Alarm system with individual alarm indicator testing
First Claim
1. A method of testing a building alarm system, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing plural notification appliances connected to a system controller, each notification appliance having a test status indicator for indicating notification appliance test status and an alarm indicator for indicating an alarm condition to building occupants;
(b) selecting at the system controller one or more notification appliances to operate; and
(c) communicating from the system controller to each selected notification appliance an instruction to operate its associated test status indicator for verification without operating its associated alarm indicator so as to avoid disrupting the building occupants.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A building alarm system includes addressable notification appliances connected to a system controller, with each notification appliance having a status indicator and an alarm indicator. The status indicator, such as an LED, provides for system test modes that avoid disruption of building occupants. To test the alarm system, the system controller selects which notification appliances to operate in response to a test alarm input and communicates to each selected appliance an instruction to operate its associated status indicator without operating its associated audible or flashing visible alarm indicators. In a troubleshooting mode, the system controller polls each of the notification appliances and receives an answer in response to the poll from any of the appliances. The controller operates the LED indicators of those appliances which answer the poll. This allows a technician to locate for troubleshooting only those appliances having an nonoperating LED indicator, perhaps due to a failure to respond to its poll. According to another aspect, each addressable notification appliances includes a microprocessor and a manually-activated switch. The microprocessor is programmed to transmit a first message in response to an activation of the switch. The system controller receives the first message from the activated appliance and in response transmits a second message instructing the appliance to operate its associated alarm indicator for a test time interval.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method of testing a building alarm system, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing plural notification appliances connected to a system controller, each notification appliance having a test status indicator for indicating notification appliance test status and an alarm indicator for indicating an alarm condition to building occupants;
(b) selecting at the system controller one or more notification appliances to operate; and
(c) communicating from the system controller to each selected notification appliance an instruction to operate its associated test status indicator for verification without operating its associated alarm indicator so as to avoid disrupting the building occupants. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An alarm system comprising:
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plural notification appliances, each notification appliance having a test status indicator for indicating notification appliance test status and an alarm indicator for indicating an alarm condition to building occupants; and
a system controller connected to the plural notification appliances, the system controller in a test mode selecting one or more notification appliances to operate and communicating to each selected notification appliance an instruction to operate its associated test status indicator for verification without operating its associated alarm indicator. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method comprising the steps of:
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providing plural notification appliances connected to a system controller, each notification appliance having an alarm indicator and a locally-activated test switch;
activating the locally-activated test switch of one of the plural notification appliances;
transmitting a first message from the one activated appliance in response to the test switch activation; and
receiving the first message at the system controller and transmitting to the activated appliance a second message instructing the activated appliance to operate its associated alarm indicator for a test time interval. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. An alarm system, comprising:
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plural notification appliances, each notification appliance having an alarm indicator and a locally-activated s switch, the appliance being programmed to transmit a first message in response to an activation of the test switch; and
a system controller connected to the plural notification appliances, the system controller receiving the first message from the activated appliance and in response to the first message transmitting to the activated appliance a second message instructing the activated appliance to operate its associated alarm indicator for a test time interval. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification