Abstract:
One embodiment is a safety device for children and pets who is about to be left alone in a vehicle with engine off and doors close. With a control box ( 80 ) that transmit a signal from the temperature sensor ( 81 ) and motion sensors ( 82 ), ( 82   a ). This control box ( 80 ) is made with a mother board not seen and a reserve power backup unit ( 96 ) which is always charged by the automobile&#39;s ( 70 ) electrical system. In addition it has a voice box ( 85 ) that will say EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY through the speakers ( 86 ). It&#39;s all power by the car&#39;s 12-volt batter ( 89   a ). Other embodiment are described and shown.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/531,216 filed Sep. 6, 2011, which is hereby incorporated hereby reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a safety device which alerts drivers or passengers who are about to leave a child or pet alone in a vehicle. When the engine is shut off and the doors are closed, motion-detecting sensors and/or dangerous-temperature sensors in the vehicle activate the horn, the car&#39;s lights, and a recorded warning, as well as the heat regulating system, i.e the heater or air conditioner. 
     News reports and articles tell us about children and pets who were left alone in the family vehicle. Youngsters and family animals are defenseless in this situation, and the present invention avoids putting precious lives at risk. One system for preventing children from becoming inadvertently locked within a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,291. The system utilizes a motion detector to detect the presence of a child or pet within a locked vehicle. 
     Another system for preventing children from becoming inadvertently locked within a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,293. It is an objective of that invention to provide a system that warns when an unattended individual child has been left in an infant seat under dangerous conditions. 
     Other patents show various car seats which have detector for determining if the seat is occupied and to activate an alarm. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides an apparatus for warning when a child or pet has been left in a turned-off vehicle. This system accomplishes both of the ends described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,793,291 and 6,104,293, but does not require the use of a specially-designed infant seat. This invention can work with unattended individuals whether they are children, infants, disabled persons or pets. The apparatus includes one or more motion sensors that detect any movement by an individual within the car who cannot let himself out. The system activates an alarm horn, a blinking light inside the car, headlights which will flash, and a warning voice which will say “EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY” for 1 minute. If no one shows up to operate the controls of the vehicle after a selected interval, for example one minute, during the absence of the driver, and if there is a buildup of dangerous heat or dangerous cold within the turned-off vehicle, the system will start the engine. If the car was left in gear, before starting the engine, the system will activate the parking brake and cause the transmission to shift the car into neutral. Depending on a signal from the temperature indicator, the system will activate the car&#39;s temperature controller. The air conditioner will be activated if the inside of the car is dangerously hot, and will stay on, but if the temperature does not come down within a predetermined period, the system will open the power windows. On the other hand, if the temperature is dangerously cold, the heater will be activated. Preferably, the temperature indicator will activate the air conditioner immediately, but will delay activating the heater for several minutes. 
     If the car is equipped with a monitored navigation system, the system of the invention may notify the monitor to advise 911 or to advise security personnel when the motion detector detects motion in the car when the car is parked unattended. This aspect of the invention will be activated when the car is locked and motion is detected within the car, as a theft-prevention system. If the driver of the car has a cell phone, the driver may enter the cell phone number into the system so that the system is programmed to send a message to the cell phone when motion is detected in the unattended vehicle, and/or when the temperature sensor detects dangerous temperatures in the car. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic plan view of a car with portions broken away to show the location of components in a system made in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic side view of a car with portions broken away to show an infant car seat and the location of components in a system made in accordance with the invention; 
         FIG. 3  is face view of a motion-sensing housing which may be used in the system of the invention, showing a motion detector element enclosed in circular chamber having a transparent protective cover. For illustrative purposes, the upper half of the cover is broken away to expose the detector element; 
         FIG. 4  is a plan view of the housing with the upper half of the chamber broken away; 
         FIG. 5  is a face view of a temperature-sensing thermostat which may be used in the system; 
         FIG. 6  is a plan view of the thermostat; 
         FIG. 7  is a diagram showing the power connection to the several components of the system; and 
         FIG. 8  is a block diagram showing the wired and wireless connections within the system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the drawings in which like numerals denote like elements. 
     In  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  8 , an automobile  70  has a temperature sensor  81  and a motion sensor  82   a  which are fastened into place by screws in the back ceiling  71  above an infant car seat  62  on the back seat  63  of the automobile  70 . These elements are connected into a control assembly  80  in the engine compartment powered by connections  89  attached to a 12-volt battery  89   a  in a conventional manner. Optionally, a second motion sensor  82   b  is positioned in the front compartment of the automobile  70  to cover areas in the car which are not covered by the sensor  82   a.    
     As shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the illustrated motion detector  82   a  has a central sensing element  282  centered within a generally conical or parabolic reflector  283  within a hollow cylindrical casing  284 . The casing is protected by a transparent mesh cover  285 . The elements  82   a  and  82   b  are operable to detect motion within the vehicle and generate a motion signal. Other motion detectors are available which detect any motion of the vehicle, for example when the parked vehicle is bumped or is subject to an attempted forced entry, for example when the parked vehicle is bumped or is subject to an attempted forced entry. Such motion detectors may be included in the system when the system is designed as a theft-prevention device. 
