US 7,321,306 B2 | ||
Wireless system to detect presence of child in a baby car seat | ||
Joseph Kinman Lee, Raleigh, N.C. (US); Daniel Ray Spach, Pittsboro, N.C. (US); Prasanna Srinivasan, Morrisville, N.C. (US); and Darren Paul Umstead, Apex, N.C. (US) | ||
Assigned to International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y. (US) | ||
Filed on Aug. 01, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/194,179. | ||
Claims priority of provisional application 60/635371, filed on Dec. 10, 2004. | ||
Prior Publication US 2006/0139159 A1, Jun. 29, 2006 | ||
Int. Cl. B60Q 1/00 (2006.01); G08B 13/14 (2006.01); B60R 21/16 (2006.01); G05D 1/00 (2006.01) |
U.S. Cl. 340—572.1 [340/457; 340/457.1; 340/460; 340/573.1; 280/734; 280/735; 701/1; 701/45; 701/46; 701/47; 701/48; 701/49] | 15 Claims |
1. A system for protecting children or infants from being left in a vehicle comprising:
a safety seat in which a RFID tag is embedded, “wherein the RFID tag is coupled to a sensor that detects whether a child is
buckled into the safety seat”;
a RFID tag reader operatively mounted in the cabin of said vehicle;
a computer;
a computer readable program installed on said computer, said computer readable program including:
a first instruction module being responsive to first signals from sensors to activate the RFID tag reader;
a second instruction module being responsive to second signals from the RFID tag that indicate that a child is buckled into
the safety seat to wait a predetermined amount of time and, after passage of the predetermined amount of time, re-activate
the RFID tag reader; and
a third instruction module being responsive to third signals from the RFID tag that indicate that the child remains buckled
into the safety seat to sound alarms indicating the child is left in vehicle and taking other actions to prevent injury to
the child.
|