Alarm Device

• US 20110037603A1
• Filed: 03/17/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Inventors: Egawa, Yoshitaka
• Granted Patent: US 8,514,091 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/636.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/00 Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/113 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply

Abstract

The alarm device of the present invention includes a battery power supply; a sensor section that outputs an anomaly detection signal in the case of detecting an anomaly; an alert section that outputs an alarm based on the anomaly detection signal; a reception circuit section that discontinuously receives an event signal from another alarm device at every predetermined reception cycle; a transmission circuit section that transmits an event signal to the other alarm device in a transmission time that is at least the predetermined reception cycle; an anomaly monitoring section that, when the sensor section has detected an anomaly, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm based on the anomaly detection signal and causes the transmission of an event signal relating to the anomaly of the alarm device to the other alarm device by the transmission circuit section, and on the other hand, when the reception circuit section has received from the other alarm device an event signal relating to an anomaly of the other alarm device, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm; and a low battery monitoring section that, upon detecting a voltage drop of the battery power supply, causes a low battery alarm of the alarm device to be output by the alert section, and stops the transmission and reception of event signals in the transmission circuit section and the reception circuit section.

Claims

1. An alarm device comprising:

a battery power supply;

a sensor section that outputs an anomaly detection signal in the case of detecting an anomaly;

an alert section that outputs an alarm based on the anomaly detection signal;

a reception circuit portion that discontinuously receives an event signal from another alarm device at every predetermined reception cycle;

a transmission circuit section that transmits an event signal to the other alarm device in a transmission time that is at least the predetermined reception cycle;

an anomaly monitoring section that, when the sensor section has detected an anomaly, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm based on the anomaly detection signal and causes the transmission of an event signal relating to the anomaly of the alarm device to the other alarm device by the transmission circuit section, and on the other hand, when the reception circuit section has received from the other alarm device an event signal relating to an anomaly of the other alarm device, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm; and

a low battery monitoring section that, upon detecting a voltage drop of the battery power supply, causes a low battery alarm of the alarm device to be output by the alert section, and stops the transmission and reception of event signals in the transmission circuit section and the reception circuit section.

3. The alarm device according to either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the low battery monitoring section detects the voltage drop when the battery voltage has dropped to a limit voltage at which the normal function of the alarm device can be maintained over a predetermined remaining time.

2. An alarm device comprising:

a battery power supply;

a sensor section that outputs an anomaly detection signal in the case of detecting an anomaly;

an alert section that outputs an alarm based on the anomaly detection signal;

a reception circuit section that discontinuously receives an event signal from another alarm device at every predetermined reception cycle;

a transmission circuit section that transmits an event signal to the other alarm device in a transmission time that is at least the predetermined reception cycle;

an anomaly monitoring section that, when the sensor section has detected an anomaly, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm based on the anomaly detection signal and causes the transmission of an event signal relating to the anomaly of the alarm device to the other alarm device by the transmission circuit section, and on the other hand, when the reception circuit section has received from the other alarm device an event signal relating to an anomaly of the other alarm device, causes the alert section to output the anomaly alarm;

a low battery monitoring section that causes the output from the alert section of a low battery alarm that announces a voltage drop of the alarm device and the other alarm device; and

a transmission and reception time control section that controls the transmission time of the transmission circuit section and the predetermined reception cycle of the reception circuit section;

wherein when a voltage drop of the battery power supply is detected, the low battery monitoring section causes the alert section to output a low battery alarm of the alarm device, and causes the transmission circuit section to transmit an event signal relating to the voltage drop of the alarm device to the other alarm device, and the transmission and reception time control section changes the predetermined reception cycle of the reception circuit section to a long reception cycle that is longer than the predetermined reception cycle; and

when an event signal relating to a voltage drop of the other alarm device is received from the other alarm device, the low battery monitoring section causes the alert section to output a low battery alarm of the other alarm device, and the transmission and reception time control section changes the transmission time of the transmission circuit section to a time equal to or greater than the long reception cycle.