Mobile security system with cellular transceiver, position reporting
Contents
1. 3 is a front view of the user interface box FIG 4 is a side view of the user interface box FIG 5 is a front view of one embodiment of the remove activation device FIG 6 is a side view of the remote activation device of FIG 5 FIG 7 shows an alternative embodiment of the remote activator device DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An example of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG 1 The main components of the invention are located in alarm box 1 which is preferably installed in a hidden location for example the trunk 2 of vehicle 3 as shown here The main components of the device include cellular telephone 10 controller 20 record ing device 30 and radio frequency RF receiver device 40 Cellular telephone 10 is connected to antenna 11 via cable 12 RF receiver device 40 is connected to antenna 13 via cable 14 Antennas 11 and 13 are preferably mounted in the rear window 4 of vehicle 3 but alternatively may be mounted in any other location which provides acceptable signal reception A message providing identifying information e g user name vehicle license plate number etc and location infor mation can be recorded with recording device 30 In the event of an emergency the user activates the device either by pressing a button 51 on user interface 50 which is mounted inside vehicle 3 or by pressing a button 61 on remote activation device 60 which the vehicle user 70 carries on his2. All components residing within alarm box 1 are prefer ably powered by the 12 Volt DC vehicle battery 5 which is connected to alarm box 1 by cables 5001 and 5002 Alternatively it would be possible to provide a separate power supply e g battery for the components of the invention Remote activation device 60 is packaged sepa rately and is preferably powered by a battery A schematic diagram of the components of the inventive system is given in FIG 2 Cellular telephone 10 is a conventional cellular telephone which has been modified so that its voice output signal is sent out on line 103 so that it may be routed to speaker 52 in user interface 50 via line 502 Cellular telephone 10 accepts as input 101 either the output signal 304 from recording device 30 or the audio signal on line 503 from microphone 53 in user interface 50 In an alternative embodiment of the invention audio input 101 may originate from microphone 62 in remote activation device 60 The audio signal would be sent from receiver device 40 to controller 20 via line 402 and from there to cellular tele phone 10 Cellular telephone 10 is pre programmed with a desired emergency number e g 911 a private security company police or other emergency service provider in the usual manner however telephone 10 is modified so that auto dialing is initiated upon receipt of an activation signal on line 102 The audio input received on line 101 is converted to a cellular teleph
3. or her person Remote activation device 60 sends an RF signal to receiver device 40 which signals controller 20 Controller 20 activates cellular telephone 10 to dial a pre programmed emergency telephone number and activates recording device 30 to play the pre recorded emergency message which includes identification and location informa tion The controller may also be programmed to activate the vehicle horn 7 or lights 9 respectively via lines 700 or 900 or disable the vehicle upon receipt of a signal from the remote activation device 60 If button 51 on interface 50 is depressed a signal is sent to controller 20 which causes it to activate cellular telephone 10 to dial the pre programmed emergency telephone number however instead of activat ing recording device 30 to playing a pre recorded message two way communication between the user and emergency operator is enabled The system can be reset and transmis sion halted by pressing reset switch 18 which is mounted on alarm box 1 Reset switch 18 is covered recessed or otherwise protected to prevent it from being depressed accidentally Alternatively the system may be reset using a reset button located on the remote activation device 60 on user interface 50 or elsewhere in the system US 6 532 360 B1 3 Alarm box 1 may be constructed of metal or other durable material and is sized to contain cellular telephone 10 controller 20 RF receiver device 40 and recording device 30
4. 0 on audio input line 101 RF receiver device 40 receives a reset signal from controller 20 on line 403 The reset signal causes the receiver device to stop sending to controller 20 and commence waiting for an alarm signal from remote activation device 60 In some embodiments of the invention it may be desirable to use a device capable of both receiving and transmitting signals ie a transceiver in place of receiver device 40 for example if it were desired to transmit signals back to remote activation device 40 to permit two way communication Recording device 30 is used to record store and replay a number of voice messages used by the inventive system These include a prompt message which instructs the user to 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 record a position message indicating the current or most recent location of the vehicle the location description recorded by the user a message containing identifying information pertaining to the vehicle or driver e g vehicle make and or model license plate number driver name and or driver s license number etc and other messages which may be used in the practice of the invention Record ing device 30 preferably includes a plurality of memory or recording locations 31a 31b 31c etc where the various messages can be stored and from which the messages can be retrieved Recording device 30 further includes audio input 301 audio output 302 memor
