Alarm system IP network with PSTN output

• US 9,356,798 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2015
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sierra Wireless America Incorporated (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Numerex Corporation (Sierra Wireless Incorporated)
• Inventors: Elliot, Harvey Alexander, Elliot, Bryan Field, Elliot, Daniel J.
• Primary Examiner(s): El-Zoobi, Maria
• Application Number:
  US14/598,737
• Publication Number:
  US 20150123783A1
• Time in Patent Office: 501 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/02 Monitoring continuously signalling or alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1471 splitting of costs
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/40013 Details regarding a bus controller
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/413 with random access, e.g. carrier-sense multiple-access with collision detection [CSMA-CD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/66 Arrangements for connecting between networks having differing types of switching systems, e.g. gateways

Abstract

Alarm customers on VoIP may use an adapter for conversion to Internet Protocol (IP) signals or may have an alarm system that uses IP signals to transmit alarm signals over the Internet. IP signals from alarm customers may go to any monitoring center for alarm system monitoring. IP signals from alarm systems using IP conversion equipment can go only to monitoring centers with specialized receiving equipment specific to the type of transmitting equipment in use at the customer'"'"'s premises. There is a pool of customers, whose dealers would convert to IP and stay with the current monitoring center if the center invested in receiving equipment. For the many small centers who will not or cannot invest in receiving equipment, the present invention will take IP signals from any or all brands of IP transmitting equipment, to a central server then retransmit to any center over POTS to the alarm monitoring center. Thus, an alarm monitoring center need not invest in a number of different IP monitoring systems in order to be IP monitoring compliant.

Claims

1. A method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a middleware server, a first customer alarm signal having a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) format from a first alarm panel associated with a first alarm system at a first premises,

receiving, at the middleware server, a second customer alarm signal having a second format from a second alarm panel associated with a second alarm system at a second premises,

converting, at the middleware server, the first and second customer alarm signals into monitoring center alarm signals having a common format, wherein the first alarm signal is converted from the POTS format to an IP format using a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) converter, and

transmitting from the middleware server to an alarm monitoring center the monitoring center alarm signals having the common format.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center alarm signals comprise Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) alarm signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring center alarm signals are Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) alarm signals.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second format of the second customer alarm signal comprises an IP format.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the converting step further comprises:

looking up a customer number derived from the second customer alarm signal, in a database,

determining customer alarm system type and an associated alarm monitoring center for the looked up customer number, and

converting the second customer alarm signal to one of the monitoring center alarm signals having the common format, based on the determined alarm system type and the determined associated alarm monitoring center.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

at the middleware server, looking up a customer number derived from the first customer alarm signal in a database,

at the middleware server, determining whether a customer associated with the customer number is to be directly notified of alarm events, and

responsive to the determination, transmitting, from the middleware server to the customer, a signal indicating that the first customer alarm signal has been generated.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the middleware server comprises a server farm.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the VOIP converter is operative to convert signals having IP, POTS, and PSTN formats into the monitoring center alarm signals having the common format.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first premises is associated with a first customer and the second premises is associated with a second customer.

10. A middleware server comprising:

a first communication interface configured to receive a plurality of customer alarm signals transmitted from a plurality of customer alarm systems, wherein the plurality of customer alarm signals comprises at least one customer alarm signal having a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) format;

a converter that is operative to convert the received customer alarm signals to monitoring center alarm signals having a common format;

a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) converter, operative to convert the POTS format of the at least one customer alarm signal to an IP (Internet Protocol) format; and

a second communication interface configured to transmit the monitoring center alarm signals to an alarm monitoring center.

11. The middleware server of claim 10, wherein one of the plurality of customer alarm systems comprises an IP signal generating alarm panel operative to generate one of the customer alarm signals in an IP signal format.

12. The middleware server of claim 10, wherein the received plurality of customer alarm signals comprises at least one other customer alarm signal having an IP format.

13. The middleware server of claim 10, further comprising:

a database operative to look up customer numbers derived from the plurality of customer alarm signals, and

a processor programmed to determine customer alarm system type and monitoring center for each looked up customer number, and to implement protocol conversions based on the determined customer alarm system types.

14. The middleware server of claim 10, wherein the converter is operative to convert between IP and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) formats.

15. The middleware server of claim 10, further comprising:

a database for looking up customer numbers derived from respective customer alarm signals, and

a processor configured to determine whether customers have elected to be directly notified of customer alarm signal events and to transmit alarm notifications for customer receipt.

16. A middleware server comprising:

a first communication interface configured for receiving a plurality of customer alarm signals having different formats, each of the customer alarms signals received from a different alarm panel associated with a different alarm system at a different premises;

a processor configured to convert the plurality of customer alarm signals into monitoring center alarm signals having a common format; and

a second communication interface operable to transmit the monitoring center alarm signals having the common format to an alarm monitoring center,

wherein the plurality of customer alarm signals having different formats comprise a customer alarm signal in a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) format, and

wherein the processor is further configured to convert the customer alarm signal in the POTS format into an IP signal.

17. The middleware server of claim 16, wherein the customer alarm signals having different formats comprise an IP-formatted customer alarm signal.

18. The middleware server of claim 16, wherein the processor is further configured to:

look up a customer number derived from one of the customer alarm signals in a database;

determine customer alarm system type and an associated alarm monitoring center for the looked up customer number; and

convert the one customer alarm signal to one of the monitoring center signals having the common format, based on the determined alarm system type.

19. The middleware server of claim 16, wherein one of the customer alarm signals comprises an Internet Protocol (IP) alarm signal, and the monitoring center alarm signals comprise Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) alarm signals.

20. The middleware server of claim 16, wherein the different formats comprise different IP formats.