Method to Detect an Alarm Situation and to Send Silent Alerts to External Systems Using Voice Input to Mobile Devices

• US 20150022347A1
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Published: 01/22/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Hegde, Vinay, Meganathan, Deepak Sundar, ASWATH, Ravikumar Vemagal
• Granted Patent: US 9,704,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.11
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1672 using sonic detecting means, e.g. a microphone operating in the audio frequency range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus that embodies a method including a panic alert mobile application of a security system that protects a secured geographic area executing on a portable electronic device of an authorized user, the panic alert mobile application retrieving a predetermined word sequence associated with the authorized user, the panic alert mobile application continuously monitoring spoken words of the authorized user, the panic alert mobile application detecting the predetermined word sequence in the spoken words of the authorized user and the panic alert mobile application reporting a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a panic alert mobile application of a security system that protects a secured geographic area executing on a portable or wearable electronic device of an authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application retrieving a predetermined word sequence associated with the authorized user from memory;

the panic alert mobile application continuously monitoring spoken words of the authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application detecting the predetermined word sequence in the spoken words of the authorized user; and

the panic alert mobile application reporting a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising a control panel within the secured area reporting the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection, GPRS or any other wired or wireless communication or cloud platform supporting a connection between the control panel and central monitoring station.

3. The method as in claim 2 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area receiving the panic alert and forwarding the alert to the control panel.

4. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the panic alert mobile application authenticating the spoken words as being from an authorized user via a voice signature of the authorized user.

5. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the panic alert mobile application entering a learning mode, detecting the predetermined word sequence from the authorized user and saving the predetermined word sequence in memory.

6. The method as in claim 5 further comprising saving a respective predetermined word sequence from each of a plurality of authorized users.

7. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the panic alert mobile application reporting a panic alert to a family member or friend of the authorized user.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a central monitoring station that protects a secured area via a local security system; and

a portable or wearable electronic device of an authorized user of the local security system, the portable electronic device executes a panic alert mobile application of the security system, wherein the panic alert mobile application continuously monitors for spoken words of the authorized user, detects a predetermined word sequence in the spoken words and reports a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system in response to the detection of the predetermined sequence.

9. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area that receives the panic alert.

10. The apparatus as in claim 9 further comprising a control panel within the secured area that receives the panic alert from the wireless access point and reports the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection, GPRS or any other wired or wireless communication or cloud platform supporting a connection between the control panel and central monitoring station.

11. The apparatus as in claim 10 further comprising a processor of the portable electronic device that detects a malfunction of non-functioning of the control panel and forwards the panic alert directly to the central monitoring station.

12. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising an authentication processor that authenticates the spoken words as being from an authorized user via a previously saved voice signature of the authorized user for each spoken word.

13. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a set-up processor that enters a learning mode detects a word sequence from the authorized user and saves the detected word sequence in memory as the predetermined word sequence.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 further comprising a processor that saves a respective predetermined word sequence from each of a plurality of authorized users in memory.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a security system that protects a secured area;

a central monitoring station that receives alarm messages from the security system; and

a portable electronic device of at least one authorized user of the local security system, the portable electronic device executes a panic alert mobile application of the security system, wherein a processor of the panic alert mobile application saves at least one word sequence from the at least one authorized user, continuously monitors for spoken words of the authorized user, detects a word sequence in the spoken words that matches the detected word sequence with the saved at least one word sequence and reports a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system in response to the detection of the match.

16. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein the portable electronic device further comprises a smart phone.

17. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein the portable electronic device further comprises a wearable device.

18. The apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area that receives the panic alert.

19. The apparatus as in claim 18 further comprising a control panel within the secured area that receives the panic alert from the wireless access point and reports the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection.

20. The apparatus as in claim 19 further comprising a processor of the portable electronic device that detects a malfunction of non-functioning of the control panel and forwards the panic alert directly to the central monitoring station.

21. The apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising an authentication processor that authenticates the spoken words as being from an authorized user via a previously saved voice signature of the authorized user for each spoken word.

22. The apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising a processor that saves a respective predetermined word sequence from each of a plurality of authorized users in memory.