Abstract:
A pager receiver based system provides a method and an apparatus for receiving and detecting a tornado alert or other severe weather alert from the National Weather Service, determining the region or grid block to which the alert applies, and broadcasting an alert signal to a plurality of pager receivers, all programmed with the same sub-address, within that region or grid block.

Description:
This is a Continuation in Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,915, filed Jun. 14, 1999. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of tornado and severe warning systems and, more particularly, to a dedicated pager system for providing tornado and severe weather alerts, as well as a method of providing a distributed warning signal on a county-by-county basis (or other geographically defined grid system, such as a five mile by five mile grid system) using a paging system. As used herein, the term “grid block” refers to either a square or rectangular area based on latitude and longitude. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Tone activated alert receivers are well known and are regularly used by emergency agencies including fire, police, ambulance, and rescue services. The National Weather Service (NWS) transmits an alert signal to activate commonly available weather alert receivers to warn of impending severe and potentially life threatening weather such as tornadoes, thunderstorms, flash floods, blizzards and others. Known receivers can be set to issue a siren, flash a warning light, and/or announce the voice weather alert message in response to receiving and decoding an alert signal. 
     The National Weather Service (NWS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as other emergency agencies, broadcasts a digital code as a header preceding each alert message. This digital header usually contains the type of warning, the effective time and expiration time of the warning and the areas effected. 
     Such an alert message is commonly referred to as a Mass News Disseminator. An example of such a Mass News Disseminator is as follows: 
     RDUTORMHX 
     TTAA00 MKHX 061730 
     NCC013-147-061815- 
     The text “NCC013-147” represents the North Carolina county codes for Pitt and Beaufort Counties, i.e., the warned area. Further, each transmission includes a CAP code which distinguishes between various weather phenomena announced by the NWS. For example, a tornado receives a different CAP code than a severe weather warning. 
     Although the type of the warning can be obtained through decoding the header, it has been found that most of the effected public doesn&#39;t feel a compelling need for all of the information contained in the alert message, or even all the information contained in just the header. What the public wants is an alert of an impending severe weather condition, such as a tornado or severe thunderstorm, that is specifically directed to them, in sufficient time to take evasive action. 
     Such warnings are often extremely time critical. Warnings must automatically be received by the ultimate end user, preferably on a dedicated system that will not be interfered with by other communications channels. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,852 to Gropper describes a capable system which provides an alert receiver interface. The receiver automatically detects the issuance of an emergency message broadcast on a radio channel, or on another communication system. The system records that alert message into the receiver with an audible day and time stamp for later playback. The system also provides an interface between the alert receiver and other communications systems, including paging system, whereby an alert message, or an alarm tone, is automatically relayed and repeated on the other communication system. The system also teaches selectively activating another communication system for only those alert messages of specific concern to users of the other communications system. In that mode, the alert receiver interface can be set by a user for specific needs such as to detect a fire company&#39;s alert signal on a public service radio channel and then go through the recording, day, and time stamp and playback sequences. 
     While the system described in the &#39;852 patent is a very capable system, recent tragedies, such as that in Oklahoma City, indicate that a broadly available alert warning system is still badly needed. Such a system should be dedicated to a specific need, without the requirement of being selected by a user. Further, the system should eliminate the mystery of the known complex systems, and be readily acceptable in the market. 
     Sales figures show that consumers today readily accept pagers and smoke detectors. Consequently, an alert warning system preferably should extend the already widely accepted pager and smoke detector systems to provide an audible early warning of a tornado. Further, such a system should be specifically directed to only those areas that will be affected by the tornado or severe weather so that if an alert is received, the user knows to immediately take action. 
     In my previous application, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/332,915, filed Jun. 14, 1999, warning areas were based on county lines, or portions of counties. While this system has proved very effective, there are many large and or populous counties in which many people would receive a warning signal in the previous system which did not immediately or directly effect them. This recognition lead to the present invention, in which warning areas are based on a grid system of latitude and longitude. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention teaches a method and apparatus for receiving and detecting a tornado alert from the National Weather Service, determining the region to which the alert applies, and broadcasting an alert signal to a plurality of pager receivers, all with the same sub-address, within that region. Weather alerts are commonly issued today on a county-by-county basis, and it is anticipated that advancing technology will soon permit the NWS to issue such alerts that are broken down into an even smaller area than a county, and based on a five mile by five mile latitude/longitude grid, or even smaller. The present invention anticipates such advancements within the scope of the present invention. 
     An object of the present invention is to create a dedicated, simple, and reliable tornado or severe weather alert system. The system is preferably housed within the same enclosure as a common smoke detector, or in an enclosure that mimics but is distinguishable from a common smoke detector. 
