Description of the Patent for Industrial Invention entitled: "DEVICE FOR

CHECKING THE PRESENCE OF PERSONS IN A CIRCUMSCRIBED AREA".

In the name of Messrs. BONINI Ercole - Via Roggia Feriana, 8 - 36030

CALDOGNO (Vl) - ITALY and ZENERE Giorgio - Via Don Minzoni, 18 - 36100 VICENZA - ITALY.

DESCRIPTION

The invention concerns a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area, particularly suitable for use during organised trips.

It is known that during organised trips there is often the need, on the part of the organisers or the guide, to check the presence of all the participants inside the means of transport used to take the participants to the places to be visited.

This check is generally performed by means of a roll call to which each participant replies by signalling that he/she is present.

This type of check obviously has some recognised drawbacks. The first of said drawbacks consists in the fact that said checking method is long and laborious since the presence of numerous persons has to be verified orally.

A further drawback consists in the fact that this method is also a nuisance to the participants who, every time they get on and off the coach, have to answer a roll call by the guide or person in charge of the trip.

A further drawback, connected with the preceding one, consists in the fact that also for the guide or organiser of the trip this system is bothersome and laborious as he/she has to carry out the roll call and note the presence of the participants on paper. Last but not least, a further drawback consists in the fact that said system can fail if the participants do not pay attention to the roll call or if, as often happens, some participants reply instead of others.

It is also known that, during a trip, the participants may enter a museum following the guide. In said situations it often happens that some participants become detached from the group, complicating the work of the guide who must try to keep them together.

The system currently most widely used to keep the participants near the guide is to provide the guide with an object which acts as a reference point and can be clearly seen by all the participants, generally consisting of a pole with a

notice or an umbrella.

This system of grouping the participants also has some recognised drawbacks.

The first of said drawbacks consists in the fact that it is a nuisance for the guide as he/she has to carry said object with him/her and always keep it in a raised position.

A further drawback consists in the fact that this method allows the participants to identify the guide, but it does not enable the guide to check whether they are all present.

A further drawback, deriving from the preceding one, consists in the fact that, to check the presence of the participants around him/her, the guide is obliged to carry out a further roll call.

Last but not least, a further drawback consists in the fact that some participants can lose sight of the umbrella.

The object of the present invention is to overcome all the drawbacks mentioned above.

In particular, a first object of the present invention is to provide a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which permits verification of the presence of said persons with no need to perform any type of roll call. A further object of the present invention is to produce a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which allows the list of said persons present in the area to be obtained with absolute certainty without the possibility of confusion or error caused by the persons themselves.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which, if necessary, can be easily transported by the guide or group leader without involving any physical effort or being a nuisance.

Last but not least, a further object of the present invention is to provide a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which enables said persons to be contacted by a control signal even though said persons are out of sight of the guide.

Said objects have been achieved through the construction of a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which, in accordance with the main claim, is characterised in that it comprises: - at least one portable central unit provided with first transceiver means for

receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals, means for controlling said portable central unit, means for displaying the information and a first logic control unit;

- one or more remote units, each assigned to one of said persons and suitable for communicating with said at least one portable central unit, said one or more remote units being provided each with second transceiver means for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and a second logic control unit and with alarm means that can be activated via control means; - means for communication of said radio frequency signals between said at least one portable central unit and said remote units.

Said objects have also been achieved through the implementation of a method for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area via the use of a device comprising: - at least one central unit provided with first transceiver means for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals, means for controlling said central unit, means for displaying the information and a first logic control unit;

- one or more remote units, each assigned to one of said persons and suitable for communicating with said at least one central unit, said one or more remote units being provided each with second transceiver means for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and a second logic control unit;

- means for communication of said radio frequency signals between said at least one central unit and said remote units; characterised in that it comprises the following operations:

- enabling one or more of said remote units by means of a function programmed in said first logic control unit of said central unit and activated via said control means;

