Abstract:
One telephone system embodiment having an alert module includes a base unit and at least one handheld unit. The base unit has a processor in data communication with a telephone network interface, a radio receiver, a first local transmitter, a first local receiver, and a first computer memory having a first program. The handheld unit has a processor in data communication with a second local receiver, a second local transmitter, a microphone, a speaker, and a second computer memory having a second program. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for passing signals between a telephone network on one end and the microphone and the speaker on another end. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for presenting an emergency warning through the speaker upon receipt of alert data from an emergency broadcast radio transmitter.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to provisional application 61/654,051 filed May 31, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), there is a continued increase in the severity of weather-related impacts. See http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/faqs.html. For example, a growing population and trends such as urban sprawl and conversion of rural land to suburban landscapes increase the likelihood a tornado will impact densely populated areas. Id. And enhanced overlap in the U.S. economy means that a single weather event can have a significant effect on several industries. Id. The current invention relates to devices that warn of emergency situations, such as those caused by weather events. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0003]    The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not an extensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented elsewhere. 
         [0004]    According to one embodiment, a telephone system having an alert module includes a base unit and at least one handheld unit. The base unit has a processor in data communication with a telephone network interface, a radio receiver, a first local transmitter, a first local receiver, a first computer memory having a first program, and a first display. The handheld unit has a processor in data communication with a second local receiver, a second local transmitter, a microphone, a speaker, a second computer memory having a second program, and a second display. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for actuating the telephone network interface, the first local transmitter, the first local receiver, the second local transmitter, and the second local receiver to pass signals between a telephone network on one end and the microphone and the speaker on another end. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for actuating the radio receiver, the first display, the first local transmitter, the second local receiver, the second display, and the speaker for presenting an emergency warning through the first display, the second display, and the speaker upon receipt of alert data from an emergency broadcast radio transmitter. 
         [0005]    According to another embodiment, a telephone system having an alert module includes a base unit and at least one handheld unit. The base unit has a processor in data communication with a telephone network interface, a radio receiver, a first local transmitter, a first local receiver, and a first computer memory having a first program. The handheld unit has a processor in data communication with a second local receiver, a second local transmitter, a microphone, a speaker, and a second computer memory having a second program. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for passing signals between a telephone network on one end and the microphone and the speaker on another end using the telephone network interface, the first local transmitter, the first local receiver, the second local transmitter, and the second local receiver. At least one of the first and second programs includes instructions for utilizing the radio receiver, the first local transmitter, the second local receiver, and the speaker for presenting an emergency warning through the speaker upon receipt of alert data from an emergency broadcast radio transmitter. 
         [0006]    According to still another embodiment, a telephone system having an alert module includes a base unit and at least one handheld unit. The base unit has a processor in data communication with a telephone network interface, a radio receiver, a first local transmitter, a first local receiver, a first computer memory, and a first display. The handheld unit has a processor in data communication with a second local receiver, a second local transmitter, a microphone, a speaker, and a second computer memory. Machine-readable instructions cause at least one of the processors to pass signals between a telephone network on one end and the microphone and the speaker on another end using the telephone network interface, the first local transmitter, the first local receiver, the second local transmitter, and the second local receiver. Machine-readable instructions cause the first display to present an emergency warning upon the radio receiver receiving alert data from an emergency broadcast radio transmitter. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates a telephone system having alert module, according to one embodiment of the invention, in use with a telephone network and a radio transmitter. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram showing components of the telephone system having alert module of  FIG. 1 , in use with the telephone network and the radio transmitter of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a flow chart showing an exemplary set of steps performed by the telephone system having alert module of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is a flow chart showing another exemplary set of steps performed by the telephone system having alert module of  FIG. 1 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0011]      FIGS. 1 through 4  illustrate a telephone system having alert module  10 , according to one embodiment. The system  10  includes a base unit  100  and at least one handheld unit  200 . The base unit  100  and the handheld unit(s)  200  may be configured to have various external configurations, and in some embodiments one or more of the handheld units  200  may be selectively coupled to the base unit  100  (e.g., for storage or charging). 
