Severe weather detector and alarm

Abstract

A compact, portable weather station for predicting local extreme weather conditions and for reporting remote weather conditions. The weather station has sensors for determining local temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, ambient light, and ambient static charge. A microprocessor has memory for storing data relating to past weather conditions and data processing apparatus and algorithms for determining probable developing weather conditions responsive to sensed local conditions. The weather station has a radio receiver for communicating with global weather reporting communications systems utilizing cellular communications. Operating commands, predicted local weather conditions, and remote weather conditions are annunciated in synthesized voice in any one of a variety of predetermined languages. The weather station includes voice synthesizing and recognition apparatus for annunciating verbal prompts and weather conditions, and for responding to vocal control. The weather station is formed in two separable components, one having sensors and the other having radio communications apparatus. REEXAMINATION RESULTS The questions raised in reexamination proceeding No. 90/008,410, filed Jan. 5, 2007, have been considered, and the results thereof are reflected in this reissue patent which constitutes the reexamination certificate required by 35 U.S.C. 307 as provided in 37 CFR 1.570(e) for ex parte reexaminations, or the reexamination certificate required by 35 U.S.C. 316 as provided in 37 CFR 1.997(e) for inter partes reexaminations.

1. A weather station for monitoring weather conditions at at least one remote location comprising:
 a detachable, portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit situated at the at least one remote location including:
 a microprocessor; 
 at least one data sensor coupled to the microprocessor for generating a data signal representative of weather conditions at the at least one remote location; 
 a transmitter coupled to the microprocessor for transmitting said data signal; 
 an antenna coupled to the transmitter, and 
   a detachable, portable, battery powered and hand holdable weather station receiver for receiving and displaying the weather conditions received from said weather station unit.   
     
     
       2. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor monitors the weather data and wherein the transmitter is configured to wirelessly transmit a data signal, said data signal being representative of the weather data monitored at the at least one location. 
     
     
       3. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses temperature. 
     
     
       4. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses wind speed. 
     
     
       5. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses rain. 
     
     
       6. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses barometric pressure. 
     
     
       7. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses ambient light. 
     
     
       8. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses static charge. 
     
     
       9. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the data sensor senses humidity. 
     
     
       10. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the receiver comprises an indicating circuit configured to indicate a temperature trend. 
     
     
       11. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the receiver further comprises an alarm configured to indicate an alarm condition responsive to a comparison of the data signal received by the receiver with a predetermined threshold value. 
     
     
       12. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the receiver further comprises an indicating circuit configured to indicate a signal strength of the data signal being received by the receiver. 
     
     
       13. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the receiver is configured to receive a telemetry signal from a NOAA weather radio. 
     
     
       14. The weather station of  claim 1  further comprising an alarm. 
     
     
       15. The weather station of  claim 14  wherein the alarm is triggered when a probability of a predetermined weather condition is detected. 
     
     
       16. A weather station for monitoring weather conditions at at least one remote location comprising:
 a portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit situated at the at least one remote location including:
 a microprocessor; 
 at least one data sensor coupled to the microprocessor for sensing at least one weather condition and generating a data signal representative of the at least one weather condition condition at the at least one remote location; 
 a transmitter coupled to the at least one data sensor for transmitting said data signal; and 
 an antenna coupled to the transmitter, 
   a portable, battery powered and hand holdable receiver configured to receive the data signal comprising:
 a storage device configured to store at least one of a plurality of measured remote weather conditions; 
 a processor configured to generate a prediction of a weather condition, the prediction being based on the data signal received by the receiver and at least one of the measured weather conditions stored in the storage device; and 
 an indicating circuit configured to indicate the prediction. 
   
     
     
       17. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a latitude coordinate. 
     
     
       18. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a longtitude coordinate. 
     
     
       19. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a geographic area latitude position. 
     
     
       20. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the receiver further comprises an interface configured to receive a geographic area longtitude position. 
     
