System and method for real time anti-smash protection

• US 8,742,920 B2
• Filed: 02/23/2012
• Issued: 06/03/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Edwards, Lewin A. R. W., Marabella, Robert W., Tyroler, Dan
• Primary Examiner(s): Tweel, Jr., John A
• Application Number:
  US13/403,274
• Publication Number:
  US 20130222131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 831 Days
• Field of Search: 340/527, 340/506, 340/521, 340/529, 726/22
• US Class Current: 340/527
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/046 prevention of tampering with detection circuits

Abstract

An apparatus to provide real time anti-smash protection for monitoring systems includes a displaced server which communicates with a plurality of monitoring systems. Methods of operating the server provide assurance that alarm indicating messages are forwarded to a monitoring station for evaluation by an operator even where a local monitoring system has been damaged or compromised.

Claims

1. An apparatus, which includes a regional monitoring system, comprising:

a displaced alarm processing server wherein the system and the server communicate, at least in part, by one of a wired, or, a wireless medium, and wherein the monitoring system has armed and disarmed states with an alarm delay time interval activated in response to detecting a selected event and wherein the server includes circuitry to query the system, at least intermittently, in accordance with a predetermined temporal parameter, the selected event corresponding to a detected alarm condition, and a type of alarm is evaluated by the server to determine if an alarm indicator should be immediately sent to a monitoring service location.

2. An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein status information is acquired by at least one of, the server pulls status information from the system periodically and the temporal parameter comprises a pulling period, or, the monitoring system pushes status information intermittently to the server.

3. An apparatus as in claim 1 where the server queries the system at the end of the delay time interval which corresponds to the predetermined temporal parameter.

4. An apparatus as in claim 3 where a timer is activated for a selected duration in response to determining that the alarm indicator should be held and not be immediately sent to the monitoring service location.

5. An apparatus as in claim 4 where any held alarm indicator is sent to the monitoring service location in the event that the timer duration expires or, the system fails to respond to a request for status.

6. An apparatus as in claim 5 where the system includes a plurality of condition sensors and, the selected event comprises selected signals from at least one sensor.

7. An apparatus as in claim 6 wherein an indicium of a signal from a selected intrusion indicating sensor, when received by the system, is transmitted to the server and queued for subsequent transmission to the monitoring service location.

8. An apparatus as in claim 7 where the queued indicium is canceled in response to the system assuming a disarmed status.

9. An apparatus as in claim 3 and responsive to a selected reply message, the server determines that the system has been disarmed.

10. An apparatus as in claim 3 where the server receives and holds for the delay interval, an initial alarm indicating message from the system.

11. An apparatus as in claim 10 where the server transmits a follow-up status request message to the system at the end of the delay interval, and in the absence of a selected response, forwards the alarm indicating message to the monitoring station.

12. A method comprising:

providing a regional monitoring system;

establishing an armed state at the system;

providing a displaced control element and responsive to receiving an alarm indicating message from the system, the control element establishes a delay interval;

responsive to the delay interval expiring while the system is armed, the control element transmits one of a status inquiry to the system, or, an alarm indicating message to a monitoring station; and

responsive to a type of alarm, one of transmitting the alarm message immediately, or, queuing the alarm message.

13. A method as in claim 12 where the control element periodically pulls a status indicium from the system, and responsive to receiving the alarm indicating message therein, evaluates the alarm type.