5. 1 2003 Sheet 2 of 4 US 6 532 360 B1 61 62 31a 31b 31c 14 304 j 401 a 2 403 e FIG 2 11 12 U S Patent Mar 11 2003 Sheet 3 of 4 US 6 532 360 B1 54 20 WEAK SIGNAL READY ea E O f Ca E 53 FIG 3 U S Patent Mar 11 2003 Sheet 4 of 4 US 6 532 360 B1 60 61 FIG 5 64 aa FIG 6 FIG 7 US 6 532 360 B1 1 MOBILE SECURITY SYSTEM WITH CELLULAR TRANSCEIVER POSITION REPORTING AND REMOTE ACTUATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention The invention relates generally to the field of personal security systems the field of vehicle emergency signal and position transmission systems and to the field of mobile telephone systems for emergency and security use It relates specifically to systems including cellular telephones capable of automatically dialing a preset emergency telephone num ber and activating a voice recording for relaying location and identification information 2 Statement of the Art Systems for generating and transmitting emergency sig nals are known in the prior art These include systems for use on boats and ships cars or trucks and systems to be carried on a person Cellular phone systems for dialing a preset emergency number and transmitting a position signal rep resenting the current position of the vehicle or in some cases the last recorded position of the vehicle are also known in the art In the prior art position informatio
6. US006532360B1 a United States Patent ao Patent No US 6 532 360 B1 Shaffer 45 Date of Patent Mar 11 2003 54 MOBILE SECURITY SYSTEM WITH 5 742 666 A 4 1998 Alpert CELLULAR TRANSCEIVER POSITION 5 786 789 A 7 1998 Janky REPORTING AND REMOTE ACTUATION 5 805 055 A 9 1998 Colizza eee 340 426 5 838 237 A 11 1998 Revell et al 5 894 266 A 4 1999 Wood et al veces 340 506 76 Inventor ae ao OLS en Bluff St 5 918 180 A 6 1999 Dimino veeeeescssseeeseoneee 455 456 se 5 926 752 A 7 1999 Lin PENE 5 933 074 A 8 1999 Settles et al Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this 5 986 543 A 11 1999 a tee 340 426 patent 1s extended or adjusted under 35 6 028 537 A 2 2000 Suman et al 340 426 U S C 154 b by 0 days 6 067 007 A 5 2000 Gioia 340 426 6 133 832 A 10 2000 Winder et al 340 10 4 21 Appl No 09 460 753 6 167 255 A 12 2000 Kennedy 455 414 4 6 262 656 B1 7 2001 Byrd et al oe 307 10 2 22 Filed Dec 14 1999 OTHER PUBLICATIONS GD Int Cl H04M 11 00 Alpine Electronics User s Manual Alpine Mobile Mayday 52 US Ch anean 455 404 455 426 455 414 System On Guard ATX Technologies Inc 1999 455 456 340 426 News Release Cars Calling for Help Automatically by 58 Field of Search 0 0 455 521 404 Ann M Job Sep 13 1999 455 426 345 414 456 422 342 42 825 340 902 426 990 425 539 cited by examiner Primary Examiner Edward F Urb
7. an 56 References Cited Assistant Examiner Khawar Iqbal U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 74 Attorney Agent or Firm TraskBritt 4 100 529 A 7 1978 Evans 57 ABSTRACT eye A o Sil asa A mobile security system for use in an automobile or other 4 833 477 A 5 1989 Tendler vehicle which activates a cellular phone to automatically 5 055 851 A 10 1991 Sheffer dial an emergency telephone number and plays a voice 5 081 667 A 1 1992 Drori et al recording including position information provided by the 5 155 689 A 10 1992 Wortham vehicle operator The vehicle operator is prompted to record 5 185 779 A 2 1993 Dop et al new position information when the vehicle ignition is turned 5 247 564 A 9 1993 Zicker off The system can be remotely activated by a wireless 5 334 974 A 8 1994 Simms et al transmitter device which generates an RF signal when a Seren R o n panic button is depressed Components of the security 5418537 A 5 1995 Bird system include a cellular telephone RF receiver device 5 552 789 A 9 1996 Schuermann recording device and controller A speaker and microphone 5 555 286 A 9 1996 Tendler permit two way communication between the vehicle opera 5 572 201 A 11 1996 Graham et al tor and emergency personnel 5 708 417 A 1 1998 Tallman et al 340 425 5 5 712 619 A 1 1998 Simkin 14 Claims 4 Drawing Sheets z US 6 532 360 B1 Sheet 1 of 4 Mar 11 2003 U S Patent L Dld4 U S Patent Mar 1
8. ange Interface box 50 to User interface 50 change box 50 to user interface 50 change interface box 50 to user interface 50 and change strip 6 found to strip 6 not shown found UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 532 360 B1 Page 2 of 2 APPLICATION NO 09 460753 DATED March 11 2003 INVENTOR S M Bennett Shaffer It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below In the specification continued COLUMN 5 LINE 57 change interface box 50 to user interface 50 COLUMN 6 LINE 36 change interface box 50 to user interface 50 Signed and Sealed this Second Day of October 2007 am WE ae JON W DUDAS Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
