Abstract:
There is disclosed a personal safety device having one or more lamps and lamp lenses located at the end of a body, and wherein pressure applied at least one lens causes a control circuit to initiate a mode of operation of the device.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The field of the invention relates generally to personal safety and more particularly to a personal safety device. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Today, many innocent people find themselves victims of crime. The nature of the crime varies from minor misdemeanors, such as theft, to violent assault, such as rape or murder. Typically, the victim of a crime is physically unable to prevent or deter an attack. 
         [0003]    The need therefore exists for a personal safety device to enable a victim to prevent, deter or defeat an attack. As such, many people have resorted to carrying lethal weapons, such as hand guns. However, in certain jurisdictions, a person is forbidden by law to possess or use a lethal weapon. 
         [0004]    The need therefore exists for a non-lethal personal safety device to enable a person to prevent, deter or defeat an attack. 
         [0005]    A further need exists for a personal safe device that allows a person to signal for help in the event of an attack. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0006]    There is disclosed a personal safety device comprising: a graspable body; a control circuit located within said body; one or more lamps located at a respective end of said body; and one or more lamp lenses covering a respective said lamp; and wherein pressure applied to at least one said lenses causes said control circuit to initiate a mode of operation of said device. 
         [0007]    Preferably, the device further comprises an alarm device operable by the control circuit in an alarm mode of operation. Further, the mode of operation can be initiated by at least one of: illuminating at least one the lamp, and emitting an audible alarm from said alarm device. The mode of operation can be deactivated by the control circuit by at least one of: depressing one of said lenses for longer than a first predetermined amount of time, and waiting for a second predetermined amount of time to elapse. The lamps can comprise one or more LEDs. Further, the device can comprise means to deliver a chemical spray, wherein the emission of the chemical spray is initiated by the control circuit in response to at least one of: squeezing the body of the device, twisting the body of the device, shaking the body of the device, and applying pressure to at least one of the lenses. A locking means can be coupled to the control circuit to prevent the initiation of said mode of operation. A rechargeable battery can be located within the body. An indicator can indicate the charge status of the battery pack. A power button can be coupled to the control circuit for initiation of at least one mode of operation of the device. The body is shaped to allow for a one-handed grip. A lanyard or a hand strap can be connected to the body. 
     
