BURGLAR AND FIRE ALARM

• US 3,582,557 A
• Filed: 06/17/1969
• Issued: 06/01/1971
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nelson A. Friberg, Ronald A. Friberg
• Original Assignee: Nelson A. Friberg, Ronald A. Friberg
• Inventors: Friberg, Nelson A., Friberg, Ronald A.
• Application Number:
  US04/834,007
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• US Class Current: 379/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/045 using recorded signals, e.g. speech

Abstract

An automatic alarm system responsive to the occurrence of a fire or a burglary in a monitored area. When a fire or a burglary is sensed, the system seizes a telephone line, successively dials one or more predetermined stations and successively transmits to each dialed station a prerecorded message relating to the sensed condition. If the sensed persists or reoccurs, the system will recycle for a predetermined number of times. A time delay circuit is automatically energized when the burglar channel of the alarm is initially armed to allow the system operator to leave the monitored area without triggering the alarm. The time delay circuit may be remotely energized to allow a system operator to enter the monitored area for disarming the burglar channel or to allow a system operator to pass through the monitored area without triggering the alarm. The alarm system is shut off in response to a prerecorded signal at the end of the tape or in response to the absence of a recorded signal for a predetermined period of time, should the recording medium fail.

Claims

1. In an automatic burglar alarm system for use with a telephone system and including at least one burglary detector and means responsive to the detection of a burglary for successively seizing a telephone line, dialing a predetermined telephone station and transmitting a recorded alarm message to the dialed station, an improved control circuit comprising, in combination, switch means for arming said alarm system, an electronic time delay circuit having a predetermined time delay, means for energizing said time delay circuit when said alarm system is initially armed, means for preventing said alarm system from operating for the predetermined time after said time delay circuit is energized, and radio control means for remotely energizing said time delay circuit.

2. An improved control circuit for an automatic burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 1, and including means for changing the predetermined time delay of said time delay circuit.

3. An improved control circuit for an automatic burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 1, wherein said electronic time delay circuit comprises a constant frequency pulse generator, a storage capacitor, means for charging said capacitor with pulses from said pulse generator, said capacitor charging to a predetermined voltage in the predetermined time, and switching means for preventing said alarm system from being responsive to the detection of a burglary after said time delay circuit is energized until said capacitor is charged to the predetermined voltage.

4. An improved control circuit for an automatic burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 3, and including means for changing the constant frequency of said pulse generator to change the rate at which said capacitor is charged and thereby change the predetermined time delay.

5. An automatic alarm system for transmitting a message over a telephone line to at least one predetermined station in response to the detection of a monitored condition, said alarm system comprising, in combination, an endless magnetic sound reproducing tape, said tape having a prerecorded channel divided into at least one group of three consecutive portions, the first of such portions having a continuous audio tone recorded thereon, the second of such portions having a pulsed audio tone corresponding to the dialing signal for a predetermined station recorded thereon, the third of such portions having the message and a superimposed continuous audio tone recorded thereon, said tape having recorded thereon after the last of said at least one group an audio signal other than said audio tones recorded in said three portions, transport means responsive to the detection of the monitored condition for driving said endless tape, means operable when said tape is driven for generating signals corresponding to the prerecorded signals on said tape, means responsive to said continuous audio tones in said first and third portions for seizing and holding the telephone line, means responsive to said pulsed audio tone in said second portion for dialing the corresponding predetermined telephone station, means for transmitting the message in said third portion to the dialed predetermined station, and means responsive to said audio signal recorded after the last of said at least one group for stopping said transport means.

6. An automatic alarm system, as defined in claim 5, and including means for stopping said transport means in the absence of said audio tones for a predetermined period of time.

7. An automatic alarm system, as defined in claim 5, wherein said means responsive to the audio signal recorded after the last of said at least one group for stopping said transport means comprises a capacitor, means responsive to said audio signal for applying a first charging current to said capacitor for charging said capacitor to a predetermined voltage, means responsive to the predetermined voltage on said capacitor for stoppinG said transport means.

8. An automatic alarm system, as defined in claim 7, and including means for applying a second charging current to said capacitor in the absence of said audio tones and said audio signal, said second charging current charging said capacitor to the predetermined voltage at a slower rate than said first charging current.

9. An automatic alarm system, as defined in claim 8, wherein said first charging current charges said capacitor to the predetermined voltage in a time less than 15 seconds and said second charging current charges said capacitor to the predetermined voltage in a time greater than 1 minute.

10. An automatic alarm system, as defined in claim 5, and including counting means for limiting the number of times said transport means is responsive to the detection of the monitored condition for driving said endless tape.

11. An automatic fire and burglar alarm system for transmitting messages over a telephone line to predetermined telephone stations in response to the detection of a fire or a burglary, said system comprising, in combination, an endless magnetic sound reproducing tape, said tape having two prerecorded channels, each of said channels being divided into at least one group of three consecutive portions, the first of such portions in each group having a continuous audio tone recorded thereon, the second of such portions in each group having a pulsed audio tone corresponding to the dialing signal for a predetermined telephone station recorded thereon, the third of such portions in each group having a message and a superimposed continuous audio tone recorded thereon, said tape having recorded on each channel after the last of said at least one group an audio signal other than said audio tones recorded in each of said three portions, transport means responsive to the detection of a fire or a burglary for driving said endless tape, means operable when said tape is driven in response to the detection of a fire for generating signals corresponding to the prerecorded signals on one of said channels on said tape, means operable when said tape is driven in response to the detection of a burglary for generating signals corresponding to the prerecorded signals on the other of said channels on said tape, means responsive to said continuous audio tones in said first and third portions of each group for seizing and holding the telephone line, means responsive to said pulsed audio tone in each of said second portions for dialing the corresponding predetermined telephone station, means for transmitting the message in each third portion to a dialed predetermined telephone station, and means responsive to said audio signal for stopping said transport means.

12. An automatic fire and burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 11, and including means for stopping said transport means in the absence of said audio tone for a predetermined period of time.

13. An automatic fire and burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 11, and including counting means for limiting the number of times said transport means is responsive to the detection of a fire or a burglary for driving said endless tape, and means for resetting said counting means.

14. An automatic fire and burglar alarm system, as defined in claim 11, and including an electronic time delay circuit having a predetermined time delay, radio control means for remotely energizing said time delay circuit, and means for preventing said transport means from being responsive to the detection of a burglary for the predetermined time after said time delay circuit is energized.