     In the system of the present invention, a monitoring station continuously monitors broadcasts from the National Weather Service. All but tornado alerts or other selected severe weather are eliminated, so that the system only selects tornado alerts which are broadcast. The system may also distinguish between tornado alerts, severe weather alerts, flash flood alerts, and other warnings from the NWS, and issue a distinctive audible or visible warning for that selected weather phenomenon. 
     The system next determines the region to which the alert applies, in the preferred embodiment a grid or a plurality of grids in the lat/long system. For a selected market region, the system broadcasts one, predetermined number, such as a CAP code, one CAP code per market region. In a preferred embodiment, the entire area is divided by latitude and longitude into a grid or five, two, or one mile squares, so that if one receives an alert signal, one knows that the effected area is at most five miles, two miles, or one mile away, and to take safe action immediately. 
     Within the region are installed a plurality of cell towers and a plurality of pager receivers, each pager receiver installed within its own previously described enclosure. Thus, the tornado or other weather alert may be received by thousands of pager receivers, each assigned the same sub-address, and all within the specified geographic market area. That way, if a pager receiver installed within the system of this invention receives a number directed to it and sub-address, the receiver may be within the region to which the tornado alert applies. The broadcast signal also includes a command code, and the command code specifically identifies the pagers within the market region to which the alert applies. The pager receiver then activates a distinctive audible and/or visible alert which is readily distinguishable from some other, non-applicable weather phenomenon or a smoke alarm. 
     The system of this invention is adapted to use well know pager receivers, but is modified to emit an alarm that is distinguishable from other alarms, such as smoke alarms, and is further modified to emit an alarm that is loud enough to awaken a soundly sleeping person. 
     These and other features and objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a stylized schematic of an overall system of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 a  is a map showing county boundaries of certain counties in Texas. 
     FIG. 2 b  is a map showing selected counties in Texas with a superimposed five-by-five mile grid based on latitude and longitude. 
     FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the tornado alert system of the present invention. 
     FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a combination smoke alarm and tornado alert. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 depicts a schematic of the tornado alert system of this invention. As previously described, the National Weather Service (NWS)  10  constantly monitors weather conditions and, in the event of a detection or a report of a tornado being sighted, or other dangerous weather condition, issues an alert. The alert may contain a great deal of information of interest, but the only information pertinent to the present invention is that the condition is a tornado or other selected weather phenomenon reported to have an impact in an particular area and its location, or other severe weather such as a thunderstorm which may require prompt action. 
     The alert is transmitted from the NWS  10  via an antenna  12  as a broadcast signal  14 . The broadcast signal  14  is received by an antenna  16 , located at a central monitor  18 , a feature of the present invention. The monitor includes a number of features, shown in more detail in FIG.  3 . The monitor filters out all broadcast signals from the NWS except for those indicating a tornado or severe weather. From the tornado alert, the monitor determines the location of the tornado. Generally, the tornado alert indicates what county the tornado has been spotted in, as described above. The alert may also provide latitude/longitude coordinates in warnings which represent the area expected to be impacted, and this is a subset of the warned area. The particular county or grid area determines which of a set of pager receivers (FIG. 3) are to receive a pager alert signal. The NWS has plans in place to provide the latitude and longitude of the weather phenomenon of interest, and this new information is now used by the invention. 
     The monitor  18  develops the pager alert signal, and transmits this pager alert signal via an antenna  20 , which may be a conventional pager antenna. The antenna  20  transmits the pager alert signal as a signal  22 , which is received by a number of cell towers  19 . Each of the cell towers includes a receiving antenna  17  and a transmitting antenna  21 , each of which transmits the pager signal received from the antenna  20 . The transmitting antenna  21  may also transmit a confirmation signal back to the monitor to verify proper system functioning. 
     The system further includes a plurality of pager receivers spread throughout the geographic area, and the latitude and longitude of each receiver determines the pager code programmed into the pager. All of the pager receivers in the appropriate county (See FIG. 2 a ) or grid block (See FIG. 2 b ) which are enabled with the present invention, shown in FIG. 1 as county  24  or  26  and in FIG. 2 b  as a grid block  27 . It should be understood that the signal from the antenna  20  may be directed to a satellite in the conventional manner, so that the invention potentially covers the entire world. 
     In a preferred embodiment, a system from Motorola, known as Create-A-Link™ is used. Such a system includes one-way communication to individual subscribers as just described. The system may also include Create-A-Link-II™, which further provides for two-way communication. Such a system may provide for home security protection, and monitor proper telephone operation as well. 
