Security system comprising a signal transmitter

• US 5,173,932 A
• Filed: 07/11/1990
• Issued: 12/22/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/1987
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jan Lennart Johansson, Lars A. Wern
• Original Assignee: Jan Lennart Johansson, Lars A. Wern
• Inventors: Wern, Lars A., Johansson, Jan Lennart
• Primary Examiner(s): Dwyer, James L.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chan, Wing F.
• Application Number:
  US07/399,461
• Time in Patent Office: 895 Days
• Field of Search: 379/110, 379/39-41, 379/44, 379/45, 379/47, 379/51, 340/531, 340/522
• US Class Current: 379/40
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 11/04 with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems

Abstract

A security system comprises a signal transmitter (1) with a first sensor (2) for conveying status information to a receiver (3) via a telecommunication channel (4), the signal transmitter being preferably built into a telephone set and the telecommunication channel preferably comprising a subscriber line in a regular telephone network. A second sensor having a higher sensitivity than the first sensor, is arranged to be influenced by the same alarm situation as the first sensor to transmit alarm information to the receiver via the telecommunication channel, and a restoring circuit (6) comprising time measuring components (7, 8) with an activation input (9) connected to the second sensor is, within a time slot of a predetermined length arranged for the transmittal of the status information and the alarm information, arranged to always transmit restoring information regarding the alarm information to the receiver.

Claims

1. Security system comprising a signal transmitter (1) with a first sensor means (2) for conveying status information to a receiver means (3) via a telecommunication channel (4), the signal transmitter being built into telephone subscriber equipment (42) and the telecommunication channel comprising a subscriber line in a telephone network, a second sensor means (5), with a higher sensitivity than the first sensor means, being arranged to be influenced by the same environment as the first sensor means and to transmit alarm information to the receiver means via the telecommunication channel, time measuring means for opening a time slot of predetermined length for the transmittal of status information and alarm information to the receiver means in response to a signal from said second sensor means, and restoring means (6) operative without any external influence and within said time slot of predetermined length to transmit restoring information regarding the alarm information to the receiver.

2. Security system according to claim 1, wherein said telephone subscriber equipment comprises a telephone set (65) arranged to electrically be off-hook in a switched-on state of said security system and provided with switching means (69, 70) arranged to interrupt a connection between said subscriber line and said telephone set in said switched-on state, said second sensor means being capable of influencing said switching means to reestablish said connection between said telephone set and said subscriber line.

3. Security system according to claim 2, wherein said telephone set has a dialling means provided with an activation input (67) connected to said second sensor means.

4. Security system according to claim 2, whereby said telephone subscriber equipment has a ringing signal detector means (85) arranged to influence said switching means dependent on said second sensor means to reestablish during a predetermined time interval said connection between said telephone set and said subscriber line in said telephone network.

5. Security system according to claim 2, wherein said telephone set is arranged to be switched between said switched-on state of said security system and a switched-off state dependent on a choice between two different positions (97 and 98) of the handset on-hook, one of said positions corresponding electrically to off-hook in said switched-on state of said security system and the other position corresponding electrically to on-hook.

6. Security system according to claim 2, wherein said restoring circuit is provided with a tone transmitter (88) arranged to be influenced by said second sensor means to locally emit an acoustic enquiring signal and a tone receiver (89) arranged to locally receive from an authorized person a predetermined acoustic answering signal and dependent thereof generate inhibiting information for influencing said transmittal of said alarm information to said receiver means.

7. Security system according to claim 6, wherein said tone receiver is in said switched-off state of said security system arranged to inhibit dialling at said telephone set in absence of said acoustic answering signal.

8. Security system according to claim 1, wherein said telephone subscriber equipment is provided with ringing signal simulating means (46, 47, 48, 49) with an activation input connected to said second sensor means, to influence other telephone subscriber equipments locally along said subscriber line in said telephone network.

9. Security system according to claim 8, wherein said ringing signal simulating means comprises a pulsating load circuit (46, 47) connected to said subscriber line and arranged to generate a pulse train having a frequency within a lower audible frequency region and a duration substantially equal to 1 sec.

10. Security system according to claim 8, wherein a telephone answering equipment (43) is connected to said subscriber line and is arranged to reproduce a recording of said alarm information after being influenced by said ringing signal means.

11. Security system according to claim 10, wherein said recording is arranged to be opened with a tone coded dialling in order to establish a connection to said receiver means via said telephone network.

12. Security system according to claim 10, wherein a predetermined connection to said receiving means is arranged to be, without dialling, established via said telephone network dependent on said telephone answering equipment having been influenced by said ringing signal simulating means.

13. Security system according to claim 1, wherein said second sensor means has a capacitive input and is energized by said subscriber line in said telephone network via a pulsating switching means (51) arranged to generate a pulsating direct current voltage between signal ground of said second sensor means and said subscriber line.

14. Security system according to claim 13, wherein said pulsating switching means has a pulsating frequency higher than 3 kHz and lower than 20 kHz.

15. Security system according to claim 13, wherein said second sensor means comprises a threshold detector (57) with a rectifying input circuit (58).

16. Security system according to claim 15, wherein said first and second sensor means share said threshold detector, said detector comprising an analog-to digital converter with a first measuring threshold utilized by said first sensor means and a second measuring threshold with a higher sensitivity utilized by said second sensor means.

17. Security system according to claim 13, wherein said pulsating switching means has a control input (55) connected to said second sensor means for modulation of said pulsating frequency, said signal group being arranged to constitute a capacitive output for controlling means arranged to sense said modulation.

18. Security system according to claim 1, wherein said receiver means comprises telephone answering means (10) arranged to be connected to said subscriber line in order to receive said status information, alarm information and restoring information, and ringing signal generating means (11, 12) with an activation input (13) connected to logical means (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21) connected to said telephone answering means and arranged to delay an activation of said ringing signal generating means under said predetermined time slot dependent on a reception of said alarm information, to activate, with priority over said delay, said ringing signal generating means dependent on a reception of said status information, and to prevent said delayed activation of said ringing signal generating means dependent on a reception of said restoring information.