecting a fall event, the method comprising:
periodically transmitting an update from a fall detection device indicating health and operation of the fall detection device, wherein the fall detection device comprises a harness supporting a sensor operably coupled to a transceiver;
sensing, by the sensor of the fall detection module, a deformation of a deforming member, said deformation indicative of said fall event;
wirelessly transmitting, by the transceiver, information indicative of said fall event to a mobile device; and
wirelessly transmitting, by the mobile device, to a monitoring station, the information indicative of said fall event along with additional user information comprising at least one of motion data collected by the mobile device, and biological information.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the motion data collected by the mobile device includes motion before, during, and after the fall, and the biological information includes heart rate information.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
in an instance in which the sensor does not detect deformation of the deformable member, indicating the fall event has not occurred, transmitting, using the transceiver, to one or more of the mobile device and the monitoring station, an update indicating the health and operation of the fall detection device.

Assignees

• Honeywell Int Inc

Inventors

• Huseth Steve
• Pham Hai
• Seman Michael
• Wunderlin David Joseph

Classifications

• A62B35/0075 Primary

  Details of ropes or similar equipment, e.g. between the secured person and the lifeline or anchor · CPC title

• A62B35/0025

  Details and accessories · CPC title

• A62B35/04

  incorporating energy absorbing means · CPC title