U.S. patent application number 17/380204 was filed with the patent office on 2021-12-02 for team monitoring.
This patent application is currently assigned to ROCKWILLI RMR LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is ROCKWILLI RMR LLC. Invention is credited to Michael J. Myhre, Steven M. Myhre, Russell E. VanDevanter, Travis E. Will.
Application Number | 20210375109 17/380204 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005740547 |
Filed Date | 2021-12-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20210375109 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Will; Travis E. ; et
al. |
December 2, 2021 |
TEAM MONITORING
Abstract
A solution for providing premises monitoring whereby monitoring
devices (cameras, e.g.) are connected to a network and, upon
detecting motion within their field of view, send a notification to
a smartphone app. The smartphone app provides indications of a
location of a particular monitoring device triggering the event
notification, a time/date of the event, and a type of event. A user
of the smartphone app may receive a real-time video stream from the
monitoring device, and may interact with a person who triggered the
event using the smartphone's speaker and microphone in conjunction
with a speaker and/or a microphone integrated with the monitoring
device. A button of the smartphone app enables an event to be
escalated to a monitoring center, and if an event is not reviewed
by a user within a certain time threshold the event may be
configured to be automatically escalated to the monitoring
center.
Inventors: |
Will; Travis E.; (Lake
Tapps, WA) ; VanDevanter; Russell E.; (Seattle,
WA) ; Myhre; Steven M.; (Seattle, WA) ; Myhre;
Michael J.; (Monroe, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ROCKWILLI RMR LLC |
Renton |
WA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
ROCKWILLI RMR LLC
Renton
WA
|
Family ID: |
1000005740547 |
Appl. No.: |
17/380204 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
17173533 |
Feb 11, 2021 |
11069209 |
|
|
17380204 |
|
|
|
|
62975567 |
Feb 12, 2020 |
|
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62984391 |
Mar 3, 2020 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G08B 13/19682 20130101;
G08B 13/19684 20130101; H04M 1/72415 20210101; G08B 13/19613
20130101; H04M 1/72469 20210101 |
International
Class: |
G08B 13/196 20060101
G08B013/196; H04M 1/72415 20060101 H04M001/72415; H04M 1/72469
20060101 H04M001/72469 |
Claims
1. A smartphone app user interface, comprising: a section
configured for rendering event notifications needing attention; and
a section configured for rendering event notifications having been
viewed.
2. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, wherein an event
notification includes at least an indication of a premise where a
video event was triggered.
3. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, wherein an event
notification includes at least a description of a type of video
event that was triggered.
4. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, wherein an event
notification includes at least a time at which a video event was
triggered.
5. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, wherein an event
notification includes at least a thumbnail image associated with a
video event that was triggered.
6. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, further
comprising: a bar indicating a display of the smartphone app user
interface which is currently selected and configured for enabling a
user to switch displays.
7. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, further
comprising: a control enabling a user to toggle between a live
stream and a video recording of a video event that was
triggered.
8. The smartphone app user interface of claim 7, wherein the
control enabling the user to toggle between a live stream and a
video recording activates RTSP for a camera associated with the
premise when the live stream is selected by the user.
9. The smartphone app user interface of claim 7, wherein the
control enabling the user to toggle between a live stream and a
video recording renders a video clip of an occurrence which
triggered the video event.
10. The smartphone app user interface of claim 9, wherein the video
clip of the occurrence which triggered the video event is
renderable with an embedded button which, when tapped, switches to
the live stream.
11. The smartphone app user interface of claim 7, wherein at least
one of a speaker or a microphone of a smartphone on which the
smartphone app user interface is running may be activated during
the live stream.
12. The smartphone app user interface of claim 11, wherein
activating the at least one of a speaker or a microphone of the
smartphone enables a user to speak to a target triggering the video
event via at least one of a speaker or a microphone of a monitoring
device originating the video event.
13. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, wherein a video
event begins a countdown of an amount of time before a video event
is escalated to a monitoring center.
14. The smartphone app user interface of claim 13, wherein a
notification associated with the video event is transmitted to the
monitoring center when the countdown of the amount of time reaches
zero.
15. The smartphone app user interface of claim 1, further
comprising: an input screen for a user of the smartphone app user
interface to participate in a conferencing session related to a
video event with one or more members of a team of monitors.
16. The smartphone app user interface of claim 15, wherein the
conferencing session may be at least one of a chat room, an audio
conference, or a video conference with the one or more members of
the team of monitors.
17. The smartphone app user interface of claim 16, further
comprising: a button which, when activated, causes a video event to
be escalated immediately to a monitoring center.
18. A smartphone app user interface, of claim 16, wherein at least
one of (a) the monitoring center or (b) the one or more members of
the team of monitors may be one or more mobile monitoring
agents.
19. A smartphone app user interface, comprising: a section
configured for rendering event notifications needing attention; and
a section configured for rendering event notifications having been
viewed, wherein an event notification includes at least: an
indication of a premise where a video event was triggered; a
description of a type of the video event that was triggered; a time
at which the video event was triggered; and a thumbnail image
associated with the video event that was triggered; a bar
indicating a display of the smartphone app user interface which is
currently selected and configured for enabling a user to switch
displays; a control enabling a user to toggle between a live stream
and a video recording of a video event that was triggered, wherein
the control enabling the user to toggle between a live stream and a
video recording activates RTSP for a camera associated with the
premise when the live stream is selected by the user, wherein the
control enabling the user to toggle between a live stream and a
video recording renders a video clip of an occurrence which
triggered the video event, wherein the video clip of the occurrence
which triggered the video event is renderable with an embedded
button which, when tapped, switches to the live stream, wherein at
least one of a speaker or a microphone of a smartphone on which the
smartphone app user interface is running may be activated during
the live stream, wherein activating the at least one of a speaker
or a microphone of the smartphone enables a user to speak to a
target triggering the video event via at least one of a speaker or
a microphone of a monitoring device originating the video event,
wherein a video event begins a countdown of an amount of time
before a video event is escalated to a monitoring center, wherein a
notification associated with the video event is transmitted to the
monitoring center when the countdown of the amount of time reaches
zero; and an input screen for a user of the smartphone app user
interface to participate in a conferencing session related to a
video event with one or more members of a team of monitors, wherein
the conferencing session may be at least one of a chat room, an
audio conference, or a video conference with the one or more
members of the team of monitors, and a button which, when
activated, causes a video event to be escalated immediately to a
monitoring center, wherein at least one of (a) the monitoring
center or (b) the one or more members of the team of monitors may
be one or more mobile monitoring agents.
20. An arrangement, comprising: a smartphone including at least the
smartphone app user interface of claim 19; one or more monitoring
devices in electronic communication with the smartphone, the one or
more monitoring devices capable of triggering one or more video
events renderable via the smartphone app user interface; and at
least one network connection between the smartphone and the
monitoring center capable of transmitting an escalation of a video
event upon the countdown of the amount of time before the video
event is escalated.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIM
[0001] The present application is related to and/or claims the
benefits of the earliest effective priority date and/or the
earliest effective filing date of the below-referenced
applications, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in
its entirety, to the extent such subject matter is not inconsistent
herewith, as if fully set forth herein:
[0002] (1) this application constitutes a non-provisional of U.S.
Provisional Patent Application No. 62/975,567, entitled SYSTEMS AND
METHODS FOR AUTOMATED PERSONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSES, naming Travis
E. Will, Russell E. VanDevanter, Steven M. Myhre, and Michael J.
Myhre as the inventors, filed Feb. 12, 2020, with attorney docket
no. ROCK-1-1008, which is currently co-pending or is an application
of which a currently co-pending application is entitled to the
benefit of the filing date; and
[0003] (2) this application constitutes a non-provisional of United
States Provisional Patent Application No. 62/984,391, entitled TEAM
MONITORING, naming Travis E. Will, Russell E. VanDevanter, Steven
M. Myhre, and Michael J. Myhre as the inventors, filed Mar. 3,
2020, with attorney docket no. ROCK-1-1009, which is currently
co-pending or is an application of which a currently co-pending
application is entitled to the benefit of the filing date.
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
[0004] The subject matter of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
15/407,544, entitled Systems and Methods for Automated Personal
Emergency Responses, filed Jan. 17, 2017, is hereby incorporated by
reference in the entirety, to the extent that the contents of the
foregoing application are not inconsistent with the disclosure
herein.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0005] The present disclosure relates generally to surveillance
systems, and more specifically, to team monitoring surveillance
systems.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] A summary of certain embodiments disclosed herein is set
forth below. It should be understood that these aspects are
presented merely to provide the reader with a brief summary of
these certain embodiments and that these aspects are not intended
to limit the scope of this disclosure.
