SENSORS OR THE LIKE

Honey-Jones

This invention is in the field of automobile safety. It deals with a detection system and method for the detection of the stranding or unsafe location of a human in a vehicle in an unsafe temperature or carbon monoxide level environment.

Background:

One of the key safety threats for people travelling in or living in proximity to motor vehicles is the stranding of children or other adults for a long period in a sealed vehicle cabin with no oxygen or air refreshment. Particularly where the temperature within the vehicle cabin is high or rising, the lack of fresh air and the increasing levels of carbon monoxide present within a vehicle cabin can cause discomfort or in a worst-case scenario fatality for an individual stranded within a vehicle cabin. Situations, where this occurs or is a possibility, include circumstances in which parents might, for example, leave their children in a vehicle while they are running errands, children trapping themselves in a stationary vehicle while playing or the like.

If it were possible to detect the presence of an individual stranded in such a situation and provide an alert or alarm with this would be desirable. One detection parameter which can be used is to monitor the relative carbon monoxide levels within the vehicle cabin, as humans exhaust carbon monoxide from breathing, and in the lack of refreshment of the air within the confined space, a breathing human will cause an eventual detectable increase in carbon monoxide levels. Problems in the prior art attempts at addressing this safety situation include the cost and complexity of installing a monitoring system to detect the existence of such threat conditions. For example, incorporating an OEM installed carbon monoxide threat detection system is complex and costly. If it were possible to provide a carbon monoxide detection method and apparatus for either OEM or retrofit applications of reasonable cost and simple to install it is felt that the adoption rate of such safety monitoring technology would be maximized, and lives could be saved. Besides addressing complexity and cost for the use of this type of an apparatus to save lives, another technical limitation to be addressed is that of the power demand on the battery system of the vehicle. The primary time for operation and use of such a system is when the vehicle is not running, and as such, it would require a power draw on the battery of the vehicle. In order to minimize the power draw of the unit or adverse effect on the power system of the vehicle, a detection device with minimal power draw or enhanced power management features would be desirable.

Summary of the Invention:

It is the object of the present invention to provide a safety alert system and method to allow for the detection of the presence of one or more living beings within a vehicle cabin and provide local or remote alarm notifications of the potential stranding of those individuals in that circumstance.

The invention, a safety alert system for use in a motor vehicle having a vehicle cabin, accomplishes its objectives comprising a controller for mounting on board the vehicle, which controller has a processor with safety detection software executable thereon. The controller could comprise any number of different electronic processors, programmable logic controllers or the like, as understood by those skilled in the art. A local alarm or notification device is also operatively connected to the controller and attached on board the vehicle to provide audible notification outside the vehicle when actuated. At least one seat- implanted capacitive sensor will be used to determine the presence of one or more individuals in the sealed vehicle cabin. Any capacitive sensor capable of determining seat occupancy within a vehicle cabin is contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

The alarm condition which the system of the present invention will detect is the unsafe presence of at least one living being within the vehicle cabin, which is typically contemplated to comprise the unattended presence in a dangerous situation of at least one living being in the vehicle cabin. Determination of the dangerous situation within the vehicle cabin could be determined based upon vehicle operating parameters - is the vehicle engine running, is the engine off and the outer temperature is cold or extremely hot, etc.

At least one auxiliary sensor could be used within the vehicle cabin as well - a carbon dioxide sensor, carbon monoxide sensor, an accelerometer or a video or audio capture device, the readings from which could be used to supplement the determination of unsafe conditions of the presence of human beings within the vehicle cabin. If it was determined that an alarm condition existed within the vehicle, i.e. if it was determined that the parameters for the detection of the alarm condition were met, for example by determining the carbon monoxide levels were increasing along with the presence of at least one living being in the vehicle in an unsafe situation, a local alarm or notification being an audible or visible alarm could be triggered and hopefully individuals in proximity to the vehicle would come to the aid of those living beings trapped therein. An audible alarm could comprise a siren, or a speaker with a prerecorded local-area announcement near the vehicle in question, and or visible alarm could comprise blinking the likes of the vehicle, flashing and added light or another visual indicator. Both audible and visible alarms could be used although we primarily assume an audible alarm would have to provide maximum local-area notification for the safety of the living beings who might be trapped within the vehicle.

In some embodiments of the system and method of the present invention, the system might also include a network interface and or a geolocation interface operatively connected to the remainder of the controller and the system, by which remote alert notifications could be transmitted to safety authorities, owners or otherwise if an alert condition was detected. Where geolocation interface was included, the location of the vehicle could be captured and transmitted with the remainder of a remote alert notification, where a remote alert notification was being transmitted to alert authorities or the owner etc. to the existence of an alarm condition within the vehicle.