9. antly aid emer gency personnel in locating the vehicle or driver User interface 50 is preferably mounted in the front portion of the passenger compartment of vehicle 3 e g above the rear view mirror as shown in FIG 1 Interface box 50 is illustrated in more detail in FIGS 3 and 4 It includes a speaker 52 and microphone 53 which are used in providing voice prompting by the system and recording of messages by the user as described previously in connection with the recording device Speaker 52 and microphone 53 may be of the type used in cellular phones User interface box 50 also includes a switch 51 which is preferably a button a panic button If switch 51 is activated i e pressed in the case that it is a button controller 20 activates cellular phone 10 to dial the pre programmed emergency number The audio signal from microphone 53 is carried to controller 20 on line 503 and from there routed to cellular phone 10 on line 101 to be transmitted to the cellular telephone transceiver device 71 for routing to the emergency service provider The signal from the emergency service is sent to controller 20 on line 103 and from there routed to speaker 52 This allows direct two way communication between the occupant of the vehicle and the contacted emergency personnel Weak signal indicator light 54 and ready signal indicator light 55 are mounted on the outside of box 50 Weak signal indicator light 54 is preferably a red light emittin
10. ate dialing of said preprogrammed emergency telephone number and generating said second activation signal for sending to said recording device to initiate sending of said emergency message to said cellular telephone from said recording device wherein said user interface device said receiver device and said controller are configured for placement within said vehicle and wherein said remote activation device is configured for generating an alarm signal for recep tion by said receiver device when said remote activa tion device is located at a distance from said receiver device 2 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein said emergency message comprises a location description 3 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises a horn and wherein upon receipt of said notification signal said controller causes said horn to honk at least once 4 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle comprises headlights and tail lights and wherein upon receipt of said notification signal said controller causes one or more of said headlights and said tail lights to be illuminated 5 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein said remote activation device further comprises a microphone 10 15 20 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 capable of picking up and audio signal transmitting said audio signal from said remote activation device to said receiver device and routing said aud
11. cklace A first example of remote activation device 60 is depicted in FIGS 5 and 6 This embodiment of the device includes activation switch button 61 which causes activa tion of remote activation device 60 to transmit an RF alarm signal which is picked up by RF antenna 13 and received by RF receiver device 40 Receiver device 40 sends an activa tion signal to controller 20 via line 401 causing controller 20 to activate cellular telephone 10 to dial the pre programmed emergency message and activate recording device 30 to play the prerecorded message composed of greeting location and identification components which is then transmitted to the emergency operator by cellular telephone 10 as described previously Optionally the con troller 20 can be configured to cause the vehicle horn 7 to honk or to disable the vehicle ignition 8 if an alarm signal is received from remote activation device 60 An alternative embodiment of remote activation device 60 is shown in FIG 7 This embodiment of the device includes all the features included in the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS 5 and 6 and also includes a microphone 62 for picking up an audio signal which is transmitted to RF receiver device 40 sent to controller 20 on line 402 and routed to cellular telephone 10 for transmission to the emergency operator This allows the user to provide a verbal message in addition to the pre recorded location and iden tification messages and als
