CA2286581A1 - Environmental condition detector transmitter interface - Google Patents
Environmental condition detector transmitter interface Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2286581A1 CA2286581A1 CA002286581A CA2286581A CA2286581A1 CA 2286581 A1 CA2286581 A1 CA 2286581A1 CA 002286581 A CA002286581 A CA 002286581A CA 2286581 A CA2286581 A CA 2286581A CA 2286581 A1 CA2286581 A1 CA 2286581A1
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- Prior art keywords
- detector
- battery
- condition
- threshold
- voltage
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Classifications
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- G—PHYSICS
- G01—MEASURING; TESTING
- G01D—MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01D4/00—Tariff metering apparatus
- G01D4/002—Remote reading of utility meters
- G01D4/004—Remote reading of utility meters to a fixed location
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B17/00—Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion
- G08B17/10—Actuation by presence of smoke or gases, e.g. automatic alarm devices for analysing flowing fluid materials by the use of optical means
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
- G08B25/01—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium
- G08B25/10—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using wireless transmission systems
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- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B29/00—Checking or monitoring of signalling or alarm systems; Prevention or correction of operating errors, e.g. preventing unauthorised operation
- G08B29/18—Prevention or correction of operating errors
- G08B29/181—Prevention or correction of operating errors due to failing power supply
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B70/00—Technologies for an efficient end-user side electric power management and consumption
- Y02B70/30—Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
- Y02B70/34—Smart metering supporting the carbon neutral operation of end-user applications in buildings
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02B—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS
- Y02B90/00—Enabling technologies or technologies with a potential or indirect contribution to GHG emissions mitigation
- Y02B90/20—Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector
-
- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y04—INFORMATION OR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHER TECHNOLOGY AREAS
- Y04S—SYSTEMS INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO POWER NETWORK OPERATION, COMMUNICATION OR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVING THE ELECTRICAL POWER GENERATION, TRANSMISSION, DISTRIBUTION, MANAGEMENT OR USAGE, i.e. SMART GRIDS
- Y04S20/00—Management or operation of end-user stationary applications or the last stages of power distribution; Controlling, monitoring or operating thereof
- Y04S20/30—Smart metering, e.g. specially adapted for remote reading
Abstract
A transmitter interface board (12) for integration with a conventional environmental condition detector (16) (such as a smoke detector, carbon monoxide detector, etc.), for transmitting information on the operating status of the detector to a remotely located monitoring facility (20). The transmitter interface is connected to a detector circuit (16) in the condition detector in a manner such that the interface can detect alarm pulses emitted from the detector. Based on the number of alarm pulses emitted in a predefined interval the tranmsitter interface is able to determine the operating status of the detector. The operating status information is then sent by a transmitter (64) to the central monitoring facility.
Description
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITION DETECTOR TRANSMITTER
INTERFACE
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the field of remote monitoring of environmental condition detectors and more specifically to the field of environmental condition detectors (such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors) having transmission capabilities for transmitting operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility.
BACKGROUND ART
Environmental condition detectors, such as smoke detectors, having the ability to transmit operating status information to a remote central monitoring facility have been proposed. Signals generated by the smoke detectors are sent to a central facility using either hardwire or radio frequency communications methods. However, all of these systems require the complete replacement of existing smoke detectors with those designed for use in a remote monitoring system. Unfortunately, the replacement of smoke detectors can be an expensive renovation, reducing the consumer acceptability of these systems. One smoke detector system having the aforementioned characteristics is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,618,853 issued on October 21, 1986.
WO 99!44181 PCT/CA99/00042 In addition, many of the most recently proposed smoke detectors capable of transmitting operating status information do so to surrounding smoke detectors. In such systems, as proposed in United States Patent No.
5,159,315 issued on October 27, 1992, the receipt of the status information by surrounding smoke or other environmental condition detectors causes these detectors to sound alarms. While such systems are useful in industrial settings where the area to be monitored is large, these smoke detectors add little value to the monitoring of smaller personal dwellings where environmental conditions will be detected by all detectors within a very limited time interval.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transmitter interface board for attachment to a compatible conventional environmental condition detector, the interface board being capable of transmitting detector operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an environmental condition detector transmitter interface for electrical connection to an environmental condition detector having a detector circuit capable of transmitting an alarm pulse signal and a battery having battery terminals, the transmitter interface being adapted to communicate with a remotely located monitoring facility comprising: a voltage detector for detecting fluctuations in the voltage of the battery and for generating a voltage condition signal representing a low battery condition; a current detector for detecting fluctuations in the current drawn from the battery and for generating a current condition signal representing the alarm pulse signal from the detector circuit; a processor electrically connected to the voltage detector and the current detector for receiving and interpreting the voltage condition signal and the current condition signal to generate a status message; and a transmitter electrically connected to the processor for transmitting the status message to the monitoring facility.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of detecting an operating condition of a environmental condition detector having a detector circuit and a battery and transmitting the operating condition information to a remote monitoring facility, said method comprising the steps of: (a) sensing current fluctuations being drawn from the battery by the detector circuit, the current fluctuations being representative of an alarm in response to a sensed environmental condition; (b) sending a predetermined number of alarm poises indicative of the current fluctuations to a processor; (c) sensing voltage fluctuations in the battery, the voltage fluctuations being representative of a low battery condition; (d) sending a low battery message to the processor in response to the voltage fluctuations; (e) counting and storing the alarm pulses in the processor; (f) determining the operating condition of the condition detector in the processor based on the number of alarm pulses received; (g) packaging the low battery message and the operating condition as a sensor data packet; and (h) transmitting the sensor status data packet to the monitoring facility.