[0007] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to
surveillance systems, and more specifically, to team monitoring
surveillance systems. A solution for providing premises monitoring
is disclosed whereby monitoring devices (cameras, e.g.) are
connected to a network and, upon detecting motion within their
field of view, send a notification to a smartphone app. The
smartphone app provides indications of a location of a particular
monitoring device triggering the event notification, a time/date of
the event, and a type of event. A user of the smartphone app may
receive a real-time video stream from the monitoring device, and
may interact with a person who triggered the event using the
smartphone's speaker and microphone in conjunction with a speaker
and/or a microphone integrated with the monitoring device. A button
of the smartphone app enables an event to be escalated to a
monitoring center, and if an event is not reviewed by a user within
a certain time threshold the event may be configured to be
automatically escalated to the monitoring center.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Certain embodiments of the present invention are described
in detail below with reference to the following drawings:
[0009] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary user interface of a smartphone
app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention.
[0010] FIG. 2 depicts an additional exemplary user interface of a
smartphone app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0011] FIG. 3 depicts an additional exemplary user interface of a
smartphone app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0012] FIG. 4 depicts an additional exemplary user interface of a
smartphone app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
[0013] FIG. 5 depicts an additional exemplary user interface of a
smartphone app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0014] Specific details of certain embodiments of the invention are
set forth in the following description and in the figures to
provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. The present
invention may have additional embodiments, may be practiced without
one or more of the details described for any particular described
embodiment, or may have any detail described for one particular
embodiment practiced with any other detail described for another
embodiment.
[0015] Importantly, a grouping of inventive aspects in any
particular "embodiment" within this detailed description, and/or a
grouping of limitations in the claims presented herein, is not
intended to be a limiting disclosure of those particular aspects
and/or limitations to that particular embodiment and/or claim. The
inventive entity presenting this disclosure fully intends that any
disclosed aspect of any embodiment in the detailed description
and/or any claim limitation ever presented relative to the instant
disclosure and/or any continuing application claiming priority from
the instant application (e.g. continuation, continuation-in-part,
and/or divisional applications) may be practiced with any other
disclosed aspect of any embodiment in the detailed description
and/or any claim limitation. Claimed combinations which draw from
different embodiments and/or originally-presented claims are fully
within the possession of the inventive entity at the time the
instant disclosure is being filed. Any future claim comprising any
combination of limitations, each such limitation being herein
disclosed and therefore having support in the original claims or in
the specification as originally filed (or that of any continuing
application claiming priority from the instant application), is
possessed by the inventive entity at present irrespective of
whether such combination is described in the instant specification
because all such combinations are viewed by the inventive entity as
currently operable without undue experimentation given the
disclosure herein and therefore that any such future claim would
not represent new matter.
[0016] FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary user interface of a smartphone
app related to team monitoring surveillance systems, in accordance
with an embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, a video
event is triggered on a premises, which may be a residential or a
commercial premises. A notification of the video event is
transmitted to a group of responders that have been preconfigured
to receive notifications relating to a particular zone and/or a
particular monitoring device associated with the premises. The
notification of the video event may be received by the cell phone
app, which renders the notification on display 10. Display 10
includes two sections, one named "Needs attention" and one named
"Activity". "Needs attention" may include event notifications which
have been received and to which has not been viewed or otherwise
interacted with by the recipient, including video event
notification 12. "Activity" may include event notifications which
have been viewed or otherwise interacted with by the recipient,
including video event notifications 14a through 14e. At the bottom
of display 10 is a bar 16 which may enable the user to switch
displays and which indicates that the "activity" 105 display is
currently selected.
[0017] Video event notification 12 includes an indication of the
premises (here, "Dahua Demo") where the video event was triggered.
A description of the type of video event (here, "Line Crossed at
IPC") is provided. A date and time associated with the video event
notification (here, "Today" and "5:31 pm") is also provided.