         [0012]    The base unit  100  includes a processor  110  (which may be a single processor or multiple processors in communication with one another) in data communication with various elements, such as those shown in  FIG. 2 . A telephone network interface  120  in communication with the processor  110  may allow users of the system  10  to communicate with third parties through a telephone network  20  (e.g., one or more of a traditional landline telephone system, a cellular telephone system, a satellite telephone system, a VoIP system, et cetera) using one of the handheld units  200  as described further below. 
         [0013]    A radio receiver  130  may be configured to receive, amplify, and demodulate radio waves from at least one radio transmitter  30  at one or more radio frequency used for emergency broadcasts (e.g., from 162.400 to 162.550 MHz), and to provide the demodulated radio waves to the processor  110 . Any such radio receiver  130 , whether now known or later developed, may be used, and some of the functionality of the radio receiver  130  may be performed by the processor  110 . 
         [0014]    The processor  110  is additionally in data communication with non-transitory computer memory  140  having a database  142  and programming  145 . As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the computer memory  140  may consist of any appropriate computer-storage media (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, et cetera) and the database  142  may be any electronic file or combination of electronic files in which data is stored for use by the processor  110 . The program  145  is described in further detail below, with specific reference to  FIG. 3 . 
         [0015]    A input device  170  (e.g., one or more button, knob, microphone, et cetera) may be in data communication with the processor  110  for providing data from the user to the processor  110 , and a display  180  (e.g., a visual display and/or a speaker) may be in data communication with the processor  110  for providing data from the processor  110  to the user. 
         [0016]    Still further, a local transmitter  150  and a local receiver  160  may be in data communication with the processor  110  to communicate with the handheld unit(s)  200 —and specifically with a local receiver  260  and a local transmitter  250  of each handheld unit  200 . The local transmitters and receivers  150 ,  250 ,  160 ,  260  may utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, whether now known or later developed. Example technology includes 900 MHz, 1.9 GHz, 2.4 GHz, 5.8 GHz band transmitters/receivers and Bluetooth transmitters/receivers. 
         [0017]    Turning to the handheld unit(s)  200 , each handheld unit  200  includes a processor  210  (which may be a single processor or multiple processors in communication with one another) in data communication with the local transmitter  250  and the local receiver  260 . Computer memory  240 , an input device  270 , a display  280 , a microphone  290 , and a speaker  295  may also be in data communication with the processor  210 , as shown in  FIG. 2 . The non-transitory computer memory  240  has a database  242  and programming  245 . As with the computer memory  140 , the computer memory  240  may consist of any appropriate computer-storage media (e.g., RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory, et cetera) and the database  242  may be any electronic file or combination of electronic files in which data is stored for use by the processor  210 . The program  245  is described in further detail below, with specific reference to  FIG. 4 . 
         [0018]    The input device  270  (e.g., one or more button, knob, microphone, et cetera) may be in data communication with the processor  210  for providing data from the user to the processor  210 , and the display  280  (e.g., a visual display and/or a speaker) may be in data communication with the processor  210  for providing data from the processor  210  to the user. 
         [0019]    The microphone  290  and the speaker  295  may allow data to be input to the system  10  for transmission to the telephone network  20  and presented from the telephone network  20  at the handheld unit  200 , respectively. 
         [0020]    The programming  145 ,  245  causes the processors  110 ,  210  to undertake various steps for controlling communication between the system  10  and the telephone network  20 , and between the system  10  and the radio transmitter  30 , such as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various steps shown and described can occur in different orders, and that some steps may be omitted or combined. 
         [0021]    At step S 102  of  FIG. 3 , the programming  145  causes the processor  110  to allow communication between the system  10  and the telephone network  20  by actuating local transmitter  150  to transmit signals from telephone network interface  120 , and by actuating interface  120  to transmit signals from local receiver  160 . While step S 102  occurs, the programming  145  may simultaneously direct the processor  110  to step S 104 . 