12. g diode LED and ready signal indicator light 55 is preferably a green LED However it will be appreciated that other colors and types of lights may be used in the practice of the invention A cable 500 containing lines 501 502 503 504 and 505 from switch 51 speaker 52 microphone 53 weak signal indicator light 54 and ready signal indicator light 55 respectively runs from interface box 50 to alarm box 1 as shown in FIG 1 Interface box 50 may be constructed of plastic A metal clip 56 on the rear of box 50 may be used to mount interface box 50 to the plastic strip 6 found between the windshield and headliner of vehicle 3 Alternatively interface box 50 may be mounted to the windshield rear view mirror sun visor or location in the vicinity of the driver with the use of clamps suction cups adhesive etc as known in the art Remote activation device 60 may be carried on the vehicle user s person and is used to provide remote activa tion of the system Remote activation device 60 is preferably designed to be small enough to carry easily and to have an inconspicuous appearance For example it may be made to resemble a pager as depicted in FIGS 5 6 and 7 Remote activation device 60 preferably includes means for attaching 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 6 it to the user s clothing such as clip 64 or loop 63 or similar means which permit it to be attached to a key chain or ne
13. he scope of the inven tion as defined herein What is claimed is 1 Amobile security system for use in a vehicle compris ing a cellular telephone configured for receiving a first acti vation signal and upon receipt of said first activation signal dialing a preprogrammed emergency telephone number of an emergency service provider and trans mitting an emergency message to said emergency ser vice provider a user interface device comprising a microphone and a speaker a recording device configured for recording storing and playing back a plurality of messages said emergency message comprised of at least one of said plurality of messages said recording device configured for receiv ing a second activation signal and upon receipt of said second activation signal sending said emergency mes sage to said cellular telephone a remote activation device comprising a transmitter and a user input device said remote activation device con figured for transmitting an arm signal upon recent of an input on said user input device a receiver device tuned to receive said alarm signal transmitted by said remote activation device and con figured for generating a notification signal upon receipt of said alarm signal and a controller configured for receiving said notification signal from said receiver device and upon receipt of said notification signal generating said first activation signal for sending to said cellular telephone to initi
14. io signal to said cellular telephone by said controller 6 The mobile security system of claim 5 wherein said user interface device further comprises a switch capable of activation by a user and wherein activation of said switch by said user causes transmission of a third activation signal to said cellular telephone causing dialing of said prepro grammed emergency telephone number and wherein acti vation of said switch further causes routing of an audio signal from said microphone in said user interface device to said cellular telephone for transmission and routing of the audio signal received by said cellular telephone from said emergency service provider to the speaker of said user interface device 7 The mobile security system of claim 6 wherein said emergency message comprises a recording of location infor mation 8 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein said user interface device further comprises a microphone capable of picking up an audio signal and wherein said audio signal may be routed from said user interface device to said cellular telephone by said controller 9 The mobile security system of claim 8 wherein said emergency message comprises a location description 10 The mobile security system of claim 8 wherein said user interface device further comprises a switch capable of activation by a user and wherein activation of said switch by said user causes transmission of a third activation signal to said cellu
15. lar telephone causing dialing of said prepro grammed emergency telephone number and wherein acti vation of said switch further causes routing of an audio signal from said microphone to said cellular telephone for transmission and routing of the audio signal received by said cellular telephone to the speaker of said user interface device 11 The mobile security system of claim 1 wherein at least one of said plurality of messages stored by said recording device is a prompt message wherein said prompt message is configured for playing through a speaker to instruct a user to state a location description and wherein said location description is recorded by said recording device 12 The mobile security system of claim 11 wherein said emergency message comprises a location description 13 The mobile security system of claim 11 wherein said vehicle comprises an ignition switch and a detector associ ated with said ignition switch for detecting shutoff of said ignition switch and wherein said prompt message is played and said recording device is enabled to record said location description upon detection of shutoff of said ignition switch 14 A mobile security system for use in a vehicle said mobile security system comprising a cellular telephone configured for receiving a first acti vation signal and upon receipt of said first activation signal dialing a preprogrammed emergency telephone number of an emergency service provider and tran