[0018] In some embodiments, notifications can be configured to be
addressed first by any one responder from the group of the
responders preconfigured to receive notifications relating to a
particular zone and/or a particular monitoring device associated
with the premises. If no one individual responder either responds
via the app within a preconfigured threshold of time, the video
event notification is automatically escalated to a monitoring
center. In some embodiments, the monitoring center is a commercial
alarm monitoring company such as ADT. In other embodiments, the
monitoring center is 911 or other public safety agency. In yet
other embodiments, the escalation is configured for notification of
both a commercial alarm monitoring company and 911 or another
public safety agency. Video event notification 12 displays a
countdown (here, "Escalating to monitoring center in 44 seconds")
of an amount of time left before the preconfigured threshold of
time, after which time the notification will be escalated.
[0019] FIG. 2 depicts an additional display of the exemplary user
interface of the smartphone app related to team monitoring
surveillance systems, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. In some embodiments, the app can display details related
to a particular video event. Display 20, for example, relates to a
"Line Crossing Detected" event. More information is shown about the
event at 21, which includes "Line Cross" (the type of event that
was detected) and "on camera `HOT TUB`" (the zone, and the device
used to detect the event in that zone). The name of the premises 22
is shown (here, "John Smith Residence"). The date and time of the
event 23 is also shown (here, "Today 6:11 pm"). A box 24 displays
one or more images related to the event. Below box 24, the user may
toggle between a live stream at 25 and a full video at 26. In the
live stream, video captured by the camera is relayed to the app in
real-time and displayed to the responder so that the responder may
determine whether the event is still occurring (e.g. an intruder or
target is still on the premises). The full video may include a
video clip of the occurrence which triggered the video event (e.g.
the camera detected a motion by a being large enough for an
inference that an intruder or target is on the premises). Embedded
in the full video may be a button which, when tapped, switches the
app to the live stream view (activating the RTSP for that camera,
for example). In some embodiments, watching a live stream also
activates a speaker and microphone in the camera in the zone in
which the video event was triggered. A responder may use the
speaker and microphone in the smartphone on which the app is
running to attempt to speak to the target who triggered the video
event.
[0020] Where the premises include multiple cameras, and in the
event that the target has left the zone in which the video event
was triggered, the responder may swipe, using the app, to switch
the view provided by the app from camera to camera. Each time the
responder swipes to a new camera, the speaker and microphone of
that new camera is joined to the smartphone so that if the
responder is able to visually confirm a presence of the target in a
different zone on the premises, the responder may speak to the
target via the speaker in the corresponding camera and hear a
response picked up by the microphone of the corresponding
camera.
[0021] At 27, a notification of an amount of time remaining before
the video event is escalated to a monitoring center is displayed,
as discussed previously. At 28, a pop-up box asks the responder to
provide an indication of whether the responder believes, based on
the live stream or full video, that a suspicious occurrence has
taken place or is occurring at the present time. Pressing "NO" will
end the sequence, at which time the app may return to display 10.
Pressing "YES" will cause the app to transmit a further
notification to at least one of a monitoring center or public
safety agency.
[0022] At 29, the responder may use the text box in which "Add a
comment . . . " is present to post a message. Upon keying text into
the text box and pressing "Send", the message is posted to everyone
in the responder group. In some embodiments, a video or audio
conference is established among the responders facilitated by the
smartphone app, whereby the live video stream may be viewable on a
portion of the display and a video conference with another
responder may be viewable on a different portion of the display.
Using such means, and the responders can participate in a "Team
Discussion" relating to the video event notification either by chat
room or by audio and/or video conference.
[0023] FIG. 3 depicts a notification of an email received by the
smartphone on which the app is running, in accordance with an
embodiment of the invention. In some embodiments, when a video
event occurs, an email may be transmitted to all responders
configured to receive video event notifications for the particular
zone in which the video event occurred. For example, over top of
app display 30, email notification 32 pops up which notifies the
responder of the premises, the type of event, the device detecting
the target, and the zone in which the video event was triggered by
the target. Viewing the email and tapping a link within the email
will cause the app to be activated on the phone, if it is not
already the currently viewed app.
[0024] FIG. 4 depicts an additional display of the exemplary user
interface of the smartphone app related to team monitoring
surveillance systems, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. In some embodiments, display 40 may include an
indication that the video event can be escalated to the monitoring
center by a responder tapping the button 42 labeled "Escalate Now".