     It should also be recognized that all of the pager receivers enabled with the present invention in one particular county or grid are programmed with the same sub-address, which is different than any other county or grid block. Thus, when a pager receiver in the system is activated, the user knows for a certainty that a tornado has been reported or sighted in the county or grid block where the pager receiver is installed. 
     FIG. 2 a  is a smaller scale map of a section of Texas. This drawing figure indicates that, if the NWS can pinpoint a tornado to a grid section which is only a portion of a county, such as one of portions  30 ,  32 ,  34 , or  36 , the present invention can accommodate that advancement in technology. Thus, if a user knows that he is in section  34 , and his pager tornado alert system is activated, he knows that the tornado is within the region within the boundaries of portion  34 . As shown in FIG. 2 b,  the geographic area may be even more finely divided into grid block, preferably 5 miles by 5 miles, using the latitude and longitude that the NWS plans to deploy by the end of the year 2000. Also as shown in FIG. 2 b,  a market area  29  may be defined. This area may be defined, for example, by the broadcast area of a commercial television or radio station. All subscribers within the market area  29  receive the same CAP code, and each subscriber with a selected grid, such as grid  27 , receives the same subaddress. Also with the broadcast of a CAP code and subaddress, a command signal may be broadcast. For example, a command signal “1” appended to a subaddress may indicate a tornado with the grid for that subaddres, a command signal “2” may indicate a severe weather warning, etc. 
     FIG. 3 shows additional details of the invention. As previously described, the monitor station  18  receives a signal  14  at an antenna  16 . The received signal may comprise a flood warning, a fire alert, a tornado alert, or other disaster warning. The monitor station  18  receives all of these signals, but it includes a filter  40  to ignore all signals but those indicating a tornado warning or a severe weather warning. 
     Alternatively, this portion of the invention may involve a human operator who continuously monitors the NWS and other broadcasts. The monitoring takes place at a workstation  70 , which includes a CPU  72 . An operator screens all of the announcements from the NWS or other weather reporting service and passes on only the tornado warning signals. 
     The received signal  14  also includes a geographic indication of the location of the announced tornado. This information is packaged in the monitor station  18  in a transmitter section  42  as a simple pager signal. The pager signal is then transmitted by the antenna  20 . The pager signal is received by one or more cell towers  19  and retransmitted by antennas  21  to pager receivers. 
     Each of the users equipped with this invention includes an installed pager receiver  44 , each having an antenna  45 . The pager receiver  44  is mounted within a structure  46 , which may be a residence, an office building, a church, or other building. Some of the structures  46  are located in county  24 , and some are located in county  26 . Those within county  24  are all programmed with the same sub-address. Those within county  26  are all programmed with the same sub-address, but that sub-address is different than those within county  24 . If the embodiment of FIG. 2 b  is used, then each of the pager receivers within a grid block are programmed with the same sub-address. 
     FIG. 4 depicts a block diagram of a combination unit  50 . The combination unit  50  includes a smoke detector  52  and the pager receiver  44 . The combination unit is preferably powered from a standard 110V AC line current  54  which provides power to a power supply  56 . The power supply  56  is preferably provided with a battery backup  58 . The power supply  56  powers each of the smoke detector  52  and the pager receiver  44 . In one sense, the smoke detector  52  is a “local” sensor, in that it is activated by a phenomenon within the structure  46 , and the pager receiver  44  is a “remote” sensor, in that it is activated by a phenomenon outside the home. The system is easily adapted to other phenomena of interest, such as an intruder alert from the structure, and other phenomena from outside the structure to activate the combination unit. 
     Upon activation, either the smoke detector  52  or the pager receiver  44  generates an audible signal and the audible signal from the smoke detector is easily distinguishable from the audible signal of the pager receiver. Each should be loud enough to wake up a soundly sleeping person. The smoke detector  52  and the pager receiver  44  share a common speaker or enunciator  60  for this purpose. 
     In the preferred system arrangement, each user subscribes to the system for the service. The receiver  44  is installed in the structure, whether it is a home or other building, and the receiver  44  is provided with or without charge. In return the user pays a subscription fee with a minimum subscription term. This way, the user has a reliable, inexpensive tornado alert system, and the service provider can gauge the service fee to assure a profit. 
     The receiver  44  also preferably includes a microprocessor and a memory so that the receiver can be remotely programmed. In this way, the receiver  44  can be deactivated remotely, or it can be reprogrammed is the receiver  44  is moved to a new location. The receiver  44  can also be programmed to discriminate between CAP codes as previously described, if desired by the user. 
     The principles, preferred embodiment, and mode of operation of the present invention have been described in the foregoing specification. This invention is not to be construed as limited to the particular forms disclosed, since these are regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Moreover, variations and changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention.