Alarm

• US 8,514,074 B2
• Filed: 11/25/2008
• Issued: 08/20/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Inventors: Egawa, Yoshitaka, Matsukuma, Hidenari
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Phung
• Application Number:
  US12/991,318
• Publication Number:
  US 20110057794A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,729 Days
• Field of Search: 340/540, 340/506, 340/628, 340/632, 340/636.1, 702/63
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/113 Constructional details
• 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 29/145 of fire detection circuits

Abstract

An alarm comprising: a transmission reception circuit unit transmitting and receiving an event signal with an other alarm; a sensor unit detecting an abnormality; an alerting unit outputting an abnormality warning; an abnormality monitoring unit receiving an abnormality detection signal from the sensor unit, while outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination source, and transmitting to the other alarm the event signal indicating an abnormality, meanwhile, outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination end when the event signal indicating an abnormality is received from the other alarm; and an inspection processing unit transmitting to the other alarm an event signal indicating a self inspection result, and, when an event signal indicating an inspection result is received from the other alarm, reporting an inspection result of a plurality of alarms in coordinated relation.

Claims

1. An alarm comprising:

a transmission reception circuit unit transmitting and receiving an event signal with an other alarm;

a sensor unit detecting an abnormality;

an alerting unit outputting an abnormality warning;

an abnormality monitoring unit receiving an abnormality detection signal from the sensor unit, while outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination source, and transmitting to the other alarm the event signal indicating an abnormality, meanwhile, outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination end when the event signal indicating an abnormality is received from the other alarm; and

an inspection processing unit transmitting to the other alarm an event signal indicating a self inspection result, and, when an event signal indicating an inspection result is received from the other alarm, reporting an inspection result of a plurality of alarms in coordinated relation.

3. The alarm according to either one of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein

the inspection processing unit transmits to the other alarm an event signal indicating an abnormality when the inspection result changes from normal to abnormal, and transmits to the other alarm an event signal indicating a normal condition when the inspection result changes from abnormal to normal.

7. The alarm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

the sensor unit comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is a smoke detection unit converting a light received at the light receiving element to a light reception signal;

and

the inspection processing unit detects a first light reception level of the light receiving element when the light emitting element is illuminated, and also detects a second light reception level of the light receiving element when the light emitting element is not illuminated, and determines a difference between the first light reception level and the second light reception level, and when the difference is less than a predetermined threshold, the inspection result is set to abnormal, meanwhile, when the difference is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold, the inspection result is set to normal.

8. The alarm according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

the sensor is a temperature detection unit comprising a temperature detection element;

and

the inspection processing unit sets an inspection result to abnormal when the inspection processing unit detects a short, in which a resistance value of the temperature detection element becomes approximately zero, or when the inspection processing unit detects a severance, in which a resistance value of the temperature detection element becomes approximately infinitely large, and in an other instance, the inspection processing unit sets the inspection result to normal.

2. An alarm comprising:

a transmission reception circuit unit transmitting and receiving an event signal with an other alarm;

a sensor unit detecting an abnormality;

an alerting unit outputting an abnormality warning;

an abnormality monitoring unit receiving an abnormality detection signal from the sensor unit, while outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination source, and transmitting to the other alarm the event signal indicating an abnormality, meanwhile, outputting the abnormality warning of a coordination end when the event signal indicating an abnormality is received from the other alarm; and

an inspection processing unit registering an inspection result of a self to a control table, and, transmitting to the other alarm an event signal indicating the inspection result, when an event signal indicating an inspection result is received from the other alarm registering the inspection result received into the control table, and, when a predetermined operation input is discerned, reporting an inspection result of a plurality of alarms in coordinated relation based on the control table.

4. The alarm according to claim 2, wherein

when the inspection processing unit receives an event signal indicating an abnormality, the inspection processing unit rewrites an inspection result of a corresponding alarm to abnormal in the control table, meanwhile, when the inspection processing unit receives an event signal indicating a normal condition, the inspection processing unit rewrites an inspection result of a corresponding alarm to normal in the control table.

5. The alarm according to claim 2, wherein

when the inspection processing unit discerns a predetermined operation input, the inspection processing unit outputs an alerting sound indicating an occurrence of an abnormality when an inspection result of at least one alarm registered to the control table is abnormal, and outputs an alerting sound indicating a normal condition when an inspection result of all alarms is normal.

6. The alarm according to claim 2, wherein

when the inspection processing unit discerns a predetermined operation input, the inspection processing unit transmits to an alarm at an abnormality occurrence source an event signal indicating an abnormality alert when an inspection result of an alarm registered with the control table is abnormal, meanwhile, the inspection processing unit outputs an alerting sound indicating an occurrence of an abnormality when the inspection processing unit receives an event signal from the other alarm indicating an abnormality alert.