Abstract:
A monitoring unit system is provided having a parent unit whose speaker is muted when a wrist unit is activated, where the wrist unit vibrates, the parent unit or wrist unit lights up, the wrist unit continues to alert until a mute button is pressed, or if a predetermined time elapses, alerts the parent unit, and having a low battery trigger, a fail-safe wrist unit and parent unit out of range trigger, a page button for the wrist unit and parent unit, a mute feature on the baby unit, and a cry duration or volume threshold trigger.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Caregivers often use monitor systems to observe and/or hear their babies while they sleep in another room. These monitors are composed of a parent unit which receives sound and/or video from a monitoring unit (often referred to as a baby, kid or child unit) capable of recording and transmitting sound and/or video. Transmission is typically wireless. 
         [0002]    Such monitors typically transmit all sounds and video from the monitored room on a continuous basis for playing by the parent unit. More advanced monitors will key a microphone to transmit only when sounds above a certain decibel are received. This avoids broadcasting sounds from normal sleep activity and movement. Since the parental unit simply plays the sound and/or video via a speaker, in two parent households, both parents are woken whenever an event triggers the transmission of sound or when a loud-enough sound is broadcast by the parent unit. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    In aspects of the present invention a monitor system is provided which features one or more of: (1) a parent unit speaker which is muted when the mobile or wrist unit is activated, (2) a wrist unit which vibrates, (3) a parent unit and/or wrist unit which lights up or makes or plays broadcast sound, (4) a wrist unit which continues to alert until a mute button is pressed, and which may eventually alert on the parent unit if no response occurs from the wrist unit, (5) a low battery trigger, (6) a fail-safe parent unit out of range trigger, (7) a page button for the wrist unit or parent unit, (8) a mute feature on a monitoring unit, and/or (9) a noise duration threshold to trigger a wrist unit or parent unit. 
         [0004]    In one aspect the system comprises a parent unit, a monitoring unit (also referred to as a baby unit or child unit) which may be located in proximity to the person, animal, object, location or room being monitored and a wrist unit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]    The invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the figures provided herein to further illustrate various non-limiting embodiments of the invention, wherein like designations denote like elements, and in which: 
           [0006]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the parent, child, wrist unit and a charging dock of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0007]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of the electronics of a parent unit of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0008]      FIG. 3  is a block diagram of the electronics of a monitoring unit of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 4  is a block diagram of the electronics of a mobile or wrist unit of an embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0010]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are flowcharts of a method of an embodiment of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    Broadly described, the present invention comprises a primary receiving unit, a monitoring unit, one or more charging docks, and one or more secondary receiving units which are configured to be in communication with one another such that the primary receiving unit does not disturb an off-duty guardian unless the on-duty guardian fails to respond to a communication (also referred to herein as an alert) from the monitoring unit. The present invention is now described with reference to particular embodiments, for example a child or baby monitor system, but it is understood that many embodiments and variations fall within the scope of the present invention and disclosure and that the method of use of the monitoring system is not limited to the monitoring of children or babies and can include any circumstance where a room, individual or animal requires monitoring. In such examples the primary receiving unit may be referred to as the “parent unit”, the monitoring unit as the “child” or “baby unit”, and one or more secondary receiving units as “wrist unit(s)”. 
         [0012]    More particularly, referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the parent unit  100  has a housing  101  which houses an audio speaker  102 , visual indicators  103  and button input  104 , a 2.4 Ghz transceiver/SoC (system on a chip) and antenna  105 , and a DECT (digital enhanced cordless telecommunications) module  106 , and connectivity to a power supply. 
         [0013]    The audio speaker  102  serves to broadcast sound data that has been sent from the child unit to the parent unit. Visual indicators  103  serve to indicate device on/off status, mute status, audio decibel range, or the paging of other devices. Visual indicators  103  may be, for example, light emitting diodes (LEDs). Button input  104  serves to turn the device on/off, control volume, mute or page other devices. It is understood that the button input  104  may be one button configured to control the aforementioned functions via length of depression, repetition of depressions, or other codes, or may be multiple buttons with each serving one or more of the aforementioned functions. 
         [0014]    The 2.4 Ghz transceiver/SoC and antenna  105  serves to carry out logic as defined by device firmware and communicates with the wrist unit described below via a built in transceiver which utilizes the antenna to transmit and receive data. The DECT module  106  enables the transmission of audio and other data between the baby unit and the parent unit and has a built in antenna. A power supply  107  provides power circuitry to facilitate the operating requirements of the other components of parent unit  100 . The parent unit may be powered by one or more of direct current (DC), alternating current (AC) or battery power, though preferably it is powered by an AC/DC adaptor. Optionally, the parent unit may have a video display and related circuitry to receive video signals from a camera on the monitoring unit and to optionally display temperature data received from the monitoring unit. It is generally understood that the electronics within the parent unit  100  may be configured in multiple manners to provide the capabilities and functions described herein. 
