Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a telephone monitoring system,
particularly but not exclusively intended for use in the
protection of domestic premises, and capable of raising an
alarm, for example in the case of intruders, panic
situations, hold-ups and/or medical alerts.
Telephone monitoring systems generally are well-known.
Usually, a subscriber retains an alarm company, which
operates a monitoring service remotely by telephone, to
install alarm e~uipment at his premises. A series of
sensors, such as passive infra-red motion detectors, floor
mats, and the like are arranged at the protected premises,
and these are-c~nnected to a central control box. The
control box is connected to the subscriber's telephone line
and contains a communications module adapted to seize the
telephone line in the event that an alarm condition occurs
and transmit a priority coded signal over the telephone line
to the remote monitoring station. The code indicates the
location of the alarmed premises so that on receipt~of an
alarm signal the monitoring station can notify the
appropriate authorities.
The disadvantage of such a system is that the subscriber must
subscribe to the~monitoring service provided by the alarm
company on an on-going basis. The costs can be quite
substantial, and;may be unjustified for a private subscriber.
Also, there is a need for a special communications module
capable of seizing the line and dialling up the number of the
monitoring service. Such a system does not make use of the
subscriber's telephone.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system
that alleviates the aforementioned disadvantages.
According to the present invention there is provided a
telephone monitoring system comprising a telephone set, said
telephone set including a numeric keypad for dialling the
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telephone numbers of subscribers to be called, means for
storing at least one telephone number, means for accessing
said storage means to permit user entry of said at least one
stored telephone number through said keypad, means for
initiating dialling of at least one said stored number in
response to a dialling imitation signal, means for generating
said dialling initiation signal in response to an alarm
condition detected by a monitoring device, means for
detecting a response by the called subscriber, and means for
transmitting a predetermined signal over the open telephone
line to the called subscriber indicative of said alarm
condition.
In a preferred embodiment the telephone set also includes an
alarm circuit for sounding a local alarm within the monitored
premises. This alarm can be the ringer of the telephone
itself, which can be caused to ring in some distinctive
pattern different from a regular telephone ring.
The monitoring system preferably stores at least three
numbers and has means to identify a no-answer condition on
the first number dialed, and sequentially dial through the
remaining numbers until an answer is datected~ The telephone
set can have a built-in passive infra-red intruder detector, -
which can be used to generate the alarm signal.
Alternatively, or in addition to the built-in sensor, the
telephone set can have an input circuit for receiving an
input signal from a remote sensor.
The sensor can be either hard-wired to the telephone set or
coupled to it by means of a remote communications link, such
as an RF link.
Means can be provided to permit the user to set the type of
alarm signal that will be transmitted over the telephone
lines according to the nature or location. If more than one
external sensor is employed, for example, a system can be
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arranged to transmit different tones for different sensors.
The sensors can also be grouped into sub-systems. For
example, a rapid tone might indicate an alarm condition in
the upstairs part of a house and a low speed tone the
downstairs part.
The telephone can also be ~itted with a separate input for
connection to a panic button. This can be used to-initiate
dialling of preprogramed numbers and transmit a special
warning signal indicating that the panic button has been
depressed so that the receiving subscriber will know that a
life-threatening condition exists and especially urgent
action is required.
In an advanced version, the warning signal can consist of a
voice message, preferably stored in digital format to alert
the called subscriber of the nature of the alarm condition.
An advantage of the telephone moni~oring system according to
the invention is that the user no longer has to subscribe to
a commercial monitoring service on an on-going basis. He or
she can purchase a telephone set from a regular telephone
outlet, just as he or she would, for example, purchase a
telephone set with an automatic answering facility, take it
~home and program it~himself or herself. The preprogramed
numbers can be the phone numbers of friends, neighbours,
-relatives, the office, or it is even conceivable that new
services might be created, similar to telephone answering
services, which were available merely to monitor incoming
phone calls from the alarm system. It is likely that the
cost of subscribing to such a service would be significantly
less than the cost of subscribing to a dedicated alarm
monitoring service on an-ongoing basis since such services
could be provided as part of a general answering facility.
Neighbours can purchase similar systems and set up mutual
arrangements whereby each monitors each others premises. One
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advantage of such an arrangement over conventional monitoring
services is that if the neighbour is nearby, he may be able
to take some immediate remedial action, in the case of a fire
for example, while at the same time calling the appropriate
authority. A neighbour may also be able more quickly to
identify an alarm as false, thereby avoiding the need to
distract the authorities from more important duties.
The user, on initiating the system, can use the internal
alarm sensor, if that option has been purchased, and/or
connect the telephone either by direct wired connection, or
by remote communication's link, such as a RF link, to a
separate alarm system installed in the protected premises.
This can be a conventional alarm system using any form of
appropriate sensors, such as passive infra-red, floor mats,
and the like. All that is required of the alarm system is
that is generates an alarm condition signal suitable for
application to the telephone set.
~ .
The programming of the stored numbers is conveniently done
through the keypad of the telephone set. The telephone set
can be put into the programming mode in much the same manner
as a conventional feature telephone. An appropriate code can
be dialed into the keypad to request the programming mode, or
a separate function button can be provided to achieve this
result.
In the preferred embodiment, the existing ringer in the
telephone set can be used as a local audible alarm. This may
be deactivated as desired, depending on whether the user
requires a silent alarm or one that will sound an alarm on
sight.
The system in fact only requires the basic keypad, i.e.
digits one through nine, zero, the number and star keys,
although other functional keys can be added as desired.
