Abstract:
A monitoring service is described that allows flexible response through operators taken from a group of chosen individuals. When an alarm state is triggered the chosen individuals may act collaboratively as operators to manage alarm conditions for a particular user.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     PPA 61/619,450 
    
    
     SPECIFICATION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to remotely monitored systems, and more particularly, to a computerized system that monitors portable remote units with RF or other electromagnetic connectivity and is connected to a central control and monitoring element that provides system level operations. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Both private and public monitoring services exist. These systems do provide a useful service but suffer from significant infrastructure costs. Alternatively, ad hoc solutions for monitoring such as messaging friends and/or acquaintances when in real or perceived danger may be used but this technique suffers from a significant probability of failure when needed due to its manual nature. 
     A number of prior art systems have been proposed for security systems with monitoring services. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,126,472 and 8,098,153 describe a method of providing emergency response to a user carrying a mobile device by routing alarm conditions to a contact identified in a database. However, those disclosures suffer from deficiencies including prioritization of contacts, a mechanism to escalate to third parties, allowing access to a full-functionality full-time operator type console, and a mechanism to collaborate amongst contacts. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention provides flexible provision of operators for a monitoring system. These systems typically have one or more control centers that communicate with a plurality of remote terminals. The systems operate semi-autonomously with only occasional but required human supervision and control based on alarm status or other atypical conditions. Typically these systems will escalate an alarm or abnormal event to a human monitoring station operator. This disclosure enhances this topology with the flexible allocation of the operator function to chosen third party(s) as required. This capability facilitates custom monitoring operations and affords the opportunity of reduced cost structures since a dedicated operator is not mandatory. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the invention describing one embodiment of the system topology 
         FIG. 2  provides a flowchart of operator authorization 
         FIG. 3  describes a typical embodiment of an intervention including optional escalations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the system consists of one or more monitoring server(s)  10  connected to a plurality of portable remote units  20 , by direct or networked radio interfaces. Examples of radio interfaces would include, but not be limited to, cellular, PCS, WiFi, and WiMax. The portable remote units  20  will provide their status to the control and monitoring server(s)  10 . The monitoring server  10  will continuously make a determination of alarm conditions. Depending on system parameters an alarm indication may be handled autonomously by the system and/or the situation may be escalated to an operator for human intervention. This disclosure introduces to the state of the art the option of having the operator role  40  relayed to one or more chosen individual(s) for further action as opposed to a dedicated trained individual waiting for events. An operator  40  for a particular user gains access to the system through a secure login process  30 . Said ioperators will be notified of an event that requires intervention. More than one chosen individual may service a particular user as an operator. 
     For this disclosure, a chosen individual is defined as a person that has been authorized to act as an operator  40  for the monitoring system. At least one chosen individual and, optionally, a plurality of chosen individuals may be designated as an operator by the user of the system.  FIG. 2  describes a typical flow chart to optionally register a particular individual as an operator. The user makes a selection of an individual as a candidate operator and said individual is contacted and invited to be an operator  100 . That contact is typically, though not exclusively, through electronic means such as e-mail, text messaging, or social networking. To facilitate the interaction, an overview of the operator role may also be sent with the invitation. If the candidate operator accepts the invitation, he/she will be registered with the system as an operator for the selected user and will be authorized to act as such  130 . The user is then informed of the decision of said candidate operator on participating as an operator  105 . Information is optionally sent to the new operator  110  and, as an additional option, monitoring server  10  login information may also be sent to said new operator. After the operator first logs in to the server with the supplied credentials the operator has the option to receive training on the system, including but not limited to typical use scenarios  120 . A log of that training may be held by the system for possible use in prioritization algorithms. The user may optionally designate classes of operator to allow a hierarchy of operators for prioritization of actions.  FIG. 2  describes the registration process for an operator for a particular user. It is possible that an individual may be an operator for a plurality of users. An operator would have the option to opt out of the operator role at any time for any reason. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a typical use case scenario is described to illustrate core and optional elements of the disclosure. An alarm condition  200  triggers a notification to be sent to the set of individuals designated as operators  210 . The notification would be sent electronically, typically but not exclusively as an e-mail or text message with a link to the monitoring server or as an alert to connect to the server. Said notification may be repeatedly sent to the operator community to improve the likelihood of a positive response. At the time of the notification a timer would be started by the server application that would be reset by the response of at least one operator  220 . If the timer expires, an escalation procedure would be initiated by the server that could notify the user that no operator has responded and that the planned next steps by the server are being initiated  230 . The consequences of said escalation  240  would be dependent on the service level of the user&#39;s contract or previous choice(s) of the user and may include notifying emergency services organizations with details of the situation as known by the server  10 , or forwarding to a paid monitoring service. If at least one operator responds to the notification the operator alarm handling state would be entered  250 . 
     The first operator to respond would be given operator control of the situation by the server  10 . The operator would typically be able to monitor the state of the user based on information available on or through the Monitoring Server  10 , including but not limited to location, biometrics, audio, video, and other sensors, optionally communicate with the user  20 , and also escalate the situation to a paid monitoring service or government emergency services. If a plurality of operators respond all responding operators would typically have visibility to the other operators that have responded and, optionally, those operators that have not responded. At that point options would be available to have operators with higher authorization or aptitude take control. The protocol for control can be based on a number of parameters including pre-selection of authorization levels by the user, mutual agreement (allow handoff of control), first respondent leads, or other means. If there is a plurality of responding operators the system can provide the means to collaborate amongst the operators, including chat and other methods that may or may not include the user. An operator that is logged on may have the option to invite other operators, that may be known to said operator, to join the monitoring session by separate login. 
     As an outcome of the operator intervention  250 , a decision is made by the operator(s)  260  on the state of the alarm. If the dangerous situation still exists an escalation state may be entered  270  which would typically involve emergency services such as 911 or local security. Conversely, if the dangerous situation is resolved the operator may clear the alarm  280 . 
     For every alarm condition the monitoring server shall log the events for subsequent analysis. 
     While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope and spirit of the invention. 
     The advantages of the present invention include, without limitation, the opportunity to provide monitoring services by a plurality of individuals with more detailed knowledge of the user and their situation than could be afforded by a generic monitoring service. The invention also affords the opportunity of a community based collaborative solution with lower infrastructure and monitoring costs.