The status message (generated by the apparatus) and the sensor status data packet (generated by the method) include, for example, a message selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold; second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval;
the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAMS
Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example with the drawings in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a standard smoke detector incorporating a transmitter interface board according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the electronic 5 architecture of the transmitter interface board of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of the pulse counting mechanism of the transmitter interface board of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 illustrates a circuit diagram of the voltage detection circuit of the interface board; and Fig. 5 illustrates a circuit diagram of the current detection circuit of the interface board.
BEST MODES) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The present invention will be discussed in conjunction with a smoke detector as a particular implementation of the environmental condition detector. Other detectors, such as carbon monoxide and the like, can also implement the invention provided the detector includes a detector circuit and a power source for measuring current draw and voltage variations.
Smoke Detector - Overview Fig. 1 illustrates a smoke detector 10 containing a smoke detector circuit 16, a battery 14 (typically 9 volts) having two battery terminals 18, and a transmitter interface board 12. The smoke detector 10 transmits operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility 20 by way of the transmitter interface 12. See Applicant's related PCT application CA98/0319 filed April 10, 1997 titled "Remote Home Monitoring System"
published as WO 98/45717 for a discussion regarding the central facility, hereby incorporated by reference.
The smoke detector circuit 16 must satisfy certain criteria that can be found in most standard commercially available smoke detectors. Specifically, the smoke detector circuit 16 must emit three separate status signals in response to three different conditions: (1) a low battery signal in response to a low battery condition; (2) a smoke detection alarm signal in response to a detected smoke condition that exceeds a predetermined threshold defined within the smoke detector circuit 16; and (3) a test alarm signal is response to a initiating a test condition. All three status signals must be distinguishable from one another in terms of the number of alarm pulses emitted during a pre-defined interval.
The battery 14, which is part of a traditional stand-alone smoke detector 10, is the power source for the smoke detector circuit 16 and the transmitter intertace board 12 as well as serving as an interface point between the two via the battery terminals 18.
WO 99!44181 PCT/CA99/00042 The transmitter interface board 12 detects the status signals generated by the smoke detector circuit 16. As discussed above, the different conditions cause the smoke detector circuit 16 to emit different status signals by emitting a different number of pulses in a pre-defined interval. The transmitter interface board 12 detects these pulses and counts them to determine the cause of the alarm (i.e. low battery, smoke detection, test).
The reason for the alarm can then be transmitted to the remotely located monitoring facility by the transmitter interface 12.
Interface Board - Layout The transmitter interface board 12 includes a processor 60, a transmitter 64, a current detection circuit 62 and a voltage detection circuit 66 as shown in Fig. 2. The current detection circuit 62 detects alarm pulses emitted from the smoke detector circuit 16 by monitoring the current being drawn from the battery terminals 18. The voltage detection circuit fib detects a iow battery condition by monitoring the voltage across the battery terminals 18.
The processor 60 determines the operating condition of the smoke detector 10 based on the number of alarm pulses emitted in a pre-defined interval (i.e. the status signals). The transmitter 64 transmits the detected operating condition to the remotely located monitoring facility 20 using wireless transmission networks for example.
INTERFACE
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to the field of remote monitoring of environmental condition detectors and more specifically to the field of environmental condition detectors (such as smoke and carbon monoxide detectors) having transmission capabilities for transmitting operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility.
BACKGROUND ART
Environmental condition detectors, such as smoke detectors, having the ability to transmit operating status information to a remote central monitoring facility have been proposed. Signals generated by the smoke detectors are sent to a central facility using either hardwire or radio frequency communications methods. However, all of these systems require the complete replacement of existing smoke detectors with those designed for use in a remote monitoring system. Unfortunately, the replacement of smoke detectors can be an expensive renovation, reducing the consumer acceptability of these systems. One smoke detector system having the aforementioned characteristics is disclosed in United States Patent No. 4,618,853 issued on October 21, 1986.
WO 99!44181 PCT/CA99/00042 In addition, many of the most recently proposed smoke detectors capable of transmitting operating status information do so to surrounding smoke detectors. In such systems, as proposed in United States Patent No.
