Automatically locating fire alarms

• US 9,189,938 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2012
• Issued: 11/17/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens Schweiz AG (Siemens AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens Schweiz AG (Siemens AG)
• Inventors: Kolb, Dieter
• Primary Examiner(s): Tweel, Jr., John A
• Application Number:
  US14/007,561
• Publication Number:
  US 20140015667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,336 Days
• Field of Search: 340/501, 340/3.32, 709/217, 714/43, 714/49
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0745 in an input/output transactions management context input/output processing in general G06F13/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0751 Error or fault detection not based on redundancy power supply failures G06F1/30; network fault management H04L41/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/0793 Remedial or corrective actions recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/00 Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/003 Address allocation methods and details
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/145 of fire detection circuits

Abstract

In a building, an identification number and positioning of a fire alarm is automatically compared either in a control panel or a mobile communication device of a user to automatically locate a fire alarm. Because no manual entries are required, erroneous entries are avoided.

Claims

1. A method for automatically locating a fire alarm, in particular in a building, the method comprising:

receiving an indication of a position at which the fire alarm is installed using an input and a display of a plan on a mobile communication device;

triggering a test message of the fire alarm to a control center, the test message including a unique identification number of the fire alarm;

receiving an instruction at the control center from the mobile communication device to send each test message received at the control center within a predefined period of time to the mobile communication device;

assigning, if precisely one test message is returned by the control center, the unique identification number contained in the test message for the position of the fire alarm in the plan displayed on the mobile communication device assigned using the at least one input device;

triggering a new test message of the fire alarm to the control center, if more than one test message is returned; and

storing the assignment of the unique identification number of the fire alarm together with the position in a building management system.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising sending instruction to the control center in response to by a single action of an operator that also triggers the test message.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising activating a localization system to determine the position of the fire alarm and communicate the position to the mobile communication device in response to by the single action of an operator that also triggers the test message.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said triggering of the test message includes activating a localization system to determine the position of the fire alarm and communicate the position to the mobile communication device.

5. A method for automatically locating a fire alarm in a building equipped with a localization system, comprising:

activating the localization system by an activation device as a result of activation of a fire alarm by an operator;

sending position data of a mechanical contact from the localization system to the activation device by a first data communications system;

transmitting the position data from the activation device to a storage medium of the fire alarm by a second data communications system; and

triggering, by an operator, a test message of the fire alarm to a control center by the activation device, the test message including a unique identification number of the fire alarm and the position data of the fire alarm.

6. A method for automatically locating a fire alarm in a building, comprising:

triggering a test message of the fire alarm to a control center an operator, the test message including a unique identification number of the fire alarm;

determining position data of the fire alarm by a positioning system of a mobile communication device;

transmitting the position data of the fire alarm to a control center by the mobile communication device; and

the identification number of the fire alarm is assigned to the position data of the fire alarm by the control center.

7. A device for automatically locating a fire alarm in a building, comprising:

an alarm generator triggering a test message of the fire alarm to a control center;

a programmed processor determining position data of the fire alarm;

a data communications system, coupled to the fire alarm and the programmed processor, transmitting the test message and the position data; and

a storage, coupled to the data communications system, storing the position data of the fire alarm in association with an identifier of the fire alarm.