16. n is obtained from a GPS or LORAN system or determined by triangulation or comparable calculation from signal strength in cells of a cellular phone system The prior art includes systems in which GPS or similar coordinates are translated to a local street address for more convenient location of the vehicle or individual Prior art systems have been activated by various means including a panic button car alarm activation airbag deployment detector or by pressing a key or sequence of keys on a telephone keypad There remains a need for an alarm system which is inexpensive provides clear information about vehicle position and can be activated by a user who is either inside or outside the vehicle SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention includes a mobile security system for use in an automobile or other vehicle and which when activated uses a cellular telephone to dial a pre set emer gency telephone number and play a voice recording which states the location of the vehicle and provides other identi fying information The system also permits direct voice communication between the occupant of the vehicle and the contacted emergency operator The system can be activated by depressing a switch or button on a user interface box mounted in the vehicle or by pressing a panic button on a remote activation device which the operator carries on his or her person The remote activation device transmits an RF signal to a transceiver m
17. ntion for example between generation of a prompt to record position information and actual recording of the information or between automatic dialing of the pre programmed emergency number and playing and transmission of the recorded message contain ing identification and location information Controller 20 may include analog and digital circuitry programmable memory devices a microprocessor and other components as known to those of ordinary skill in the art Controller 20 may be connected to switches which allow the user to select various options such as whether controller 20 should cause the vehicle horn 7 to honk or disable the vehicle ignition 8 if an alarm signal is received from remote activation device 60 It will be appreciated that various methods of construct ing controller 20 may be devised by those of ordinary skill US 6 532 360 B1 7 in the art and the practice of the invention is not limited to a particular embodiment thereof While the present invention has been described and illustrated in terms of certain specific embodiments those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that it is not so limited Additions to deletions from and modi fications to these specific embodiments may be effected without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims Furthermore features and elements from one specific embodiment may be likewise applied to another embodiment without departing from t
18. o allows the emergency operator to listen to any activity sounds of distress etc taking place in the vicinity of remote activation device 60 A further alternative would be to include a receiver and a speaker in remote activation device 60 to allow two way communica tion between the user and the emergency operator however inclusion of additional components would lead to an increase in the size and weight of the device It is anticipated that user interface box 50 would be used to activate the system in cases where the vehicle user could readily reach and press button 51 and in which two way communication was desired for example if the vehicle had an engine breakdown or flat tire or if the vehicle user noted suspicious activity outside the vehicle Remote activation device 60 would be used in cases where the vehicle user was outside the vehicle or was inside the vehicle but unable to reach the user interface e g if the person was injured by an accident or needed to contact emergency personnel without attracting attention e g if an intruder was in the vehicle Controller 20 includes switching timing and control logic As will be appreciated from the foregoing descriptions of the various components of the invention controller 20 controls the routing of input and output signals between other components of the invention Controller 20 also must generate appropriate delays between actions carried out by other components of the inve
19. oe LINE 27 INE 32 INE 38 INE 39 INE 42 Spe Geel Gein ce Ss INE 62 LINE 12 LINE 13 LINE 17 LINE 20 LINE 33 LINE 58 INE 24 INE 30 INE 44 INE 52 C EVE ER LINE 53 LINE 54 LINE 55 change interface box to interface change interface box to interface change of the remove to of the remote change via cable to via cable or line change signal to receiver to signal to RF receiver change signal 304 to signal 302 change sent from receiver to sent from RF receiver change however telephone to however cellular telephone change device 70 to device 71 change in interface to in user interface change box 50 to to 50 to change interface box 50 to user interface 50 change place of receiver to place of RF receiver change select input 303 to select line 303 change select input 304 to select line 304 change select input 303 to select line 303 change select input accepts to select line 304 accepts change signals memory to signals on memory change 31d which to 31d not shown which change Interface box to User interface change interface box 50 to interface 50 change of box 50 to of user interface 50 change interface box 50 to user interface 50 ch
