A medical notification apparatus and method for use with a preexisting healthcare facility nurse call system are disclosed. The apparatus sends a message signal to the healthcare facility call system when the apparatus receives and identifies an acoustic signal indicative of a medical device alarm or other parameter. The apparatus comprises an acoustic sensor, a signal processing unit, and an interface unit. A band pass filter, timing gate, and a processor are configured in one embodiment to process the received acoustic signal to identify an acoustic alarm. A memory device may be used to store a set of identification criteria for identifying a variety of acoustic alarms, and to store a set of message signals. The sent message signal is selected from among the stored set of message signals.

Medical notification apparatus and method

A fire extinguishing system for suppressing fires on cook stoves, fryers or other heating or heated devices with fire suppressant dispensed through nozzles is powered by batteries which provide current for both a detection circuit including a pair of heat sensors and control circuitry and current for a gas or electric house current shut-off. The appliance shut-off device is operated by the standard hardwired interconnect cable that provides a signal between the control board and shutoff device or by an optional sonic receiver assembly that is acoustically tuned to detect an audible alarm emitted by a signal from the main control board. Preferably, the heat sensors are diodes, but in alternative embodiments may be thermistors or active temperature sensors. Mounting of heat sensors and nozzles are facilitated by tees and 90 degree elbows. While the standard interconnect cable is usually used between the control circuitry and shutoff device, a wireless link, such as the sonic receiver assembly, may also be used with the shutoff device.

Fire extinguishing systems and methods

A personally worn or portable annunciator device for alerting, warning, training, communicating or diagnostic use for people especially those with hearing impairments. This device which can be activated locally or remotely has as one of its means of generating a tactile sensation a transducer or buzzer, as well as a visual light both of which are activated automatically upon the detection of an audio signal substantially above the local ambient noise, or by a RF signal remotely generated by an auxiliary unit.

Personal ambient sound referenced annunciator

There is disclosed a signalling device for making hard of hearing persons aware of an impending happening in his or her proximity. The device comprises a sound transducer such as a microphone for converting sounds to electrical signals, an amplifier for amplifying the electrical signals and a selective filter connected to the amplifier for selecting amplified signals above a selected amplitude level and within a selected frequency range as may be produced by automobile horns, fire, police and emergency sirens, burglar and smoke alarms, door bells, barking dogs, and the like to produce a continuous, periodically pulsating control signal. These control signals are supplied to an indicator means such as a flashing light-emitting diode connected to a person's spectacles or a tactile alarm secured to the wrist of the person to provide a vibrating or pulsating signal to a sensitive area of the body such as the mastoid bone or the wrist or, alternatively, the device may be connected to a male-female electrical connector with a built-in electronic switch activated by the unit so that a lamp or light bulb plugged therein is turned on and off periodically to awaken the hard of hearing when a smoke alarm or whatever signal is detected.

Signalling device for hard of hearing persons

An electronic sensing device, operates to actuate a household lighting fixture in response to a sensed environmental condition such as sound or movement within a room. The device is provided with a receiver for sensing the particular environmental condition, a timer responsive to the output of the receiver, switching apparatus for switching on the household lighting fixture in response to the timer, and a power-providing circuit. The timer provides that the lighting fixture will remain on for a preselected time after sensing the environmental condition, and continually resets in the continued presence of the environmental condition. The switching apparatus switches the light fixture on in response to the timer output and further provides circuitry for varying the switched-on duty cycle of the lighting fixture in order to provide a dimmer control. The power-providing circuitry applies a portion of the leading edge of each half cycle of line current to power the circuitry of the sensing device.

Light switching mechanism

A sound-responsive light illuminated by an audio-actuated serially connected switch. The audio-actuated switch includes a thyristor, preferably an SCR, the gate of which is triggered by an audio frequency signal from a microphone and audio amplifier. The amplifier is a class A audio amplifier with biasing and loading provided so that the light will be illuminated by sound above a selected level. A nonlinear potentiometer is used for the load impedance of one of the amplifier stages to permit selection of the desired audio level which triggers the thyristor. The input terminals of a rectified power supply are connected across the principal terminals of the SCR so that the parallel combination may be connected in series with the electric light and an alternating current power source. Coupling is provided from the output of the audio amplifier to the gate of the thyristor by means of a series capacitor and a shunt gate resistor of approximately 1000 ohms.

James H Ott

Papers

Sound-responsive light