Testing and installing sensors in a security system

• US 20040041703A1
• Filed: 08/30/2002
• Published: 03/04/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Security Incorporated (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Bergman, John, Friar, Gary, Mayne, David
• Granted Patent: US 7,042,349 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/514
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/003 Address allocation methods and details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/14 checking the detection circuits

Abstract

A security system includes a sensor and a control panel that receives transmissions from the sensor. The sensor has a user-operable testing actuator that tests a condition sensing device in the sensor. A method of operating the sensor includes generating, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the absence of a predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor including information indicating that a test of the sensor has been conducted. The method further includes receiving by the control panel, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the presence of the predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor indicating that the control panel should not report to a monitoring station.

Claims

1. A method of operating a sensor in a security system having a control panel that receives transmissions from the sensor and the sensor has a user-operable testing actuator that tests a condition sensing device in the sensor, the method comprising:

generating, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the absence of a predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor including information indicating that a test of the sensor has been conducted; and

receiving by the control panel, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the presence of the predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor indicating that the control panel should not report to a monitoring station.

2. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising generating, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the presence of the predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor including information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test of the sensor has been conducted.

3. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the transmission generated in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the absence of a predetermined condition includes information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device.

4. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the sensor is a smoke detector.

5. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the predetermined condition is at least one of a tamper condition, a signal indicating that batteries have been recently installed in the sensor, and continued actuation of the testing actuator for a predetermined period of time.

6. A method in accordance with claim 5 further comprising providing at the control panel, after the testing actuator of the sensor has been actuated for a predetermined period of time, an indication that the sensor will imminently make, if the testing actuator continues to be actuated, the transmission of information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test has been conducted.

7. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

alerting the user, when control panel receives an alarm transmission subsequent to the test, that the control panel will imminently report an alarm; and

providing the user an abort window in which the imminent report can be cancelled.

8. A method in accordance with claim 7 wherein if the alarm transmission is not immediately preceded by the test, then the control panel does not provide this abort window.

9. A method in accordance with claim 5 further comprising providing at the sensor, after the testing actuator of the sensor has been actuated for a predetermined period of time, an indication that the sensor will imminently make, if the testing actuator continues to be actuated, the transmission of information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test has been conducted.

10. A method in accordance with claim 6 wherein the indication provided at the control panel is at least one of an audible indicator and a light being illuminated.

11. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the transmissions from the sensor are wireless transmissions.

12. A method in accordance with claim 1 wherein the sensor has a hard-wired connection to the control panel and transmissions from the sensor to the control panel propagate via the hard-wired connection.

13. A method in accordance with claim 1 further comprising:

upon the control panel receiving the transmission from the sensor including information indicating the presence of the condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test has been conducted, communicating from the control panel to a remote monitoring station that the sensing device in the sensor has sensed the presence of the condition; and

upon the control panel receiving the transmission from the sensor including information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device and information indicating that a test has been conducted, not making a communication from the control panel to the remote monitoring station.

14. A method of operating a sensor in a security system having a central control panel that receives transmissions from the sensor, the sensor has first and second user-operable testing actuators, at least one of the first and second actuators test a condition sensing device in the sensor, the method comprising:

generating, in response to actuation of the first actuator, a transmission from the sensor including information indicating that a test of the sensor has been conducted; and

receiving by the control panel, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the presence of the predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor indicating that the control panel should not report to a monitoring station.

15. A method in accordance with claim 14 further comprising generating, in response to actuation of the testing actuator in the presence of the predetermined condition, a transmission from the sensor including information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test of the sensor has been conducted.

16. A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein the transmission generated in response to actuation of the first actuator includes information indicating the presence of a condition sensed by the sensing device.

17. A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein the sensor is a smoke detector.

18. A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein the transmissions from the sensor are wireless transmissions.

19. A method in accordance with claim 14 wherein the sensor has a hard-wired connection to the control panel and transmissions from the sensor to the control panel propagate via the hard-wired connection.

20. A method in accordance with claim 14 further comprising:

upon the control panel receiving the transmission from the sensor including information indicating the presence of the condition sensed by the sensing device but not information indicating that a test has been conducted, communicating from the control panel to a remote monitoring station that the sensing device in the sensor has sensed the presence of the condition; and

upon the control panel receiving the transmission from the sensor including information indicating that that a test has been conducted, not making a communication from the control panel to the remote monitoring station.

21. A method in accordance with claim 20 wherein the communication of information indicating that a test has been conducted also includes information that indicates that the sensed condition has been sensed.

22. A sensor for use in a security system having a control panel that receives transmissions from the sensor, the sensor comprising:

a sensing device for sensing a condition and having an output indicating whether or not the sensed condition is present;

a testing actuator that when actuated conducts a test of the sensing device and causes the sensing device output to indicate that the sensed condition is present if the sensor is working properly; and

at least one control and communications application that receives the output of the sensing device and senses whether the testing actuator has been actuated, wherein the control and communications application;

transmits, in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the testing actuator was actuated in the absence of a predetermined condition, a signal for receipt by the control panel including information that the testing actuator was actuated, and transmits, in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the testing actuator was actuated in the presence of a predetermined condition, a signal for receipt by the control panel including information that the sensing device output is indicating that the sensed condition is present but not that the testing actuator was actuated.

23. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the at least one control and communications application also receives the output of the testing device and utilizes the output of the sensing device and the testing device to sense whether the testing actuator has been actuated.

24. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the signal transmitted in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the testing actuator was actuated in the absence of a predetermined condition includes information that the sensing device output indicates that the sensed condition is present.

25. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 further comprising a tamper detection device, the predetermined condition being an indication of tampering by the tamper detection device, and wherein the tamper detection device indicating tampering of the sensor is the predetermined condition.

26. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 further comprising:

a battery that provides electrical power to the sensor; and

a battery condition detection application that determines the charge status of the battery and that has an output indicating whether a battery has recently been installed, wherein an indication that a battery has recently been installed is the predetermined condition.

27. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the predetermined condition is the continued actuation of the testing actuator for a predetermined period of time.

28. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the predetermined condition is a temporal sequence of tamper switch operations.

29. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the sensing device senses the presence of smoke.

30. A sensor in accordance with claim 22 wherein the transmissions from the sensor are wireless transmissions.

31. A sensor for use in a security system having a control panel that receives transmissions from the sensor, the sensor comprising:

a sensing device for sensing a condition and having an output indicating whether or not the sensed condition is present;

first and second actuators, when at least one of the first and second actuators is actuated, it conducts a test of the sensing device and causes the sensing device output to indicate that the sensed condition is present if the sensor is working properly; and

at least one control and communications application that receives the output of the sensing device and senses whether the actuators have been actuated, wherein the control and communications application;

transmits, in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the first actuator was actuated, a signal for receipt by the control panel including information that a test of the sensing device has been conducted, and receives from the sensing device a signal for receipt by the control panel including information indicating that the control panel should not report to a monitoring station.

32. A sensor in accordance with claim 31 wherein the control and communications application transmits, in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the second actuator was actuated, a signal for receipt by the control panel including information that the sensing device output is indicating that the sensed condition is present but not that a test of the sensing device has been conducted.

33. A sensor in accordance with claim 31 wherein the signal in response to the sensing device output indicating that the sensed condition is present and that the first actuator was actuated includes information that the sensing device output indicates that the sensed condition is present.

34. A sensor in accordance with claim 31 wherein the first actuator comprises a test button located external of a housing for the sensor.

35. A sensor in accordance with claim 31 wherein the second actuator is located within the sensor housing, and the sensor housing has a hole therethrough for access to the second actuator.

36. A sensor in accordance with claim 31 wherein the sensor is a smoke sensor.

37. A method for use in a security system for a premises, the security system comprising a plurality of sensors that transmit to a control panel which in turn communicates with a remote monitoring station, the method comprising:

receiving at the control panel a first type of transmission from one of the plurality of sensors, the first type of transmission including information that a test of the sensing device was conducted;

if the control panel is operating in a first mode, upon receiving a transmission of the first type, the control panel does not send a communication to the remote monitoring station indicating the presence of an alarm condition at the premises; and

if the control panel is operating in a second mode, upon receiving a transmission of the first type, the control panel sends a communication to the remote monitoring station indicating the presence of an alarm condition at the premises and information identifying the sensor that sensed the alarm condition.

38. A method in accordance with claim 37 the first type of transmission includes information that a sensing device within the sensor sensed an alarm condition.

39. A method in accordance with claim 37 wherein the second mode is an installation mode used during the installation of sensors in the security system.

40. A method in accordance with claim 37 further comprising, if the control panel is operating in the first mode and receives a second type of transmission from the sensor indicating that the sensing device within the sensor has sensed an alarm condition and that a test of the sensor has not been conducted, the control panel sends, upon receiving the transmission of the second type, a communication to the remote monitoring station indicating the presence of an alarm condition at the premises.

41. A method for use in a security system for a premises, the security system comprising at least one sensor that transmits to a control panel which in turn communicates with a remote monitoring station, the method comprising:

receiving, at the control panel and from a sensor, a transmission including sensor identifying information; and

forwarding in a verification mode, from the control panel to the remote monitoring station, the sensor identifying information for the sensor.

42. A control panel for a security system for a premises having at least one sensor that communicates with the control panel which communicates with a remote monitoring station, the control panel comprising:

a receiver to receive transmissions from at least one sensor;

a communications application to communicate with the remote monitoring station;

a user settable mode selector to place the control panel in a verification mode;

a controller; and

memory having instructions stored thereon that when executed by the controller perform the following operations;

upon receiving sensor information, the controller stores in memory sensor identifying information for the sensor, and if in a verification mode, communicating the sensor identifying information to the remote monitoring station.

43. A control panel in accordance with claim 42 wherein the control panel communicates the sensor identifying information to the remote monitoring station for more than one sensor in a single communication session.