         [0022]    At step S 104 , the processor  110  determines if the radio receiver  130  has received alert data from the radio transmitter  30 . If so, the processor is directed to step S 108 ; if not, the processor proceeds to step S 106 . At step S 106 , the processor  110  determines if a query has been received from the input device  170  or the local receiver  160 . If so, the processor is directed to step S 108 ; if not, the processor continues to step S 112 . 
         [0023]    At step S 112 , the display  180  presents information regarding communication with the telephone network  20 , such as a phone number and/or name of a person on the network  20  communicating with the system  10 . From step S 112 , the processor  110  is directed to step S 104  (and continues to perform step S 102 ). 
         [0024]    Returning to step S 108 , the display  180  presents information regarding any received alert data, and the processor  110  proceeds to step S 110  where it actuates the local transmitter  150  to transmit any alert data received from the radio transmitter  30 . In some embodiments, the specific received alert is presented and transmitted, while in other embodiments predetermined messages (e.g., from database  142 ) are correlated to the received alerts and then presented and transmitted. If step S 108  is reached through step S 106  instead of through step S 104 , the information presented and transmitted may vary. For example, filters may be pre-established to provide only certain types of warnings automatically (i.e., if step S 108  is reached directly from step S 104 ), while additional warnings or a status indication may be provided if step S 108  is reached from step S 106 . The processor  110  continues from step S 110  to step S 104  (and continues to perform step S 102 ). 
         [0025]    Focusing now on  FIG. 4 , which illustrates various aspects of the programming  245 , the processor  110  at step S 202  allows communication with the telephone network  20  by actuating the local receiver  260  to pass signals from the local transmitter  150  to the speaker  295 , and by actuating the local transmitter  250  to transmit signals from the input device  270  and the microphone  290 . While step S 202  occurs, the programming  245  may simultaneously direct the processor  210  to step S 204 . 
         [0026]    At step S 204 , the processor  210  determines whether the local receiver  260  has received alert data from the local transmitter  150 . If so, the processor  210  continues to step S 212 ; if not, the processor  210  is directed to step S 206 . 
         [0027]    At step S 206 , the display  280  presents information regarding communication with telephone network  20  (e.g., a phone number and/or name of a person on the network  20  communicating with the system  10 , a duration of a telephone call, et cetera). From step S 206 , the processor  210  is directed to step S 208  where it determines whether an alert query from the input device  270  has been received. If not, the processor  110  is directed to step S 204  (and continues to perform step S 202 ). If so, the processor  210  actuates the local transmitter  250  at step S 210  to transmit the alert query to the local receiver  160  and is then directed to step S 204  (and continues to perform step S 202 ). 
         [0028]    Returning now to step S 212 , the processor  210  actuates the display  280  to present information regarding the received alert data. In some embodiments, the specific received alert is presented, while in other embodiments predetermined messages (e.g., from database  242 ) are correlated to the received alerts and then presented. 
         [0029]    After step S 212  in the embodiment  10 , the processor  210  actuates the speaker  295  to present information regarding the received alert data at step S 214 . Similar to step S 212 , in some embodiments the specific received alert is presented, while in other embodiments predetermined messages (e.g., from database  242 ) are correlated to the received alerts and then presented. The speaker  295  may be interrupted from presenting audio from the telephone network  20  to provide the alert at step S 214 , or may present the alert simultaneously with the audio from the telephone network  20 . The programming  245  directs the processor  210  from step S 214  to step S 204 , and the processor  210  continues to perform step S 202 . 
         [0030]    So, as will be clear to those skilled in the art from the accompanying drawings and the foregoing description, the system  10  allows telephone calls to be made between one or more of the handheld units  20  and one or more party on the telephone network  20 , and also allows emergency data from the radio transmitter  30  to be presented at the base unit  100  and the handheld units  200 . The elements that allow emergency data from the radio transmitter  30  to be presented at the base unit  100  and the handheld units  200  may be collectively referred to as an alert module. 
         [0031]    Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may develop alternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvements without departing from the scope of the present invention. It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. The specific configurations and contours set forth in the accompanying drawings are illustrative and not limiting.