Environmental condition detector with validated personalized verbal messages

• US 8,428,954 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2012
• Issued: 04/23/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Morris, Gary Jay
• Inventors: Morris, Gary Jay
• Primary Examiner(s): He, Jialong
• Application Number:
  US13/464,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20130073289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 353 Days
• Field of Search: 704/270, 704/275, 340/540, 340/521, 340/628
• US Class Current: 704/270
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/26 Speech to text systems G10L15/08 takes precedence

Abstract

An environmental condition detector emits only safe, validated verbal messages recorded in a user'"'"'s voice to help occupants of a building respond safely to sensed environmental conditions. The message emitted in the user'"'"'s voice is generally a familiar voice to other building occupants to better capture their attention, and only certain, safe, user messages are validated for use thereby eliminating the chance that the user may unknowingly record an unsafe message to be emitted during a sensed environmental condition. The verbal message is recorded by a user and is analyzed through speech recognition to determine if the user-recorded message can be validated as containing safe content. A user-recorded message found to match manufacturer preprogrammed message content is validated and selected to be audibly emitted in the user'"'"'s voice when an environmental condition is sensed. Various embodiments include single station units, interconnected units, or centrally controlled security systems.

Claims

1. An environmental condition detector comprising:

speech recognition circuitry;

electronic memory;

at least one manufacturer pre-programmed message stored in the electronic memory;

the speech recognition circuitry validates a user-provided verbal message when the user-provided verbal message matches a manufacturer pre-recorded message stored in the electronic memory;

the speech recognition circuitry rejects a user-provided verbal message when the user-provided verbal message fails to match a manufacturer pre-recorded message; and

the validated, user-provided verbal message is emitted in the voice of the user through an audio output transducer when an environmental condition sensor senses an environmental condition.

2. The environmental condition detector in claim 1 wherein the user-provided verbal message is spoken into a microphone by a user after a verbal prompt is emitted from the audio output transducer.

3. The environmental condition detector in claim 2 wherein the verbal prompt is a manufacturer pre-recorded message delivered in at least two different audible, sequential message segments whereby the sequential message segments are verbally repeated into the microphone by the user as prompted.

4. The environmental condition detector in claim 2 wherein after a pre-set number of rejections of a user-provided message by the speech recognition circuitry, the user is no longer prompted to repeat a verbal message.

5. The environmental condition detector in claim 2 wherein the microphone receives a verbal message from the user in a set-up mode of operation.

6. The environmental condition detector of claim 1 wherein, during a set-up mode, a person'"'"'s name is recorded into electronic memory to be emitted in the voice of the user through the audio output transducer when an environmental condition is sensed.

7. The environmental condition detector in claim 1 wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises any one of a smoke sensor, a fire sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a gas sensor, a thermal sensor, a motion sensor, a vibration sensor, a glass break sensor, an intrusion sensor, a magnetic switch sensor, an optical sensor, an earthquake sensor, an image sensor, a water sensor, a wave sensor, a pressure sensor, a radiation sensor, or an acoustic sensor.

8. The environmental condition detector of claim 1 wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises both a smoke sensor and a carbon monoxide sensor.

9. The environmental condition detector of claim 1 wherein the speech recognition circuitry, the electronic memory, the audio output transducer, and the environmental condition sensor are contained within a housing.

10. An environmental condition detection system comprising:

a central control panel;

speech recognition circuitry;

electronic memory;

at least one environmental condition sensor connected to the central control panel and disposed at a remote position with respect to the central control panel;

at least one manufacturer pre-programmed message stored in the electronic memory;

the speech recognition circuitry validates a user-provided verbal message when the user-provided verbal message matches the content of a manufacturer pre-recorded message stored in the electronic memory; and

the validated, user-provided verbal message is emitted in the voice of the user through an audio output transducer when the at least one environmental condition sensor senses an environmental condition.

11. The environmental condition detection system of claim 10 wherein the at least one environmental condition sensor is wirelessly connected to the central control panel.

12. The environmental condition detection system of claim 10 wherein the at least one environmental condition sensor is hardwired connected to the central control panel.

13. The environmental condition detection system of claim 10 wherein the audio output transducer is located at the central control panel.

14. The environmental condition detection system of claim 10 wherein the audio output transducer is located at the remotely positioned, environmental condition detector.

15. The environmental condition detection system of claim 10 wherein, during a set-up mode, a user records a person'"'"'s name to be emitted in the user'"'"'s voice through the audio output transducer when an environmental condition is sensed.

16. The environmental condition detection system in claim 10 wherein the at least one environmental condition sensor comprises any one of a smoke sensor, a fire sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a gas sensor, a thermal sensor, a motion sensor, a vibration sensor, a glass break sensor, an intrusion sensor, a magnetic switch sensor, an optical sensor, an earthquake sensor, an image sensor, a water sensor, a wave sensor, a pressure sensor, a radiation sensor, or an acoustic sensor.

17. A method of operating an environmental condition detector comprising the steps of:

analyzing a user-recorded verbal message by speech recognition circuitry to compare the user-provided verbal message content with a manufacturer pre-recorded verbal message;

validating the user-provided verbal message if said message matches a manufacturer pre-recorded verbal message;

rejecting the user-provided verbal message if said message does not match a manufacturer pre-recorded verbal message; and

audibly emitting a validated, user-provided, verbal message in the voice of the user when an environmental condition sensor senses an environmental condition.

18. The environmental condition sensor in claim 17 wherein the environmental condition sensor comprises any one of a smoke sensor, a fire sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, a gas sensor, a thermal sensor, a motion sensor, a vibration sensor, a glass break sensor, an intrusion sensor, a magnetic switch sensor, an optical sensor, an earthquake sensor, an image sensor, a water sensor, a wave sensor, a pressure sensor, a radiation sensor, or an acoustic sensor.

19. The method of operating an environmental condition detector in claim 17 further comprising prompting the user to record a verbal message from a menu of safe, manufacturer pre-programmed messages.

20. The method of operating an environmental condition detector in claim 17 further comprising emitting audible verbal messages within silent periods of tonal pattern alarms which are emitted when the environmental condition sensor senses an environmental condition.