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
OG exemplary drawing
 
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.