Telemetry system

• US 20060168190A1
• Filed: 07/21/2003
• Published: 07/27/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: UHS Systems PTY Limited (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Original Assignee: UHS Systems PTY Limited (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: Johan, Ron, Barlow, James, Moldovan, Joe
• Granted Patent: US 7,253,728 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19656 Network used to communicate with a camera, e.g. WAN, LAN, Internet
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19658 Telephone systems used to communicate with a camera, e.g. PSTN, GSM, POTS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19676 Temporary storage, e.g. cyclic memory, buffer storage on pre-alarm
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19691 Signalling events for better perception by user, e.g. indicating alarms by making display brighter, adding text, creating a sound
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/007 Details of data content structure of message packets; data protocols
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/062 using different frequency bands for speech and other data

Abstract

In a remote monitoring system, a supervision terminal, 37, monitors the status of the communication link, 32, 34, 36, between the supervision terminal and each of a plurality of remote terminals, 33, connected to the supervision terminal via a data network, 35. The remote terminals may be used to emulate a line interface for monitor devices such as fire alarms, 31, while providing continual assurance of the integrity of the link between the supervision terminal and the alarm.

Claims

1-85. -85. (canceled)

86. A telemetry system including:

—

one or more supervision terminals;

one or more remote terminals associated with at least one of the supervision terminals;

a data network linking the supervision terminal and the remote terminal via an “

always-on”

connexion through the data network via a path between the supervision terminal and the or each remote terminal;

wherein;

the or each supervision terminal is in communication with each corresponding associated remote terminal across the data network using network facilities of the data network for carriage and switching or routing of messages;

wherein messages from the remote terminal to the supervision terminal are transmitted across the network, the message content being passed transparently across the network between the remote terminal to the supervision terminal;

wherein the supervision terminal monitors the integrity of the path between the supervision terminal and the or each remote terminal by transmitting poll requests to the or each remote terminal according to a fixed or programmable routine; and

wherein the supervision terminal monitors poll responses from the or each remote terminal to determine path integrity.

87. A telemetry system as claimed in claim 86, including one or more monitoring devices connected to one or more remote terminals, wherein the remote terminal monitors the or each monitoring device and reports the condition and/or status of the or each monitoring device to the supervision terminal.

88. A system as claimed in claim 86, wherein the remote terminal is linked to the network via an ADSL link and/or a wireless link.

89. A system as claimed in claim 86, wherein the or each supervision terminal incorporates or is connected to an associated monitor system,

the monitor system being adapted to make information received from the supervision terminal available to an operator, wherein the supervision terminal includes monitor interface emulation means converting information from the supervision terminal to the monitor information format.

90. A system as claimed in claim 86, wherein the or each supervision terminal and/or the or each remote terminal includes supervision terminal self-diagnostic means and/or remote terminal self-diagnostic means respectively, and sends supervision terminal status reports or remote terminal status reports respectively to the associated monitoring system.

91. A system as claimed in claim 86, including an association register recording the association between remote terminals and supervision terminals, the association register being accessible to the or each supervision terminal, wherein the or each supervision terminal and the or each remote terminal have access to the association register via the data network.

92. A system as claimed in claim 86, including one or more image capture devices linked to the remote terminal, and a memory associated with the or each image capture device, the memory recording a moving time window of images from the image capture device.

93. A system as claimed in claim 92, including one or more associated detectors, wherein an image capture command from any of said detectors freezes the moving time window in the memory to capture a series of images in a specific time interval.

94. A system as claimed in claim 93, wherein at least some post-image capture command images are stored in a further buffer.

100. A supervision terminal for use in a system as claimed in claim 86, including:

a supervision terminal network interface means adapted to respond to an alert condition originating from a remote terminal,

monitor system interface adapted to transmit an alert message to an associated monitor system and to receive a first acknowledgment message therefrom,

the supervision terminal network interface being adapted to transmit a second acknowledgment signal to the remote terminal from which the alert condition originated,

the supervision terminal including a poll request generator to transmit poll requests to the or each remote terminal,

the supervision terminal including a poll response processor to monitor the poll responses received from the or each remote terminal to monitor the integrity of the path between the supervision terminal and the or each remote terminal,

the supervision terminal including a message receiver to receive messages from the or each remote terminal which have been transmitted across the network without processing of the message content at an intermediate point in the network.

