WE CAN PREVENT
INFANT HEATSTROKE DEATHS IN CARS.
Our patent-pending solution can be implemented in existing cars with a small change to car seats and zero change to cars.
Since 1998, over 500 children have died from hyper/hypothermia after being left in a car.
While over half these children were forgotten accidentally, the rest were abandoned intentionally by parents who underestimated the risk.
ON A CLEAR AND SUNNY 85° DAY, THE TEMPERATURE IN A VEHICLE PARKED IN THE SUN CAN REACH 100° IN ONLY 10 MINUTES.
“Heatstroke occurs when a person's temperature
exceeds 104° and their thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed. A core body temperature of 107° is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down. Small children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their body temperatures rise at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult's.”
Source:
MANY CRITICAL RESCUES OF ENDANGERED CHILDREN LEFT IN VEHICLES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED BY ACCIDENTAL BYSTANDERS
who break into the vehicle to perform the rescue.
In recent years, states have passed legislation limiting criminal prosecution or civil damages resulting from well-intentioned break-ins to rescue children.
Interior vehicle temperature over time: closed versus cracked windows.
Source: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/116/1/e109.full.pdf
BUT A SOLUTION HAS BEEN INVENTED
REMIND
The Driver
Detect a child is buckled into the child car seat. Activate the two-way car FOB in the car seat and start monitoring air temperature near the child. When the driver shuts off the ignition, they receive an audible reminder of the child.
REVERSE
The Temperature
When the temperature rises quickly or reaches a critical limit, the system tells the vehicle to fully roll down all windows. Further temperature rise is arrested and air starts to cool to external ambient.
RESCUE
The Child
At the same time as opening the windows, the system will unlock the car doors and initiate the car alarm system with a distinct interrupted beeping, alerting bystanders that a child is in need of rescue.
DIAGRAM DRAWINGS GO HERE
IS THIS PRACTICAL?
Yes! The system is compatible with virtually all cars on the road. It can be implemented as an add on to existing child car seats, or more effectively incorporated into new car seat designs.
INVENTION SUMMARY
Title of Invention:
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CHILD SAFETY
First Named Inventor/Applicant Name:
Robert Lyons
Filing Date:
Receipt Date:
03-NOV-2017
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CHILD SAFETY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present invention relates generally to child safety systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for responding to problems with a child in a child
restraint within an automobile.
BACKGROUND
[002] Infant or child car seats are legally required in some form in every state in the United States and many other countries. Since 1998, it has been estimated that more than five hundred child deaths are attributed to heat exposure or hyperthermia because of a child being left unattended in a vehicle. Over half of these deaths have been estimated to have occurred because the caregiver forgot the child was in the vehicle. See, Catherine
McLaren, Jan Null and James Quinn, Heat Stress from Enclosed Vehicles: Moderate
Ambient Temperatures Cause Significant Temperature Rise in Enclosed Vehicles,
Pediatrics (Official Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics; Vol. 116, No. 1 Jul.
2005 at pp.e109; see also Jan Null, Hypothermia Deaths of Children in Vehicles,
http://ggweather.com/heat, Department of Geosciences at San Francisco State University.
Studies show that within an averaged elapse lapsed time of 10 minutes, the temperature
rise is an average of 19 degrees Fahrenheit.
[003] For example, with an outside temperature of 80 degrees F., within ten minutes the average inside car temperature is 99 degrees F. Within twenty minutes, the average interior car temperature is 109 degrees F. “Heatstroke occurs when a person's temperature exceeds 104 degrees F. and their thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed.” Id. “A core body temperature of 107 degrees F. is considered lethal as cells are damaged and internal organs shut down. Children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their body temperatures warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult's.” Id.,
See also, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at www.nhtsa.gov. As a result, limiting the amount of time a child is exposed to high or extreme temperatures is critical.
2
[004] Many critical rescues of endangered children left in vehicles have been performed
by accidental bystanders who break into the vehicle to perform the rescue. In recent years states have passed legislation limiting criminal prosecution or civil damages resulting from well intentioned break-ins to rescue children. Another significant issue is improper
use of car seats. For example, a car seat may be installed incorrectly with its tether strap
unconnected or a child may be incorrectly fastened or remain unfastened during use. These situations can result in harm to the child or even death.
[005] Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for responding to at least some forms of incorrect use of a child car seat including those caused by inadvertence or error.
ABOUT
L-Squared Technologies was founded by Dr. Robert Lyons and Eric Lupton specifically to develop a solution that would prevent the many tragic infant heatstroke deaths in vehicles each year. For the last two decades, Lupton and Lyons have, through their separate companies (Life Saver Pool Fence Systems and Safety Turtle, respectively), invented, manufactured, and distributed pool safety solutions for children aimed at preventing drownings. After focusing on water safety for so long, they were struck with the similarities between pediatric vehicular heatstroke and drowning and challenged themselves to create a real solution.
DR. ROBERT LYONS
Co-Founder
Bob received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada in 1971. He is co-founder of SkyWave Electronics Ltd. and Square Peg Communications (www.squarepeg.ca). Square Peg manufactures mobile satellite and aeronautical terminal communications equipment and test systems.
Bob started Terrapin Communications (www.safetyturtle.com) in October 1998 to market a new product he conceived to break the silence of drowning, Safety Turtle®. In 2004 he won the Manning Innovation Award, sponsored by Noranda Inc. [Canada], for his safety innovation. Terrapin sold the Safety Turtle business in 2012.
In addition to managing Terrapin, he has been an advocate of technology to help reduce backyard pool drowning of young children. He was a member of the ASTM Committee that drafted the Standard for Pool Alarms, and has written articles and given seminars on aquatic alarms and layers of protection for backyard pools.
ERIC LUPTON
Co-Founder
Eric Lupton is the President of Life Saver Pool Fence System, Inc., the world's largest pool fence company according to Forbes. He has been featured as a business, entrepreneurship, marketing expert in two New York Times Best Sellers, the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, BuzzFeed, and USA Today, including a standalone feature in Forbes. He is highly sought after and interviewed by the media as an expert on child safety. Eric was born with cerebral palsy, requiring him to use a power wheelchair full-time. He served on the board of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance, the country's largest water safety non-profit, and was eventually elected to become its Vice President. He’s a native of Boynton Beach, FL and loves Doctor Who, TED Talks, and everything dairy.