Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DEVICE FOR RECEIVING AND TRANSMITTING AN ALARM
This invention relates to an apparatus for receiving a
detected alarm condition and for transmitting an
alarm, such as a fire alarm or a burglary alarm, over
a transmission network.
l0 In a prior-art system known by the.name of
"TeleNachbar" (_ "Teleneighbor"), .a commercially
available sensor is provided which detects an unwanted
occurrence, for example in a private house. A name key
of a telephone is then activated which dials a
previously agreed number of a "Telene.ighbor"..The
latter recognizes the number of his calling neighbor
and, upon removal of the handset, a specific signal
tone indicates to him that something unusual. Through
the simultaneously turned-on microphone of his
neighbor's telephone, the "Teleneighbor" can "listen
into" his neighbor's house or apartment. The system
20 can be easily implemented with an ISDN telephone. Via
a V.24 interface, a commercially available sensor is
connected. Activation is effected by few menu-driven
commands. In principle, this scenario can also be
implemented without ISDN. To ensure increased
monitoring safety, image transmission may be effected.
To accomplish this, a camera is installed at the
neighbor to be monitored which is connected to the
monitoring neighbor via a telephone and the public
~ . ~~..__.._.._____ . . _ _._ _ .~... .. _...._ _..
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network. When an alarm is triggered, the neighbor can
look into the house to be monitored and determine
directly the reason for the alarm or which
organization, such as the police or the fire brigade,
has to be called.
A disadvantage of the prior-art system is that, if the
line to the neighbor is busy, no alarm can be
triggered. A new call could be initiated to alert the
monitoring neighbor, but this is only conditionally
possible. Also, the monitoring neighbor may not be at
home, thus being unable to respond to the alarm
directly.
Generally known are highly complex monitoring systems
incorporating a control center. Via the control
center, a building or a site is monitored by means of
cameras. Such a system is very costly.
It is an object of the invention to provide an
apparatus for receiving a detected alarm condition and
for transmitting an alarm which can be implemented at
low cost and ensures that an alarm is transmitted as
quickly as possible, and which permits the alarm-
triggering event to be easily located.
According to the invention, this object is attained by
the teaching of claim 1.
One advantage of the invention is that an alarm signal
is sent in different formats over a transmission
network to a predetermined or nonpredetermined
recipient. The latter can immediately initiate a
countermeasure. Another advantage is that a
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low-cost, affordable apparatus is provided which makes
it possible to monitor rooms, houses, or buildings.
Neither complex wiring systems nor costly ancillary
equipment are necessary.
Further advantageous features of the invention are
defined in subclaims 2 to 6.
A particular advantage arises from claim 2, according
to which information on the date and time and on the
location or duration and the type of the alarm
condition is added to the alarm signal. Thus, a
recipient of the alarm is precisely informed about the
alarm and is in a position to immediately initiate
countermeasures. Another advantage accruing from the
subclaims is that an alarm signal can be received via
a pager or via a cordless telephone or via a normal
data-processing device. This enables a user of the
apparatus according to the invention to receive an
alarm from, e.g., his own apartment and, if necessary,
initiate countermeasures.
The invention will become more apparent from the
following description of an embodiment when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram of an
apparatus in accordance with the invention;
and
Fig. 2 is a schematic representation of an alarm
system.
Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown an apparatus 1 for
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receiving a detected alarm condition and for
transmitting an alarm over a transmission network N.
The apparatus 1 includes an interface SS for
interfacing to means SEN for detecting an alarm
condition. This interface SS converts a detected alarm
condition into an alarm signal. The apparatus 1
further includes means CL, DT, LOC for adding
information to the alarm signal. A means for adding
information may be a clock CL, for example. By means
of this clock, the exact time of the detected alarm
condition is determined. The time is added to and
transmitted together with the alarm signal. Another
possibility of implementing the means for adding
information is to provide an additional date input
device DT or to add detailed information on the
location at which an alarm condition was detected.
Such information may be added using additional means
LOC which contain the information on the location of
the apparatus. The apparatus 1 further comprises means
SYN, REC for converting the alarm signal with the
additional information into a voice message or a text
message, the means SYN serving to generate a voice
message and the other means, REC, serving to generate
a text message. The apparatus 1 further includes means
A for outputting the voice or text message over the
transmission network N to a recipient.
Accordingly, both voice messages and text messages are
presented to the output means A. This means, however,
that messages of different formats have to be output
by the apparatus 1. To accomplish this, the apparatus
1 includes the interface S for interfacing the
apparatus to the transmission network N. This
interface S serves to output voice messages, for
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example. If a text message is to transmitted over the
transmission network N to a recipient, a preceding
modem MOD is used.
In a further development of the invention, both a
voice message and a text message can be generated for
the same alarm, and be sent to different recipients.
This means, for example, that a recipient is informed
via a pager to which a call is made directly via the
transmission network N. Furthermore, a text message is
generated which is sent to a PC located in the office,
for example. As a result, the probability that the
recipient will actually receive the alarm signal with
the additional information is much higher.
The apparatus 1 for receiving a detected alarm
condition and for transmitting an alarm further
includes memory elements ROM, RAM, Mem. The memory ROM
serves to supply a microcontroller pC with essential
programs. The memory Mem serves to store received
messages. These memories can also be used as temporary
storages for messages to be output again at a later
time. The microcontroller represents the logic of the
apparatus 1.
The apparatus 1 should also be capable of implementing
conventional telephone functions. To this end, it is
provided with a loudspeaker L and a microphone M,
preferably in the form of a handset.
To implement further functions, the apparatus 1
contains a PCMCIA slot. A PCMCIA card can be inserted
into this slot to load additional programs into the
apparatus 1.
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In a further development of the invention, the
apparatus 1 comprises a camera C. This camera is
designed as an add-on unit and is connected to the
apparatus 1 via a cable. The camera can be installed
in a house, for example, be switched to a standby
state, and generate a signal if a change occurs in the
picture.
The above-mentioned means SEN for detecting an alarm
condition may be conventional smoke sensors, water
sensors, fire sensors, motion sensors, or all
conceivable kinds of sensors serving to generate an
alarm signal.
The above-described test messages which are
transmitted via the interface S to the communications
network and to a recipient may be E-mail messages, for
example.
The invention will now be explained in more detail
with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows a system
comprising for receiving an alarm and for generating
an alarm.
The system comprises at least one apparatus 1 of the
kind explained above, i.e., an apparatus for receiving
a detected alarm condition and for transmitting an
alarm over a transmission network. In this embodiment,
however, the apparatus also serves to receive an
alarm. This means that at the interface S for
interfacing the apparatus to the transmission network
N, data arrive from the transmission network N. These
are received according to their format.
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This means that a voice message or a text message is
stored temporarily and reproduced in the apparatus. A
text message is displayed on a monitor MON (see Fig.
1), and a voice message is output via the loudspeaker
L.
Preferably, the apparatus 1 should be so designed that
a received alarm which is not answered directly will
be automatically forwarded to a further recipient.
The further recipient can be informed via a wireline
telephone TEL, a cordless telephone HTEL, a pager, or
by E-mail via a data processing system PC, for
example.
In a further development of the system, an alarm can
be generated by an apparatus 1 and transmitted over
the transmission network N to a control center Z. The
latter may be a control center in a police station,
for example. From the control center, appropriate
measures are then initiated. In a further development,
however, it should also be possible to transmit an
alarm to a conventional telecommunications terminal
and to recognize it as such by means of such a
terminal.
