Building security system

• US 4,937,855 A
• Filed: 02/09/1988
• Issued: 06/26/1990
• Est. Priority Date: 02/09/1988
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: BC Telecom, Inc. (Telus Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Viscount Industries Limited
• Inventors: Siu, Jim, McNab, Wayne
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Application Number:
  US07/154,772
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: 379/103, 379/355, 379/95, 379/102, 379/104, 379/105, 379/40, 379/51
• US Class Current: 379/102.06
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/025 Door telephones adapted for television H04N7/186

Abstract

A building security system for coupling to a building telephone line which includes a building subscriber telephone line connected to a subscriber telephone set on one end and to a central office line at the other end. The central office line leads to a central office exchange. The building security system controls communication between a central office exchange caller, a subscriber and a visitor at an intercom station in order to allow subscriber control of visitor entry and for allowing entry without subscriber control to authorized personnel. The system includes a micro-controller, a non-volatile memory coupled to micro-controller which is programmable for storing system parameters including security entry codes and a building door latch of an entrance door which is coupled to the micro-controller. The latch is operative in response to a control signal from the micro-controller to unlock the associated entrance door. A line relay is coupled to micro-controller for breaking direct connection of the central offices subscriber line and inserting in series with each of the latter a security system line which operates in response to a control signal from the micro-controller. A visitor intercom station is coupled to the micro-controller and is connectable to the subscriber telephone set through the system line in response to a control signal from the micro controller. The intercom station has a key pad for manually entering data and response to which the micro-controller accesses the subscriber telephone set or operates the door latch if the data entered corresponds to a security entry code number stored in the non-volatile memory.

Claims

1. A building security system for coupling to a building telephone line which includes a building subscriber telephone line connected to a subscriber telephone set at one end and a central office line at the other end, the central office line leading to a central office exchange, and a visitor entrance panel proximate a building entrance door, comprising:

a microprocessor means for controlling operation of said system, for receiving and transmitting data and control signals to and from said central office exchange, said entrance panel and said subscriber telephone set and thereby controlling communication between a central office caller, a subscriber and a visitor via said building telephone line;

programmable memory means for storing preselected security codes and an operating program for operation of said microprocessor means;

a building door lock means coupled to said entrance door;

means for selectively coupling said microprocessor means directly to a reserved central office line leading from said building to the central office exchange, wherein said coupling means responds to control signals from the entrance panel or to signals received via said reserved line; and

wherein said microprocessor means includes means for distinguishing between a visitor call and a security entry code sequence and for comparing a security entry code sequence being entered with stored security entry codes in said memory means and for unlocking the entrance door on recording a correspondence between an entered security code sequence and a stored security code and wherein said microprocessor means further includes means responsive to control signals received from a subscriber telephone set to send a control signal to said building entrance door lock means to cause the unlocking of said door.

2. A system according to claim 1, including means for detecting and evaluating an authorized remote programming request received on the reserved central office line and for re-programming one or more selected stored security entry codes and other stored data or parameters, in response to control signals received on the reserved central office line.

3. A system according to claim 1, including a DTMF transceiver coupled to and controlled by said microprocessor means, wherein said microprocessor means includes means for programming said memory means with a plurality of telephone numbers and, in response to entry of a selected auto-dial code from the entrance panel retrieves a corresponding one of said stored telephone numbers and causes said DTMF transceiver to transmit to the central office on said rearward central office telephone line tones corresponding to the retrieved telephone number.

4. A building security system for coupling to a plurality of pairs of building telephone lines coupled to respective subscriber telephone sets for controlling communication between a central office exchange caller, a subscriber and a visitor at a building entrance panel, and for controlling visitor entry through an entrance door, comprising:

a microprocessor means for controlling operation of said system, for receiving and transmitting data and control signals to and from said central office exchange, said entrance panel and said subscriber telephone sets for controlling communication between a central office caller, a subscriber and a visitor;

non-volatile memory means coupled to said microprocessor means programmable for storing system parameters including security entry codes and re-programmable to change the parameters;

a latch solenoid driving circuit having an input coupled to said microprocessor means and an output connectable to a door latch solenoid of an entrance door and operative in response to a control signal from said microprocessor means to activate said solenoid and unlock said door;

a plurality of line relays each coupled to respective pairs of telephone lines and to said microprocessor means for breaking direct connection of a pair of central office lines and a corresponding pair of subscriber telephone lines and inserting in series with the latter pair of lines, a respective pair of lines of said security system in response to a control signal from said microprocessor means;

means for selectively coupling said microprocessor means directly to a reserved pair of central office lines leading from the building to the central office exchange, wherein said coupling means selectively responds to signals from said reserved central office line and control signals form said entrance panel;

means for comparing a transmitted remote programming security code received on said reserved pair of central office lines with a stored one and, if matched, to accept reprogramming instructions received on said reserved pair of central office lines to a re-program one or more stored security entry codes, emergency telephone numbers or other parameters;

means for transmitting tones on said reserved pair of central office lines corresponding to a selected stored emergency telephone number in response to auto-dial control signals received from the entrance panel;

wherein said microprocessor means includes means for distinguishing between a visitor call and a security entry code sequence being entered with stored security entry codes in said memory means and for unlocking the entrance door on recording a correspondence between an entered security code sequence and a stored security code.

5. A building security system according to claim 4, including a multi-frequency transceiver coupled to said microprocessor wherein said non-volatile memory means is programmable to store a plurality of telephone numbers and in response to entry of a selected auto-dial code, said microprocessor retrieves from said non-volatile memory means a corresponding telephone number and sends control signals to said multi-frequency transceiver which, in turn, generates and transmits tones corresponding to said stored telephone number to said central office exchange through said reserved pair of central office lines.

6. A building security system according to claim 4, including a special features port, and a two way driver coupling said special features port to said microprocessor such that said microprocessor may transmit and receive data through said two way driver to a controller device coupled to said port.

7. A building security system according to claim 4, wherein said non-volatile memory means includes an array of electrically erasable, programmable read only memory cells mounted in a plug-in cartridge.

8. A building security system according to claim 5, including a telephone key pad at said entrance panel coupled to said system.

9. A building security system according to claim 4, including:

ringing detect circuit means coupled to said reserved central office line pair for detecting an incoming call on said reserved line pair;

relay switching control circuit means coupled to said microprocessor and to said ring detect circuit means and responsive to a control signal from said ring detect circuit means to switch on to said reserved pair of central office lines a load substantially equal to that of an off-hook telephone set; and

wherein a DTMF transceiver transmits tones to said reserved central office line pair to indicate program ready status in response to control signals from said microprocessor and said non-volatile memory means receives and stores programming data transmitted from a central office caller to said microprocessor and then to said memory means.

10. A building security system according to claim 4, including read only memory means and random access memory means coupled to said microprocessor for storing program instructions and working data, respectively.

11. A building security system according to claim 4, including a programmable input/output circuit interfaced between said microprocessor and input and output control signal lines.

12. A building security system according to claim 6, wherein said micro-controller has means responsive to test control signals applied to said special features port to run system diagnostics and check system operation.