Certain embodiments of the system can also include additional sensors or detection routes within the vehicle cabin which could provide a higher level of certainty or alternative detection mechanisms for determination of the unsafe presence of living beings within the cabin of this vehicle. For example, a video capture device such as a video camera might be integrated into the system of the present invention, and by its operative connection to the controller video capture and video-based detection abilities could be added to the system. If an alarm condition were detected, so a local or remote notification was to be provided of an unsafe condition within the vehicle, video from the video capture device could be captured and stored. Where the system included a network interface operatively connected to at least one remote notification device or remote notification system, video captured from the video capture device upon detection of the alarm condition could be transmitted to the remote notification device with the remainder of the remote notification. Even if the video capture device was not used to capture and transmit video from within the cabin of the vehicle, the controller could process video captured from the video capture device to ascertain one or more living beings within the cabin of the vehicle and the video capture approach could validate with more certainty, for example, the forecast or detection of living beings within the vehicle cabin based upon the carbon monoxide and temperature readings.

Some embodiments of the system of the present invention could also be connected to the vehicle data bus, which would allow for vehicle environmental or control data which could be read from that bus by the controller and the remainder of the method of the present invention. Many motor vehicles of newer manufacturer provide a simple ODB port connection by which devices such as the controller of the present invention can be connected in a read-only way to the data bus of the vehicle and we explicitly assume certain embodiments of the system and method of the present invention could exploit this an integration or interface to again provide a higher level of functionality or certainty in operating the detection method of the present invention. Connection to the vehicle data bus would not only allow for the simplified use of vehicle ignition information in operating the method of the present invention, but the values are readings which could be obtained from certain sensors within or upon the vehicle could also be used - for example some vehicles may have a cabin temperature sensor installed which could be used in the place of the need for a separate sensor operatively connected or manufactured integrally with the remainder of the controller of the present invention.

Besides simply monitoring the ignition status of the vehicle, some embodiments of the system and method of the present invention might include additional parameters by which the operability of the system could be determined - for example in order to preserve power of the vehicle, it might be determined that it would operate the system of the present invention only within a particular temperature range. Many types of monitoring condition parameters or even alarm condition parameters can all be contemplated and will all be understood to those skilled in the art of safety system design electronic hardware design for use in motor vehicles as outlined herein, and all such ideas are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Besides the system of the present invention, there is also disclosed a method of detection of an alarm condition in the environment of the vehicle cabin of the motor vehicle, the alarm condition being the unsafe presence of at least one human in an elevated carbon monoxide environment in the vehicle cabin. The method would comprise providing within the vehicle a safety alert system in accordance with the present invention. Using the safety alert system, the method further comprises the steps of first periodically capturing seat occupancy indications within the cabin the vehicle, and then using the controller and the safety detection software to determine the existence of an alarm condition based on the captured readings. If no alarm condition exists and monitoring conditions do continue to exist, monitoring can continue. Where it is determined by the controller and the resident software that an alarm condition exists within the cabin of the vehicle, the controller can actuate the local alarm or notification device to provide local notification alarm near the vehicle.

To minimize the power consumption of the system of the present invention on the vehicle it would likely only operate to monitor the interior of the vehicle cabin at certain times - for example it may be assumed that it is unnecessary to monitor the interior of the vehicle while the ignition is engaged, the vehicle is moving or the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings:

While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labelled with like numerals, and where:

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the safety alert system of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a flow chart demonstrating the steps in one embodiment of the safety monitoring method of the present invention, using the hardware of Figure 1 ;

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the safety alert system of the present invention, incorporating an auxiliary carbon monoxide sensor and a remote network interface on the controller;

Fig. 4 is a flow chart demonstrating the steps in an alternate embodiment of the safety monitoring method of the present invention, using the hardware of Figure 3; Fig. 5 is a block diagram of a third embodiment of the safety alert system of the present invention, incorporating video capture and additional sensors operatively connected to the controller, and a connection to the vehicle data bus; Fig. 6 is a flow chart demonstrating the steps in an alternate embodiment of the safety monitoring method of the present invention, using the hardware of Figure 5;

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram demonstrating the use of a network-enabled safety alert system under the remainder of the present invention installed in a motor vehicle, including an external network interface.