     
       21. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the processor is coupled to the receiver and storage device and configured to generate a prediction of a potential remote weather condition, the prediction being based on the data signal received by the weather station receiver and at least one of the measured weather conditions compared to said stored data. 
     
     
       22. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the prediction of a weather condition is based on the received data signal and at least one of the measured weather conditions stored in the storage device. 
     
     
       23. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the indicating circuit is configured to indicate a temperature trend. 
     
     
       24. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the receiver further comprises an alarm configured to indicate an alarm condition responsive to a comparison of the data signal received by the receiver with a predetermined threshold value. 
     
     
       25. The weather station of  claim 16  wherein the indicating circuit comprises a signal strength indicator configured to indicate a signal strength of the data signal being received by the receiver. 
     
     
       26. The weather station of  claim 1  wherein the receiver is configured to receive a telemetry signal from a NOAA weather radio. 
     
     
       27. The weather station of  claim 14  wherein the alarm is triggered when a predetermined weather condition is detected. 
     
     
       28. The weather station of  claim 16  further comprising an alarm. 
     
     
       29. The weather station of  claim 28  wherein the alarm is triggered when a predetermined weather condition is detected. 
     
     
       30. The weather station of  claim 28  wherein the alarm is triggered when a probability of a predetermined weather condition is detected. 
     
     
       31. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
 a first receiver configured for receiving data via a first radio frequency signal from a source; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a second radio frequency signal from a cellular telephone network and compatible with an international cellular protocol, wherein the cellular telephone network is different than the source; 
 a display, including a prompt, and configured to display a date and a time; 
 a processing device configured for a) enabling display of information based on received data of at least one of the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal via the prompt, b) selecting between a first mode of operation that displays first weather conditions including temperature at a first location and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions at a second location different than the first location, c) and displaying a prediction of a future weather condition. 
   
     
     
       32. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein displaying the prediction of a future weather condition occurs during the display of the first weather conditions. 
     
     
       33. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the prompt enables a location to be selected, the first weather conditions are weather conditions for the location, and at least one of the first weather conditions is based on the received data of the first radio frequency signal. 
     
     
       34. The apparatus of claim 31, wherein the international cellular protocol operates about a fixed frequency. 
     
     
       35. The apparatus of claim 31, further comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather station unit including:
 at least one data sensor for generating a data signal representative of weather conditions at the at least one remote location; and 
 a transmitter for transmitting said data signal via the first radio frequency signal. 
   
     
     
       36. A portable weather station comprising:
 (a) a portable, battery powered sensor unit, said sensor unit comprising a hand-holdable housing on or in which is provided:
 a sensor for detecting a local area weather condition; 
 sensor unit circuitry for periodically sampling and wirelessly transmitting digital data of the local area weather condition sensed by said sensor; and 
 a battery power source for powering said sensor unit circuitry; and 
   (b) a portable, battery-powered weather station receiver unit, for use with said sensor unit when positioned in a general local area of said sensor unit, said weather station receiver unit including a hand-holdable housing on or in which is provided:
 first radio frequency receiving circuitry for receiving, from said portable, battery powered sensor unit, said periodically sampled and wirelessly transmitted digital data of said local area weather condition; 
 second radio frequency receiving circuitry for receiving a separate wireless transmission of further digital data transmitted by a remote source which is relatively remotely located in relation to said sensor unit and weather station receiver unit; 
 at least one data storage device; 
 at least one visual display, for displaying numeric and other information-conveying symbols or indications; 
 microprocessor circuitry coupled to the first and second receiving circuits and said at least one data storage device, for receiving said digital data of said local area weather condition and said further digital data, for storing, in said at least one data storage device, said digital data of said local weather condition and said further digital data, and for outputting to said at least one visual display information of said digital data of said local weather condition and said further digital data; and 
 a battery power source for powering said weather station receiver unit. 
   
