ASSET MONITORING SYSTEM AND PORTABLE SECURITY SYSTEM THEREFOR

• US 20080042809A1
• Filed: 08/17/2007
• Published: 02/21/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Capital Technology LLC
• Original Assignee: Black & Decker Incorporated (Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rosenthal, Francis, Silber, Maureen, Watts, Fred
• Granted Patent: US 7,961,088 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/426.16
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/205 Mobile phones
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1003 Alarm systems characterised by arm or disarm features
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/1004 Alarm systems characterised by the type of sensor, e.g. current sensing means using door lock sensors B60R25/1001
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates

Abstract

A portable security system for monitoring an asset has one or more alarm sensors and a wireless transmitter/receiver that communicates via wireless communication with a host system. The portable security system is switchable between a disabled (partially powered) state and an enabled (fully powered state) in response to commands received from the host system. In an aspect, the portable security system has a plurality of alarm sensors which a user can separately activate and deactivate via the host system. In an aspect, the portable security system includes a base unit and an auxiliary unit. The base unit includes one or more of the alarm sensors that serves a dual purpose depending on whether the base unit is mated with the auxiliary unit. In an aspect, the host system can be utilized by multiple users to manage portable security systems associated with the respective users, including management by group. In an aspect, the host system notifies a user(s) of an alarm condition(s).

Claims

1. A portable security system, comprising:

a base unit having a housing in which a controller and a cellular transmitter/receiver coupled to the controller are disposed;

an alarm sensor coupled to the controller;

the portable security system having a battery power switching circuit that, when the portable security system is in a disabled state partially powers the portable security system and when the portable security system is in an enabled state fully powers the portable security system; and

the controller when the portable security system is in the partially disabled state responsive to an enable command received from a host system via the cellular transmitter/receiver to switch the battery power switching circuit to switch the portable security system from the disabled state to the enabled state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when the portable security system is in the disabled state the battery power switching circuit couples power from the battery to only to those components of the portable security system involved in switching the portable security system from the disabled state to the enabled state.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein when the portable security system is in the enabled state the controller is responsive to a disable command received from a host system via the cellular transmitter/receiver to switch the portable security system from the enabled state to the disabled state.

4. A method of managing a portable security system, the portable security system including a base unit having a housing in which a controller and a cellular transmitter/receiver coupled to the controller are disposed, an alarm sensor coupled to the controller, the method comprising;

provisioning the portable security system with operational parameters prior to providing the portable security system to a user;

putting the portable security system in a disabled state and providing the portable security system to the user in the disabled state;

sending an enable message from a host system via wireless communication to the portable security system only upon the user registering the portable security system in the host system;

putting the portable security system into an enabled state by having the controller switch the portable security system to the enabled state only upon the portable security system receiving via the cellular transmitter/receiver the enable message when the portable security system is coupled to an external power source.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein putting the portable security system in the disabled state includes putting it in a partially powered state and putting it in the enabled state includes putting it in a fully powered state.

6. The method of claim 4 including switching the portable security system from the enabled state to the disabled state by sending a disable message from the host system via wireless communication to the portable security system and switching the portable security system into the disabled state by having the controller switch the portable security system to the disabled state upon the portable security system receiving via the cellular transmitter/receiver the disable message.

7. A portable security system, comprising:

a base unit having a housing in which a controller, a wireless transmitter, a window/door sensor and a tamper sensor are disposed;

an auxiliary unit in which the base unit can be received;

the window/door sensor responsive to a first actuator mounted on a window or door for sensing movement of the window or door and providing a window/door open signal to the controller upon sensing movement of the first actuator, the window/door sensor responsive to movement of a second actuator mounted on the auxiliary unit when the base unit is received in the auxiliary unit and generating a first tamper signal in response to movement of the second actuator that is provided to the controller;

the tamper sensor, when the base unit has been mounted to the asset, sensing if the base unit is displaced away from the asset and generating a second tamper signal in response to sensing that the base unit is displaced from the asset that is provided to the controller;

the auxiliary unit including a tamper sensor actuator, the tamper sensor actuator, when the base unit is received in the auxiliary unit and the auxiliary unit has been mounted to the asset, actuating the tamper sensor when the auxiliary unit is displaced from the asset so that the tamper sensor generates the second tamper signal.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the tamper sensor includes a plunger that, when the base unit is mounted on an asset, is moved to a depressed position in the housing and is urged out from the depressed position when the base unit is displaced from the asset, and a position sensor that senses whether the plunger is in the depressed position.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the tamper sensor actuator of the auxiliary unit includes a moveable element that contacts the plunger of the tamper sensor.

10. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the tamper sensor includes a magnetic sensor and a plunger assembly that includes a plunger, a spring that urges the plunger outwardly from the depressed position, and a magnet on a proximal end of the plunger, the magnetic sensor disposed in the housing of the base unit, the magnetic sensor sensing when the magnet changes location with respect to the magnetic sensor when the plunger moves outwardly from the depressed position when the base unit is displaced from the asset and generating the second tamper signal in response thereto.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the window/door sensor includes a magnetic sensor and the actuator mounted on the auxiliary unit is a magnet.

12. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auxiliary unit includes a hinged cover on which the actuator is mounted, the hinged cover closed when the base unit is received in the auxiliary unit and the window/door sensor responsive to the actuator moving with respect to the window/door sensor when the hinged cover is opened and generating the first tamper signal in response to the hinged cover being opened.

13. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein

when the base unit is mounted on the asset and the controller receives the window/door opening signal from the window/door sensor the controller generates an alarm message that the window or door has moved which alarm message is sent wirelessly wireless transmitter/receiver, and

wherein when the base unit is received in the auxiliary unit and the controller receives the first tamper signal from the window/door sensor the controller generates a tamper message that the base unit is being removed from the auxiliary unit which tamper message is sent wirelessly by the wireless transmitter/receiver.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein when the controller receives the second tamper signal the controller generates a second tamper message that the portable security system is being removed from the asset which second tamper message is sent wirelessly by the wirelessly transmitter.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 further including a global positioning system module (“

GPS module”

) disposed in the housing and coupled to the controller, the controller obtaining from the GPS module location information of where the portable security system is located, which location information is sent wirelessly by the wireless transmitter with each alarm or tamper message.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 further including a global positioning system module (“

GPS module”

) disposed in the housing and coupled to the controller, the controller obtaining from the GPS module location information of where the portable security system is located, which location information is sent wirelessly by the wireless transmitter with each alarm or tamper message.

17. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auxiliary unit is a passive infrared motion detector.

18. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein the auxiliary unit includes at least one battery cell.

19. The apparatus of claim 7 including a temperature sensor coupled to the controller.

22. The method of claim 18 including accessing the host system and setting an arm/disarm status for the portable security system and sending an arm message from the host system to the portable security system via wireless communication to arm the portable security system when the arm/disarm status is set to arm and sending a disarm message from the host system to the portable security system via wireless communication to disarm the portable security system when the arm/disarm status is set to disarm.

23. The method of claim 22 including setting in the host system an arm time and a disarm time for the security system and at the arm time sending the arm message from the host system to the portable security system and at the disarm time sending the disarm message from the host system to the portable security system.

20. A method of managing a portable security system having a base unit having a housing in which a controller, a wireless transmitter/receiver receiver are disposed, the wireless transmitter/receiver coupled to the controller, the portable security system having a plurality of alarm sensors coupled to the controller, the method comprising:

accessing a host system and setting settings in the host system for which alarm sensors of the portable security system are to be active and which are to be inactive;

sending a configuration message from the host system to the portable security system via wireless communication that includes the set settings to configure the portable security system to set as active the alarm sensors that were set to be active and to set as inactive the alarm sensors that were set to be inactive;

setting with the controller in response to the configuration message the alarm sensors as active that were set to be active and setting the alarm sensors as inactive that were set to be inactive;

responding with the controller only to an alarm sensor that was set as active to generate with the controller an alarm message upon that alarm sensor sensing an alarm condition and providing an alarm signal to the controller and generating an alarm message with the controller in response thereto; and

sending with the wireless transmitter/receiver the alarm message via wireless communication to the host system.