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         [0008]    One or more embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the personal safety device; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  shows the top, side and bottom view of the personal safety device; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is an exploded view showing the components of the personal safety device; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  shows the schematic of the front PCB of the personal safety device; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  shows the schematic of the rear PCB of the personal safety device; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  shows the method of transitioning between four typical modes of operation of the personal safety device when the power button is depressed; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  shows the method of transitioning between the various alarm modes of the personal safety device; and 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  shows the modes of operation of the charge indicator according to the charge status of the battery pack of the personal safety device. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Construction 
       [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a personal safety device  100 .  FIG. 2  shows the top, side and bottom view of the personal safety device  100 .  FIG. 3  is an exploded view showing the components of the personal safety device  100 . 
         [0018]    The body  101  of the personal safety device  100  is ergonomically designed so as to allow a user to grip it easily in one hand. The body  101  is designed to allow the user to strike an attacker and is therefore formed of high strength plastics or metal. The body  101  is sheathed in a rubber material (or equivalent)  102  to provide a non-slip grip for the user. 
         [0019]    The body  101  further consists of a front cap  103  for housing a front lens  104  and a rear cap  105  for housing a rear lens  106 . The front lens  104  and rear lens  106  are made of high strength transparent plastics or glass. The front lens  104  and rear lens  106  may also be coloured and opaque. 
         [0020]    The front lens  104  covers a front lamp  107 . In a preferred embodiment, the front lamp  107  may consist of one or more high brightness white LEDs. Similarly, the rear lens  106  covers a rear lamp  108 . In a preferred embodiment, the rear lamp  108  may consist of one or more high brightness red LEDs. However, other light emitting lamps may be used, such an incandescent, florescent, HID (High Intensity Discharge) or halogen types. 
         [0021]    The light emitted by lamps  107  and  108  is focused by means of a front reflector  109  and rear reflector  110  respectively. Lamp  107  is mounted on a front PCB  111  and lamp  108  is mounted on a rear PCB  112 . 
         [0022]    The front PCB  111  and the rear PCB  112  contain a plurality of push button type alarm switches  113 . The front lens  104  and rear lens  106  are mounted such that externally applied pressure will cause the front lens  104  or rear lens  106  to recess into the body  101  and activate one or more alarm switches  113 . In this manner, a user of the personal safety device  100  is able to activate an alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  by striking either the rear lens  106  or the front lens  104 . 
         [0023]    In order to prevent the accidental triggering of an alarm, the personal safety device  100  is provided with an alarm lock slider  114  that actuates an  115  on the rear PCB  112 . In this manner, when the alarm lock slider  114  is in the alarm lock position, striking the front lens  104  or rear lens  106  of the device will not activate the alarm. Should the user of the personal safety device  100  wish to activate the alarm, they should first position the alarm lock slider  114  in the unlocked position and then strike either the front lens  104  or the rear lens  106 . Typically, once the alarm has been activated, placing the alarm lock slider  114  in the locked position will not deactivate the alarm. To deactivate the alarm once it has been triggered, the front lens  104  or the rear lens  106  must be depressed for a certain amount of time, such three seconds. Alternatively, the alarm will automatically deactivate after a certain interval, such as thirty seconds. 
         [0024]    The body  101  contains an alarm device  116  that is positioned next to an alarm aperture  125  to emit a high intensity audible alarm. In this manner, once the personal safety device  100  alarm mode has been activated, lamps  107  and  108  flash and the alarm device  116  emits an audible alarm. 
         [0025]    The body  101  is provided with a power button  117  that controls the modes of operation of the personal safety device  100 . The front PCB  111  contains a push button type power switch  118 . Depressing the power button  117  will actuate the power switch  118 . The power button  117  may cause the personal safety device to iterate through several modes of operation. For instance, a first mode of operation may cause lamps  107  and  108  to be constantly illuminated. A second mode may cause the front lamp  107  to be constantly illuminated and the rear lamp  108  to flash. The third mode may cause both the front lamp  107  and the rear lamp  108  to flash. The fourth mode may cause the lamps  107 ,  108  not to be illuminated. 
         [0026]    In a particular embodiment, the body  101  is provided with a spray nozzle  119  for ejecting a defense chemical contained within a canister contained within the body  101 . The chemical used may be of the deterrent type, such as capsicum spray or tear gas, or it may be a dye used for identification of the attacker. The dye may be visible stain. The dye may also be invisible except under ultraviolet light. The spray may be activated by squeezing the body  101  of the personal safety device, twisting an end cap  105 ,  103  of the device or other similar action. 
         [0027]    The body  101  contains a battery pack  120  to provide power to the electronics of the personal safety device  100 . The battery pack  120  may be rechargeable. The battery pack  120  may be charged via the charge port  121 . The battery pack may typically provide 12V DC. 
         [0028]    The body  101  contains a charge indicator  122  that indicates the charging status of the personal safety device  100 . The charge indicator  122  consists of a charge indicator LED  123  mounted on the rear PCB  112  and the charge LED light pipe  124  to direct the light from the charge indicator LED  123 . The charge indicator  122  indicates the charge status of the battery pack  120 . For example, in a first mode, where the voltage of the battery pack  120  is sufficient to power the componentry of the personal safety device  100 , the charge indicator LED  123  will remain not illuminated. In a second mode where the voltage of the battery pack  120  is insufficient to adequately power the componentry of the personal safety device  100 , the charge indicator LED  123  may flash. In a third mode, when the battery pack  120  is being charged by the charge port  121  the charge indicator LED  123  may be constantly illuminated. 
         [0029]      FIG. 4  shows a schematic circuit diagram  400  of the front PCB  111 . The components of PCB  111  correspond to the items of the personal safety device  100  as shown in Table 1. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Components of PCB 111 correspond to the items of 
               
               
                 personal safety device 100 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Description 
                 PCB 111 
                 Safety device 100 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Front lamp 
                 D1, D2, D3 
                 107 
               
               
                   
                 Power switch 
                 S3 
                 118 
               
               
                   
                 Alarm switches 
                 S1, S2 
                 113 
               
               
                   
                 Alarm device 
                 J2 (connectors for) 
                 116 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0030]    PCB  111  comprises DC to DC converter U 1  to convert the voltage supply VCC to voltage supply VH 1  suitable for the alarm device  116 . The DC to DC converter U 1  may be the Fairchild MC 34063AD SMPS controller. The DC to DC converter U 1  may be provided with additional components typically as specified by the manufacturer datasheet according to the desired operational requirements. Modifications of the additional components are within the scope of a person skilled in the art. 
         [0031]    The front PCB  111  is connected to rear PCB  112  (shown in  FIG. 5 ) via the PCB link cable  126 . PCB  111  comprises connector J 1  for connection of the PCB link cable  126 . 
         [0032]      FIG. 5  shows a schematic circuit diagram  500  of the rear PCB  112 . The components of PCB  112  correspond to the items of personal safety device  100  as shown in Table 2. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                 TABLE 2 
               
             
             
               
                   
               
               
                 Components of PCB 112 correspond to the items of 
               
               
                 personal safety device 100 
               
             
          
           
               
                   
                 Description 
                 PCB 111 
                 Safety device 100 
               
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Rear lamp 
                 D1 
                 108 
               
               
                   
                 Charge 
                 D3 
                 123 
               
               
                   
                 indicator LED 
               
               
                   
                 Alarm switches 
                 S1, S2 
                 113 
               
               
                   
                 Alarm lock 
                 S3 
                 115 
               
               
                   
                 switch 
               
               
                   