5,159,315 issued on October 27, 1992, the receipt of the status information by surrounding smoke or other environmental condition detectors causes these detectors to sound alarms. While such systems are useful in industrial settings where the area to be monitored is large, these smoke detectors add little value to the monitoring of smaller personal dwellings where environmental conditions will be detected by all detectors within a very limited time interval.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a transmitter interface board for attachment to a compatible conventional environmental condition detector, the interface board being capable of transmitting detector operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an environmental condition detector transmitter interface for electrical connection to an environmental condition detector having a detector circuit capable of transmitting an alarm pulse signal and a battery having battery terminals, the transmitter interface being adapted to communicate with a remotely located monitoring facility comprising: a voltage detector for detecting fluctuations in the voltage of the battery and for generating a voltage condition signal representing a low battery condition; a current detector for detecting fluctuations in the current drawn from the battery and for generating a current condition signal representing the alarm pulse signal from the detector circuit; a processor electrically connected to the voltage detector and the current detector for receiving and interpreting the voltage condition signal and the current condition signal to generate a status message; and a transmitter electrically connected to the processor for transmitting the status message to the monitoring facility.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of detecting an operating condition of a environmental condition detector having a detector circuit and a battery and transmitting the operating condition information to a remote monitoring facility, said method comprising the steps of: (a) sensing current fluctuations being drawn from the battery by the detector circuit, the current fluctuations being representative of an alarm in response to a sensed environmental condition; (b) sending a predetermined number of alarm poises indicative of the current fluctuations to a processor; (c) sensing voltage fluctuations in the battery, the voltage fluctuations being representative of a low battery condition; (d) sending a low battery message to the processor in response to the voltage fluctuations; (e) counting and storing the alarm pulses in the processor; (f) determining the operating condition of the condition detector in the processor based on the number of alarm pulses received; (g) packaging the low battery message and the operating condition as a sensor data packet; and (h) transmitting the sensor status data packet to the monitoring facility.
The status message (generated by the apparatus) and the sensor status data packet (generated by the method) include, for example, a message selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold; second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval;
the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DIAGRAMS
Embodiments of the invention will be described by way of example with the drawings in which:
Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a standard smoke detector incorporating a transmitter interface board according to the present invention;
Fig. 2 illustrates a detailed block diagram of the electronic 5 architecture of the transmitter interface board of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 illustrates a flow chart of the pulse counting mechanism of the transmitter interface board of Fig. 2;
Fig. 4 illustrates a circuit diagram of the voltage detection circuit of the interface board; and Fig. 5 illustrates a circuit diagram of the current detection circuit of the interface board.
BEST MODES) FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The present invention will be discussed in conjunction with a smoke detector as a particular implementation of the environmental condition detector. Other detectors, such as carbon monoxide and the like, can also implement the invention provided the detector includes a detector circuit and a power source for measuring current draw and voltage variations.
Smoke Detector - Overview Fig. 1 illustrates a smoke detector 10 containing a smoke detector circuit 16, a battery 14 (typically 9 volts) having two battery terminals 18, and a transmitter interface board 12. The smoke detector 10 transmits operating status information to a remotely located monitoring facility 20 by way of the transmitter interface 12. See Applicant's related PCT application CA98/0319 filed April 10, 1997 titled "Remote Home Monitoring System"
published as WO 98/45717 for a discussion regarding the central facility, hereby incorporated by reference.
The smoke detector circuit 16 must satisfy certain criteria that can be found in most standard commercially available smoke detectors. Specifically, the smoke detector circuit 16 must emit three separate status signals in response to three different conditions: (1) a low battery signal in response to a low battery condition; (2) a smoke detection alarm signal in response to a detected smoke condition that exceeds a predetermined threshold defined within the smoke detector circuit 16; and (3) a test alarm signal is response to a initiating a test condition. All three status signals must be distinguishable from one another in terms of the number of alarm pulses emitted during a pre-defined interval.
The battery 14, which is part of a traditional stand-alone smoke detector 10, is the power source for the smoke detector circuit 16 and the transmitter intertace board 12 as well as serving as an interface point between the two via the battery terminals 18.
WO 99!44181 PCT/CA99/00042 The transmitter interface board 12 detects the status signals generated by the smoke detector circuit 16. As discussed above, the different conditions cause the smoke detector circuit 16 to emit different status signals by emitting a different number of pulses in a pre-defined interval. The transmitter interface board 12 detects these pulses and counts them to determine the cause of the alarm (i.e. low battery, smoke detection, test).
The reason for the alarm can then be transmitted to the remotely located monitoring facility by the transmitter interface 12.
Interface Board - Layout The transmitter interface board 12 includes a processor 60, a transmitter 64, a current detection circuit 62 and a voltage detection circuit 66 as shown in Fig. 2. The current detection circuit 62 detects alarm pulses emitted from the smoke detector circuit 16 by monitoring the current being drawn from the battery terminals 18. The voltage detection circuit fib detects a iow battery condition by monitoring the voltage across the battery terminals 18.
The processor 60 determines the operating condition of the smoke detector 10 based on the number of alarm pulses emitted in a pre-defined interval (i.e. the status signals). The transmitter 64 transmits the detected operating condition to the remotely located monitoring facility 20 using wireless transmission networks for example.
The transmitter interface board 12 is a removable circuit board capable of fitting into and integrating with the standard smoke detector 10. As such the transmitter interface board 12 is relatively small in size and has low power consumption requirements since it shares power from the battery 14 with the smoke detector circuit 16.
