Alarm systems, wireless alarm devices, and article security methods

• US 20070285277A1
• Filed: 04/19/2007
• Published: 12/13/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CHECKPOINT SYSTEMS, INC. (CCL Industries Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Alpha Security Products, Inc.
• Inventors: Scott, Ian R., Green, Brian J., Belden, Dennis D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,663,489 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/870.260
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2414 using inductive tags
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2417 having a radio frequency identification chip
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2431 Tag circuit details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2471 Antenna signal processing by receiver or emitter
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2482 EAS methods, e.g. description of flow chart of the detection procedure
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/185 Signal analysis techniques for reducing or preventing false alarms or for enhancing the reliability of the system

Abstract

Alarm systems, wireless alarm devices, and article security methods are described according to some aspects of the disclosure. In one aspect, an alarm system includes a base communication device, a remote communication device configured to communicate with the base communication device, wherein the remote communication device is adapted to be associated with an article to be secured and wherein the remote communication device comprises alarm circuitry, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate a reference signal comprising a plurality of identifiable components corresponding to communications intermediate the base communication device and the remote communication device and to control the alarm circuitry to generate a human perceptible alarm responsive to detection of the presence of the plurality of identifiable components in the reference signal.

Claims

1. An alarm system comprising:

a base communication device;

a remote communication device configured to communicate with the base communication device, wherein the remote communication device is adapted to be associated with an article to be secured and wherein the remote communication device comprises alarm circuitry; and

wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate a reference signal comprising a plurality of identifiable components corresponding to communications intermediate the base communication device and the remote communication device and to control the alarm circuitry to generate a human perceptible alarm responsive to detection of the presence of the plurality of identifiable components in the reference signal.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the base communication device is configured to generate a wireless signal within a secured area and the remote communication device is configured to generate the reference signal comprising the identifiable components responsive to the presence of the remote communication device in the secured area and the reception of the wireless signal by the remote communication device.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the base communication device is positioned to emit the wireless signal to define the secured area adjacent to a point of ingress and egress of a defined area wherein the article is secured.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote communication device is configured to access a predefined value of a parameter corresponding to individual ones of the identifiable components, wherein the predefined value is defined before generation of the reference signal and wherein the remote communication device is configured to monitor the reference signal using the predefined value to detect the identifiable components.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote communication device is configured to access a predefined pattern of the identifiable components, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to control the alarm circuitry to generate the human perceptible alarm responsive to detection of the identifiable components of the reference signal in the form of the pattern.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the identifiable components comprise pulses and the predefined pattern comprises a pattern of the pulses, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate the human perceptible alarm responsive to detection of the pulses matching the predefined pattern.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the identifiable components comprise pulses, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate the human perceptible alarm responsive to widths of the pulses and gaps intermediate adjacent ones of the pulses matching criteria defined before generation of the reference signal.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote communication device comprises an antenna consisting essentially of a parallel LC resonant circuit configured to resonate with electromagnetic energy emitted from the base communication device to generate the reference signal.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the base communication device is configured to detect the resonation of the remote communication device and to generate a human perceptible alarm responsive to the detection.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote communication device is configured to resonate at a first range of frequencies, wherein the base communication device is configured to communicate a wireless signal having a plurality of different frequencies at a plurality of moments in time and within a second range of frequencies which includes the first range, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate the identifiable components of the reference signal corresponding to reception by the remote communication device of portions of the wireless signal having a frequency within the first range of frequencies.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the base communication device is configured to implement communications comprising emitting a wireless signal having a frequency less than 55 MHz and the remote communication device is configured to generate the reference signal responsive to reception of the wireless signal.

12. A wireless alarm device comprising:

a housing configured to couple with an article to be secured;

an antenna circuit coupled with the housing and configured to generate a reference signal corresponding to wireless communications with a base communication device of an alarm system;

alarm circuitry coupled with the housing and configured to generate a human perceptible alarm; and

processing circuitry coupled with the antenna circuit and the alarm circuitry and configured to discriminate reference signals resulting from wireless communications of the base communication device from other signals resulting from electromagnetic energy other than the wireless communications of the base communication device, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to control the alarm circuitry to generate the human perceptible alarm responsive to identification of the reference signals resulting from the wireless communications of the base communication device.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to detect an absence of spurious electromagnetic energy and to control the alarm circuitry to generate the human perceptible alarm responsive to the detection of the absence.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein the remote communication device is configured to discriminate the wireless communications of the base communication device comprising wireless signals received by the remote communication device within a secured area.

15. The device of claim 13 further comprising conditioning circuitry configured to generate the reference signals individually comprising a plurality of identifiable components responsive to reception of the wireless signals and the processing circuitry is configured to perform the discrimination using the identifiable components.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the conditioning circuitry comprises a non-linear detector configured to generate the identifiable components having a logarithmic relation to the reference signal generated by the antenna circuit.

17. The device of claim 15 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to discriminate the reference signals responsive to the reference signals individually comprising a predefined number of identifiable components within a predefined time period.

