There have been a number of tragic deaths in which children have mistakenly been left in automobiles after the driver reached a desired destination and left the vehicle. The deaths have usually been caused by a buildup of excess heat or cold within the vehicle during the absence of the driver. Infants, in particular, are susceptible to dehydration when subjected to the elevated temperatures within an enclosed vehicle, and can easily slip into a comatose state. Furthermore, no child should be left unattended in any vehicle for any length of time and for any reason.
According to the Aug. 31, 2005 edition of the Las Vegas Review Journal, there were 62 cases of children being left in cars in that city alone. Nationwide, 28 children have died so far in 2005 after being exposed to extreme heat in vehicles.
One system for preventing children from becoming inadvertently locked within a vehicle is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,793,291. The system utilizes a motion detector to detect the presence of a child or pet within a located vehicle. However, the system fails to protect infants who have been left asleep in their child seats and are not capable of sufficient activity to set off a motion detector. Such infants may continue sleeping and may become dehydrated and comatose without ever waking, and therefore, they may not be detected by a motion detector.
Another system described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,104,293 provides for a warning system that warns when a child is in an infant seat and the vehicle's ignition has been turned off. However, it would be costly and overly complicated to install because it connects to many of the vehicle's components.
Reference is also given to U.S. Pat. No. 6,922,622 where the use of one or more systems senses the occupancy state and temperature inside the passenger or load space. However, this would not protect infants stranded in their car seats in vehicles during extremely cold temperatures because the system activates when it senses the temperature is above a pre-set minimum.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,714,132 utilizes a system and method with a wireless tether comprising a detector, transmitter and receiver. An alarm is communicated to the caregiver when the caregiver ventures outside the range of transmission between the transmitter and receiver without having removed the child from the position as sensed by the detector. However, the system does not have an alarm, and the pager could be turned off or not be heard.
Therefore, the present inventors have recognized that there is an unmet need for an affordable, improved and simpler system to save children's lives.
It is an objective of the invention to provide a system that warns when a child has been left in an infant seat or a booster seat under dangerous conditions for longer than a specified period of time.
It is another objective of the invention to support up to two infant/booster seats and to be portable from one infant/booster car seat to another. Furthermore, an objective of the invention is to provide a means for a passenger in the car (other than an infant or small child) to manually page the driver.