Detailed Description of the Invention: The general focus of the present invention is to provide a streamlined and cost-effective method to monitor the interior of a vehicle to ascertain if there are one or more living beings within that vehicle space in an increasingly toxic environment, and upon detection of such alarm condition to provide either a local alarm or notification or a remote notification of these conditions to ensure the safety of these living beings. In the invention, "living beings" is primarily intended to encompass humans, although pets or other animals could also be detected for safety and that is also contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Method overview:

Generally, the steps in the method of the present invention are as follows. When the ignition of the vehicle is turned off, a controller with at least one seat-implanted capacitive sensor within the vehicle cabin such as the cabin will be activated. The controller will either in an immediate real-time method, or based upon a programmed timeframe for snapshots or sampling of the environment within the vehicle, monitor the vehicle cabin to detect the existence of seat occupancy indications within that vehicle cabin, which would signify one or more living beings within the vehicle cabin. In certain embodiments of the present invention, the controller might have one or more additional sensors attached thereto - for example at least one carbon dioxide sensor, carbon monoxide sensor, microphone or video camera, accelerometer, seismic sensor or the like.

If the controller detects an alarm condition within the vehicle cabin, which would effectively be the determination there were one or more living beings in the vehicle during dangerous conditions, a local alarm or notification could be triggered. The local alarm or notification is explicitly contemplated to be an audible sound outside of the vehicle with a speaker seeking to capture the attention of one or more individuals nearby who could examine the vehicle and ascertain the safety of anyone . A visible local alarm could also be used - a flashing light or the like. Upon triggering of a local alarm or notification based upon determining the existence of an alarm condition, the local alarm or notification could continue to sound either until it was deactivated or until the alarm condition ceased to exist.

The local alarm or notification is contemplated to most likely comprise a customizable audio file for playback on a speaker outside of the vehicle. It will be understood that the audio file itself could be varied based upon the programming installed by the vendor of the hardware, or even in certain cases additional audio files could be used and selected by the programming and controller hardware based upon the level of severity of the readings . Any type of an audible or visible alarm is contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Referring first to Figure 1 there is shown one embodiment of a safety alert system 1 under the present invention. The safety alert system 1 in this Figure is connected to the power system 6 vehicle. In other embodiments as outlined in further detail below the power system, 6 might be integrated into the system 1 itself, and both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention. The primary component of the system 1 is a controller 2. The controller 2 will be an electronic controller, with related safety detection software, that can facilitate the method of the present invention under or with the remaining components outlined below and the method outlined. The controller 2 would be capable of communication with a plurality of inputs from sensors and triggering at least one output to a local alarm 5 based upon the detection of an alarm condition. Many types of microprocessors, programmable logic controllers or other hardware will be understood to those skilled in the art of electronic circuit design as being capable of functioning as the central controller 2 under the remainder of the present invention at all such hardware, or hardware and software combinations, are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Also shown in this Figure is the safety detection software 20 executable on the controller 2. The safety detection software 20 will comprise any necessary processor instructions for execution by the controller 2 to execute the method of the present invention, and it will be understood that many approaches or modifications could be taken to the development or coding of the safety detection supper 20 to implement the method as desired, and all such approaches, meaning all such hardware and software combinations of the controller 2 and the safety detection supper 20, are again contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Shown connected to the controller 2 is a seat-implanted capacitive sensor 3. The capacitive sensor 3 might be integral within the system 1 itself or might be wired to the remainder of the controller 2. Both such approaches are contemplated within the scope . The capacitive sensor 3 will be capable of either ongoing or on a periodic sampling basis providing a seat occupancy indications for at least one seating location within the vehicle cabin and communicating the seat occupancy indication to the controller 2 via an input bus, for the execution of the remainder of the method of the present invention. Also shown connected to the controller 2 is a local alarm or notification 5. The local alarm or notification 5 will comprise a speaker or any other an audible or visible alert system capable of generating an alert within proximity of the vehicle itself, to cause individuals within proximity of the vehicle to check on the safety of living beings . The local alarm or notification 5, similar to the capacitive sensor 3, could be integral within the system control unit 1, or could be a separately attached speaker 5 on the vehicle or somewhere else outside the vehicle so it could cause enough indication or alert on its activation to cause proximity awareness of a potential problem.

In the embodiment of Figure 1 , the local alarm or notification 5 is specifically contemplated to be a speaker, and the local alarm or notification activity specifically contemplated when an alarm condition is detected is an alarm within the proximity of the vehicle. The local alarm or notification 5 being a speaker located outside of the vehicle would sound, causing local awareness for individuals in the proximity of the vehicle to look and make sure there is no safety issue for individuals . As outlined elsewhere herein, the local alarm or notification 5 might also comprise visible alarm components.