         [0015]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the monitoring unit  200  has a housing  201  which houses a microphone  202 , a visual indicator  203 , a button input  204 , a Wifi module/SoC  205 , a DECT module  206 , a temperature sensor  207 , and a power supply  208 . 
         [0016]    The microphone  202  serves to pick up sound and covert it to electrical signals. Visual indicator  203  has LED&#39;s which indicate whether the device is on/off, muted, or paging other devices. Button input  204  serves to turn the device on/off, mute, or page. It is understood that the button input  204  may be one button configured to control the aforementioned functions via length of depression, repetition of depressions, or other codes, or may be multiple buttons with each serving one or more of the aforementioned functions. Wi-Fi (wireless local area network) module/SoC  205  serves to handle logic as defined by firmware and has a built in Wi-Fi transceiver and antenna. DECT module  206  serves to enable the transmission of audio and other data between the monitoring unit  200  and the parent unit  100  and has a built in antenna. Temperature sensor  207  serves to detect the temperature of the monitoring unit location and communicates temperature data to a display and optionally for transmission via Wi-Fi and the DECT module. The power supply  208  provides power circuitry to facilitate the operating requirements of the other components of monitoring unit  200 . Optionally monitoring unit  200  also includes a camera configured to provide video data to the Wi-Fi module  205  and/or DECT module  206  for transmission to the parent unit  100  or to a smartphone configured with application software to receive data from the monitoring unit  200 . 
         [0017]    Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 4 , the mobile or wrist unit  300  has a housing  301  attached to a band  302  capable of being worn on a human wrist. Housing  301  houses visual indicators  303 , vibration indicator  304 , button input  305 , an antenna  306 , a 2.4 Ghz transceiver SoC  307  and a power supply  308 . 
         [0018]    The visual indicators  303 , vibration indicator  304 , and button input  305  serve to provide a user interface for controlling and receiving information via the wrist unit. The visual indicators  303  may be LEDs and serve to provide information concerning on/off status, mute status, audio decibel range, or the paging of other devices. The vibration indicator  304  may be a vibrating motor. The button input  305  allows a user to silence or activate an alert. The antenna  306  is preferably suitable for 2.4 Ghz radio reception. The 2.4 Ghz transceiver SoC  307  serves to handle logic and communication for the wrist unit  300 . 
         [0019]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , the charging dock  400  includes an AC to DC adapter  401  and one or more DC outputs  402  in a housing  403 . For example, in a charging dock with multiple DC outputs  402 , the DC outputs  402  can charge parent units  100  and wrist units  300 . The AC/DC adapter may, for example provide 5 Volt DC power to aforementioned units. Alternatively, in other embodiments of the present invention, one or more of the wrist unit or parent units or child units may be charged by induction coils, and are so configured, and the charging dock  400  is configured to include an induction charging mechanism. 
         [0020]    In an alternative embodiment one or more of the parent unit and monitoring unit are wifi capable, and can communicate to application software on a mobile device such as a smartphone to provide all notification functions. Application software on said mobile device also provides all communication functions to the parent unit as described herein. 
         [0021]    In yet a further embodiment, the system of the present invention may be deployed entirely or in part by application software on network capable devices, preferably wireless capable, equipped with at least microphones and speakers, and preferably display screens, more preferably touch screens. The network capable devices serve as one or more of the parent unit, monitoring unit and mobile unit and utilize an existing WiFi, cellular or other wireless network. Examples of network capable devices include smartphones, tablet computing devices, and cellular phones, all capable of running application software. Graphical user interfaces on one or more of the parent unit, monitoring unit and mobile unit provide the aforementioned visual indicator functions of visual indicators  103 ,  203  and  303 . Button inputs  104 ,  204  and  305  are provided by touch-screen functionality or manual input buttons on the network capable devices and the vibration is provided by a built in vibrate function such as the vibrate ring of the network capable devices. Alternatively the aforementioned network capable devices may function across a wired network, though preferably at least the mobile unit functions across a wireless network. 
         [0022]    When in use, the system functions to allow guardians, which may be parents, to be on or off duty in responding to the monitored room or person&#39;s needs, for example a child&#39;s. This is accomplished by use of the wrist band  300  worn by the on duty guardian and the primary receiving unit settings. Referring now to  FIGS. 5A and 5B , logical functions are carried out via firmware or software code, an exemplary embodiment of which follows and in which the guardian is a parent, the primary receiving unit is a parent unit, the monitoring unit is a child unit and the secondary receiving unit is a wrist unit: 
         [0023]    The child unit  200  is turned on, with the “on” LED showing green. When powered on, the child unit  200  transmits audio events to the parent unit  100 . Audio events may be actual crying or other noises of a predetermined decibel level or higher. The predetermined decibel level may be preset in the system or selected by the user upon set up. When an audio event is detected by the child unit  200  it transmits a notification to the parent unit  100 . As described below, the parent unit decides whether to issue an alert via the speaker on the parent unit or send a notification to the wrist unit based upon whether the wrist unit is docked or undocked and whether the on duty parent responds to their alert in time. 
