Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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DESCRIPTION
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ALARM SYSTEM TAMPER DETECTION AND
REPORTING
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure is directed to alarm systems and more particularly to a
system and method to detect and report tampering with security alarms.
BACKGROUND ART
Existing security alarm systems, including premise alarm systems and vehicle
alarms, consist primarily of a panel or controller that houses an electronic
controller
(typically referred to as the "panel" in premise alarm systems), and sensors
distributed
throughout the monitored premise or vehicle but connected back to the security
system
controller, or panel, for the purpose of detecting an intrusion event, or
other reportable
event, whereupon the security system controller reports the event to a
centralized alarm
monitoring system or gateway to centralized alarm monitoring system via wired
or
wireless communications channels.
Using a premise alarm system as an example only, one method of defeating such
typical security alarm systems is for an intruder to quickly enter the
premises and destroy
the premise's security system controller panel before the intrusion evert can
be reported.
This is commonly referred to in the trade as "crash and smash". This is
possible because
typical alarm panels delay reporting an entry event for a period of time to
permit an
authorized person to cancel the intrusion event by entering an authorized code
into a
keypad associated with the panel. United States Patent No. 7,619,512 (the '512
patent)
illustrates an existing method to attempt to address the crash and smash
issue. Rather
than delaying the sending of an intrusion event, the system described by the
'512 patent
immediately sends the intrusion event signal and if the user enters a valid
cancellation
code into a keypad within an allotted time then the alarm event is canceled at
the remote
alarm receiver. In other words, an immediate intrusion signal is sent and if
it isn't
followed by a deactivation within a set time, then the alarm panel is assumed
to have
been attacked. One problem with the system described by the '512 patent is
that the
security premise alarm system panel tampering is an assumption, leaving open
the
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opportunity for false alarms; which can be costly and wasteful for both the
user and the
civil authorities.
The concepts described herein improve upon prior art by providing explicit
detection and reporting of a crash and smash tampering attempt upon a security
premise
alarm system panel, thereby mitigating the possibility of false alarms.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In an embodiment of an alarm system according to the present invention, an
alarm system is described that includes a plurality of intrusion sensors and a
security
alarm panel in communication with each of the plurality of intrusion sensors
and also in
communication with a central station, the central station monitoring the
status of the
alarm system. A tamper sensor monitors the condition of the security alarm
panel and is
Operable to send a tamper alert to the central station if tampering is
detected at the
security alarm panel.
In another embodiment, a method of detecting and reporting tampering with an
alarm system is described. The method includes detecting an intrusion signal
from one
of a plurality of intrusion sensors, the intrusion signal sent to an alarm
gateway by a
security alarm panel monitoring the intrusion sensors. The method further
includes
monitoring the security alarm panel for indications of tampering, and sending
an alarm
condition to a central monitoring station upon detection of tampering at the
security
alarm panel.
In yet another embodiment an alarm system is described that includes a
plurality
of intrusion sensors and a security alarm panel in communication with each of
the
plurality of intrusion sensors. An alarm gateway is in communication with the
security
alarm panel, and monitors the status of the security alarm panel for
indications of
tampering. A central station is in communication with the alarm gateway and
monitors
the status of the alarm system, where the alarm gateway sends an alarm
condition to the
central station when tampering at the security alarm panel is detected.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical
advantages
of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the
invention that follows
may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention
will be
described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.
It should be
appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific
embodiment
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disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other
structures
for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be
realized by
those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from
the spirit
and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims. The novel
features which
are believed to be characteristic of the invention, both as to its
organization and method
of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better
understood from
the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying
figures.
It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is
provided for the
purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a
definition of the
limits of the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now
made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an embodiment of a system detecting and
reporting
tampering with an alarm system;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an alarm panel in accordance
with
the concepts described herein;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an embodiment of a method for detecting and
reporting
tampering with an alarm system; and
FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an alternate embodiment of a method for detecting
and
reporting tampering with an alarm system.