18. The device of claim 15 wherein the processing circuitry is configured to access a predefined value of a parameter corresponding to individual ones of the identifiable components, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to monitor the reference signals using the predefined value to identify the identifiable components.

19. The device of claim 15 wherein the remote communication device is configured to access a predefined pattern of the identifiable components, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the discrimination by comparing the identifiable components of the reference signal with the predefined pattern.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the identifiable components comprise pulses, and the predefined pattern specifies a parameter of the pulses, a parameter of a gap intermediate the pulses, and a number of pulses to be detected.

21. The device of claim 12 wherein the antenna circuit consists essentially of a parallel LC resonant circuit configured to resonate with the wireless communications of the base communication device and to generate the reference signals during the resonation.

22. The device of claim 21 wherein the antenna circuit is configured to resonate at a first range of frequencies, wherein the base communication device is configured to communicate the wireless communications comprising a plurality of wireless signals individually having a plurality of different frequencies at a plurality of moments in time and within a second range of frequencies which includes the first range, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate a plurality of identifiable components of the reference signals corresponding to reception by the antenna circuitry of portions of the wireless signals having a frequency within the first range of frequencies.

23. An article security method comprising:

associating a remote communication device with an article to be secured;

emitting a wireless signal within a secured area using a base communication device of an alarm system;

moving the remote communication device and the associated article into the secured area;

using the remote communication device, comparing a reference signal corresponding to electromagnetic energy received by the remote communication device while located in the secured area with a predefined pattern;

using the remote communication device, identifying the electromagnetic energy received by the remote communication device while located within the secured area as corresponding to the wireless signal emitted using the base communication device responsive to the comparing; and

using the remote communication device, generating a human perceptible alarm responsive to the identifying.

24. The method of claim 23 further comprising, using the remote communication device, generating the reference signal comprising a plurality of identifiable components corresponding to the electromagnetic energy received by the remote communication device, and wherein the comparing comprises comparing the identifiable components with respect to the predefined pattern.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the base communication device is positioned to emit the wireless signal to define the secured area adjacent to a point of ingress and egress of a defined area wherein the article is secured.

26. The method of claim 24 further comprising accessing a plurality of predefined values of parameters of the predefined pattern corresponding to the identifiable components comprising pulses and gaps intermediate the pulses, and wherein the comparing comprises comparing the identifiable components with respect to the predefined values.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the generating comprises generating the human perceptible alarm responsive to the identifiable components comprising pulses matching a plurality of pulses of the predefined pattern.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the generating comprises generating the human perceptible alarm responsive to widths of the pulses and gaps intermediate adjacent ones of the pulses matching criteria defined before the generating the reference signal.

29. The method of claim 23 wherein the remote communication device is configured to resonate at a first range of frequencies, wherein the base communication device is configured to communicate a wireless signal having a plurality of different frequencies at a plurality of moments in time and within a second range of frequencies which includes the first range, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate the reference signal comprising the identifiable components corresponding to reception by the remote communication device of portions of the wireless signal having a frequency within the first range of frequencies.

30. The method of claim 23 wherein the remote communication device comprises an antenna consisting essentially of a parallel LC resonant circuit configured to resonate with the wireless signal, and further comprising generating the reference signal during resonating of the parallel LC resonant circuit.

31. An article security method comprising:

receiving electromagnetic energy using a remote communication device;

using the remote communication device, generating a reference signal comprising a plurality of pulses responsive to the receiving the electromagnetic energy;

monitoring the reference signal for the presence of a number of pulses having a parameter defined before the receiving;

detecting the presence of the number of pulses having the parameter within the reference signal; and

generating a human perceptible alarm responsive to the detecting and to indicate the presence of the remote communication device and an article associated with the remote communication device within a secured area.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising emitting a wireless signal within the secured area and configured to cause the generation of the reference signal comprising the pulses.

33. The method of claim 31 further comprising providing a plurality of different values for the parameter and selecting one of the values, and wherein the monitoring comprises monitoring using the selected one of the values.

34. The method of claim 31 wherein the generating comprises generating responsive to the detecting the presence of the number of pulses within a predefined time period.

35. The method of claim 31 wherein the generating comprises generating responsive to the detecting the presence of the number of pulses forming a predefined pattern.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the generating comprises generating responsive to the detecting the presence of the pulses forming the predefined pattern comprising a predefined number of predefined pulses and a plurality of predefined gaps intermediate the pulses.

37. The method of claim 31 wherein the receiving comprises receiving the electromagnetic energy using an antenna circuit of the remote communication device consisting essentially of a parallel LC resonant circuit configured to resonate with wireless communications of a base communication device, and wherein the generating comprises generating the pulses of the reference signal during the resonation.

38. The method of claim 37 wherein the remote communication device is configured to resonate at a first range of frequencies, wherein the base communication device is configured to communicate the wireless communications having a plurality of different frequencies at a plurality of moments in time and within a second range of frequencies which includes the first range, and wherein the remote communication device is configured to generate the pulses of the reference signal corresponding to reception by the remote communication device of portions of the wireless communications having a frequency within the first range of frequencies.