Enhanced visual and audible signaling for sensed alarm condition

• US 6,646,566 B1
• Filed: 05/22/2002
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Maple Chase Company
• Original Assignee: Ranco Incorporated of Delaware (Schneider Electric SE)
• Inventors: Tanguay, William P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie
• Application Number:
  US10/069,708
• Time in Patent Office: 538 Days
• Field of Search: 340/628, 340/629, 340/630, 340/632, 340/636.1, 340/815.4, 340/815.45, 340/384.1, 340/384.7, 340/384.71, 340/815.69
• US Class Current: 340/815.4
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/00 Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/009 Signalling of the alarm condition to a substation whose identity is signalled to a central station, e.g. relaying alarm signals in order to extend communication range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 3/10 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources

Abstract

A sensor alarm which provides an alarm notification of a dangerous condition within a monitored space, further provides notice of its current state condition, from among several states, with distinct message comprising a combination of encoded audible and visible mnemonics annunciations.

Claims

1. A sensor alarm, for annunciating an alarm condition in response to its detection of a dangerous condition within its installed space, comprising:

sensor means, for detecting the presence of a dangerous condition and for providing an alarm signal in response thereto; and

alarm means, including an audible annunciator and a visible annunciator, and including logic circuitry having an alarm signal protocol which, in response to the presence of said alarm signal, actuates said audible annunciator and said visible annunciator to provide a combination audible and visible alarm annunciation of the dangerous condition during an alarm interval;

as characterized by;

said logic circuitry further including an alarm origination signal protocol for providing, in response to the antecedent presence of said alarm signal, and at the conclusion of said alarm interval, pulsed excitation of said visible annunciator to provide an encoded visible annunciation of the sensor alarm as the originating source of the alarm annunciation.

2. The alarm sensor of claim 1, wherein said alarm protocol actuates said audible annunciator in a fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern, in each of a plurality of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval.

3. The alarm sensor of claim 2, wherein said fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern is representative of the audible annunciation identified for smoke alarm conditions by Underwriters Laboratories standard UL 217.

4. The alarm sensor of claim 2, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation as periodically varying illumination of said visible annunciator in a manner which emulates the fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern of the audible annunciation of said alarm condition, to provide to an observer an associative identification of said visible alarm origination annunciation with said audible alarm annunciation.

5. The alarm sensor of claim 4, wherein said visible alarm origination annunciation comprises a fixed, visually rhythmic pattern of pulsed illumination, in each of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval, said visually rhythmic pattern comprising three pulses of illumination within each said cycle.

6. The alarm sensor of claim 5, wherein said three pulses of illumination occur within the first half of the time period of each said cycle.

7. The alarm sensor of claim 2, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation while inhibiting actuation of said audible annunciator.

8. The alarm sensor of claim 3, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation as a periodically varying illumination of said visible annunciator in a manner which emulates the UL 217 standard for the audible alarm annunciation.

9. The alarm sensor of claim 5, wherein said visible annunciator is a light emitting diode.

10. The alarm sensor of claim 1, further comprising:

a battery;

battery monitoring circuitry detecting the presence of a low battery voltage condition and for providing a low battery signal in response thereto;

and wherein said logic circuitry further includes a low battery annunciation signal protocol which, in response to the presence of a low battery signal in the absence, both individually and jointly, of an alarm annunciation and an alarm origination annunciation, actuates said audible annunciator and said visible annunciator, jointly, to provide an encoded combination of audible and visible annunciation of a low battery condition.

11. The sensor of claim 10, wherein said encoded combination of audible and visible annunciation comprise a pulse encoded audible low battery annunciation and a pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation.

12. The sensor of claim 10, wherein said pulse encoded audible low battery annunciation and said pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation each comprise periodically repeating patterns of pulses.

13. The sensor of claim 12, wherein said pulse encoded audible annunciator comprises a horn.

14. The sensor of claim 13, wherein the periodically repeating pattern of said encoded audible annunciation comprises an emitted horn chirp.

15. The alarm sensor of claim 12, wherein said pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation comprises a fixed, visually rhythmic pattern of pulsed illumination, in each of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval.