20. one signal which is sent to antenna 11 via line 12 and transmitted to cellular telephone transceiver device 70 and routed to the emergency service provider Cellular voice signals from the contacted emer gency service are picked up by antenna 11 carried to cellular telephone 10 on line 12 and output from cellular telephone 10 on line 103 If the cellular phone 10 is not receiving a strong enough signal to transmit it generates a signal on line 504 which causes weak signal indicator light 54 in interface box 50 to be illuminated If cellular phone 10 is receiving a strong enough signal for transmission it generates a signal on line 505 which causes ready signal indicator light 55 in interface box 50 to be illuminated RF receiver device 40 is a radio frequency RF receiver RF receiver device 40 is connected to antenna 13 via cable 14 RF receiver device 40 is tuned to receive RF signals which are generated by remote activation device 60 RF signals transmitted by remote activation device 60 include an alarm signal which is generated when a panic button 61 is pressed and optionally an audio signal picked up by a microphone 62 in remote activation device 60 RF receiver device 40 sends a notification signal on line 401 to controller 20 when the alarm signal is received from remote activation device 60 The audio signal originating from microphone 62 is transmitted to controller 20 on line 402 and from there is routed to cellular phone 1
21. ounted in the vehicle which then initiates dialing of the cellular telephone and transmission of the recorded emergency message The remote activation device makes it possible for the user to activate the device from any location in the general vicinity of the vehicle as well as from inside the vehicle thereby greatly enhancing the utility of the security system The system utilizes a voice recording of position information which is recorded by the operator of the vehicle and updated as needed By using a user recorded position message the complexity and cost of the device is considerably reduced in comparison to systems which utilize more costly GPS devices Moreover the position message can include details which are not provided by other types of position signals The inventive system has the advantage that it can be manufactured relatively inexpensively since it does not utilize a costly GPS 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 2 The inventive system has the further advantage that it can be activated by a user that is either inside or outside of the vehicle It has the further advantage that either a pre recorded emergency message can be transmitted or the vehicle user may establish direct two way communication with an emer gency operator BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 depicts the components of the invention FIG 2 is a schematic diagram of the invention FIG
22. quence the greeting location and identifying information stored in memory locations 31d 31c and 31b The activa tion signal could consist of a sequence of signals on memory select input 303 specifying the memory locations of the message components accompanied by a play signal on US 6 532 360 B1 5 function select input 304 instructing the recording device to play back the messages in the indicated memory locations The messages would be played on output line 302 and routed to cellular telephone 10 via line 101 by controller 20 following dialing of the emergency number It will be appreciated that various message components may be combined and the practice of the invention is not limited to recording and combining three message components from three memory locations as described here Moreover it may be desirable to use a larger number of prompts in the system e g to prompt the user to record the identification information to provide instructions on system use etc and these also may be stored in and retrieved from recording device 30 The use of recording device 30 for recording location information eliminates the need for using a costly GPS or similar system Moreover the user may record details on location not available in global coordinates or even street addresses e g at the back of the building on the third level of the parking garage or in the northbound lane of the highway which may signific
