Alarm system with integrated weather alert function

• US 20020097161A1
• Filed: 01/25/2001
• Published: 07/25/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Douglas Arthur Deeds
• Original Assignee: Douglas Arthur Deeds
• Inventors: Deeds, Douglas Arthur
• Granted Patent: US 6,710,715 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/601
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/10 Devices for predicting weather conditions computers per se G06; display devices G09

Abstract

Apparatus, and an associated method, annunciates a weather anomaly condition at an area encompassed by an annunciating system. A receiver is coupled to receive indications of a warning representative of the weather anomaly. The receiver detects reception thereat of the indications of the warning. An annunciator is remotely coupled to the receiver. The annunciator annunciates, in human perceptible form, the detection at the receiver of the indications of the warning representative of the weather anomaly.

Claims

1. In an annunciating system for annunciating an anomaly condition at an area encompassed by the annunciating system, an improvement of apparatus for annunciating existence of a weather anomaly, said apparatus comprising:

a receiver coupled to receive indications of a warning representative of the weather anomaly, said receiver for detecting reception thereat of the indications of the warning; and

an annunciator coupled to said receiver, said annunciator for annunciating, in human perceptible form, the detection at said receiver of the indications of the warning representative of the weather anomaly.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the warning representative of the weather anomaly, indications of which said receiver is coupled to receive, is generated external to the area encompassed by the annunciating system.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the warning representative of the weather anomaly, indications of which said receiver is coupled to receive, comprises a radio signal generated by an alerting authority.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the radio signal is of frequency characteristics corresponding to a publicly-accessible radio band.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said receiver comprises a radio receiver tunable to the publicly-accessible radio band.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the alerting authority comprises a weather-service authority.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said annunciator generates an aural annunciation of the detection of the indication of the warning representative of the weather anomaly.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the annunciating system comprises a home alarm system, the area encompassed by the annunciating system comprises a residence, and wherein said receiver is positioned at least proximate to the residence.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein said annunciator annunciates the detection of the indications of the warning at the residence.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said annunciating system is further operable to annunciate an other-than-weather anomaly condition in a first manner, and wherein annunciations made by said annunciator to annunciate detection of the weather anomaly are made in a second manner.

11. In a method for annunciating an anomaly condition at an encompassing area, an improvement of a method for annunciating existence of a weather anomaly, said method comprising:

detecting reception at a receiver of indications of a warning representative of the weather anomaly; and

annunciating, in human perceptible form, the detection during said operation of detecting of the indications of the warning representative of the weather anomaly.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the warning detected during said operation of detecting is generated at a location beyond the encompassing area.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the warning detected during said operation of detecting comprises a radio signal generated by an alerting authority.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the radio signal of which the warning detected during said operation of detecting is of frequency characteristics corresponding to a publicly-accessible radio band.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the alerting authority which generates the radio signal detected during said operation of detecting comprises a weather-service authority.

16. The method of claim 11 wherein said operation of annunciating comprises aurally annunciating the detection of the indications of the warning

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the annunciating system comprises a home alarm system, wherein the encompassing area comprises a residence, and wherein said operation of detecting is performed proximate to the residence.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein said operation of annunciating is performed proximate to the residence.

19. The method of claim 11 further comprising the operations of:

detecting indications of an other-than-weather anomaly condition at the encompassing area; and

annunciating the detection of the other-than-weather anomaly at the encompassing area.