Environmental and security monitoring system with flexible alarm notification and status capability

• US 7,009,510 B1
• Filed: 08/12/2002
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PhonetiCs, Inc. (Appiant Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: PhonetiCs, Inc. (Appiant Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Douglass, Robert J., Fairburn, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pope, Daryl C.
• Application Number:
  US10/222,484
• Time in Patent Office: 1,303 Days
• Field of Search: 340/531, 340/506, 340/505, 340/517, 340/520, 340/521, 340/3.1, 340/541, 379 39- 44, 379/51, 709/206
• US Class Current: 340/531
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements

Abstract

A monitoring system includes a host having a plurality of sensor inputs for connection to sensors. A converter is designed to receive input signals from the sensor input and to convert the input signals from the sensors into digital signals. A processing system is configured to receive the digital signals and to generate alarm signals in response to selected ones of the received digital signals. An internally integrated voice/data modem is in operative association with the processing system. A phone connector is placed in operative association with the voice/data modem, to act as a port for transmission of the alarms to an external telephone network. A network connector is in operative association with the processing system and is designed to receive data in the form of alarms from the processing system and to act as a port for transmission of the alarm data to data network. The alarms are deliverable over phone lines as voice alarms, pager alarms and fax alarms, and are deliverable over a public or private network as e-mail alarms, SNMP trap alarms, and web page alarms. Remote status inquiries may be made via voice call and two-way e-mail operations.

Claims

1. A method of performing monitoring of a standalone monitoring system comprising:

inputting analog signals from external sensors to sensor inputs of a host, wherein the external sensors monitor a plurality of conditions in a server room holding at least one server, the conditions being monitored including at least a sub-group including temperature, temperature of a server rack, humidity, under the server room floor, smoke, power values, battery levels and sound levels, in the server room;

converting the analog signals received at the sensor inputs to digital signals;

scanning the digital signals, by a processing system, wherein current values of the conditions being monitored by the external sensors are obtained by the processing system;

determining whether any of the values from the external sensors are beyond a preset range;

generating an alarm signal for the at least one external sensor when at least one of the values is beyond the preset range;

generating a status report for the at least one external sensor when at least one of the values is within the preset range;

dispatching the alarm signals or the status report simultaneously via at least one of a phone path leading to a public phone network and a network path leading to at least one of a TCP/IP network or private LAN or WAN data network;

the phone path configured by operatively connecting the processing system, an integrated voice/data modem, and a phone network connector, wherein alarm signals and status reports are delivered to an external source as a voice call message; and

the network path configured by operatively connecting the processing system and a network connector, wherein alarm signals and status reports are delivered to an external source as at least one of an e-mail message, a message to a web page or an SNMP trap message.

2. The method according to claim 1, further including:

configuring the host to be contacted via a touch tone phone;

generating, by the host, a voice command menu, which provides a plurality of command options;

designing the host to receive selected commands from the voice command menu dependent on commands selected by use of the touch tone phone;

performing, by the host unit, the commands entered via the touch tone phone; and

outputting, as a voice call status report, the results of the performed commands.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the voice command menu is customized.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the voice call status report is customized.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the status report is provided only to a user with appropriate permissions.

6. The method according to claim 1, further including:

assigning an e-mail account to the host;

checking, by the host, the e-mail account for incoming messages;

configuring the host to receive in its e-mail account an e-mail including a command request;

performing, by the host, operations associated with the command request received in the host e-mail account;

generating an e-mail, by the host, with a status report of the performed command request; and

sending the e-mail outside of the host to an external location, wherein the sending provides a two-way e-mail communication.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the two-way e-mail is dependent upon a user'"'"'s permissions.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the e-mail sent by the system in the two-way e-mail process, includes an electronic image.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the external source is a person, and the plurality of conditions in the server room are defined as classes.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the user selects the classes for which they have responsibility.

11. The method according to claim 10, further including generating a class table, wherein classes are generated.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the user is one of a Master System Administrator, Site Administrator or User.

13. A monitoring system designed to monitor a plurality of conditions in server room and to generate voice alarms and voice status reports, the system comprising:

a host including

a plurality of sensor inputs to which are connected at least some sensors monitoring the plurality of conditions, including temperature, temperature of a server rack, humidity, water under the server room, smoke, power values, battery levels and sound levels, in the server room;

a converter designed to receive signals from the sensor inputs and to convert the signals into digital signals;

a processing system configured to receive the digital signals and to generate voice alarm signals or voice status reports in response to selected ones of the received digital signals;

an internally integrated voice and data modem in operative association with the processing system to receive data in the form of the voice alarm signals or voice status reports;

a phone connector in operative association with the voice/data modem, to act as a port for transmission of the voice alarm signals or voice status reports to an external telephone network; and

a network connector in operative association with the processing system to receive data, in the form of alarm signals or status reports, from the processing system and to act as a port for transmission of the voice alarm signals and voice status reports to an external data network, wherein the same voice alarm signals or voice status reports may be provided via both the phone connector and network connector.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the voice status reports are generated in response to an inquiry from a user, and each voice status report includes an intelligent voice menu reporting the status of alarm conditions, wherein the intelligent voice menu issues voice alarm signals when relevant content exists.

15. The system according to claim 13, wherein the voice alarm signal includes codes which cause a call to a main telephone number, a time delay and a call to an extension number.

16. The system according to claim 13, further including a microphone arrangement connected to detect sound level alarms, and

a filter to filter sounds detected by the microphone arrangement, wherein only sounds related to the sound level alarms are detected.