Model-based generation of information and evacuation messages

• US 9,644,974 B2
• Filed: 10/19/2011
• Issued: 05/09/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Plocher, Tom, Chen, Enyi, Beane, John, Berezowski, Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, TAN QUANG
• Application Number:
  US14/351,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20160018226A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,029 Days
• Field of Search: 701428, 701410, 701420, 701437, 340577, 707102
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 3/00 Devices or single parts for facilitating escape from buildings or the like, e.g. protection shields, protection screens; Portable devices for preventing smoke penetrating into distinct parts of buildings A62B1/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/206 specially adapted for indoor navigation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/066 guiding along a path, e.g. evacuation path lighting strip
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 27/00 Combined visual and audible advertising or displaying, e.g. for public address
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 9/33 being semiconductor devices, e.g. diodes
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/3208 organic, e.g. using organic light-emitting diodes [OLED]

Abstract

A system includes one or more computer processors configured to receive structure data for a building, receive location data relating to a plurality of sensors positioned throughout the building, receive data from the sensors, and determine one or more of a safe space within the building and a safe evacuation route through the building as a function of the building structure, the location of the plurality of sensors, and the sensor data. The system further includes a plurality of display units positioned throughout the building and configured to display one or more of a message relating to an event within the building, an instruction on where to proceed in the building, and symbols indicating a direction for evacuation out of the building as a function of one or more of the safe space and the safe evacuation route.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a computer processor configured to receive structure data for a building, location data relating to a plurality of sensors positioned throughout the building, and sensor data from the plurality of sensors;

a plurality of display units positioned throughout the building and configured to display a message relating to an event within the building, an instruction on where to proceed in the building, and a symbol indicating a direction for evacuation out of the building,

wherein the computer processor determines one or more of a safe space within the building and a safe evacuation route through the building as a function of the structure data, the location data, and the sensor data,

wherein each of the plurality of display units includes a location and an orientation within the building, and

wherein the computer processor generates the message, the instruction, or the symbol for displaying on a respective one of the plurality display units as a function of one or more of the location and the orientation of the respective one of the plurality display units, the safe space, and the safe evacuation route.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the structure data includes building information modeling (BIM) data.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of sensors includes one or more of a smoke detector, a toxic gas detector, a heat detector, a video surveillance device, an audio surveillance device, a motion detector, and an infra-red sensing device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of display units includes light emitting diode (LED) display units or other changeable message display units.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the LED display units or the other changeable message display units are pre-existing information display units installed in the building.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor generates a floor plan grid of the safe space to be displayed on one or more of the plurality display units.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the computer processor calculates a model-based prediction of an extent of the event to be displayed on the one or more of the plurality of display units.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein an area proximate to one of the plurality of sensors reporting the sensor data indicating the event is displayed on the one or more of the plurality of display units.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the computer processor determines the safe evacuation route as a function of the area proximate to the one of the plurality of sensors reporting the sensor data indicating the event.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the message, the instruction, or the symbol displayed on the respective one of the plurality of display units shows the safe evacuation route.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the message, the instruction, or the symbol displayed on the respective one of the plurality of display units includes a direction towards the event and a distance to the event.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor is configured to estimate smoke propagation, heat propagation, toxic gas propagation, or an intruder path, and

wherein computer processor generates the message, the instruction, or the symbol as a function of the smoke propagation, the heat propagation, the toxic gas propagation, or the intruder path.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer processor includes a natural language generator for generation of the message the instruction, or the symbol.

14. A process comprising:

receiving, into a computer processor, structure data for a building;

receiving, into the computer processor, location data relating to a plurality of sensors positioned throughout the building;

receiving, into the computer processor, data from the plurality of sensors;

determining, using the computer processor, one or more of a safe space within the building and a safe evacuation route through the building as a function of the structure data, the location data, and the sensor data; and

displaying, on a plurality of display units positioned throughout the building, one or more of a message relating to an event within the building, an instruction on where to proceed in the building, and a symbol indicating a direction for evacuation out of the building,

wherein each of the plurality of display units includes a location and an orientation within the building, and

wherein the computer processor generates the message, the instruction, or the symbol for displaying on a respective one of the plurality of display units as a function of one or more of the location and the orientation of the respective one of the plurality of display units, the safe space, and the safe evacuation route.

15. The process of claim 14, further comprising estimating smoke propagation, heat propagation, toxic gas propagation, or an intruder path, wherein the computer processor generates the message, the instruction, or the symbol as a function of the smoke propagation, the heat propagation, the toxic gas propagation, or the intruder path.

16. A computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor, execute a process comprising:

receiving structure data for a building;

receiving location data relating to a plurality of sensors positioned throughout the building;

receiving data from the plurality of sensors;

determining one or more of a safe space within the building and a safe evacuation route through the building as a function of the structure data, the location data, and the sensor data; and

displaying, on a plurality of display units positioned throughout the building, one or more of a message relating to an event within the building, an instruction on where to proceed in the building, and a symbol indicating a direction for evacuation out of the building,

wherein each of the plurality of display units includes a location and an orientation within the building, and

wherein the message, the instruction, or the symbol displayed on a respective one of the plurality of display units are generated by the processor as a function of one or more of the location and the orientation of the respective one of the plurality of display units, the safe space, and the safe evacuation route.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions for estimating smoke propagation, heat propagation, toxic gas propagation, or an intruder path, and wherein the message, the instruction, or the symbol displayed on the respective one of the plurality of display units are generated by the processor as a function of the smoke propagation, the heat propagation, the toxic gas propagation, or the intruder path.