         [0024]    Upon responding, the on duty parent may mute the parent unit  100  to prevent additional notifications by pressing a “mute” button on the child unit  200 . Transmissions to the parent unit  100  may be resumed by pressing the mute button once again, for example once the situation with the child is resolved. The on duty parent may also notify the off duty parent by pressing the page button on the child unit, which will transmit the page notification to the parent unit  100 . A page notification may be actual audio of the cry event or a chime or alarm sound of any kind any of which is broadcast loudly enough to wake an off duty parent. As discussed below, when used with a functioning wrist unit  300 , the parent unit  100  will not disturb the off duty parent. 
         [0025]    Referring again to  FIGS. 1 and 5 , when the parent unit  100  is turned on it determines whether there is a child unit  200  in range by checking for transmission from the child unit  200 . If no child unit  200  is detected the parent unit  100  will initiate an alarm condition. The alarm condition may for example be provided via the audio speaker  102  and one or more LEDs  103  which may glow or flash red. If a child unit  200  is detected in range, the parent unit  100  will be in a functional state, and the LED  103  may glow green for example to indicate such, and the speaker  102  will be on. Alternatively, a parent unit  100  LED will glow green when a wrist unit  300  is connected to the parent unit and charging or disconnected from the parent unit and in range. The parent unit  100 &#39;s LED may instead glow yellow for example when a wrist unit  300  is detached and not in range. 
         [0026]    Turning now to the situation where the wrist unit  300  is not detected by the parent unit  100 , upon detecting an alert event from the child unit  200 , the parent unit speaker is set to “on” and the parent unit  100  will broadcast its alert via sound from the audio speaker  102  and optionally LED indicators  103  may flash or spike to indicate noise level. When the parent unit speaker  102  is in an “on” status the parent unit  100  mute function may be activated by the user. If the mute function is activated the speaker is set to an “off” status for, for example, 90 seconds. As a failsafe, if mute is pressed repeatedly, for example three times within 270 seconds, then the parent unit speaker is set to an “on” status regardless of further muting requests allowing alerts to be broadcast loudly enough to wake any persons near the parent unit  100 , typically any sleeping parents in this example. If the page function is activated, the wrist unit  300  will be alerted. 
         [0027]    When a wrist unit  300  is undocked from the charging dock  400 , it may vibrate twice and optionally an LED  303  may flash indicating it is now in an active state. If the wrist unit  300  can receive transmission from the parent unit  100  upon undocking, it will cease vibrating and flashing its LED, indicating it is now active. 
         [0028]    When a wrist unit  300  is not charging and is detected in range, the parent unit  100 &#39;s speaker  102  is set to an “off” status and upon an audio event the parent unit  100  will transmit an event notification to the wrist unit  300 . Optionally, LED level indicators  103  will indicate the noise level of the audio event. 
         [0029]    Upon receiving notification of an audio event from the parent unit  100  the wrist unit  300  will alert via vibration  304  and optionally LED  303  activation. Upon an alert the on duty parent using the wrist unit may mute using the mute function  305 . As a failsafe, if mute is signaled repeatedly, for example three times within 270 seconds, then the parent unit speaker  102  is set to an “on” status regardless of further muting requests allowing alerts to be broadcast loudly enough to wake any persons near the parent unit, typically any sleeping parents in this example. 
         [0030]    If for some reason the wrist unit  300  cannot receive transmissions from the parent unit  100  (for example the wrist unit  300  is out of range, or the parent unit is offline), then it will initiate an alarm condition and for example may vibrate once for a longer duration and optionally its LED may flash. Simultaneously, if for some reason the parent unit  100  cannot receive transmissions from the wrist unit  300  (for example the wrist unit  300  is out of range or low on battery), the parent unit  100 &#39;s LEDs  103  may glow yellow and the parent unit speaker  102  is set to an “on” status allowing alerts to be broadcast loudly enough to wake any persons near the parent unit. 
         [0031]    Each of the parent unit  100 , child unit  200  and wrist unit  300  may have a low battery warning condition and suitable battery monitoring circuitry which activates a low battery alert warning, which warning may be sound, LED color, flashing or other predetermined low battery alert. 
         [0032]    It is understood that the parent unit  100  and child unit  200  is sufficient to serve as a monitor system without the wrist unit  300 . It is further understood that the alert status condition may be predetermined by one or more of volume of sound detected, duration of sound detected, or type of sound detected—for example background noises may be filtered or ignored while child cries or other sounds of human voice selectively registered by the child unit  200 . Lastly it is understood that while in this example the parent unit  100  is transmitting data to the wrist unit  300 , it is equally possible for the foregoing tasks described above to be partitioned between any of the three or more units within the system and for such units to communicate via the Internet, cellular networks, wireless networks and the like.