Interlace Board - Voltage Detection Circuit The voltage detection circuit 66 of the transmitter interface board 12 is used to detect a low battery condition by monitoring the voltage across the battery terminals 18. When the voltage drops below a certain threshold the voltage detection circuit 66 determines this as a low battery condition and the processor 60 is notified accordingly. Preferably, the low battery threshold is set at a level slightly higher than the smoke detector circuit 16 low battery signal so that the voltage detection circuit 66 notices a low battery condition before the smoke detector circuit 16 notices the same condition and emits a low battery alarm pulse.
For example, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the voltage detection circuit 66 is designed with a low battery threshold voltage of 7.94 volts, and the smoke detector circuit 16 is designed with a low battery threshold voltage of 7.8 volts.
Interlace Board - Voltage Detection Circuit The voltage detection circuit 66 of the transmitter interface board 12 is used to detect a low battery condition by monitoring the voltage across the battery terminals 18. When the voltage drops below a certain threshold the voltage detection circuit 66 determines this as a low battery condition and the processor 60 is notified accordingly. Preferably, the low battery threshold is set at a level slightly higher than the smoke detector circuit 16 low battery signal so that the voltage detection circuit 66 notices a low battery condition before the smoke detector circuit 16 notices the same condition and emits a low battery alarm pulse.
For example, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the voltage detection circuit 66 is designed with a low battery threshold voltage of 7.94 volts, and the smoke detector circuit 16 is designed with a low battery threshold voltage of 7.8 volts.
The voltage detection circuit 66 includes a low power voltage regulator 100 having terminals 102-116. The voltage detection circuit 66 regulates a battery voltage 118 (9 volts) having a associated capacitor 119. The battery 14 is connected to the circuit 66 through a connection module 120 having a grounded terminal T9 and a supply terminal TS passing through a diode 122 to protect against reverse polarity. The circuit 66 regulates the battery voltage 118 in such a way that a feed voltage 124 (constant 3.3 volts) is always supplied to the processor 60 and the transmitter 64. The feed voltage 124 is connected to a capacitor 125.
In addition, the voltage regulator 100 also provides a regulator voltage 126 from the terminal 112 that changes only when the battery voltage 118 drops below a specified threshold. A resistor 128 connected between the combined terminals 114 and 116, and 112 is a pull up resistor on the open drain output of terminal 112 on the regulator 110. Resistors 130 and 132 form a voltage divider between the battery voltage (9 volts) 118 and the terminal 106 (1.3 volts) on the regulator 100. This arrangement produces a low battery threshold of 7.94 volts.
The threshold value may change from one manufacture to another in which case the appropriate changes to the interface board can be made as discussed below. When the battery voltage 118 falls below this level the regulator voltage 126 changes, notifying the processor 60 of a low battery condition. Terminals 108 and 110 are grounded, and terminals 102 and 104 are input voltage terminals.
Interface Board - Current Detection Circuit 5 The current detection circuit 62 detects when alarm pulses are emitted from the smoke detector circuit 16 by monitoring the current being drawn from the battery terminals 18. When the smoke detector circuit 16 emits an status signal the current drawn from the battery 14 increases during each of the audible alarm pulses. The increase in the current drawn from the 10 battery 14 produces a change in the output of the current detection circuit 62 to the processor 60 where the change is interpreted as a pulse.
The current detection circuit 62 includes an operational amplifier (op-amp) 168 having terminals 170-178. Preferably, the non-inverting gain of the op-amp 168 is set at over 1000 by resistors 180 and 182. Pulses from a battery voltage (9 volts) 184 are coupled to the inverting input terminal 172 of the op-amp 168 through a capacitor 186 and resistor 187. A resistor 187 filters the pulses from the battery voltage 184.
A signal at output 190, from terminal 176 of the op-amp 168 through a resistor 192, is passed to the processor 60 where it is interpreted as a pulse. The resistor 192 limits the current from the op-amp's 168 output 176 to the processor's 60 3.3 volt supply when the op-amp's 168 output is at 9 volts. Negative pulses from the battery voltage 184 are amplified by the op-amp 168 through terminal 178 and cause the output of the op-amp 168 to go to ground through terminal 174.
Interface Board - Processor The voltage detection circuit 66 and the current detection circuit 62 pass the signals they detect to the processor 60 where this information is used to determine the operating status of the smoke detector circuit 16 (i.e. low battery; smoke detection; or test) When the output of the battery 14 falls below a specified value, the output of the voltage detection circuit 66 similarly is pulled to a iow voltage and the processor 60 receives a low battery signal. The processor 60 sets a low battery flag when a low battery signal is received from the voltage detection circuit 66.
When the current drawn from the battery 14 is increased during an alarm pulse the current detection circuit 62 sends a pulse notification to the processor 60. This signal wakes the processor 60 from a sleeping state and forces the processor 60 to start counting the number of pulse notifications received. The number of pulses received per interval allow the processor 60 to determine if the condition is a smoke alarm or a test.
In addition, the voltage regulator 100 also provides a regulator voltage 126 from the terminal 112 that changes only when the battery voltage 118 drops below a specified threshold. A resistor 128 connected between the combined terminals 114 and 116, and 112 is a pull up resistor on the open drain output of terminal 112 on the regulator 110. Resistors 130 and 132 form a voltage divider between the battery voltage (9 volts) 118 and the terminal 106 (1.3 volts) on the regulator 100. This arrangement produces a low battery threshold of 7.94 volts.
