Inventors explain new computer for emergency responders

A compact handheld computer using flash memory is designed for prolonged use under severe conditions and utilizes an electrophoretic display to conserve energy and provide a high resolution display.

WASHINGTON, DC, February 22, 2011 -- United States Patent 7,894,843 has been awarded to David Smart and Paul Smart relating to handheld computers used to store, retrieve and display information useful to emergency response personnel at the scene of an automobile accident, explosion, fire, flood, violent crime, terrorist attack, natural catastrophe, or other life-threatening circumstances. More particularly, the invention relates to compact handheld computers which are able to withstand hostile environments and function reliably in extreme conditions such as often occur in emergency situations.

According to the inventors, their compact handheld notebook computer using flash memory to store, retrieve and display information needed by emergency responders is designed for prolonged use under severe conditions and utilizes an electrophoretic display to conserve energy and provide a high resolution display more readable than LCD displays.

For first responders at the scene an emergency, the difference between saving a life and being too late is often only a matter of minutes, or even seconds. First responders need quick access to information to enable them to deal safely with the situations they encounter. For example, a responder at the scene of an automobile accident may have to cut into a vehicle and extricate an injured occupant. In that situation, the responder will need to know the location of hazardous items, such as fuel tanks, fuel lines, air bags, batteries, which may explode if a torch is applied in the wrong place. The need existed, according to Smart and Smart, to equip emergency responders with a handheld computer with which they can quickly access data to enable them to perform their life-saving tasks safely.

As explained by the inventors, a number of U.S. patents and published patent applications describe computer systems used for acquiring and distributing emergency response information. Examples are Orr et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,815,417, Burge, Pub. No. US2002/0103622, Andrew, U.S. Pat. No. 6,882,706, Andrew, Pub. No. US2005/0157853, Veith et al., Pub. No. US2006/0212195, Robinson, U.S. Pat. No. 7,280,038, Herard, Jr., Pub. No. US2007/0103288, Haas et al., Pub. No. US2007/0105528, and Thijs et al., Pub. No. US2007/0218869. Since these systems utilize a central server and network to gather and distribute data from responders at the emergency scene, they rely on wireless communications links that may not be available at the emergency scene or may have been disrupted by catastrophic events. Similarly, Larson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,556,904, describes a computer system for sending motor vehicle data from a remote server to a local computer. But here again the system depends on network accessibility to operate. These network-based systems also involve substantial costs in terms of server equipment and network administration.

In the marketplace there are software packages that run on personal computers and provide information useful to emergency responders. One example is the Crash Recovery System (CRS) software offered by the Dutch company Moditech. The CRS software can be installed in a conventional laptop or tablet personal computer. It accepts vehicle identification input either by make/model/year or by license plate number (utilizing the national DOT database). The CRS system displays top and side views of the vehicle indicating location of body components, safety features and potentially hazardous components, along with directions for safely removing and/or disabling such components.

But several factors limit the utility of such software systems at the scene of an emergency. General purpose personal computers, even those of the portable varieties, are not so compact that they will not interfere with the mobility of an emergency responder, who may need to climb, crawl or swim, depending on the circumstances. General purpose personal computers are also too delicate to function reliably in hostile environments. Such computers require volatile dynamic RAM memory (DRAM), which can only be provided by disk drives. Since disk drives are notoriously vulnerable to shocks and vibrations, they cannot be relied upon in turbulent emergency situations. Disk drives also use a lot of energy, which either results in short battery life or requires large, heavy batteries. The high rate of energy consumption by personal computers with disk-drive RAM also necessitates heat-dissipating fans, which clog and cause overheating in dusty environments.

Another source of high energy consumption in general purpose personal computers is the display. The volatile, light-emitting displays of such computers, based on LCD or CRT technology, require a continuous supply of energy to maintain the displayed images. LCD displays suitable for portable computing devices suffer from limited resolution and constrained viewing angle, and such displays are obscured in strong ambient light, such as direct sunlight or a fire's glare. The lack of fine resolution capability is a particular drawback for a very compact computer display.

Like the network-based systems, the software-based systems for emergency response data involve high costs of computer equipment and maintenance.

Therefore, the prior art in this field affords no compact computer device with the characteristics that would make it suitable for use at the scene of an emergency. The requisite characteristics include: Low equipment and maintenance costs Compact, lightweight, mobile and rugged hardware Low energy demand enabling prolonged use with lightweight batteries Ability to withstand extreme temperature, pressure, moisture, smoke, dust and/or kinetic shock Fast and reliable access to needed data

The new invention by Smart and Smart addresses these requirements by providing a compact hand-held computer device having the following features: A small notebook-type configuration with a keypad and display screen No disk drives, only flash memory Simple operating system handling keypad input and display functions Embedded operating system and single-application software stored in flash memory Single-application software for reading a digital database and displaying text and graphics USB port(s) for plug-in flash memory modules Various emergency database packets stored on multiple plug-in flash memory modules in HTML format Electrophoretic display with high resolution, viewable at wide angles and in direct sunlight, with minimal power consumption Optional data connectivity using third generation telecommunications standard, such as GSM, UMTS or EVDO

The key features that make the new invention suitable for use by emergency responders are the flash memory and electrophoretic display. Unlike DRAM, flash memory is non-volatile, which means no electrical power is needed to maintain the data stored on the chip. This enables the responder to operate the device in the field for many hours without the need for either cumbersome batteries or frequent battery replacement/recharging. Flash memory also enables fast access to stored data and much better kinetic shock resistance than disk-drive memory. These features enable the emergency responder to retrieve safety data quickly and to avoid hard-drive failures when the computer is jostled around in chaotic circumstances. Flash memory is also durable and able to withstand intense pressure, extreme temperature, and immersion in water, all of which are conditions likely to occur at an emergency scene.

To complement the energy-conserving non-volatile flash memory, this invention uses an energy-conserving non-volatile electrophoretic display (EPD). EPDs form images by electrophoretic motion of charged pigment particles. They provide high contrast, high resolution images comparable to a printed page. Unlike LCDs, EPDs are viewable in direct sunlight at nearly any angle, and they require no power to maintain the displayed image. EPDs are widely used in "E-Book" reading devices, such as the iRex iLiad and the Amazon Kindle. Because they lack the rapid refresh rate of LCDs, EPDs are not suitable for video applications, which explains why they are not used in general purpose personal computers. But they are ideal for viewing static text and graphic images, which is all the new invention requires.