Referring next to Figure 3, there is shown a safety alert system 1 under the present invention. The system 1 in this Figure includes an onboard power system 9, versus being connected to the power system of the vehicle. Either approach will be understood to be within the scope of the present invention. Various types of power systems can be contemplated, to provide power and control to the remainder of the system 1 present invention.

Referring to the embodiment of Figure 3, there is shown a controller 2 with an input bus with a capacitive sensor 3 and a carbon monoxide sensor 4 attached thereto. The controller 2 also is shown with safety detection software 20 which are the processor instructions for the control 2 to administer and execute the method of the present invention also shown, similar to the embodiment of Figure 1, is a local alarm 6 again operatively connected to the controller to so it's actuated to provide a local alert or alarm notification when the alarm condition is determined to exist under the remainder of the method. The system embodiment of Figure 3 also shows an auxiliary carbon monoxide sensor 5, which could be mounted in an additional isolated compartment of the vehicle besides the cabin in which the primary carbon monoxide sensor 4 was mounted. Additional auxiliary carbon monoxide sensors 5 could operably be connected to the controller 2 to provide extended applicability and operability of the monitoring method of the present invention in additional isolated spaces in the vehicle. Additional sealed areas of the vehicle might also require an additional capacitive sensor 3, although with the trunk of the vehicle, since really no humans should ever be in the trunk of the vehicle for any an extended period of time monitoring only the carbon monoxide levels in the cavity should be enough as there should be no one in there for long enough that the monitoring of an increased temperature level should be required. The carbon monoxide sensor 5 will be connected to the controller 2 and will be integrated into the remainder of the

programming of the software and the controller 2, for monitoring the carbon monoxide levels in an additional area of the vehicle.

Also shown is a network interface 7, by which the controller 2 could communicate with external and remote notification devices. We basically assume where a network interface 7 was included with the controller 2, the controller 2 could communicate with remote notification devices being a remote or portable device of the operator or owner of the vehicle, or even law enforcement or safety and emergency personnel, so when the alarm condition was detected remote condition notifications could be dispatched besides a local notification or alarm be provided within the vicinity of the vehicle. As outlined elsewhere herein, the network interface 7 could be an IP interface to a local area network or wide-area network or a cellular modem or the like to allow for the transmission of communications further afield. The network interface can also be an SMS interface or an interface allowing for communication by one or more protocols on one or more communications networks to transmit a notification of the existence of an alarm condition of the system 1. Also shown in the embodiment of Figure 3 is a geolocation module 8. Certain controllers 2 might include the geolocation module 8 on the board of the controller 2 or the geo location module 8 might be a freestanding module separately attached to the controller 2. The geolocation module 8 is contemplated to be a GPS module which would allow for determination and capture of the location of the vehicle, so the vehicle location could be included in remote alarm notifications dispatched upon the termination of alarm conditions in the vehicle.

Different types of capacitive occupancy sensors are known in the art and will be understood for use in this application. Some such capacitive sensors use accelerometers or other sensors in conjunction with their capacitive measurement, to enhance their accuracy - all such capacitive sensors are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 4 there is shown a flowchart demonstrating an alternate embodiment of the safety alert method of the present invention. The method of Figure 4 would be executed using a system 1 similar in configuration to that shown in the block diagram of Figure 3.

The first step in the method of Figure 4, shown at step 4-1, is the Boolean determination of whether monitoring conditions exist. Basically this determines whether the monitoring method of the present invention is activated i.e. if it is desired to conduct only a monitoring method of the present invention when the mission of the vehicle was turned off, or the like, the controller 2 via its various sensors could determine whether the method and the controller 2 with its related hardware should be activated. If it is determined that monitoring conditions do not exist, i.e. the vehicle is operating, and otherwise, the method of determination of a safety alarm condition and the vehicle is not required, vehicle operation etc. could be continued, as shown at 4-2. It is primarily considered that the existence of a monitoring condition would equate to whether or not the vehicle ignition is turned on, but there could be other monitoring conditions which could be programmed or activated, based upon the programming on the controller 2 or one or more control inputs connected to the controller 2 from the remainder of the vehicle. A monitoring condition exists if the ignition of the vehicle in which the remainder of the system 1 is installed is turned off, versus if the vehicle is operating an attentive and capable driver in the vehicle operates controls the vehicle so the carbon monoxide threat should not be problematic. There could, however, be additional layers of logic applied to the detection of a monitoring condition.