The threshold value may change from one manufacture to another in which case the appropriate changes to the interface board can be made as discussed below. When the battery voltage 118 falls below this level the regulator voltage 126 changes, notifying the processor 60 of a low battery condition. Terminals 108 and 110 are grounded, and terminals 102 and 104 are input voltage terminals.
Interface Board - Current Detection Circuit 5 The current detection circuit 62 detects when alarm pulses are emitted from the smoke detector circuit 16 by monitoring the current being drawn from the battery terminals 18. When the smoke detector circuit 16 emits an status signal the current drawn from the battery 14 increases during each of the audible alarm pulses. The increase in the current drawn from the 10 battery 14 produces a change in the output of the current detection circuit 62 to the processor 60 where the change is interpreted as a pulse.
The current detection circuit 62 includes an operational amplifier (op-amp) 168 having terminals 170-178. Preferably, the non-inverting gain of the op-amp 168 is set at over 1000 by resistors 180 and 182. Pulses from a battery voltage (9 volts) 184 are coupled to the inverting input terminal 172 of the op-amp 168 through a capacitor 186 and resistor 187. A resistor 187 filters the pulses from the battery voltage 184.
A signal at output 190, from terminal 176 of the op-amp 168 through a resistor 192, is passed to the processor 60 where it is interpreted as a pulse. The resistor 192 limits the current from the op-amp's 168 output 176 to the processor's 60 3.3 volt supply when the op-amp's 168 output is at 9 volts. Negative pulses from the battery voltage 184 are amplified by the op-amp 168 through terminal 178 and cause the output of the op-amp 168 to go to ground through terminal 174.
Interface Board - Processor The voltage detection circuit 66 and the current detection circuit 62 pass the signals they detect to the processor 60 where this information is used to determine the operating status of the smoke detector circuit 16 (i.e. low battery; smoke detection; or test) When the output of the battery 14 falls below a specified value, the output of the voltage detection circuit 66 similarly is pulled to a iow voltage and the processor 60 receives a low battery signal. The processor 60 sets a low battery flag when a low battery signal is received from the voltage detection circuit 66.
When the current drawn from the battery 14 is increased during an alarm pulse the current detection circuit 62 sends a pulse notification to the processor 60. This signal wakes the processor 60 from a sleeping state and forces the processor 60 to start counting the number of pulse notifications received. The number of pulses received per interval allow the processor 60 to determine if the condition is a smoke alarm or a test.
In an effort to preserve power consumption a watchdog timer (WDT) function is provided in the processor 60. The processor 60 is in a sleeping state when no pulses are detected. The WDT wakes the processor 60 to periodically increment a daily clock counter and also to check for a low battery condition. The WDT function also forces the processor 60 to reset if the watchdog timer times out. Since the 24 hour clock is determined by the watchdog timer any variations in WDT period will result in proportional variations in the 24 hour clock.
A change in the input to the processor 60 or a WDT time-out will cause the processor 60 to wake-up from a sleeping state. Once the battery condition has been determined by either a pulse check or a voltage battery check, the daily clock counter is incremented and then checked to see if it has hit the 24 hour mark. If the counter has hit this mark the appropriate message is sent based on the status of the battery, either system OK or low battery and the pulse counter is reset. The processor 60 then returns to the sleeping state.
Fig. 3 provides a flow chart detailing the steps of this pulse detection mechanism. The processor 60 is woken from a sleeping state 200 by the receipt of a pulse 202. If no pulse is currently being received a pulse counter (pulse) is checked at step 204 to see if it has a value of one, signifying the receipt of a low battery pulse.
A change in the input to the processor 60 or a WDT time-out will cause the processor 60 to wake-up from a sleeping state. Once the battery condition has been determined by either a pulse check or a voltage battery check, the daily clock counter is incremented and then checked to see if it has hit the 24 hour mark. If the counter has hit this mark the appropriate message is sent based on the status of the battery, either system OK or low battery and the pulse counter is reset. The processor 60 then returns to the sleeping state.
Fig. 3 provides a flow chart detailing the steps of this pulse detection mechanism. The processor 60 is woken from a sleeping state 200 by the receipt of a pulse 202. If no pulse is currently being received a pulse counter (pulse) is checked at step 204 to see if it has a value of one, signifying the receipt of a low battery pulse.
If pulse=1 processing continues to the WDT function at wake-up2 step 208 and a low battery pulse counter (batty is incremented at step 210 and its value is compared to a low battery threshold constant (THRESH LOW BATT) at step 212. The value of THRESH LOW BAT
corresponds to the number of fow battery pulses that must occur in one day before a low battery message is sent. In the case where the low battery pulse counter (batty is equal to the low battery threshold constant (THRESH LOW GATT ) a low battery flag is set at step 214 to ensure eventual transmission of a low battery message to the monitoring facility 20.
In the case where the low battery pulse counter (batty is not equal to the low battery threshold constant (THRESH_LOW BATT} processing loops back to step 200 for further monitoring. If pulse ~ 1 at step 204 the WDT
function is notified at wake-up1 step 206 and processing Poops back to step 200 for further monitoring.