16. The alarm sensor of claim 12, wherein said visually rhythmic pattern comprises three pulses of illumination within each said cycle.

17. The alarm sensor of claim 16, wherein said three pulses of illumination occur within the first half of the time period of each said cycle.

18. A sensor alarm, of the type which originates annunciation of an alarm in response to its detection of a dangerous condition within its monitored space, and which also annunciates an alarm originated by an external sensor alarm to which it is connected for response, comprising:

sensor means, for detecting the presence of a dangerous condition and for providing a monitored space alarm signal in response thereto;

interconnect means, for receiving external sensor alarm signals from external sensor alarms connected thereto; and

alarm means, including an audible annunciator and a visible annunciator, and including logic circuitry having an alarm signal protocol which, in response to the presence, both individually and jointly, of said monitored space alarm signal and said external sensor alarm signal, actuates said audible annunciator and said visible annunciator, jointly, to provide audible and visible alarm annunciation of the dangerous condition during an alarm interval;

as characterized by;

said logic circuitry further including an alarm origination signal protocol for providing, in response to the antecedent presence of said monitored space alarm signal, and at the conclusion of said alarm interval, pulsed excitation of said visible annunciator to provide an encoded visible annunciation of the sensor alarm as the originating source of the alarm annunciation.

19. The alarm sensor of claim 18, wherein said alarm protocol actuates said audible annunciator in a fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern, in each of a plurality of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval.

20. The alarm sensor of claim 19, wherein said fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern is representative of the audible annunciation identified for smoke alarm conditions by Underwriters Laboratories standard UL 217.

21. The alarm sensor of claim 19, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation as periodically varying illumination of said visible annunciator in a manner which emulates the fixed, audibly rhythmic pattern of the audible annunciation of said alarm condition, to provide to an observer an associative identification of said visible alarm origination annunciation with said audible alarm annunciation.

22. The alarm sensor of claim 21, wherein said visible alarm origination annunciation comprises a fixed, visually rhythmic pattern of pulsed illumination, in each of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval.

23. The alarm sensor of claim 21, wherein said visually rhythmic pattern comprising three pulses of illumination within each said cycle.

24. The alarm sensor of claim 23, wherein said three pulses of illumination occur within the first half of the time period of each said cycle.

25. The alarm sensor of claim 19, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation while inhibiting actuation of said audible annunciator.

26. The alarm sensor of claim 20, wherein said alarm origination signal protocol provides said encoded visible alarm origination annunciation as a periodically varying illumination of said visible annunciator in a manner which emulates the UL 217 standard for the audible alarm annunciation.

27. The alarm sensor of claim 22, wherein said visible annunciator is a light emitting diode.

28. The alarm sensor of claim 18, further comprising:

a battery;

battery monitoring circuitry detecting the presence of a low battery voltage condition and for providing a low battery signal in response thereto;

and wherein said logic circuitry further includes a low battery annunciation signal protocol which, in response to the presence of a low battery signal in the absence, both individually and jointly, of an alarm annunciation and an alarm origination annunciation,

actuates said audible annunciator and said visible annunciator, jointly, to provide an encoded combination of audible and visible annunciation of a low battery condition.

29. The sensor of claim 28, wherein said encoded combination of audible and visible annunciation comprise a pulse encoded audible low battery annunciation and a pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation.

30. The sensor of claim 28, wherein said pulse encoded audible low battery annunciation and said pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation each comprise periodically repeating patterns of pulses.

31. The sensor of claim 29, wherein said pulse encoded audible annunciator comprises a horn.

32. The sensor of claim 30, wherein the periodically repeating pattern of said encoded audible annunciation comprises an emitted horn signal.

33. The alarm sensor of claim 28, wherein said pulse encoded visible low battery annunciation comprises a fixed, visually rhythmic pattern of pulsed illumination, in each of succeeding cycles within the alarm interval.

34. The alarm sensor of claim 33, said visually rhythmic pattern comprising four pulses of illumination within each said cycle.

35. The alarm sensor of claim 34, wherein said four pulses of illumination occur within the first half of the time period of each said cycle.