BEST MODES FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Preferred embodiments of a systern according to the concepts described herein
enables explicit detection of security alarm panel tampering by incorporating
combinations of event communications, tamper sensors and a query and response
communications method that uniquely mitigates the possibility of a false alarm
crash and
smash tamper notification. While such concepts are described using a premise
alarm as
an example only, the concepts can be applied to any type of alarm system
including
vehicle and other similar alarm systems.
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Referring now to Figure 1, Figure 1 illustrates an embodiment of a system 100
for detecting and reporting tampering with an alarm system according to the
concepts
described herein. Security alarm panel 101, which is shown:as a
premises:alarm, but
could be any type of alarm system having a control panel interface,
communicates with
tamper sensor 102 that can detect one or more factors, such factors including
contact
position, physical motion, shock, noise, loss of external electric power, or
other suitable
environmental factor, which separately, or in combination are indicative of a
tampering
with the alarm panel or controller. Alarm sensor 110 illustrates one Of
potentially
numerous points, such as doors, windows, spaces, etc. monitored for intrusion
with
sensors, such as contact sensors, magnetic reed switch, noise detectors,
motion sensors or
other similar intrusion detection sensor, connected to security alarm panel
101 by local
wireless or wired circuits 111. If sensor 110 is tripped, security alarm panel
101 can be
programmed to immediately transmit an intrusion event signal to alarm gateway
106 via
communications path 103, which could be, but is not limited to a wireless or
wired
network or broadband link; Short Message Service (SMS), or cellular link for
example,
to typically through a commercial communication provider 104, such as AT&T,
Verizon,
etc., then via network channel 105, which could, in a preferred embodiment, be
the
Internet. Alarm gateway 106 contains data servers and communications
connectivity. In
preferred embodiments, alarm gateway 106 makes &record of the immediate
intrusion
alarm signal but does not forward it until other criteria, such as those
described below,
are met. If the tamper sensor, or,sensors, 102 incorporated within security
alarm panel
101 detect tampering or loss of commercial power, a tamper alarm event is
communicated to Alarm Gateway 106 using the paths as described above, or other
equivalent mechanisms for reporting the alarm condition.
In preferred embodiments of system 100, if alarm gateway 106 has first
received
an intrusion alarm signal and subsequently received a tamper alarm event
signal, the
Situation may be considered to be a "crash and smash" and then the security
alarm panel
101 forwards an alarm event denoting that case to the receiver 108 located at
central
station 109 via communications channel 107. A typical reaction of operators at
central
station 109 would be to dispatch civil authorities to investigate the
monitored premises
and/or also send other types of notifications, including, but not limited to
text messages,
such as SMS messages, email messages, voice messages, either live or recorded,
via
commercial communications services 112 or private communications network 113.
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Referring now-to Figure 2, an embodiment of a security alarm panel 101 in
accordance with the concepts described herein is shown. Security alarm panel
101
includes a microprocessor 201 operable to control the operation and
communications of
security alarm panel 101. As described with Figure 1, tamper sensor, or
sensors, 102 are
Sensor inputs 208 receive inputs from all of the remote alarm sensors
monitored
buttons 214, etc., may be connected to microprocessor 201 through an internal
bus 202.
Microprocessor 201 is also operable to control other aspects of the security
system, such as siren interface 205 which, when present, activates and
deactivates an
audible siren, and remote keypad 207 which allow the installation of other
keypads to
Auxiliary input 206 can be a port that allows other devices, sensors,
controllers,
diagnostic equipment, etc., to be connected to security alarm panel 101. Power
module
212 provides the connection to an external power source for security alarm
panel 101. A
backup power source, such as a battery, can also be included. Ethernet port
213 allows
Security alarm panel 101 also preferably includes one or more communication
interfaces such as communications path 103 from Figure 1. Communications
interfaces
can include land line telephone interface 209 which communicates with
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Referring now to Figure 3, with continuing reference to Figure 1, an
embodiment
of process for detecting and reporting tampering with an alarm system is
described.
Method 300 begins with security alarm panel 101 being armed as shown in block
301.