If a pulse has been received as determined by step 202 a pulse counter (PC) is incremented and the WDT function is reset at step 216. The PC
value is then compared to three constant threshold values THRESH1 1st at step 218, THRESH1 2nd at step 222 and THRESH2 at step 224 (all defined below) and a message (either THRESH1 or THRESH2) corresponding to the determined threshold value is sent at steps 220 and 226. If pulse=THRESH2 at step 223 processing continues through step 226 to step 228 where the pulse is set to be equal to THRESH2 RST.
Specific examples of this process are provided hereinbelow.
Table A1 shows the timing of the signal from the current detector circuit 62 during a low battery condition.
Table A1 Signal Type Minimum Typical Maximum low (msec) 8 10 12 high (msec) 32 40 48 Table A2 shows the timing of the signal from the current detector circuit 62 during a detected smoke condition.
Table A2 Signal Type Minimum Typical Maximum low (msec) 120 160 208 high (msec) 60 80 104 Interface - Threshold Values To keep a record of an alarm situation the processor 60 has pre-determined threshold values. These threshold values will describe the current condition based on the length of time that the alarm has been 5 sounding. Threshold values for the alarm pulses from the smoke detector circuit 16 are determined based on the interval between continuous pulses.
The threshold values have been set according to the following formula:
v = dtv/ni where v=value is the numerical value of the threshold, dtv=desired time value (sec) is the entire time during which the threshold value is valid, and the ni=nominal interval (sec) is the interval between continuous pulses.
The nominal interval is generally 240 ms although it may vary between 180 ms and 312 ms. The value of the threshold constants represents the number of alarm pulses that must be emitted before a message corresponding to the threshold is sent.
Table B1 shows the threshold variables and their equivalent numerical values and time values.
Table B1 Threshold VariableValue Time Value Thresh 1_1 st 63 15 Thresh1 2nd 125 30 Thresh2 250 60 Thresh2_Rst 188 every 15 sec Inten'ace Board - Transmitter The transmitter 64 of the interface board 12 sends smoke detector status messages to the monitoring facility 20. The status messages (full list in Table C1 below) can be an alert of a smoke detection alarm, a low-battery condition or a daily transmission of a system OK message. The transmitter 64 is a 916.5 MHz hybrid transmitter which is turned on and off by the processor 60 for an On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation scheme. The antenna for the transmitter 64 is a route on the solder side of the transmitter interface board 12.
There are 6 messages sent from the interface board 12 to the monitoring facility 20 as summarized in Table C1.
Table C1 Message Description PWR_ON Message sent when the power to the smoke detector is turned on SYS OK status message transmitted once every hours if a low battery condition has not been detected BAT_LOW transmitted once every 24 hours if the BAT LOW FLAG is set which is set if the low battery condition has been detected in the last 24 hours THRESH1 transmitted when the smoke alarm pulse count first exceeds THRESH1_1ST and again when the pulse count exceeds THRESH1 2ND
THRESH2 Transmitted when the smoke alarm pulse count exceeds THRESH2 and at a regular rate after that until 0 pulses are detected THRESH CLR transmitted 1 WDT interval after the last smoke alarm pulse is detected The processor 60 determines the message to be sent and then packages the message which is then passed off to the transmitter 64 for transmission to the monitoring facility 20 for further processing. Each data packet is 8 bytes and consists of the following items:
i) block length: a one byte character used to indicate the length of the packet length in bytes;
ii) service function: a 1 byte character indicating which type of device (i.e. smoke detector, CO detector) the data packet originated from in the case where more than one type of environmental condition defector is present in a particular dwelling;
iii) serial number: a 3 byte field containing an identifying number which is unique for every smoke detector device;
iv) data: a 1 byte character containing the message indicating the status of the smoke detector (see possible message from Table C1);
and v) CRC: a 2 byte field containing a Cyclic Redundancy Check. The standard CRC-16 polynomial is used to calculate the CRC.
The CRC check on the packet provides a collision detection mechanism.
For example, if two smoke detectors are transmitting at the same time the signal interference at the intended receiver will cause the packet to fail its CRC check.
The use of either lithium or alkaline batteries for the 9 volt battery in the smoke detector 10 of the present invention is acceptable. It is preferred that the battery used is of the alkaline zinc type, because of the slower decay curve of the battery voltage in an alkaline allows for better monitoring of the low battery condition.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The apparatus and method embodying the present invention are capable of being used in the alarm monitoring industry.
corresponds to the number of fow battery pulses that must occur in one day before a low battery message is sent. In the case where the low battery pulse counter (batty is equal to the low battery threshold constant (THRESH LOW GATT ) a low battery flag is set at step 214 to ensure eventual transmission of a low battery message to the monitoring facility 20.
In the case where the low battery pulse counter (batty is not equal to the low battery threshold constant (THRESH_LOW BATT} processing loops back to step 200 for further monitoring. If pulse ~ 1 at step 204 the WDT
function is notified at wake-up1 step 206 and processing Poops back to step 200 for further monitoring.