- receiving, in said central unit, a first radio frequency response signal from each of said enabled remote units;

- storing, in said first logic control unit, the main list of assignment of each of said enabled remote units to each of said participants;

- providing each of said persons with one of said enabled remote units by associating each of said persons' names with an identification code belonging to each of said remote units;

- sending a radio frequency interrogation signal from said first transceiver means of said central unit to said remote units present in the operating range of said communication means, said radio frequency interrogation signal being generated by means of a function programmed in said first logic control unit of said central unit and activated via said control means;

- transmitting a radio frequency signal in response to said radio frequency interrogation signal from said remote units present in said operating range of said communication means;

- indicating, in said display means of said central unit, the information relating to said remote units present and absent in said operating range of said communication means.

According to a preferred embodiment, the invention also comprises a central unit located and fixed inside a means of transport for persons and one or more second central units that can be taken outside said means of transport by a user.

According to another embodiment of the invention, there is only one central unit and it can be transported and used both indoors, for example inside means of transport or buildings, and outdoors. In particular, in the case of means of transport and of buildings, the communication means comprise one or more pairs of directional antennas which are operatively connected to the first transceiver circuit of the central unit located inside the means of transport and are positioned facing each other at each point of access to said means of transport. The communication means also comprise an omnidirectional antenna belonging to the portable central unit and operatively connected to its first transceiver circuit.

Furthermore, the communication means comprise one or more antennas each belonging to one of the remote units and operatively connected to the second transceiver circuit of the remote unit. According to the method that is also the subject of the invention, if the central unit is one and can be used both in the means of transport and by the guide during visits to museums or other sites, it is possible to programme said central unit even further, with subsets of the list of assignment of each remote units to each participant. Advantageously, the presence of pairs of directional antennas facing each

other and positioned at the access points to the means of transport allows the central unit to update the situation of the persons present in the circumscribed area every time a remote unit passes through said access points. Again advantageously, since the electronic circuitry required by each remote unit occupies very little space, the remote units are particularly compact and such as not to be a nuisance to the trip participants.

Again advantageously, the presence of a portable central unit allows the guide to check the presence of the participants in a circumscribed area around him/her without having to perform a roll call. Again advantageously, the presence, for each of the central units or remote units, of a logic control unit provided with data storage means permits storage, in the initial phase, of a table corresponding to the trip participants in order to automate the checking procedure and enable the group leader or guide to instantaneously verify those present and those absent in the operating range of the communication means of the central unit.

Furthermore, the possibility of further programming said central unit with one or more subsets of the list of assignment of each remote units to each participant, without cancelling the main list, advantageously makes it possible to use the same central unit both inside the means of transport, when, for example, all the participants are present, and during visits to museums or other sites, when only some of the participants may be present.

Switching over between these two different situations is therefore extremely easy. Said objects and advantages and others which will be indicated below will be highlighted in greater detail in the description of preferred embodiments of the invention which are provided by way of non-limiting example with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

- Figure 1 shows the control device that is the subject of the invention in an operating phase; - Figures 2 to 4 show schematically some details of the control device of the invention;

- Figures 5 and 6 show the functional block diagram of some details of the control device of the invention;

- Figure 7 shows the flow chart of a part of the functions performed by the control device of the invention.

The device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area, subject of the invention, is shown in Figure 1 , where it is indicated as a whole by 1.

According to the invention, it comprises: - two central units 2 and 3, which can be seen also in the details of Figures 2 and 3 and at least one of which is portable, each provided with first transceiver means 4 for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals, control means 5 for controlling the central unit, display means 6 for showing the information and a first logic control unit 7; - a plurality of remote units 8, each assigned to one of the persons P and such as to communicate with the central units 2 and 3;

- communication means 9 for communicating the radio frequency signals between the central units 2, 3 and the remote units 8.

Each of the remote units 8 is furthermore provided, as can be seen in the detail of Figure 4, with second transceiver means 10 for receiving and transmitting radio frequency signals and a second logic control unit 11.