     The temperature sensor  81  always detects an dangerous temperature, either due to a buildup of heat or cold in the automobile  70 . However, the temperature sensor will not normally activate the system unless the motion sensors  82   a  and/or  82   b  detect the presence movement within the automobile  70 . When the system is provided with a theft-detection mode described hereinafter, the temperature sensor is inactivated when the theft-detection mode is selected. When the theft-prevention mode of the system is activated, the system provides audible warnings when it detects motion either within the vehicle or by the vehicle itself. In the illustrated embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  5  and  6 , the temperature sensor is mounted adjacent the motion detector  82   a  and has a generally rectangular casing  280  housing temperature-sensing controls (not shown) similar to the controls of a household wall thermostat. The casing  280  has slots  281  in its face to permit the internal controls to “read” the temperature within the automobile and generate a temperature signal when the temperature is dangerously low or dangerously high. 
     When the motion sensors  82   a  and for  82   b  detect movement within a turned-off vehicle  70 , and at the same time when the temperature sensor  81  detects a buildup of dangerous heat or cold, the motion sensors  82   a  and/or  82   b  activate the control assembly  80 . When the control assembly  80  receives a temperature signal or a motion signal, it is activated using a programmed general purpose processor, application specific processors, firmware and discrete components or combinations thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, the control assembly  80  is connected to the battery  89   a  of the electrical system of the automobile  70 . A battery junction box  89  preferably includes an electrical connector providing a power connection to the supply power of the control box  80  which enables the control assembly  80  to activate the system in response to motion signals from the motion sensor  82   a  and/or  82   b . The control box is connected to the ignition switch  79  so that if the ignition switch is off and an individual person or pet is inside the vehicle  70 , and if the temperature inside builds up dangerous heat or cold and a temperature signal is generated, the control assembly  80  will be activated to sound the horn  83 , activate the headlights  84 , the inside lights  87  and the backup lights  88 , all of which will flash. 
     To insure effective operation of the heater and the air conditioner, when either switch  91  or  95  is activated, the engine of the automobile  70  is started. If the car was left in gear, before starting the engine, a controller  99  connected to the transmission  97  will activate the parking brake and cause the transmission  97  to shift the car into neutral. 
     The control assembly also activates a voice box  85  (see  FIG. 8 ) which provides an audible warning through two speakers  86  in the form of a verbal warning, “Emergency, Emergency”, for a selected time period, for example, one minute. If on one come within the selected time period to unlock the vehicle and manually activate one or more controls of the vehicle, the control assembly is further activated. If the control assembly  80  determines that after one minute, on one has responded and made manual adjustments, the control assembly will send an electric signal to the ignition  79  to trigger the ignition to start the automobile  70  in which the temperature sensor detects that it is dangerously hot or cold. If the vehicle is parked in a “silent zone”, for example near a hospital, the system may include muting devices  183  for the horn,  185  for voice box and  186  for the speakers. The muting devices may be activated remotely by security personnel and will moderate the audible warnings but will not affect the visual warnings provided by the lights  84 ,  87  and  88  of the vehicle. 
     The temperature sensor  81  activates the control assembly  80  to turn on the heater switch  95  or the air conditioner switch  91 , depending upon whether the car is dangerously cold or dangerously hot. If the temperature remains dangerously hot for another selected period, the system sends an electric signal to the window controls  94  that will activate the power windows to open the windows. 
     When the control assembly  80  and  96  has started the engine to ensure activation of the heater or the air conditioner, if the battery  89   a  indicates a loss of power output, the control assembly will signal the switches  91  and  95  to turn off the air conditioner or heater if they are running. If the power supplied by the battery  89   a  remains low, the control assembly will also trigger a signal to turn off the automobile  70  if there is no key  79   a  in the ignition  79 . The control assembly  80  has a reserved power back-up unit  96  that can be charged by the generator  101  of the car&#39;s electrical system. The reserved power back-up unit  96  is effective when the automobile&#39;s battery  89   a  is providing too little power to activate the engine and the car&#39;s air conditioner  91   a  and heater  95 . In such case, the reserved power unit  96  will operate the horn  83 , the lights  84 ,  87  and  88  and the voice box  85  through the speakers  86  for a few hours, without attempting to start the engine. 
     Preferably, the system includes a key chain wireless transmitter  100  having an ignition state detector  98  with a reset button. When the automobile is equipped with a monitored navigation system, the control assembly may include an automatic dialer  102  which may make outgoing calls over the internet to telephone numbers programmed into the dialer. The message is preferably the message generated by the voice box  85  and the dialer may be set to send the message to the navigation system so that the individual monitoring the system will receive the message and may notify security or the emergency number for the area identified by the automatic navigation system. The automatic dialer may also be programmed with the cell phone number of the driver so that the driver will be able to receive the message that is being transmitted from the voice box  85 . The wireless device  101  and automatic dialer  102  may also be provided when the system is preset as a theft-prevention system. 
     As noted previously, motion detectors have been provided as theft-prevention devices. The present system may incorporate such devices as a supplement or a replacement for the motion detectors  82   a  and  82   b . When in the theft-prevention mode, any attempt to move the locked vehicle while parked will activate the system and provide visual and audible warnings, and if the system is equipped with an automatic dialer  102 , the voice box  85  may send a message to the monitor of the navigation system and/or the cell phone number which has been programmed into the system.