The detection loop for the detection of a monitoring condition could be configured in different ways . For example rather than testing the operating parameters within the environment of the vehicle to determine the existence of a monitoring addition, the monitoring condition logic could be simplified, and power consumption of the device further optimized, by simply enabling the system 1 and the remainder of the method of the present invention purposefully when the vehicle ignition is turned off. If the vehicle ignition is turned on, the system 1 is turned off, and vice versa. Many types of approach to this can be contemplated, and all are contemplated herein. If a capacitive sensor is used to determine occupancy within the cabin, an occupied reading from the capacitive sensor could be used in place of or alongside other sensory inputs by the controller to execute the remainder of the method of the present invention. If it is determined that the method of the present invention should be activated, the controller 2 will conduct, either on a periodic sampling or real-time basis, a query or a reading of the at least one seat implanted capacitive sensor 3 to ascertain any seed occupancy indications within the vehicle cabin, to ascertain whether the dangerous condition of at least one living being in a dangerous cabin environment exists within the vehicle. This is shown at 4-3. The controller 2 would assess, based upon the readings captured from the capacitive sensor 3 and any other cabin sensors such as the carbon monoxide sensor 4 the presence of living beings within the vehicle cabin. Where a capacitive sensor was used in the place of the temperature and carbon monoxide sensor combination, the capacitive sensor could also be used in a single reading, with or without accelerometer refinement, to determine the presence of individuals within the sealed vehicle cabin. The specific parameters to be used in the comparison or assessment of those readings would be programmed within the safety monitoring software 20 executed on the controller 2.

If based upon the sample readings obtained at step 4-3, the controller 2 determines there is no alarm condition, i.e. there are no living beings left in the vehicle cabin in a monitoring situation, the monitoring loop in the Figure would continue. The logic block related to determining the existence of the alarm condition is shown at 4-4. If for example based on data and readings between samples from those sensors, it is determined there is a risk to individuals within the vehicle and the vehicle is determined even to have individuals contained therein, the local alarm or notification could be triggered.

If it was determined in a monitoring situation that the alarm condition which is monitored by the system of the present invention existed, i.e. that living beings were left in the vehicle cabin in an unsafe environment, the local alarm would be triggered by the controller 2 activating the local alarm 6 connected thereto, shown at step 4-5.

Additionally, using the system 1 in Figure 3, the geolocation module 8 would capture the location of the vehicle, shown at step 4-6, and at least one remote alarm notification will be transmitted by the controller 2 via the network interface 7 to at least one remote notification device - the vehicle location, captured by the geolocation module 8 - could be included in that remote notification, so the person receiving the remote notification could easily and quickly locate the vehicle. The unsafe environment in which the living beings were left might comprise an elevated carbon monoxide environment within the vehicle cabin i.e. it may be the case that the system is used to actually detect the presence of living beings in a vehicle cabin with enough carbon monoxide presence to be dangerous, or it may also be the case that elevated carbon monoxide levels are simply used to otherwise detect an unsafe environment be for example a person or companion animal etc. being abandoned within the cabin of the vehicle for an extended period even where the carbon monoxide level in the vehicle itself may not pose a threat or risk, but the carbon monoxide level is simply used as an indicator of the presence of living beings in the vehicle. The safety monitoring software 20 could obviously use other internal parameters as well in determining the existence of an alarm condition - for example monitoring a period of time associated with the presence of the living beings in the vehicle cabin beside the rising carbon monoxide or temperature levels might be an added parameter used in certain embodiments to determine the existence of the alarm condition i.e. even though the system might reasonably quickly determine living beings within the vehicle cabin it may be for example desired to allow for 15 minutes delay from the turning off the ignition of the vehicle, before an alarm was to be sounded on the presence of living beings in the vehicle cabin. Any number of types of either sensor-based parameters or internally programmed parameters could be used by the safety monitoring software 20 in determining the existence of alarm condition and any such approaches are all

contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Figures 5 and 6 show another embodiment of the system 1 and method of the present invention. Shown in Figure 5 is a system 1 of the present invention which incorporates a connection to the vehicle data bus 18 vehicle in which the system is installed. The system 1 comprises a controller 2 with safety detection software 20 accessible thereto, a power supply or power system 9 and a plurality of sensors and outputs as outlined in the embodiment of Figure 3. The carbon monoxide sensor 4 is shown operatively connected to the controller 2 with a video camera 15, an audio capture device 16, and a seismic sensor 17. The local alarm 6, network interface 7 for the dispatch of remote alarm notifications to remote notification devices, and the geolocation module 8 are also shown. The controller 2 would in this embodiment be connected to the vehicle data bus 18 which is the data bus within the vehicle via which the controller 2 could read the status of various sensors and controls within the vehicle. Most vehicles now manufactured include an ODBC port through which devices such as the controller 2 present invention can be connected to read information from the vehicle data bus 18, and any necessary amendments and modifications to the controller 2 or the safety detection software 20 to allow for connection and interoperability of the control 2 with the vehicle data bus 18 of a particular vehicle will be understood to be within the scope of the present invention.