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Generally, the system will have the capability to store three
telephone numbers, and will sequentially dial the three
numbers if the previous numbers are either busy, or
unanswered. The system will dial the thrse numbers for one
minute each and will go through one complete cycle only after
each individual activation.
Preferably, the system also has the capability to permit the
addition of additional security-related devices (i.e. PIR),
which can have separate address codes that can be transmitted
by the system to the remote receiver. Also, the system will
seize the telephone line in the event that there is more than
one phone on the premises to prevent interference with the
communication through one~of the other phones.
The system employs surface mount technology and through hole
technology to maximize performance. Preferably, the system
is mounted as a single add-on module for a standard telephone
set.
The passive infra-red sensor will normally be mounted at the
front of the telephone to give coverage projecting outwardly
therefrom. It can be activated by means of a sliding ON-OFF
switch on the front of the telephone set.
The telephone will generally be powered by a plug-in AC
adaptorjtransformer (110 and 220 volts).
Arming/disarming of the~unit can be accomplished by adding a
slide s~itch to the telephone set, although in some cases it
may be possible to use an existing switch on a standard
telephone. This depends on the features of the phone already
present. Furthermore, the arming and disarming can be done
through the keypad.
The internal alarm module is provided with dip switches to
set the code for communicating with the remote sensor so as
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to ensure that unit will only communicate with a
correspondingly coded sensor.
The device will normally also provide a entry/exit delay.
The entry delay will generally be fifteen to twenty seconds
and the exit delay fifty to sixty seconds.
The system is designed so that if the receiver is picked up
when the telephone is in the active alarm mode, the system
will go into the immediate alarm condition and initiate
whatever alarm systems that are currently in effect. A panic
button can be made part of the monitoring unit.
.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of
example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in
which~
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a telephone monitoring system
in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;
and
Figure 2 is a circuit diagram of one embodiment of a
telephone monitoring system in accordance with the invention.
The telephone monitoring system is shown in block form in
:
Figure 1. The standard telephone set 1 comprises
conventional telephone circu1ts 2 for establishing a voice
communication with a remote subscriber over telephone line 3.
The telephone is;preferably of the touch tone type and has a
standard numeric~keypad for entering called numbers. The
customary signalling, ringing circuits, and the like are
included within the standard telephone;circuit block 2.
The system comprises an RF circuit 4 communicating over a
remote coded RF communications link 5 with an external
detector 6. The~detector 6 can be of any standard type, such
as a passive infra-red detector, floor mat, or other warning
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device. It can also be part of a larger sub-system
consisting of a number of sensors connected to a central
control box. Instead of using an RF link, the control box
can be wired directly to the telephone set 1.
The RF circuit 4 is connected to the signal decoder 7, which
in turn is connected to the dialling logic circuit 8 and the
alarm circuit 9. A passive infra-red detector 10 within the
telephone set 1 is also connected to the dialling logic
circuit 8 and the alarm circuit 9.
In order to install the system the user merely has to plug
the telephone into a standard telephone jack. The telephone
immediately becomes operational as usual. If he wishes to
use the system in the local al~rm mode, he can activate the
built-in sensor, and no further action is required. To use
the system as a remote monitoring service, he first enters up
to three telephone numbers into the system through the
standard numeric keypad.
If an alarm condition is detected, either as the result of a
signal being emitted by the external detector 6, or the
passive infra-red detector 10 within the telephone set, two
events occur. The alarm circuit 9 is activated, assuming the
telephone set is in the local alarm mode, and an alarm
indication is given at the protected premises. The alarm
indication takes the form of an activation of the ringing
circuit of the telephone set, preferably in a pattern
different from the standard telephone ringing sequence.
In addition) the dialling logic circuit 8 responds to the
alarm conditions and dials the first of three preprogramed
numbers stored in its memory units. If the subscriber at the
first dialed number responds, the dialling logic unit causes
an alarm signal to be transmitted over the telephone line.
This can be in the form of a warning beep whose rhythm can
vary according to the nature of the alarmed condition or the
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location of the alarmed sub-system. Each sub-system can be
suitably coded to permit its identification by the telephone
alarm monitoring system.
Figure 2 is a detailed circuit diagram of a telephone alarm
monitoring system according to the invention. In Figure 2,
the like reference numerals re~er to the corresponding blocks
shown in Figure 1.
In Figure 2, the circuits corresponding to the RF circuit 4,
the alarm circuit 9, signal decoding circuit 7, dialling
logic circuit 8, and the passive infra-red detector circuit
10 can be seen. In addition, there is a stabilized power
supply 11.
The circuit shown in Figure 2 implements the system described
above. Activation of the internal passive infra-red sensor
or receipt of an alarm condition signal hy the RF unit 4
causes optionally an alarm to be sounded by the telephone set
through its internal ringer circuitry and preprogramed stored
number to be dialed by the dialling logic circuit 8, thus
advising the recipient of the alarm condition at the customer
premises.
The circuit shown in Figure 2 is incorporated into a standard
telephone set. The RF receiver alvays reacts to the coded RF
alarm signals, which can also be activated by the user by
means of a portable panic button. Activation of the panic
button will always cause the telephone numbers programmed
into the system to be dialled.
.
The telephone set incorporates standard keyboard circuitry,
telephone circuitry, buttons, coil, receiver handset, redial
capability, memory capability, hi~lo/off ringer switch and
pulse/tone switch.
If the same person monitors more than one location, the
originating units can be programmed to transmit distinctive
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identifiable tones. These can be set by means of jumpers
within the unitO