The video event may also be marked as resolved by a responder
tapping the button 44 labeled "False Alarm". If neither button is
tapped by any responder, as discussed previously, upon the time
since the video event was generated reaching the pre-configured
threshold for automatic escalation of video events of that type in
that zone, the video event will be automatically escalated.
[0025] In some embodiments, the number of responders notified is
shown at 46 (here, "2 people notified). The number of people who
have viewed the video event notification in the app is shown at 48
(here, "1 person viewed"). The "Team Discussion" is shown at 49
(here, "Steven Myhre Fb" has written "Who is that?"). The Team
Discussion establishes a virtual control room where the responders
may coordinate a response to the video event themselves either
prior to, or in lieu of, the event being escalated to the
monitoring center.
[0026] Data regarding the particular video event is stored for
later review by responders, the monitoring center, public safety
agency personnel and others. For example, the video clip of the
event triggering the video event is stored. If the live stream
capability is used, a recording of the live stream is also stored,
including any audio transmitted back and forth between the
smartphone and the camera device capturing the live stream (storing
the contents of any communications between a responder and the
target). The stored data may be viewed by other responders using
the app, for example, using the chat window. In some embodiments,
the video clip may be viewed in a portion of the display while the
live stream is viewed in a different portion of the display. The
live audio and video data stream which is stored may include any
video or audio transmitted by any camera device selected via the
user swiping back and forth on the app to choose a view from that
different camera until the target is located on the premises.
[0027] FIG. 5 depicts an additional display of the exemplary user
interface of the smartphone app related to team monitoring
surveillance systems, in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention. In some embodiments, on the activity page rendered by
display 50, indications of one or more current or past video event
notifications may be shown. At 52, an indication of the current
video event notification is shown. Status 54 indicates "Escalated
to Monitoring Center" which may have occurred either as an
automatic escalation if no responder marked the event as resolved
or as a false alarm prior to the pre-configured threshold time
value being reached, or as a manual escalation when a responder
tapped "Escalate Now" when viewing the video event. At 56, the
notation "1 comment" indicates that in the Team Discussion (or
virtual control room) associated with the video event notification
52, a responder has written a message to other responders receiving
notifications of the video event. At 58, a past video event
notification is shown and is marked as a "False Alarm", indicating
that a responder tapped the "False Alarm" button while viewing the
notification of the video event.
[0028] In some embodiments, mobile monitoring agents ("MMAs") are
available as an escalation option. An MMA may be an individual who
is enrolled to augment the responders that have been preconfigured
to receive notifications relating to a zone or premises, but who is
otherwise unknown to those responders. Individuals desiring to
serve as MMAs may be anyone in the world who has been vetted,
passed an online background check, and/or signed an agreement for
providing monitoring services. An MMA uses a mobile device, tablet,
or other computing device with the team monitoring software app
downloaded to it. In some embodiments, MMAs may have profiles which
may be reviewed by owners of premises or others responsible for the
security of the premises. A profile of an MMA may include pictures,
reviews, descriptions, biographical information, an indication of
languages spoken, or other demographic information which may enable
a premises owner to make a decision as to whether to accept a
particular MMA as a contracted team member.
[0029] Upon a video event occurring, if no responder uses the app
to view the video event, the video event notification can be
escalated to an MMA or to a pool of MMAs. In some embodiments,
awards are available to contracted MMAs for responding to a video
event the quickest following the triggering of that video event.
Other fees are payable to contracted MMAs for proper handling of
video events according to protocols configured for a particular
zone or premises. Beneficially, the sourcing of contracted MMAs to
augment the team members responsible for responding to video events
associated with a particular zone or premises provides a role for
individuals who have time available to accept the responsibility.
Such individuals may include special needs adults, those whose
circadian rhythm makes them naturally awake in the middle of the
night, individuals who want to work from home or have a second job,
or who are located in compatible time zones (e.g. if nighttime
monitoring of a location in California is desired, an MMA in Asia
could provide such monitoring during that individual's daytime
period). The MMA provisions disclosed herein can reduce or
eliminate a need for central monitoring of a zone or premises, and
"gamifies" the monitoring of after-hours surveillance systems.
[0030] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed
herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those
skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed
herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be
limiting. It is intended that the scope of this disclosure be
defined by the following claims and their equivalents.
* * * * *