Shown in this Figure for demonstration, the capacitive sensor 3 is already integrated with the vehicle, and which is accessible to the controller 2 via the vehicle data bus 18.

A video capture device 15 is also shown operatively connected to the controller 2. We specifically assume in certain embodiments of the system of the present invention a video capture device 15 such as a camera could capture video within the cabin or other isolated space of the vehicle to archive, storage or transmission of that video to ascertain the safety or status of living beings within the vehicle space upon the detection of alarm condition, or in other embodiments as outlined elsewhere herein, the safety detection software 20 could actually be programmed to analyze video captured by the video capture device or camera 15 to further validate the detection or determination of the presence of living beings within the vehicle. We specifically assume both such enhancements could be provided to the system 1 in the method of the present invention where a video camera or capture device 15 is included, i.e. video could be captured, stored and/or transmitted with a controller 2 having a remote network interface 7, so the recipient of remote alarm notifications could check on the status of the living beings within the vehicle cabin or isolated space, and/or the video captured by the camera 15 could also analyze whether or not there were living beings within the vehicle for the determination of an alarm condition. One or more video capture devices 15 could be used and any a video capture device which could be installed within the cabin or isolated space of the vehicle to ascertain the presence of living beings and/or capturing video to verify their state or status are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Also shown in this Figure for demonstrative purposes is an audio capture device 16 - a microphone or the like - which could detect sound within the vehicle space or cabin and the sound captured could again be stored and transmitted with a remote alarm

notification, or could at the very least be used again to detect living beings within the vehicle cabin or isolated vehicle space. Finally, a seismic sensor 17 is shown, which could detect movement within the cabin the vehicle - as outlined elsewhere. It will be understood that many different sensors can ascertain the presence of living beings within an unsafe environment in the vehicle and any a sensor which could be connected to the controller 2 and its input integrated into the algorithm or logic applied by the safety detection software 20 for determination of an alarm condition are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Also as outlined elsewhere, sensors previously installed in the vehicle and the readings from which are accessible via the vehicle data bus 18 could also be used by the controller 2 and the software 20 to determine living beings . For example occupancy sensors and the seats of the vehicle could be used - where they already existed for example in the vehicle - so the determination of alarm condition and the vehicle could be made by sensing bodies on the seats in the vehicle etc. besides or in place of the sensing of carbon monoxide and temperature levels in the cabin or isolated space. Figure 6 is a flowchart demonstrating the operation of the method of the system 1 in Figure 5. The method demonstrated in the flowchart of Figure 6 is shown identical to that of Figure 4 in its first number of stamps. Where an alarm condition is determined to exist, at 6-4, a local alarm would be triggered, at step 6-5 and video would then be captured from the video capture device 15. The video could either just be stored in the memory of the controller 2, or could be transmitted via the network interface 7 controller 2 with the remainder of a remote alarm notification to at least one remote notification device so the recipient of the remote alarm notification could review the video to ascertain the status or safety of the living beings within the cabin or isolated space in the vehicle.

Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the overall system of the present invention installed in a vehicle. The system 1 is shown installed in the vehicle 10. The system 1, as outlined elsewhere above, includes the geolocation module 8. One or more geolocation towers, satellites or other external GPS transmitters or inputs are shown at 12 - the geolocation module 8 would use this input to locate the vehicle 10 and include application within the transmission of remote notification of an alarm condition is determined to exist. Besides the geolocation module 8, the network interface 7 is also shown. The network interface 7 could be one or more network interfaces to one or more networks or communication protocols 1 1, by which remote notifications of an alarm condition within the cabin of the vehicle 10 could be transmitted. The network interface or interfaces 7 could, for example, transmit via the cloud or various network protocols 1 1 an IP-based notification to a communications centre of safety personnel 13, for example, or additionally or in place of an IP network or another type of wide-area network protocol, an SMS message could, for example, be sent to the cell phone of a user, shown at 14.