If a pulse has been received as determined by step 202 a pulse counter (PC) is incremented and the WDT function is reset at step 216. The PC
value is then compared to three constant threshold values THRESH1 1st at step 218, THRESH1 2nd at step 222 and THRESH2 at step 224 (all defined below) and a message (either THRESH1 or THRESH2) corresponding to the determined threshold value is sent at steps 220 and 226. If pulse=THRESH2 at step 223 processing continues through step 226 to step 228 where the pulse is set to be equal to THRESH2 RST.
Specific examples of this process are provided hereinbelow.
Table A1 shows the timing of the signal from the current detector circuit 62 during a low battery condition.
Table A1 Signal Type Minimum Typical Maximum low (msec) 8 10 12 high (msec) 32 40 48 Table A2 shows the timing of the signal from the current detector circuit 62 during a detected smoke condition.
Table A2 Signal Type Minimum Typical Maximum low (msec) 120 160 208 high (msec) 60 80 104 Interface - Threshold Values To keep a record of an alarm situation the processor 60 has pre-determined threshold values. These threshold values will describe the current condition based on the length of time that the alarm has been 5 sounding. Threshold values for the alarm pulses from the smoke detector circuit 16 are determined based on the interval between continuous pulses.
The threshold values have been set according to the following formula:
v = dtv/ni where v=value is the numerical value of the threshold, dtv=desired time value (sec) is the entire time during which the threshold value is valid, and the ni=nominal interval (sec) is the interval between continuous pulses.
The nominal interval is generally 240 ms although it may vary between 180 ms and 312 ms. The value of the threshold constants represents the number of alarm pulses that must be emitted before a message corresponding to the threshold is sent.
Table B1 shows the threshold variables and their equivalent numerical values and time values.
Table B1 Threshold VariableValue Time Value Thresh 1_1 st 63 15 Thresh1 2nd 125 30 Thresh2 250 60 Thresh2_Rst 188 every 15 sec Inten'ace Board - Transmitter The transmitter 64 of the interface board 12 sends smoke detector status messages to the monitoring facility 20. The status messages (full list in Table C1 below) can be an alert of a smoke detection alarm, a low-battery condition or a daily transmission of a system OK message. The transmitter 64 is a 916.5 MHz hybrid transmitter which is turned on and off by the processor 60 for an On-Off Keying (OOK) modulation scheme. The antenna for the transmitter 64 is a route on the solder side of the transmitter interface board 12.
There are 6 messages sent from the interface board 12 to the monitoring facility 20 as summarized in Table C1.
Table C1 Message Description PWR_ON Message sent when the power to the smoke detector is turned on SYS OK status message transmitted once every hours if a low battery condition has not been detected BAT_LOW transmitted once every 24 hours if the BAT LOW FLAG is set which is set if the low battery condition has been detected in the last 24 hours THRESH1 transmitted when the smoke alarm pulse count first exceeds THRESH1_1ST and again when the pulse count exceeds THRESH1 2ND
THRESH2 Transmitted when the smoke alarm pulse count exceeds THRESH2 and at a regular rate after that until 0 pulses are detected THRESH CLR transmitted 1 WDT interval after the last smoke alarm pulse is detected The processor 60 determines the message to be sent and then packages the message which is then passed off to the transmitter 64 for transmission to the monitoring facility 20 for further processing. Each data packet is 8 bytes and consists of the following items:
i) block length: a one byte character used to indicate the length of the packet length in bytes;
ii) service function: a 1 byte character indicating which type of device (i.e. smoke detector, CO detector) the data packet originated from in the case where more than one type of environmental condition defector is present in a particular dwelling;
iii) serial number: a 3 byte field containing an identifying number which is unique for every smoke detector device;
iv) data: a 1 byte character containing the message indicating the status of the smoke detector (see possible message from Table C1);
and v) CRC: a 2 byte field containing a Cyclic Redundancy Check. The standard CRC-16 polynomial is used to calculate the CRC.
The CRC check on the packet provides a collision detection mechanism.
For example, if two smoke detectors are transmitting at the same time the signal interference at the intended receiver will cause the packet to fail its CRC check.
The use of either lithium or alkaline batteries for the 9 volt battery in the smoke detector 10 of the present invention is acceptable. It is preferred that the battery used is of the alkaline zinc type, because of the slower decay curve of the battery voltage in an alkaline allows for better monitoring of the low battery condition.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
The apparatus and method embodying the present invention are capable of being used in the alarm monitoring industry.
