Method to detect an alarm situation and to send silent alerts to external systems using voice input to mobile devices

• US 9,704,366 B2
• Filed: 07/16/2013
• Issued: 07/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/16/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ademco Inc. (Resideo Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Aswath, Ravikumar Vemagal, Hegde, Vinay, Meganathan, Deepak Sundar
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hung T
• Application Number:
  US13/943,261
• Publication Number:
  US 20150022347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,456 Days
• Field of Search: 3405391, 34053911, 340506, 340540, 340541, 3405731, 3403847, 340 561, 4554041, 4554141, 455456, 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1672 using sonic detecting means, e.g. a microphone operating in the audio frequency range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12

Abstract

Disclosed is an apparatus that embodies a method including a panic alert mobile application of a security system that protects a secured geographic area executing on a portable electronic device of an authorized user, the panic alert mobile application retrieving a predetermined word sequence associated with the authorized user, the panic alert mobile application continuously monitoring spoken words of the authorized user, the panic alert mobile application detecting the predetermined word sequence in the spoken words of the authorized user and the panic alert mobile application reporting a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

a panic alert mobile application executing on a portable or wearable electronic device of an authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application retrieving a word sequence associated with the authorized user from a memory wherein the word sequence comprises a string of words that would not normally be used in conversation by the authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application continuously monitoring spoken words of the authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application matching one of the spoken words detected by the panic alert mobile application with verbal metrics of the authorized user to determine whether the authorized user spoke the one of the spoken words;

the panic alert mobile application adding the one of the spoken words to a temporary string when the panic alert mobile application determines that the one of the spoken words was spoken by the authorized user;

the panic alert mobile application detecting the word sequence spoken by the authorized user when the temporary string matches the word sequence; and

the panic alert mobile application reporting a panic alert to a central monitoring station of the security system in response to detecting the word sequence.

2. The method as in claim 1 further comprising a control panel of a security system that protects a secured area reporting the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection, GPRS, or any other wired or wireless communication.

3. The method as in claim 2 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area receiving the panic alert and forwarding the panic alert to the control panel.

4. The method as in claim 1 wherein the verbal metrics comprise a voice signature of the authorized user.

5. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the panic alert mobile application entering a learning mode, receiving the word sequence from the authorized user, and saving the word sequence in the memory.

6. The method as in claim 5 further comprising saving a plurality of word sequences for each of a plurality of authorized users.

7. The method as in claim 1 further comprising the panic alert mobile application reporting the panic alert to a family member or a friend of the authorized user.

8. An apparatus comprising:

a central monitoring station that protects a secured area via a local security system; and

a portable or wearable electronic device of an authorized user of the local security system, wherein the portable or wearable electronic device executes a panic alert mobile application of the local security system, wherein the panic alert mobile application continuously monitors for spoken words of the authorized user for a word sequence including a string of words that would not normally be used in conversation by the authorized user, and

wherein the panic alert mobile application matches one of the spoken words detected by the panic alert mobile application with verbal metrics of the authorized user to determine whether the authorized user spoke the one of the spoken words, adds the one of the spoken words to a temporary string when the panic alert mobile application determines that the one of the spoken words was spoken by the authorized user, detects the word sequence when the temporary string matches the word sequence, and reports a panic alert to the central monitoring station of the local security system in response to detecting the word sequence.

9. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area that receives the panic alert.

10. The apparatus as in claim 9 further comprising a control panel within the secured area that receives the panic alert from the wireless access point and reports the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection, GPRS, or any other wired or wireless communication.

11. The apparatus as in claim 10 further comprising a processor of the portable or wearable electronic device that detects a malfunction or a non-functioning of the control panel and forwards the panic alert directly to the central monitoring station.

12. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising an authentication processor of the portable or wearable electronic device that authenticates the one of the spoken words as being from the authorized user based on a voice signature of the authorized user.

13. The apparatus as in claim 8 further comprising a set-up processor that enters a learning mode, receives the word sequence from the authorized user, and saves the word sequence in a memory.

14. The apparatus as in claim 13 wherein the set-up processor saves a respective plurality of word sequences for each of a plurality of authorized users in the memory.

15. An apparatus comprising:

a security system that protects a secured area;

a central monitoring station that receives alarm messages from the security system; and

a portable electronic device of an authorized user of the security system, wherein the portable electronic device executes a panic alert mobile application of the security system, and wherein a first processor of the panic alert mobile application saves a word sequence from the authorized user including a string of words that would not normally be used in conversation by the authorized user, continuously monitors for spoken words of the authorized user, matches one of the spoken words detected by the panic alert mobile application with verbal metrics of the authorized user to determine whether the authorized user spoke the one of the spoken words, adds the one of the spoken words to a temporary string when the panic alert mobile application determines that the one of the spoken words was spoken by the authorized user, detects the word sequence when the temporary string matches the word sequence, and reports a panic alert to the central monitoring station of the security system in response to detecting the word sequence.

16. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein the portable electronic device comprises a smart phone.

17. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein the portable electronic device comprises a wearable device.

18. The apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising a wireless access point within the secured area that receives the panic alert.

19. The apparatus as in claim 18 further comprising a control panel within the secured area that receives the panic alert from the wireless access point and reports the panic alert to the central monitoring station via an Internet connection.

20. The apparatus as in claim 19 wherein the first processor of the panic alert mobile application detects a malfunction or a non-functioning of the control panel and forwards the panic alert directly to the central monitoring station.

21. The apparatus as in claim 15 further comprising an authentication processor of the portable electronic device that authenticates the one of the spoken words as being from the authorized user based on a voice signature of the authorized user.

22. The apparatus as in claim 15 wherein the first processor saves a respective plurality of word sequences for each of a plurality of authorized users in a memory.