Multicondition detection apparatus and method providing interleaved tone and verbal warnings
First Claim
1. An apparatus for the detection and enunciation of hazardous conditions within an environment, comprising:
- at least a first and a second detection circuits positioned to sense ambient conditions within the environment, said first detection circuit conditioned to sense a first hazardous condition, said first detection circuit producing a first condition output signal in response thereto, and said second detection circuit conditioned to sense a second hazardous condition, said second detection circuit producing a second condition output signal in response thereto;
an alarm circuit response to said first and to said second output signals for generating at least a first alarm pattern;
a voice synthesizer circuit responsive to said first and to said second output signals for generating at least a first voice message;
an enunciation circuit; and
an interleaving control circuit coupled to said alarm circuit and to said voice synthesizer circuit, said interleaving control circuit causing said enunciation circuit to selectively broadcast at least said first alarm pattern and said first voice message.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for the detection and enunciation of hazardous conditions within an environment comprises at least two detection circuits positioned to sense ambient conditions within a home or business environment. One of the detection circuits senses the presence of smoke, and the other detection circuit senses the presence of carbon monoxide. The apparatus also comprises an alarm circuit which is responsive to each of the detection circuits for generating at least one alarm pattern, and preferably a separate alarm pattern for each different sensed condition. A voice synthesizer circuit is also included, and is responsive to each of the detection circuits for generating at least one voice message. As with the alarm patterns, the voice synthesizer preferably generates separate voice messages for each separate detected condition. The apparatus advantageously also contains an interleaving control circuit. This interleaving control circuit interleaves the alarm patterns and voice messages in a predetermined sequence to reduce confusion in an emergency situation. A method for the detection and enunciation of multiple hazardous condition within an environment is also presented, and comprises the steps of: (a) sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least two hazardous condition; (b) generating an alarm pattern and a voice message in response to sensing the hazardous conditions; (c) interleaving the alarm pattern and the voice message; and (e) enunciating these interleaved alarm patterns and voice.
71 Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for the detection and enunciation of hazardous conditions within an environment, comprising:
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at least a first and a second detection circuits positioned to sense ambient conditions within the environment, said first detection circuit conditioned to sense a first hazardous condition, said first detection circuit producing a first condition output signal in response thereto, and said second detection circuit conditioned to sense a second hazardous condition, said second detection circuit producing a second condition output signal in response thereto;
an alarm circuit response to said first and to said second output signals for generating at least a first alarm pattern;
a voice synthesizer circuit responsive to said first and to said second output signals for generating at least a first voice message;
an enunciation circuit; and
an interleaving control circuit coupled to said alarm circuit and to said voice synthesizer circuit, said interleaving control circuit causing said enunciation circuit to selectively broadcast at least said first alarm pattern and said first voice message. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
wherein said alarm circuit is responsive to said level condition output signal for generating at least a second alarm pattern; and
wherein said voice synthesizer circuit is responsive to said level condition output signal for generating at least a second voice message; and
wherein said interleaving control circuit causes said enunciation circuit to selectively broadcast at least said second alarm pattern and said second voice message.
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14. A method for the detection and enunciation of hazardous condition within an environment, comprising the steps of:
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sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least a first and a second hazardous condition;
generating at least a first alarm pattern and at least a first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
interleaving said first alarm pattern and said first voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved first alarm pattern and first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
generating at least a second alarm pattern and a second voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition, the second alarm pattern and the second voice message being characteristic of the second hazardous condition, and the first alarm pattern and the first voice message being characteristic of the first hazardous condition; and
interleaving said second alarm pattern and said second voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved second alarm pattern and second voice message in response to sensing the second hazardous condition. - View Dependent Claims (15)
generating at least a third alarm pattern and a third voice message in response to sensing both of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition; and
interleaving said third alarm pattern and said third voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved third alarm pattern and third voice message in response to sensing both the first and the second hazardous conditions.
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16. A method for the detection and enunciation of hazardous condition within an environment, comprising the steps of:
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sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least a first and a second hazardous condition;
generating at least a first alarm pattern and at least a first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
interleaving said first alarm pattern and said first voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved first alarm pattern and first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition; and
wherein said step of sensing ambient conditions within the environment comprises the step of sensing the presence of smoke.
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17. A method for the detection and enunciation of hazardous condition within an environment, comprising the steps of:
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sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least a first and a second hazardous condition;
generating at least a first alarm pattern and at least a first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
interleaving said first alarm pattern and said first voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved first alarm pattern and first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition; and
wherein said step of sensing ambient conditions within the environment comprises the step of sensing the presence of carbon monoxide.
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18. A method for the detection and enunciation of hazardous condition within an environment comprising the steps of:
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sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least a first and a second hazardous condition;
generating at least a first alarm pattern and at least a first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
interleaving said first alarm pattern and said first voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved first alarm pattern and first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition; and
wherein said step of interleaving comprises the steps of;
enabling enunciation of the first alarm pattern for a first period of time;
disabling enunciation of the first alarm pattern at the expiration of the first period of time;
enabling enunciation of the first voice message at the expiration of the first period of time for a second period of time; and
disabling enunciation of the first voice message at the expiration of the second period of time.
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19. A method for the detection and enunciation of hazardous condition within an environment, comprising the steps of:
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sensing ambient conditions within the environment to detect at least a first and a second hazardous condition;
generating at least a first alarm pattern and at least a first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
interleaving said first alarm pattern and said first voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved first alarm pattern and first voice message in response to sensing at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition;
determining a level of at least one of said first and said second hazardous condition;
generating at least a second alarm pattern and at least a second voice message in response to determining the level of at least one of the first hazardous condition and the second hazardous condition exceeds a first threshold;
interleaving said second alarm pattern and said second voice message; and
enunciating said interleaved second alarm pattern and second voice message.
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Specification