Claims (10)
1. An environmental condition detector transmitter interface (12) for electrical connection to an environmental condition detector (10) having a detector circuit (16) capable of transmitting an alarm pulse signal and a battery (14) having battery terminals (18), the transmitter interface being adapted to communicate with a remotely located monitoring facility (20), said environmental condition detector transmitter interface comprising:
a voltage detector (66) for detecting fluctuations in the voltage of the battery and for generating a voltage condition signal representing a low battery condition;
a current detector (62) for detecting fluctuations in the current drawn from the battery and for generating a current condition signal representing the alarm pulse signal from the detector circuit;
a processor (60) electrically connected to the voltage detector and the current detector for receiving and interpreting the voltage condition signal and the current condition signal to generate a status message; and a transmitter (64) electrically connected to the processor for transmitting the status message to the monitoring facility, wherein the status message is selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold; second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval; the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
a voltage detector (66) for detecting fluctuations in the voltage of the battery and for generating a voltage condition signal representing a low battery condition;
a current detector (62) for detecting fluctuations in the current drawn from the battery and for generating a current condition signal representing the alarm pulse signal from the detector circuit;
a processor (60) electrically connected to the voltage detector and the current detector for receiving and interpreting the voltage condition signal and the current condition signal to generate a status message; and a transmitter (64) electrically connected to the processor for transmitting the status message to the monitoring facility, wherein the status message is selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold; second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval; the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
2. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the voltage detector includes a voltage regulator (100) to regulate a battery voltage (118) to supply a feed voltage (124) for the processor, and to provide a regulator voltage (126) that changes when the battery voltage drops below a specified threshold, such that when the battery voltage drops below the specified threshold the regulator voltage changes thereby notifying the processor of the low battery condition.
3. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the current detector includes an amplifier (168) having an input terminal (170, 172) for receiving pulses from the battery and an output terminal (176) for transmitting the current condition signal to the processor indicating an increased current draw from the battery.
4. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the processor includes a timer function (206, 208) that places the processor in a sleep state when no condition signals are being received, and places the processor in a wake state when condition signals are being received.
5. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter interface board is sized to fit within the environmental condition detector.
6. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the environmental condition detector is a smoke detector.
7. The transmitter interface according to claim 1, wherein the environmental condition detector is a carbon monoxide detector.
8. A method of detecting an operating condition of an environmental condition detector (10) having a detector circuit (16) and a battery (14) and transmitting the operating condition information to a remote monitoring facility (20), said method comprising the steps of:
(a) sensing (202) current fluctuations being drawn from the battery by the detector circuit, the current fluctuations being representative of an alarm in response to a sensed environmental condition;
(b) sending (220, 224) a predetermined number of alarm pulses indicative of the current fluctuations to a processor;
(c) sensing (202) voltage fluctuations in the battery, the voltage fluctuations being representative of a low battery condition;
(d) sending a low battery message (214) to the processor in response to the voltage fluctuations;
(e) counting and storing the alarm pulses (216) in the processor;
(f) determining (218, 222, 224) the operating condition of the condition detector in the processor based on the number of alarm pulses received;
(g) packaging the low battery message and the operating condition as a sensor data packet; and {h) transmitting the sensor status data packet to the monitoring facility, wherein the sensor data packets includes a message selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold;
second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval; the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
(a) sensing (202) current fluctuations being drawn from the battery by the detector circuit, the current fluctuations being representative of an alarm in response to a sensed environmental condition;
(b) sending (220, 224) a predetermined number of alarm pulses indicative of the current fluctuations to a processor;
(c) sensing (202) voltage fluctuations in the battery, the voltage fluctuations being representative of a low battery condition;
(d) sending a low battery message (214) to the processor in response to the voltage fluctuations;
(e) counting and storing the alarm pulses (216) in the processor;
(f) determining (218, 222, 224) the operating condition of the condition detector in the processor based on the number of alarm pulses received;
(g) packaging the low battery message and the operating condition as a sensor data packet; and {h) transmitting the sensor status data packet to the monitoring facility, wherein the sensor data packets includes a message selected from the group consisting of: power on, system OK, battery low, first threshold;
second threshold, and threshold clear, where the power on message indicates that the detector is turned on; the system OK message indicates a low battery condition has not been detected within a predetermined time interval; the battery low message indicates that the low battery condition has been detected within the predetermined time interval; the first threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a first predetermined threshold; the second threshold message indicates that the alarm pulse count exceeds a second predetermined threshold; and threshold clear indicates that the alarm pulse count is below the first predetermined threshold.
9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the steps of periodically sending a detector condition status data packet containing a detector system functional message to the central facility.
10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the step of determining (step f) further comprises the step of determining which of a pre-determined set of threshold values has been exceeded based on the total number of pulses counted within a given period of time.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US09/031,096 | 1998-02-26 | ||
| US09/031,096 US5914656A (en) | 1997-04-10 | 1998-02-26 | Environmental condition detector transmitter interface |
| PCT/CA1999/000042 WO1999044181A1 (en) | 1998-02-26 | 1999-01-25 | Environmental condition detector transmitter interface |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2286581A1 true CA2286581A1 (en) | 1999-09-02 |
Family
ID=21857640
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA002286581A Abandoned CA2286581A1 (en) | 1998-02-26 | 1999-01-25 | Environmental condition detector transmitter interface |
Country Status (4)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US5914656A (en) |
| AU (1) | AU2145099A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA2286581A1 (en) |
| WO (1) | WO1999044181A1 (en) |
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-
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- 1999-01-25 CA CA002286581A patent/CA2286581A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1999-01-25 AU AU21450/99A patent/AU2145099A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1999-01-25 WO PCT/CA1999/000042 patent/WO1999044181A1/en active Application Filing
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| US5914656A (en) | 1999-06-22 |
| AU2145099A (en) | 1999-09-15 |
| WO1999044181A1 (en) | 1999-09-02 |
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