     
     
       37. A portable weather station according to claim 36, wherein said separate wireless transmission receivable by said second radio frequency circuitry comprises a transmission over a wireless network. 
     
     
       38. A portable weather station according to claim 36, wherein said microprocessor circuitry is configured to receive and process weather related data from the separate wireless transmission using a protocol compatible with the transmission, and for selecting weather information from a selected region on the globe, the microprocessor being further configured to process encoded weather data. 
     
     
       39. A portable weather station according to claim 36, said weather station receiver unit further comprising a user interface for selecting a mode of operation from a plurality of modes of operation, each mode of operation in the plurality of modes of operation defining different operating characteristics for the weather station receiver unit. 
     
     
       40. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
 a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit; 
 a circuit configured for receiving data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit; 
 a display; and 
 a processing device configured to:
 receive the weather conditions from the first receiver, 
 receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver, 
 receive the data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit, 
 based on the data indicating presence of a user at the weather display unit, determine that the weather display unit is to operate in a mode that displays the weather conditions, and 
 in response to the determination, display the weather conditions. 
 
   
     
     
       41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein display of a prediction of a future weather condition occurs during the display of the weather conditions. 
     
     
       42. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising:
 the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
 at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and 
 a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal. 
   
     
     
       43. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
 a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit; 
 a display including a prompt; and 
 a processing device configured to:
 receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver, 
 receive data from a user of the weather display unit via the prompt, the received data indicating a selection of a location by the user; 
 identify the location based on the received data; 
 receive the weather conditions from the first receiver; and 
 display a weather prediction for the location based on the received weather conditions and the location. 
 
   
     
     
       44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the display of the weather prediction occurs during display of the weather conditions. 
     
     
       45. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising:
 the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
 at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and 
 a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal. 
   
     
     
       46. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
 a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit; 
 a display, including a prompt; and 
 a processing device configured to:
 receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver, 
 receive the weather conditions from the first receiver, 
 receive location data, via the prompt, identifying a location, 
 subsequent to receiving the location data, receive historical weather condition data corresponding to the location, 
 determine a predicted weather condition by performing a correlation of the weather conditions and the historical weather data, and 
 display the predicted weather condition and one or more of the weather conditions. 
 
   
     
     
       47. The apparatus of claim 46, wherein displaying the predicted weather condition occurs during the display of the one or more of the weather conditions. 
     
     
       48. The apparatus of claim 46, further comprising:
 the weather station unit, wherein the weather station unit is configured to be readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable, and the weather station unit includes:
 at least one data sensor for sensing the weather conditions; and 
 a transmitter for transmitting the weather conditions to the weather display unit via a digital signal. 
   
     
     
       49. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable weather display unit including:
 a first receiver configured for receiving weather conditions from a weather station unit, the weather conditions representing sensed weather conditions of a first location; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a signal from a remote source that is different than the weather station unit; 
 a display; 
 a processing device configured to:
 receive the weather conditions from the first receiver, 
 receive data representative of the signal from the second receiver, 
 select between a first mode of operation that displays the weather conditions received from the weather station unit and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions representative of conditions at a second location that is different than the first location, and 
 based on the selected mode of operation, display one or more weather conditions from at least one of the weather conditions received from the weather station unit and the second weather conditions. 
 
   
     
     
       50. An apparatus comprising:
 a readily portable, battery-powered and hand-holdable unit comprising:
 a first receiver configured for receiving data via a first radio frequency signal from a source; 
 a second receiver configured for receiving a second radio frequency signal from a cellular telephone network, wherein the cellular telephone network is different than the source; 
 a display configured to display a date and a time; 
 a processing device configured for a) enabling display of information based on received data of at least one of the first radio frequency signal and the second radio frequency signal, b) selecting between a first mode of operation that displays first weather conditions including temperature at a first location and a second mode of operation that displays second weather conditions at a second location different than the first location, c) and displaying a prediction of a future weather condition.