Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – With particular system function
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-07
2003-09-23
Pope, Daryl (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
With particular system function
C340S539230, C340S531000, C340S870030, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06624750
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to fire and security alarm systems and more particularly to a wireless residential fire and security alarm system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Currently available wireless home fire and security alarm systems are usually part of a so-called wireless security system that requires a hardwired keypad, a base station, a hardwired siren, AC power connections, and an autodialer connection to a telephone line if the system is to be monitored. Such wireless systems actually require, therefore, considerable wiring, which makes them expensive to install and requires skilled installers.
In an effort to reduce costs and wiring, some prior workers have combined the keypad and the control panel into a single unit. However, this combination is bulky and inconvenient for wall mounting, which is required for keypad access but which renders difficult the installation of AC power, telephone, and siren wiring.
Other prior workers, in an effort to reduce manufacturing and installation costs, have further combined the siren into the keypad and the base station. However, few professional alarm installation companies will use such equipment because its security is compromised. For example, an intruder, upon hearing the siren, could simply smash the siren/keypad/base station or forcibly remove it from the wall and the alarm system and telephone autodialer dialer would be disabled. Therefore at least the autodialer needs to be separate from the keypad or siren to maintain adequate security.
Smoke detectors are key sensors in a fire alarm system. In prior wireless alarm systems, the smoke detectors are battery operated and include a small transmitter that transmits a fire alarm message to the control panel. To sound the alarm throughout the house, the control panel triggers a siren. In the frequently occurring event of a false alarm, the homeowner must use the keypad to reset the alarm and go to the location of the detector that caused the false alarm to reset the detector or place it into a “hush” mode.
Prior wireless sensors, such as intrusion sensors, transmit an alarm whenever they are tripped irrespective of whether the alarm system is armed. In kitchens and high traffic areas, such alarm transmissions can unnecessarily reduce the sensor battery life and can create signal contention problems when more than one sensor transmits at the same time. Reducing these unneeded transmissions would, therefore, be beneficial.
When the alarm system is armed and an actual alarm condition is detected, prior systems sound the alarm throughout the house with one or more sirens. Each siren requires a separate installation and is usually wired in, even in so-called wireless systems.
Because of the above-described limitation, prior wireless alarm systems are unduly complicated, especially for a typical homeowner to install or service, and do not have the benefits of typical hardwired systems. Accordingly, the full market potential of wireless home fire and security alarm systems has not been realized.
There are various U.S. patents that are potentially relevant to aspects of this invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,031 for WIRELESS ALARM SYSTEM is described in the detailed description section of this application.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,885 describes sending a test signal along with an alarm signal from a smoke detector to differentiate a test event from an alarm condition.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,713 describes automatically “learning” the pre-assigned addresses in transmitters used for security systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,081 describes a wireless communication system that uses transceivers to communicate from one device to another in a loop configuration while modifying the message being sent around the loop to reduce the number of transmissions required during a supervision poll.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,812 describes a centralized locking system in which wireless transceivers are located in window and door locks to allow locking all doors and windows by a single transceiver based key fob button depression. If a door or window is open, the key fob is informed that complete locking cannot take place. This patent, like U.S. Pat. No. 5,465,081, describes a system in which messages are passed around a loop from one device to the next.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a low-cost, low-power, user installable, supervised alarm system that requires little or no wiring.
A wireless fire and security alarm system of this invention employs two-way transceivers in the smoke detectors, other sensors, and base station. The conventional keypad can be eliminated completely because the fire alarm system is reset by pressing a Test/Silence button built into every smoke detector or fire sensor and the security system is armed and disarmed by use of a wireless key fob sized transceiver. The separate siren is also eliminated because the siren in every smoke detector sounds an alarm throughout the building when any one of the smoke detectors detects a fire. This can be accomplished because every detector has a built-in transceiver and can, therefore, receive alarm messages from any other smoke alarm.
The AC power connection is also eliminated because the control unit is battery powered. Only a telephone wire connection is, therefore, needed for the system to be monitored. Moreover, in simple residential applications, the base station is not even needed unless centralized monitoring is required.
In multi-dwelling facilities such as apartments or college dormitories, smoke detectors in one dwelling space relay alarm conditions from dwelling space to dwelling space until reaching a centralized base station for the entire facility. This centralized base station can be located in facility manager's office for immediate notification of an alarm, improper smoke detector operation, low or missing battery indications, and dirty smoke detector indications. Such a wireless alarm system can save many lives in apartments, where smoke detectors batteries are often depleted or removed.
Another embodiment incorporates a long range wireless base station that communicates over standard cellular, GSM, or PCS type networks so that not even a telephone line connection is needed.
Further enhancements include battery conserving communications protocols, a simpler means of identifying and locating trouble conditions, an alarm verification mode for false alarms reduction, simple sensor enrolling and removing methods, and voice annunciation of fire location.
Primary features and operating modes of this invention are described below.
Automatic device addressing (enrolling) eases the addition and removal of smoke detectors, intrusion sensors, or other devices (collectively “sensors”) from the alarm system. Programming is automatic, meaning that no address switches need to be set. No addresses need to be preprogrammed into device, and no address numbers need to be entered into the base station.
Enrollment is carried out by pressing an “Enroll” button on the base station, causing it to listen for new sensors. Inserting batteries into new sensors to be enrolled on the system causes the new sensor to send out a “new device” message. At this point, the sensor has no address, which marks it as a new device or one that has a previously defined “new device” message. Sensors, therefore, do not need to be uniquely preaddressed and can be generic from manufacturing. When the base station is in enroll mode and receives a new device message, the base station automatically enrolls the associated sensor into the system by downloading a house code address and a unit address to the new sensor. After the sensor is enrolled into the system, the sensor indicates enrollment by beeping its sounder, flashing its light-emitting diode (“LED”), or otherwise indicating that enrollment has been accepted.
Because sensors might lose their assigned addresses when batteries become depleted and require replacement, the following procedure eliminates confusion and automates the process. Pressing the “Enroll” button on the b
Liu Kai Bang
Marman Douglas H.
Interlogix, Inc.
Pope Daryl
Stoel Rivers LLP
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