21. The method of claim 20 including accessing the host system and setting parameters for those alarm sensors that require parameters and including the set parameters in the configuration message sent to the portable security system.

24. The method of claim 20 including accessing the host system and initiating a locate by setting a request locate for the portable security system and sending a locate request message from the host system to the portable security system via wireless communication when the request locate is set, obtaining location information via a global position sensor module and sending the location information via wireless communication with the wireless transmitter/receiver to the host system.

25. The method of claim 20 including managing a plurality of security systems by accessing the host system and setting settings for each of the portable security systems to be configured to set which alarm sensors of each such security system are to be active and which are to be inactive and sending configuration messages to each such security system.

26. The method of claim 25 including accessing the host system and setting parameters for those alarm sensors of each of the portable security systems that require parameters and including the settings for the parameters in the configuration message sent to the portable security system.

27. The method of claim 25 including accessing the host system and setting an arm/disarm status for each of the portable security systems to be armed/disarmed and sending an arm message to each portable security system to be armed via wireless communication to arm that portable security system when the arm/disarm status for that portable security system is set to arm and sending a disarm message to the portable security system via wireless communication to disarm the portable security system when the arm/disarm status is set to disarm.

28. The method of claim 25 including assigning in the host system two or more of the portable security systems to one or more groups and accessing the host system and setting settings for one or more of the groups group to set the settings for each portable security system assigned to each such group and sending configuration messages from the host system to each portable security system assigned to each such group.

29. The method of claim 28 including accessing the host system and setting parameters for those alarm sensors that require parameters for one or more of the groups and including the settings for the parameters in the configuration messages sent to the portable security systems assigned to each such group.

30. The method of claim 25 including assigning in the host system two or more of the portable security systems to one or more groups and accessing the host system and setting arm/disarm statuses for one or more of the groups group to set the arm/disarm status and sending an arm message to each portable security system assigned to each such group when the arm/disarm status for that group is set to arm and sending a disarm message to each portable security system assigned to each such group when the arm/disarm status for that group is set to disarm.

31. The method of claim 20 including setting in the host system contact information for a plurality of contacts for the host system to contact upon receipt of the alarm message, the contact information including prioritization information, the host system sending a notification message to one or more of the contacts based on the prioritization information.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein the host system sends the notification messages to the contacts based on priority order with the host system sending the notification message to the next lower priority contact only if the host system receives no response from the contact to which it sent the notification message.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein the alarm message is one of a plurality of different types of alarm messages, the method including setting in the host system contact information for a plurality of contacts for the host system to contact upon receipt of the alarm message wherein different contacts are associated with different ones of the different types of alarm messages, and the host system sending a notification message upon receipt of the alarm message to the contact associated with the type of alarm message that corresponds to the received alarm message.

34. A method of managing a plurality of portable security systems, each portable security system having a base unit having a housing in which a controller, a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver are disposed, the wireless transmitter and the wireless receiver coupled to the controller, the portable security system having a plurality of alarm sensors coupled to the controller, the method comprising:

assigning in a host system two or more portable security systems to one or more groups,

setting settings in the host system for one or more of the groups group to set settings for each portable security system assigned to each such group and sending configuration messages from the host system to each portable security system assigned to each such group;

sending a configuration message from the host system to each portable security system assigned to each such group via wireless communication that includes the set settings to configure each portable security system assigned to each such group;

the controller of each portable security system receiving the configuration message configuring its portable security system according to the set settings in the configuration message.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein the alarm sensors include a plurality of types of alarm sensors and setting the settings includes setting an active/inactive status for at least one of the types of alarm sensors.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein the setting the settings include setting an arm/disarm status.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein setting the settings include setting an arm time and a disarm time.

38. The method of claim 34 wherein assigning the portable security systems to one or more groups includes assigning portable security systems associated with a first user to one or more groups associated with that first user and assigning portable security systems associated with a second user to one or more groups associated with that second user.