When security alarm panel 101 detects a sensor signal as shown by block 302,
such as a
signal from contact sensor 110, an event signal is sent to alarm gateway 106,
as
represented by block 303. In block 304, tamper sensor 102 is used to detect a
tamper
condition with security alarm panel 101. If a tamper signal is not detected,
the system is
reset in block 305 and the process restarts. If a tamper signal is detected by
tamper
sensor 102 and transmitted to alarm gateway 106, the alarm signal is sent to
central
station 109 as shown by block 306, as described with respect to Figure 1. The
alarm
condition can then be reported to authorities or the owners of the alarm as
represented by
block 307.
Referring now to Figure 3, another embodiment of a process for detecting and
reporting tampering with an alarm system is described. In method 400, after
security
alarm panel 101 has been armed, as shown by block 401, if alarm gateway 106
has first
received an intrusion alarm signal, block 402, from security alarm panel 101,
as shown
by block 403, via the communications paths previously discussed, alarm gateway
106
initiates a query response polling sequence wherein alarm gateway 106 queries
security
alarm panel 101 at regular, predetermined intervals, for example every ten
seconds, as
shown in block 404. In block 405, alarm gateway 106 determines if a response
to the
polling has been received from security alarm panel 101. If a response is
received to the
query, alarm gateway can reset or determine if it should continue polling, as
shown by
block 408. If the polling timer, has expired, the system resets, as shown by
block 408,
otherwise method 400 continues polling, as shown by block 409. If central
station 109
receives a valid disarm signal during the polling process, the polling
sequence is
terminated and the system's status is reset to a no-alarm state.
If a response from security alarm panel 101 is not promptly received by alarm
gateway 106 within a predetermined time, for example 5 seconds, then security
alarm
panel 101 is deemed to have been tampered with and central station 109 will be
alerted
in the same manner as previously described as shown by block 406. The alarm
condition
can then be reported to authorities or the owners of the alarm as represented
by block
407.
=
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The system and method described herein can also incorporate multiple
conditions
for a contact signal to be sent to a central station by a remote server or
controller. In an
embodiment, the system is armed and a signal is sent to an intermediate
server. An
intrusion zone, for example a door sensor, window sensor, motion detector or
the like, is
triggered and a signal is sent to an intermediate server. The remote server
begins
monitoring the network (GSM, broadband, VoLP, ...) registration of the device,
and if
the device registration is lost before a disarm signal is received, or if
there is a signal
indicating loss of AC power received before disarm signal then the tamper
alert is issued
to the central server indicating a "crash and smash" event.
In another embodiment, a contact ID signal is sent to a central station by a
remote
server when the system is armed and a signal is sent to our intermediate
server and there
is an intrusion zone triggered. A signal is sent to our intermediate server,
and the remote
server begins polling the device on a regular frequency (every 5, 10, 20, 30
seconds...). If the device response to the polling is late by a selected time
period (such
as, for example, 20 seconds) and the disarm signal has not been received, the
tamper
alert is sent to the central server. Another embodiment could also be network
specific
like a GPRS session between the intermediate server and the device was ended
or
interrupted based on a device side condition.
In yet another embodiment, a contact ID signal is sent to a central station by
our
remote server where the system is armed and a signal is sent to our
intermediate server
and an intrusion zone is triggered and a signal is sent to the intermediate
server. The
device sends a status signal over the network to the intermediate server on a
regular
basis, (for example, 5, 110, 20, 30 seconds...). The server monitors the
timing of the
signals and if the status signal is late by a selected time period (i.e. 20
seconds) and the
disarm signal has not been received then the tamper alert signal is sent to
the central
station.
Other embodiments can include any physical tamper sensors or signals, physical
motion/shock sensors or signals, loss of AC power sensors or signals.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been described in
detail,
it should be understood that various changes, substitutions and alterations
can be made
herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined
by the
appended claims. Moreover, the scope of the present application is not
intended to be
limited to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture,
composition
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of matter, means, methods and steps described in the specification. As one of
ordinary
skill in the art will readily appreciate from the disclosure of the present
invention,
processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or
steps,
presently existing or later to be developed that perform substantially the
same function or
achieve substantially the same result as the corresponding embodiments
described herein
may be utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the appended
claims
are intended to include within their scope such processes, machines,
manufacture,
compositions of matter, means, methods, or steps.
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