It should be noted that the device 1 of the invention is independent of the number of remote units 8 present, which can be any in order to meet the various requirements of any user U. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a first central unit 2 is located in a fixed position inside the means of transport B, generally consisting of a coach, while the second central unit 3 can be carried by the user U who is generally a guide.

It should be noted that the number of central units is given only by way of indication and does not limit other embodiments not shown or described herein, in which the central units are present in any number and can all be portable, or one fixed and the remaining ones portable, or one fixed only and none portable.

In particular, as already explained, the device that is the subject of the invention may feature, in an economic version, only one portable central unit to be used both inside and outside the means of transport.

Continuing with the description of the main embodiment of the invention, the communication means 9 comprise pairs of directional antennas 12 operatively connected to the first transceiver means 4 of the first central unit 2, the latter, as said, located in a fixed position inside the means of transport B.

The number of said pairs of antennas 12 corresponds to the number of access points A of the persons P to the means of transport B and are positioned facing each other at each of said access points A in order to check the entry and exit of remote units 8. In said case, therefore, the circumscribed area in which the first central unit 2 can verify the presence or absence of the remote units 8 is the interior of the means of transport B.

The communication means 9 comprise, furthermore, an antenna 13 belonging to the second central unit 3, i.e. to the portable central unit, operatively connected to the first transceiver circuit 4 of said central portable unit 3.

In said case, the circumscribed area in which the second central unit 3 can verify the presence or absence of the remote units 8 is a practically circular area surrounding the central portable unit 3. It is understood that if there are only portable central units, when these are used inside the means of transport they can communicate with the directional antennas positioned in the access points of the means of transport. In this case, communication can take place through the antenna with which the portable central units are equipped, or through cables specifically prepared and suited to be connected with special connectors with which the central units will be provided.

The communication means 9 also comprise a plurality of antennas 14 each belonging to one of the remote units 8 and operatively connected to the second transceiver circuit 10 of said remote unit 8. According to the preferred embodiment of said remote units 8, the communication means 9 also comprise a plurality of magnetic elements 15, each present, as can be observed in Figure 4, in one of the remote units 8 and cooperating with a magnetic reader/writer device 16, which can be seen in Figure 2, operatively connected to the first central unit 2. It should be noted that, although not shown, also the second central unit 3 is provided with an equivalent magnetic reader/writer device.

Said magnetic elements 15 consist preferably of one or more magnetic bands and the reader/writer device 16 consists of a reader/writer of magnetic bars. This does not constitute a limitation to different embodiments, not shown herein, in which, for example, the magnetic elements can consist of microchips with magnetic access and the reader/writer device is an electronic device for

access to the microchips.

As regards the first and the second transceiver means 4 and 10 belonging, respectively, to the central units 2, 3 and to the remote units 8, each of them comprises, as can be seen in Figure 5, a transmitter circuit 20 and a receiver circuit 21 both operatively connected to the respective first or second logic control unit 7 or 11 and produced, for example, with integrated circuits of known type available on the market or with integrated circuits purposely built according to the manufacturer's specifications. Said transceiver means are preferably but not necessarily designed to operate on free frequency bands, a well-known example of which is the 2.4 GHz band. This obviously does not constitute a limit to different solutions in which said transceiver means operate on higher or lower frequency bands which are not free, but obtained by paying a licence for use. According to different embodiments of the invention, the first and the second transceiver means comprise several transmitting and receiving circuits to ensure the transmission and reception of information according to different standards including, for example, the standard dedicated to management of the magnetic communication means described previously. As regards the control means 5, they are associated with the first logic control unit 4 belonging to each central unit 2, 3 for the generation, by the first transceiver means 4, of one or more radio frequency signals to be transmitted to the remote units 8 via the communication means 9. As regards the first and second logic control units 7 and 11, each of them comprises, as can be seen in Figure 6, a data processing unit 22 and data storage means 23.