101. A supervision terminal for use in a system as claimed in claim 86, the supervision terminal including:

path integrity monitoring means adapted to monitor the integrity of the path between the supervision terminal and one or more remote terminals by transmitting poll requests to the or each remote terminal and monitoring the poll response from the or each remote terminal to verify the integrity of the path between the supervision terminal and the or each remote terminal,

wherein the supervision terminal is adapted to receive messages from the remote terminal the message content of which has been transmitted transparently across the network through the intermediate nodes in the network.

102. A supervision terminal as claimed in claim 101, including:

a supervision terminal network interface;

alert condition storage means;

alert condition processing means;

a monitor system interface including;

message means transmitting an alert condition originating from a remote terminal to the monitor system;

means for receiving and storing of a first acknowledgment message sent by the monitoring system.

103. A remote terminal for use in a system as claimed in claim 86, including a remote terminal network interface means adapted to:

receive and respond to poll requests from one or more associated supervision terminals;

transmit alert condition to one or more associated supervision terminals;

monitoring device interface adapted to receive monitoring messages originating from the associated monitoring device, and to transmit third acknowledgment messages to the monitoring device;

wherein the remote terminal is adapted to receive messages from the supervision terminal the message content of the messages being transmitted transparently across the network through the intermediate nodes in the network.

104. A remote terminal as claimed in claim 103, including:

a bypass switch; and

remote terminal monitor means monitoring the remote terminal,

the remote terminal monitor means being adapted to operate the bypass switch to disconnect the remote terminal and to connect an associated monitoring device to a telephone network in the event of a failure of the remote terminal.

105. A remote terminal as claimed in claim 103, wherein

the address of one or more association registers is recorded in the remote terminal to enable the remote terminal to communicate with the registration server.

106. A remote terminal as claimed in claim 103, including one or more image capture devices linked to the remote terminal, the or each image capture device being associated with one or more associated detectors to capture images of a designated area on receipt of an image capture command from an associate detector.

107. A remote terminal as claimed in claim 106, wherein the or each image capture device is associated with a first corresponding associated circular buffer capable of recording a predetermined amount of image information into which the image capture device continually stores image information, and wherein, on receipt of an image capture command, the remote terminal causes the storing of image information into the first circular buffer to cease after a predetermined amount of image information is stored in the first circular buffer, leaving a predetermined amount of pre-image capture command information remaining in the buffer.

108. A system as claimed in claim 106, wherein at least some post-image capture command images are stored in a further buffer.

95. A method of transmitting information in a telemetry system including:

—

one or more supervision terminals;

one or more remote terminals associated with at least one of the supervision terminals;

a data network linking the supervision terminal and the remote terminal via an “

always-on”

connexion through the data network;

the method including the steps of;

monitoring the or each remote terminal from at least one of the associated supervision terminals via the data network using the network facilities for carriage and switching or routing of messages;

transmitting messages from the remote terminal to the supervision terminal across the network, the message content being passed transparently across the network between the remote terminal to the supervision terminal; and

monitoring the path integrity between the supervision terminal to the or each remote terminal by transmitting poll requests from the supervision terminal to the or each remote terminal and monitoring poll responses from the or each remote terminal according to a fixed or programmable routine; and

wherein the supervision terminal monitors poll responses from the or each remote terminal.

96. A method as claimed in claim 95, wherein the remote terminal transmits association information to an association register.

97. A method as claimed in claim 95, wherein the remote terminal retrieves information from the associated monitoring device for transmission to the association register.

98. A method as claimed in claim 95, including compiling a registration table associating the or each remote terminal with the or each associated supervision terminal.

99. A method as claimed in claim 98, including installing the address of the registration table in the or each remote terminal, the remote terminal being programmed to communicate with the registration table on start up of the remote terminal.