It will be understood that the basic hardware configuration demonstrated in Figure 5 is intended to simply demonstrate the high-level components which would be in for more than a basic embodiment of the system and method of the present invention will be understood that other approaches and more complicated hardware embodiments can also be created which would be encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

Controller: The system controller 2 would be an electronic module capable of operation based upon software 20 installed thereon to execute the protection method of the present invention. Many types of microprocessors and similar devices are known to those skilled in the art of electronic component design, and all are contemplated within the scope . One key element of the controller 2 would be the software 20 installed thereon. The software 20 installed on the controller 2 would contain or dictate the parameters for the execution of the remainder of the method of the present invention again, microprocessor programming and the compiling of code capable of controlling such a microprocessor will be understood by those skilled in the art of microprocessor and electronic component design and programming and again any such software is contemplated within the scope of the present invention. A typical microprocessor such as contemplated for the controller 2 would comprise a CPU, a clock circuit and memory containing both operating instructions and potentially software instructions. The memory on the controller 2 might also contain additional software files or media such as audio files for playback if a local alarm or notification 5 is triggered which comprises an audio file playback or the like.

The software 20 on the controller 2 would also include the algorithms or parameters used to characterize or detect the existence of an alarm condition. By adjusting the software 20 on the controller 2, the parameters of either such algorithm or other aspects of the method of the present invention is being executed by the controller 2 software thereon could be modified without departing from the intended scope .

The controller 2 would have an input bus, being a communications bus by which one or more input sensors could communicate with the controller 2. The input bus would be a key physical aspect with related software and control instructions, to allow the software 20 and the remainder of the components on the controller 2 to communicate with the capacitive sensor 3 and the carbon monoxide sensor 4. Many types of microprocessors or controllers 1 , which included an input bus capable of communicating with sensors can be contemplated and will be understood by those skilled in the art design, and all such types of controllers 1 are contemplated again within the scope of the present invention.

Certain embodiments of the controller 2, as outlined regarding the hardware embodiment in Figure 3 or Figure 5, might also include a network interface 7 which would allow the controller 2 to transmit remote alarm notifications of alarm conditions to remote users including the owner of the vehicle of the system, police or safety authorities or the like.

The network interface 7 could be integrated within the remainder of the controller 2 or could be a separate component connected by a communications bus with the controller 2. Both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention. The network interface 7 itself might, for example, comprise an IP protocol interface to an IP network which would allow for wide area communications, or might comprise an SMS connection, cellular modem or the like - IP or SMS communications would be only two of many types of network communications or protocols which could be used in certain embodiments of the controller 2 present invention to allow for communications of various types to be dispatched to remote parties when the safety or alarm condition exists. Also as outlined elsewhere herein, the controller 2 might contain a geolocation module 8 - this would be a GPS unit or otherwise - by which the controller 2 could capture a geolocation of the controller 2 and the related vehicle, so the related location coordinates could be transmitted with other details to be transmitted to embodiments of the present invention which included the dispatch a remote notification, either to an owner or to safety authorities . Again we primarily assume the geolocation module 8 would be a GPS receiver, but it could also be one of many types of equipment and any a receiver or transceiver which would by some communications protocol allowed the controller 2 to capture a meaningful location coordinates regarding the device are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

As outlined elsewhere herein , we explicitly assume one or more embodiments of the controller 2 might be capable of operable connection to the vehicle data bus, also known as the ODB port, on a vehicle to allow for the capture and use of various data readings from the onboard control systems and the vehicle in operating the system and method. For example, integrated audio or video capture devices such as the pre-existing microphone for a Bluetooth phone step, pre-existing video cameras in the vehicle, pre-existing or permanently installed temperature sensors, or even occupancy sensors within the seats operatively connected to the remainder of the control system of the vehicle, will all provide data channels and data points which could be used by the controller 2 software 20 in the execution of the method of the present invention and the operable connection of the controller 2 to the vehicle data bus so these onboard systems can be additional or replacement data channels to the freestanding carbon monoxide and temperature sensors otherwise outlined and disclosed herein are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention. Sensors:

At least one capacitive sensor in the seating surface of the vehicle could be used to determine the presence of a human being in the sealed vehicle cabin. In certain embodiments of the system of the present invention additional types of sensors besides the at least one seat-implanted capacitive sensor could also be used. For example, a seismic sensor could detect movement within the cabin of the vehicle, or in other embodiments as outlined in further detail below, a video capture device or an audio capture device operatively connected to the controller 2 could be another type of a sensor within the cabin of the vehicle to allow for either visual or audible detection of the presence of individuals within the cabin. Any number of different sensors will be understood to those skilled in the art of design which could be helpful in determining the presence of living beings within the cabin or other isolated space of a vehicle when being monitored under the remainder of the method of the present invention and will be understood that all such sensors including those outlined herein and others which might logically be understood to those skilled in the art and are all contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