Also said data processing unit 22 and said data storage means 23 can be produced in different ways such as, for example, with integrated circuits of known type available on the market or with purposely designed integrated circuits, an example of which are the ASICs, or with custom-programmable integrated circuits such as the FPGAs.

As regards the remote units 8, each of them has a univocal identification code stored in the above mentioned data storage means 23. Each of the remote units 8, furthermore, has activation means that can be controlled by the central units 2, 3 and which can consist, according to the preferred embodiment, of a block of information on the state of activation,

present in the logic control unit 11 , or, according to some construction variants, can consist of a microswitch or a microdiverter that can be activated by means of an electric signal coming from the communication means 9.

In particular, if the activation means are an information block, the latter generally consists of one bit stored in the storage means 23 of each remote unit 8.

Both the central units 2, 3 and the remote units 8 are furthermore provided with power supply means.

In the case of the fixed central unit 2, the power supply means can consist of the battery of the means of transport B or of an independent battery inside the central unit 2, for example two or more rechargeable AA type batteries.

In the case of the portable central unit 3, the power supply means will preferably consist of an independent battery, not shown in Figure 3, positioned inside the central unit 3. Also in this case two or more rechargeable AA type batteries could be used.

In the case of the remote units 8, on the other hand, the power supply means can generally consist of one or more batteries 25 for example of the Ni/Cd type.

A possible alternative embodiment for the remote units, not shown herein, provides for power supply means consisting of a circuit for the transformation of radio frequency signals into electric current.

In this regard, every time a central unit sends an interrogation signal, each remote unit will receive the energy to perform the scheduled functions from said signal. It is important to underline, at this point, that the choice of the power supply means must be made according to the frequency band chosen for operation and the range which the individual units are required to cover.

It may be that the central units have to cover a wide range, for example a few hundred metres in an area with many obstacles such as walls or other. For this reason, the radio frequency signals transmitted by them must have a power as high as even half a watt, obviously according to the frequency on which they operate.

In this case, obviously, the power supply means must be able to guarantee said power for a fairly long period of time. Unlike the central units, the remote units, according to one embodiment of the

invention, could transmit only short range signals as the presence of said remote units has to be detected only if the latter are situated near the central units.

In this regard, whatever the frequency band on which the device of the invention operates, a low power supply will be sufficient to guarantee the transceiver means said operating range.

As regards the means 6 for displaying information, they consist of a liquid crystal display which shows the information transmitted by the remote units 8 to the central units 2 and/or 3. According to different embodiments not shown herein, the means for displaying the information can be a plurality of illuminated leds each corresponding to one of the remote units.

Operatively, as can be seen in the flow chart of Figure 7, the guide U enables all the necessary remote units 8 via a function programmed in the logic control unit 7 of the central unit 2 present inside the coach B and activated by the control means 5.

Said function generates an electrical signal which is modulated by the first transceiver means 4 and sent to the remote units 8 via the communication means 9. In particular, since, according to the preferred embodiment described, the communication means 9 comprise the plurality of magnetic elements 15 present on the remote units 8 and the magnetic reader/writer devices 16 present on the central units 2, 3, the purposely modulated activation signal is sent to the magnetic reader/writer device 16 so that convergence of the magnetic element 15 present on each remote unit 8 causes the transmission of said signal to the remote unit 8.

The signal thus received from the remote unit 8 causes switching of the activation bit present in the storage means 23 of the remote unit 8 or, in the case of construction variants, switching of the microswitch or microdiverter present on said unit.

Consequently, the remote unit 8 responds by sending to the central unit 2, 3 its own identification code so that the central unit 2, 3 can allow the guide U to store a main list of assignment of each activated remote units 8 to each of the participants P. Said main list thus shows the correspondence between all the remote units 8

used and the persons with whom they are associated.

The guide U thus assigns to each of the trip participants P the corresponding remote unit 8.

