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Marie Van Brittan Brown and Albert L. Brown
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Marie Van Brittan Brown and Albert L. Brown
Marie Van Brittan Brown (October 30, 1922 – February 2, 1999) was an American nurse and inventor best known for co-creating one of the earliest home security systems. Brown lived most of her life in the Jamaica, Queens area of New York City, a community that experienced significant increases in crime during the 1960s. Her profession required her to work long and irregular hours, including nights and weekends. Her husband Albert L. Brown, was an electronics technician and he had inconsistent work schedules. In 1966 they invented an audio-visual home security system ("Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance"). That same year they applied for a patent for their security system. It was granted three years later in 1969.
Marie Van Brittan Felton was born in Manhattan, New York. Her father, Theodore Felton, was born in North Carolina and her mother, Lillian Robinson was from Pennsylvania. Both were African-American.
Marie married Albert L. Brown, also African-American, in 1949. The couple lived at 151–158 and 135th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Marie and Albert had two children. Their daughter also became a nurse and inventor.
Marie died in Queens on February 2, 1999, aged seventy-six.
During the 1960s, Brown became increasingly concerned about her safety in her neighborhood. Crime rates in parts of New York City were rising during this period, and emergency response times were often slow. Because Brown frequently returned home late from work and sometimes stayed home alone with her children, she began to worry about how she would respond if someone approached her door unexpectedly. These concerns were heightened by the fact that she had limited ways to identify visitors safely. Her personal experiences and concerns about her family safety motivated her to explore technological solutions that would allow her to monitor visitors and control access to her home without putting herself at risk.
In 1966, Brown and her husband began working together to develop a home security system. Their invention used closed-circuit television technology, which at the time was still relatively uncommon in residential settings. The system was designed to allow homeowners to see who was at their door and communicate with visitors without opening the door, reducing the risk of potential danger.
On August 1, 1966, the Browns submitted a patent application for their invention. Their attorneys were Polacheck and Saulsbury, a New York firm.
The invention consisted, at the door, of an electrically controlled lock, several lensed peepholes with covers, a vertically sliding video scanner (camera) and controlling motors, loudspeaker and microphone as well as associated electronics, filters, power supply, radio receiver and transmitter. The camera could be remotely moved from peephole to peephole, mechanically uncovering and recovering them as it went. The camera was connected by radio to a television monitor mounted on a control panel inside the home. The television monitor allowed the occupant to see who was at the door without opening it while the microphones and loudspeakers allowed the occupant to communicate radiophonically with the visitor. A series of filters on the door receiver allowed commands from push buttons on the control panel to be transmitted by radio to control the position of the camera and operate the lock.
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Marie Van Brittan Brown and Albert L. Brown
Marie Van Brittan Brown (October 30, 1922 – February 2, 1999) was an American nurse and inventor best known for co-creating one of the earliest home security systems. Brown lived most of her life in the Jamaica, Queens area of New York City, a community that experienced significant increases in crime during the 1960s. Her profession required her to work long and irregular hours, including nights and weekends. Her husband Albert L. Brown, was an electronics technician and he had inconsistent work schedules. In 1966 they invented an audio-visual home security system ("Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance"). That same year they applied for a patent for their security system. It was granted three years later in 1969.
Marie Van Brittan Felton was born in Manhattan, New York. Her father, Theodore Felton, was born in North Carolina and her mother, Lillian Robinson was from Pennsylvania. Both were African-American.
Marie married Albert L. Brown, also African-American, in 1949. The couple lived at 151–158 and 135th Avenue in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Marie and Albert had two children. Their daughter also became a nurse and inventor.
Marie died in Queens on February 2, 1999, aged seventy-six.
During the 1960s, Brown became increasingly concerned about her safety in her neighborhood. Crime rates in parts of New York City were rising during this period, and emergency response times were often slow. Because Brown frequently returned home late from work and sometimes stayed home alone with her children, she began to worry about how she would respond if someone approached her door unexpectedly. These concerns were heightened by the fact that she had limited ways to identify visitors safely. Her personal experiences and concerns about her family safety motivated her to explore technological solutions that would allow her to monitor visitors and control access to her home without putting herself at risk.
In 1966, Brown and her husband began working together to develop a home security system. Their invention used closed-circuit television technology, which at the time was still relatively uncommon in residential settings. The system was designed to allow homeowners to see who was at their door and communicate with visitors without opening the door, reducing the risk of potential danger.
On August 1, 1966, the Browns submitted a patent application for their invention. Their attorneys were Polacheck and Saulsbury, a New York firm.
The invention consisted, at the door, of an electrically controlled lock, several lensed peepholes with covers, a vertically sliding video scanner (camera) and controlling motors, loudspeaker and microphone as well as associated electronics, filters, power supply, radio receiver and transmitter. The camera could be remotely moved from peephole to peephole, mechanically uncovering and recovering them as it went. The camera was connected by radio to a television monitor mounted on a control panel inside the home. The television monitor allowed the occupant to see who was at the door without opening it while the microphones and loudspeakers allowed the occupant to communicate radiophonically with the visitor. A series of filters on the door receiver allowed commands from push buttons on the control panel to be transmitted by radio to control the position of the camera and operate the lock.