Other sensor types might also add enhanced cabin monitoring to a vehicle besides the basic method outlined. These might include audio sensors, video detection and image processing equipment, seismic sensors, occupancy sensors of different types already built into the vehicle, or any number of additional types of sensors capable of assisting in determining the presence of living beings within the confined spaces of vehicle when an alarm condition is to be determined under the remainder of the system and method of the present invention. As outlined elsewhere herein any such sensor is contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

With an embodiment of the system 1 present invention connected to the vehicle data bus 18, sensors or other data readings from the vehicle itself could be used in the measurement or determination of an alarm condition - for example, where an audio sample was required from inside the vehicle and a microphone, was integrated in the vehicle accessible via the vehicle data bus, audio from the microphone can be sampled in that way rather than needing to incorporate an additional microphone in the controller 2. Readings of the instruments in the vehicle or even the ignition status of the vehicle could be captured from the vehicle data bus 18 , minimizing the need for additional vehicle connections of the system 1. Besides the possibility of providing additional sensors from a redundancy perspective within a primary monitoring space in the vehicle, it will also be understood that in other embodiments of the present invention, auxiliary carbon monoxide sensors might be provided in other sealed locations on the same vehicle, so effectively more than one sensor could monitor carbon monoxide levels in more than one sealed area of the vehicle, using the same hardware and notification components. For example, in the embodiment in Figure 3, there is shown a second carbon monoxide sensor.

Notification:

Local alarm or notification hardware 5 could comprise a portion of the freestanding system module 1 , or an extra speaker, for example, might be mounted underneath the hood or outside of the vehicle and connected to the remainder of the system module 1. Integrated hardware or separate components will both be understood to be possible approaches to this aspect of the invention . We explicitly assume in the first instance that the local alarm or notification 5 will comprise a weatherproof speaker mounted outside of the vehicle cabin, although as outlined, many other approaches can be tried and which are contemplated within the scope . Any a visible or audible alarm 5 which would within the vicinity of the vehicle causing alert for those around the vehicle to check the safety of anyone is what is contemplated from this perspective.

Besides an audible alarm which could be played back or sound locally upon the detection of the condition and the remainder of the method of the present invention, visible alarms 5 can also be used. This might comprise flashing lights of the vehicle with an operative system interconnect for the system 1 with the electrical systems of the vehicle, or a purpose- built Beacon or visible signal could be installed on the vehicle and connected to the remainder of the system module 1 for activation upon the detection of a condition requiring the triggering of a local alarm or notification under the remainder of the method of the present invention. Again, whether the visible alarm components, if used, comprise a portion of an integrated hardware module 1 , or were separately installed on the vehicle and operatively interconnected therewith, both such approaches are contemplated within the scope .

Besides a local alarm or notification 5, the system 1 could also be configured with a network interface 7 to allow the system 1 to transmit a remote alert or notification to other devices operatively connected to one or more communications networks via set network interface 7, when alarm condition exists. For example, the network interface 7 might operate with the remainder of the controller hardware and software to allow for the dispatch of electronic notification of the existence an alarm condition to a device of the owner of the vehicle - for example an SMS text message or the like could be dispatched via the network interface 7. The owner of the vehicle, safety authorities can also be summoned by remote notification. An additional aspect of the remote alert a remote notification functionality would be to also incorporate a geolocation module 8 within the remainder of the device - a GPS receiver or the like - whereby upon the detection of alarm condition occasioning of remote notification to be transmitted via the network interface 7, the location of the system 1 and the related vehicle could be captured from the geolocation module 8 and transmitted with the remainder of the application so for example if safety authorities would be notified that could be notified not only of the work condition but also of the location of the vehicle from the perspective of the most streamlined dispatch of safety personnel.

Geolocation interfaces, such as a GPS receiver of the like 8, are well understood to those skilled in the art of mobile electronics design, and any number of different modules or interfaces 8 could be incorporated for this purpose. In certain embodiments of the system 1 present invention, the hardware of the system 1 might also use a pre-existing GPS network or receiver on the vehicle in the place of a purpose-built geolocation module 8, and for example could then capture the GPS location of the vehicle off of the main communications bus in the vehicle for incorporation into a remote notification. Both such approaches are contemplated within the scope of the present invention.

It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that by routine modification the present invention can be optimized for a wide range of conditions and application. It will also be obvious to those of skill in the art there are various ways and designs with which to produce the apparatus and methods of the present invention. The illustrated embodiments are therefore not intended to limit the invention, but to provide examples of the apparatus and method to enable those of skill in the art to appreciate the inventive concept. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the appended claims. In interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context.