In this way, every time a participant P crosses the space between one of the pairs of antennas 12 present on one of the points of access A to the coach B, the remote unit 8 provided receives a radio frequency interrogation signal sent by the first transceiver means 4 of the first central unit 2 via said pair of antennas 12 and generated by means of a function programmed in the logic control unit 7. The remote unit 8 responds to said signal by transmitting a radio frequency response signal containing its identification code so that the first central unit 2 can modify the state of presence or absence of the participants P inside the coach B.

Lastly, the first central unit 2 processes said information via its logic processing unit 7 and displays it on the display means 6.

Following said display, the guide U always knows exactly who is present in the coach B and who is missing and can activate selective recall signals which warn those who are missing and ensure that they return immediately.

Said selective signals are generated by the first transceiver means 4 belonging to the first central unit 2 and contain the identification code of the remote unit 8 to be recalled.

The code is necessary to allow the remote units 8 to recognise the recall signal and alert, by means of sound devices 26, for example the activation of a buzzer, or illuminated devices such as, for example, the switch-on of a led, the participant P in possession of the remote unit 8 only if the signal is intended for the remote unit 8 itself.

The device 1 of the invention provides, furthermore, for coding of all the radio frequency signals handled by it using one of the numerous known coded multiple access techniques such as, for example, CDMA. This coding is univocal for each different control device and is necessary to prevent different devices, used by different groups in the same area, from causing mutual interferences which inhibit, at least partly, the functions of the device of the invention.

Furthermore, said coded multiple access techniques prevent mutual interference with other radio communication systems such as remote controls

and alarms.

In this sense any of the pseudocasual coding sequences of known type, which are totally transparent in reception but which have the advantage of 'levelling' the spectral figure of the signal transmitted in order not to cause interferences with other radio communication systems, can be used in combination.

If the guide U is leading a group of participants P in a place outside the coach B, in a museum for example, he/she will use the portable central unit 3.

In this case a situation similar to the one described for the central unit 2 present in the coach can be repeated. The guide U, in fact, if the group of participants P is a subset of the persons P present in the bus B, activates programming of the portable central unit 3 to reconstruct the list of said subset.

Subsequently, whenever the guide U wishes to check the persons present and absent in the range covered by the portable central unit 3, he/she activates the interrogation signal via the control means 5.

Obviously, in this case the circumscribed area is an area surrounding the portable central unit 3 and the communication means 9 comprise the single antenna 13 included in the portable central unit 3.

Also in this case the remote units 8 present in the range covered by the antenna 13 of the portable central unit 3 respond with a signal containing their own identification code so that the portable central unit 3 can reconstruct the list of persons present and absent and display it via the display means 6.

Subsequently, the guide U can activate the recall signals to alert the persons missing and invite them to join the group. Advantageously, especially in the case where the central unit used is just one and portable, said function allows use to be easily adapted according to the needs, without losing any previous programming.

In particular, this advantageously makes it possible to switch over from control of the participants following the main list to control of the participants following the list of one or more subsets and viceversa. This can be done quickly and efficiently, allowing the same central unit to be used for both situations.

For the above reasons the device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area that is the subject of the invention achieves the set objects.

In particular, the object of producing a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area without having to perform any type of roll call

is achieved.

The object of obtaining with absolute certainty the list of said persons present in the area without the possibility of confusion or error caused by the persons themselves is also achieved. The object of producing a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which is easy for the guide or group leader to transport without involving any physical effort or causing a nuisance is also achieved. Lastly, the object of producing a device for checking the presence of persons in a circumscribed area which contacts said persons via a control signal even though they are out of sight of the guide is achieved.

Upon construction further modifications and variations can be made to the control device of the invention.

Said modifications and variations, although not shown or described, must all be considered protected by the present patent, provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims.

In the cases where the technical characteristics illustrated in the claims are followed by references, these have been added only with the aim to facilitate the comprehension of the claims themselves and therefore said references do not have any limiting effect on the degree of protection to be granted to each element they identify only by way of example.