Set-Top Box Emergency Alerts for Reliable Home Assistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical alert systems relying on Bluetooth or Internet connectivity are unreliable in areas with poor coverage, and locating cell phones indoors is challenging, leading to inconsistent and insecure emergency assistance, especially for individuals spending extended time at home.
Innovation Solution
An emergency alert system using a cable television set-top box and remote control to securely send emergency alerts to a content distribution system, which then forwards messages to appropriate service providers through a network, ensuring reliable and secure communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If medical alert systems use Bluetooth or Internet connectivity, then the system can provide emergency assistance, but the system becomes unreliable in areas with poor coverage
Solution Approach 1:
The set-top box is designed to perform multiple functions: traditional cable service and emergency alert transmission. By utilizing the existing set-top box infrastructure already present in most homes, the system achieves universal coverage without requiring additional dedicated medical alert devices, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and coverage area.
Solution Approach 2:
The set-top box acts as an intermediary device between the user and the emergency response system. It receives emergency alert signals from the remote control and transmits them through the cable infrastructure to the service provider, enabling reliable communication in areas where Bluetooth or direct Internet connectivity may be poor.
2Reliability
If multiple monitoring devices are placed in the user's home, then emergency assistance can be provided, but the system becomes more expensive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The invention repurposes the existing set-top box, which is already universally present in cable TV households, to serve dual purposes: traditional cable service and emergency alert transmission. This eliminates the need for separate medical alert devices, monitors, or other equipment, thereby reducing both device complexity and system cost while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes the user's existing cable TV infrastructure to provide emergency alert functionality. The set-top box and remote control, which the user already possesses and operates familiarly, are leveraged for emergency communication, eliminating the need for additional dedicated equipment and simplifying the overall system.
3Ease of operation
If cell phones are used to call 9-1-1, then emergency assistance can be contacted, but the location of the caller cannot be precisely determined indoors
Solution Approach 1:
The set-top box serves as an intermediary that captures the user's known service address and transmits it along with the emergency alert to the service provider. This eliminates the need for complex indoor location tracking technologies, as the address is already associated with the cable service account, thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and location identification precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, systems, and a remote control for sending emergency alert requests are disclosed. The methods and systems comprise receiving an emergency alert request from a user via a set-top box at a subscriber location. The emergency alert request is received from a remote control. A medical alert message is sent by the set-top box to a processing device, based on the received medical alert request, via a first network. The processing device sends an emergency alert instruction to provide emergency assistance to the subscriber location to an emergency assistance service provider, via a second network, based, at least in part, on the message. A request to provide medical assistance to the subscriber location may be sent to a medical assistance service provider, who may be a third party. Emergency alert requests for the police or fire department may be sent to a 9-1-1 service.