23. s mitting an emergency message to said emergency ser vice provider a user interface device comprising a microphone a speaker and a user activated switch a recording device capable of recording storing and playing back a plurality of messages said emergency message comprised of at least one of said plurality of messages said recording device configured for receiv ing a second activation signal and upon receipt of said US 6 532 360 B1 9 second activation signal sending said emergency mes sage to said cellular telephone a remote activation device comprising a transmitter and a user activated switch said remote activation device capable of transmitting a RF alarm signal upon activa tion of said user activated switch of said remote acti vation device receiver device connected to an antenna tuned to receive said RF alarm signal transmitted by said remote activation device and configured for generating a noti fication signal upon receipt of said RF alarm signal and controller configured for receiving said notification signal from said receiver device and upon receipt of said notification signal generating said first activation signal for sending to said cellular telephone to initiated dialing of said preprogrammed emergency telephone number and generating said second activation signal for sending to said recording device to initiate sending of 10 15 10 said emergency message to said cellular telephone from
24. said recording device wherein said user interface device said receiver device and said controller are configured for placement within said vehicle wherein said remote activation device is configured for generating an alarm signal for receiving by said receiver device when said remote activation device is located at a distance from said receiver device wherein said plurality of messages stored by said recording device includes at least one prompt message instructing a vehicle user to state position information and at least two emergency message com ponents for combining to form said emergency message at least one of said at least two emergency message components comprising a location descrip tion UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO 6 532 360 B1 APPLICATION NO 09 460753 DATED March 11 2003 INVENTOR S M Bennett Shaffer Page 1 of 2 It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent is hereby corrected as shown below In the specification COLUMN 2 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 2 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 3 3 2 COLUMN 3 COLUMN 4 COLUMN 4 COLU COLUMN 4 x z COLUMN 4 COLUMN 4 z COLU COLU COLU COLU COLU COLU COLU 55 5 55558 INE 14 INE 15 INE 16 INE 33 INE 47 E cae E E INE 17 INE 22 pal
25. ugh less preferred it would also be possible to generate a beep or other sound to indicate to the user that a new location description should be recorded A signal on function select line 304 enables recording device 30 the user speaks into microphone 53 and the signal from microphone 53 is carried to controller 20 via line 503 routed to recording device 30 on audio input line 301 and recorded in memory location 315 In alternative embodiments of the invention the voice signal to be recorded could originate from micro phone 62 in remote activation device 60 or another source In the preferred embodiment of the invention recording device 30 also stores a recording of identification informa tion driver name vehicle license plate number etc e g in memory location 31c The identification information is preferably recorded at the time that the inventive system is installed in the vehicle and updated only as needed it would not be necessary and indeed would probably be inconve nient and time consuming to record identification informa tion each time the location information was recorded Recording device 30 may also store a greeting or intro ductory message e g in memory location 31d which would be played at the start of an emergency call In the event that an emergency occurs and the inventive system is activated controller 20 would send an activation signal to recording device 30 causing it to play back in a predetermined se
26. y select input 303 and func tion select input 304 These are preferably digital inputs and outputs which may be either parallel or serial Audio input 301 and output 302 must have sufficient throughput to transmit a signal of acceptable quality in a reasonable amount of time Memory select input 303 accepts an input signal which represents the memory location in which the desired message is to be stored or from which it is to be retrieved Function select input accepts an input signal which indicates the function to be performed by recording device 30 i e whether it is to record the signal on audio input 301 in the selected memory location or play the message in the selected memory location on audio output 302 It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that various recording devices having various combina tions of inputs and outputs may be suitable for use in the invention and that the invention is not limited to the particular configuration described here When a sensor 81 on the ignition 8 of vehicle 3 detects that ignition 8 has been shut off a signal is generated on line 801 On detection of this signal controller 20 generates signals memory select line 303 and function select line 304 causing recording device 30 to play a prompt message stored in memory location 31a on audio output 302 The prompt message which is routed to speaker 52 on line 502 instructs the vehicle user to record a new location description Tho
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