Anti-disaster monitoring system and anti-disaster monitoring method

• US 5,389,914 A
• Filed: 09/05/1991
• Issued: 02/14/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/1990
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hochiki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Hochiki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kikuchi, Masamichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Crosland, Donnie L.
• Application Number:
  US07/755,687
• Time in Patent Office: 1,258 Days
• Field of Search: 340/518, 340/505, 340/825.06-825.12
• US Class Current: 340/518
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 26/002 only replying the state of the sensor
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/14 Calling by using pulses

Abstract

An anti-disaster system for receiving terminal data in response to the sequential calling of the terminals which is achieved by designating addresses from a receiver and for performing alarming or the like. Each of the terminals has an interrupt transmission section for transmitting a break signal which invalidates a terminal response signal on a timing when the terminal response signal to the receiver is transmitted when an abnormality is detected to notify generation of an interrupt. The receiver includes an interrupt detection section for detecting an interrupt of a terminal when it receives the break signal at a timing when the terminal response signal is received, and a calling control section for specifying the terminal in which abnormality data is detected, the specification being achieved by transmitting the calling signals for interrupt confirmation to the terminals when an interrupt detection output is obtained from said interrupt signal detection section to allow the terminal to transmit the terminal response signal containing an interrupt level signal which indicates the cause of generation of the interrupt and by performing sequential group calling of the terminals on the basis of the order of priority of the interrupt level signal. Consequently, when urgent data is detected at the terminal end, terminal data can be received quickly independently of the sequential calling and generation of an abnormality can be determined.

Claims

1. An anti-disaster monitoring system comprising a plurality of terminals;

a receiver connected to said plurality of terminals through a transmission path, said receiver including means for calling the terminals in sequence by transmitting calling signals each of which designates the address of one of said terminals, said terminals including means for transmitting a terminal response signal when an address designated in the calling signal coincides with a self-address of a terminal, and in which said receiver decodes the received terminal response signal and performs alarming or the like, each of said terminals having a group address setting section for setting a group address of a group consisting of a predetermined number of terminals on the basis of the self-address, and an interrupt transmitting section for transmitting a break signal which invalidates the terminal response signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is transmitted to said receiver from any of said terminals when an abnormality is detected to notify generation of an interrupt, and in that said receiver has an interrupt detection section for detecting an interrupt of the terminal when it receives the break signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is received, a calling control means for performing a sequential group calling by designating the group addresses when an interrupt detection output is obtained from said interrupt detection section, and a specification means for specifying the terminal in the group when a response signal is obtained from the group containing the terminal in which an abnormality is detected in response to the group calling made by said calling control means, said receiver having means for transmitting the calling signal for interrupt confirmation to the terminals when said interrupt detection section determines an interrupt from the received break signal to allow the terminal to transmit an interrupt level signal which indicates the cause of generation of the interrupt, and said interrupt level signal indicating an order of priority of the process for specifying the terminal in which an abnormality is detected on the basis of the abnormality detection data indicating the cause of generation of the interrupt.

2. The anti-disaster monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein each said terminal has a transmission control section for setting an interrupt transmission time in which a plurality of interrupt level signals (interrupt type signals) having different orders of priority can be transmitted when the calling signal for interrupt confirmation is received from said receiver and for allocating the transmission timings of interrupt pulses in accordance with the orders of priority of the abnormality detection data.

3. The anti-disaster monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said receiver specifies the terminal in which an abnormality is detected by sequentially designating the self addresses of the terminals in the group and thereby sequentially calling said terminals when the response signal is obtained from the group containing the terminal in which the abnormality is detected in response to the group calling made by designating the group address by said calling control means.

4. The anti-disaster monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said receiver specifies the terminal in which an abnormality is detected by sequentially narrowing the number of terminals to which the calling signal is to be transmitted when the interrupt level signal is received, said narrowing being achieved by sequentially dividing said terminals in the group from which the abnormality detection response signal is obtained into two groups and by transmitting the calling signal to each of said terminals to check the presence of the abnormality detection terminal in the group.

5. The anti-disaster monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein said receiver performs specification of the abnormality detection terminals starting with the abnormality detection terminal in which an abnormality having a higher order of priority is detected on the basis of the order of priority of the interrupt level signals.

6. The anti-disaster monitoring system according to claim 5, wherein said interrupt transmission section sets an interrupt transmission time between the calling signal from said receiver and the terminal response signal, said interrupt transmission time having a predetermined period of time in which a plurality of interrupt pulses are sequentially transmitted with empty times intervening between the interrupt pulses, said interrupt transmission section selectively transmitting the particular interrupt pulses corresponding to the types of the detection data when an abnormality is detected.

7. An improved anti-disaster monitoring system, comprising:

a plurality of terminals;

a receiver connected to said plurality of terminals through a transmission path, said receiver including means for calling the terminals in sequence by transmitting calling signals each of which designates an address of one of said terminals, said terminals including means for transmitting a terminal response signal when a calling address coincides with a self address of a terminal, and in which said receiver decodes the received terminal response signal and performs alarming, and each of said terminals having an interrupt transmitting section for transmitting a break signal which invalidates the terminal response signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is transmitted to said receiver from any of the terminals over an entire terminal response signal returning period when an abnormality is detected to notify generation of an interrupt, and said receiver having an interrupt detection section for detecting an interrupt of a terminal when said receiver receives the break signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is received, said receiver having a means for transmitting the calling signal for interrupt confirmation to the terminals when said interrupt detection section determines an interrupt from the received break signal to allow the terminal to transmit an interrupt level signal which indicates the cause of generation of the interrupt and said interrupt level signal indicating an order of priority of the process for specifying the terminal in which an abnormality is detected on the basis of abnormality detection data indicating the cause of generation of the interrupt, whereby alarming can be performed initially by any one of said interrupt transmitting sections, and thereafter the terminal in which an abnormality is detected can be identified by said receiver of said anti-disaster monitoring system.

8. A method of performing an interrupt of an abnormality detection signal, said method being carried out in an anti-disaster monitoring system in which a receiver is connected to a plurality of terminals through a transmission path, comprising the steps of said receiver calling said terminals in sequence by transmitting calling signals each of which designates an address of the terminal, the terminals transmitting a terminal response signal when the address coincides with a self-address of a terminal, and the receiver decoding the received terminal response signal and performing alarming, the terminals breaking the terminal response signal to said receiver over an entire terminal response signal returning period;

and each of said terminals having an interrupt transmitting section for transmitting a break signal which invalidates the terminal response signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is transmitted to said receiver from any of the terminals over the entire terminal response signal returning period when an abnormality is detected to notify generation of an interrupt, and said receiver having an interrupt detection section for detecting an interrupt of a terminal when said receiver receives the break signal on a timing when the terminal response signal is received; and

said interrupt level signal indicating an order of priority of the process for specifying the terminal in which an abnormality is detected on the basis of abnormality detection data indicating the cause of generation of the interrupt, whereby alarming can be performed initially by any one of said interrupt transmitting sections, and thereafter the terminal in which an abnormality is detected can be identified by said receiver of said anti-disaster monitoring system.