                 Battery pack 
                 J3 (connector for) 
                 120 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0033]    The rear PCB  112  comprises microcontroller programmable flash devices U 1  and U 2  to control the operation of personal safety device  100 . The programmable flash devices may be the 8-bit AVR® microcontroller with 1K bytes of system programmable flash. 
         [0034]    Device U 2  controls the charge and discharge of the battery pack  120  as is readily apparent to a person skilled in the art. Connector J 2  is positioned in charge port  121 . U 2  controls the illumination of LED D 3  as shown in  FIG. 8 . Device U 2  is provided with additional reverse polarity and transient overvoltage protection circuitry as show in  FIG. 5 . The additional circuitry may be modified by a person skilled in the art. 
         [0035]    Device U 1  is programmed to operate the safety device  100  in the manner shown in the methods of  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Specifically, U 1  is programmed to operate the personal safety device  100  is as follows: The contact of S 1  or S 2  of  FIG. 4  or S 1  or S 2  of  FIG. 5  will ground net SWALARM. If S 3  of  FIG. 5  is in the alarm position as shown, pin PB 3  of U 1  will be grounded and alarm LED DS 1  will illuminate. U 2  is programmed to signal net ALARMON to activate the alarm device in the manner shown in  FIG. 7 . U 2  will ground net ALARMON after period t 2 , or after the contact of S 1  or S 2  of  FIG. 4  or S 1  or S 2  of  FIG. 5  for a period greater than t 1 , deactivating the alarm device  116 . Similarly U 1  will signal net WLEDOFF to flash lamps  107  and  108 . Furthermore, activation of switch S 3  of PCB  111  will cause net SWMAIN to be grounded causing U 1  to signal nets WLEDOFF and RLEDOFF in the manner shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         [0036]    PCB  112  comprises connector J 1  for connection of the PCB link cable  126 . 
         [0037]    The operation of PCB  111  and PCB  112  is readily apparent to a person skilled in the art and modifications within the scope of the operation of the safety device  100  as described are possible. 
       Function 
       [0038]      FIG. 6  shows the method of transitioning between four typical modes of operation of the personal safety device  100  when the power button  117  is depressed. The method  600  begins at a first mode of operation at step  610 . In this mode, lamps  107  and  108  are constantly illuminated. Step  620  is a second mode of operation that is activated by pressing the power button  117  when the personal safety device is in the first mode of operation. In mode  620  the front lamp  107  is constantly illuminated while the rear lamp  108  is flashing. Similarly, step  630  is the third mode of operation in which the front lamp  107  and the rear lamp  108  flash. Step  640  is the fourth mode of operation in which lamps  107  and  108  are not illuminated. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  shows the method of transitioning between the various alarm modes of the personal safety device  100 . The method  700  beings at step  710  when the alarm lock slider  114  is positioned in the unlocked position. If the alarm lock slider  114  is positioned in the locked position, the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  cannot be activated. At step  720  the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  is activated. The alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  is activated by depressing either the front lens  107  or the rear lens  106  of the personal safety device  100  momentarily. Step  730  is the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100 . In this mode, lamps  107  and  108  flash and the alarm device  116  emits an audible alarm. In order to deactivate the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  either step  740  or  750  should be performed. In step  740  the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  is deactivated by depressing the front lens  104  or the rear lens  106  for a predetermined amount of time. The predetermined amount of time should typically not be very long and is typically about three seconds. In step  750  the alarm mode of the personal safety device is deactivated automatically after a predetermined amount of time. The predetermined amount of time for step  750  should be longer than the predetermined amount of time of step  740  and is typically about 30 seconds. At step  760  the alarm mode of the personal safety device  100  is deactivated. In this mode, lamps  107  and  108  cease to be illuminated and the alarm device  116  is deactivated. 
         [0040]      FIG. 8  shows the modes of operation of the charge indicator  112  according to the charge status of the battery pack  120 . Typically, the voltage of the battery pack  805  is compared to a predetermined threshold voltage  810  and the charging port  121  is monitored to determine the charge status of the battery pack  120 . In this manner, in a first mode of operation  815  the voltage of the battery pack  805  is above a predetermined voltage threshold  810  indicating the voltage of the battery pack  805  is sufficient to power the componentry of the personal safety device  100 . In a second mode of operation the voltage of the battery pack  805  is below the predetermined voltage threshold  810  indicating that the voltage of the battery pack  805  is insufficient to power the componentry of the personal safety device  100 . In this mode the charge indicator LED  123  flashes. In a third mode of operation the battery pack  120  is being recharged via the charging port  121  and the voltage of the battery pack  805  is below the predetermined voltage threshold  810 . In this mode of operation the charge indicator LED  123  is constantly illuminated. In a fourth mode of operation the voltage of the battery pack  805  while being recharged via the charging port  121  exceeds the predetermined voltage threshold  810  indicating that the voltage of the battery pack  805  is sufficient to power the components of the personal safety device  100 . In this mode of operation the charge indicator LED is not illuminated.