Security system with earthquake detection

• US 9,558,644 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2014
• Issued: 01/31/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vivint Incorporated (NRG Energy, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Vivint Incorporated (NRG Energy, Inc.)
• Inventors: Warren, Jeremy B., Thomas, Jeffrey G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Fan, Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US14/193,165
• Publication Number:
  US 20140266762A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/10 responsive to calamitous events, e.g. tornados or earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/00 Alarm systems in which the alarm condition is signalled from a central station to a plurality of substations

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to approaches for detecting and monitoring for earthquakes using a control unit of a security system. A security system may include a plurality of sensors that detect alarm conditions and send alarm condition messages to a control unit for the security system. The control unit may be communicatively coupled to the sensors and configured to receive the alarm condition messages from the sensors. The security system may also include an earthquake sensor that senses earthquake conditions and sends an earthquake condition message to the control unit if it detects the earthquake condition. The control unit may include an alarm module. The control unit causes the alarm module to generate an alarm in response to receiving the earthquake condition message from the earthquake sensor.

Claims

1. A security system comprising:

a control unit communicatively coupled to one or more home security sensors and configured to receive one or more alarm condition messages from the one or more home security sensors, the control unit and the one or more home security sensors being located at a first location;

the one or more home security sensors configured to send the one or more alarm condition messages to the control unit in response to sensing one or more alarm conditions;

the control unit communicatively coupled to one or more additional control units, and configured to determine whether to send at least one of the alarm condition messages directly to at least one of the additional control units located at a location different from the first location based on a distance between at least one of the one or more home security sensors and the one or more additional control units; and

a home security sensor configured to;

sense one or more earthquake conditions; and

send an earthquake condition message to the control unit in response to detecting the one or more earthquake conditions.

2. The security system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

send an earthquake alert message to the one or more additional control units in response to receiving the earthquake condition message.

3. The security system of claim 2, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

send the earthquake alert message directly to the one or more additional control units.

4. The security system of claim 1, wherein the control unit and the one or more additional control units are associated with one or more separate security systems.

5. The security system of claim 1, further comprising:

a network module configured to maintain the control unit as a node in a network comprising a plurality of second control units.

6. The security system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

receive an earthquake alert message from at least one of the one or more additional control units; and

generate an alarm in response to receiving the earthquake alert message.

7. The security system of claim 1, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

send the earthquake condition message to the one or more additional control units within a specified range of the control unit.

8. The security system of claim 1, further comprising:

an alarm module, wherein the control unit is further configured to cause the alarm module to generate an alarm in response to receiving the earthquake condition message from the home security sensor configured to sense one or more earthquake conditions.

9. The security system of claim 1, further comprising:

a remote earthquake module configured to receive one or more earthquake condition notifications from a plurality of control units.

10. The security system of claim 9, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

transmit the one or more earthquake condition notifications to the remote earthquake module.

11. The security system of claim 9, wherein the control unit is further configured to:

receive an earthquake alert message from the remote earthquake module; and

generate an alarm in response to receiving the earthquake alert message.

12. A control unit for a security system, the control unit comprising:

a sensor monitoring module communicatively coupled to a plurality of sensors and configured to receive an alarm condition message from one or more of the plurality of sensors in response to one of the plurality of sensors detecting an alarm condition;

an earthquake response module communicatively coupled to an earthquake sensor at a same facility as the control unit, the earthquake response module configured to receive an earthquake condition message from the earthquake sensor;

an alarm module configured to generate an alarm in response to the earthquake response module receiving the earthquake condition message; and

a network module configured to maintain the control unit as a node in a network comprising a plurality of second control units, the network module configured to determine whether to send the alarm from the control unit to at least one of the plurality of second control units based on a calculated distance between the control unit and the at least one of the plurality of second control units.

13. The control unit of claim 12, wherein the earthquake response module is configured to receive an earthquake alert message from at least one second control unit, the alarm module further configured to generate the alarm in response to the earthquake response module receiving the earthquake alert message.

14. The control unit of claim 12, wherein the earthquake response module is further configured to send an earthquake alert message to one or more of the plurality of second control units in the network in response to receiving the earthquake condition message from the earthquake sensor.

15. The control unit of claim 12, wherein the earthquake response module is communicatively coupled to a remote earthquake module.

16. The control unit of claim 15, wherein:

the earthquake response module is further configured to receive an earthquake alert message from the remote earthquake module; and

the alarm module is further configured to generate the alarm in response to the earthquake response module receiving the earthquake alert message.

17. A method comprising:

monitoring, via a control unit, one or more sensors in a home security system for alarm condition messages, the control unit and the one or more sensors located at a location of the home security system;

monitoring, via the control unit, an earthquake sensor installed at the location of the home security system;

generating, via the control unit, an audible alarm in response to the earthquake sensor detecting an earthquake condition; and

sending, via the control unit, an earthquake condition notification to a separate control unit over a network of control units based at least in part on a distance between the location of the home security system and a location of the separate control unit different from the location of the home security system.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving an earthquake alert message from a separate control unit over the network of control units.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising receiving an earthquake alert message from a remote server.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising generating a visual alarm in response to the earthquake sensor detecting the earthquake condition.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the audible alarm comprises:

a user instruction describing at least one of an action or a location.