Title of Invention

SECURITY ALARM SYSTEM UESGING WIRELESS COMMUNITION

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a device and a methodology to detect an intrusion into a confined premise and to detect the occurrence of a fire, and accordingly notify the owner of the establishment and the security personnel of the event. The information is transmitted to the concerned people through a cellular communication device over a wireless telecommunication network. This device also provides a provision to automatically lock the doors and activate the intruder alarm system. This invention provides a means to trap the intruder inside the premise through an embodiment of Door Operating System (DOS) and it uses the same embodiment to provide a means for automatically opening the doors to allow the people to escape in case of a fire. This disclosure also provides a provision to automatically activate the Fire Extinguishing System after determining the cause of the fire.

Full Text

FIELD OF THE INVENTION This disclosure/invention relates generally to intruder alerts and fire alarms in combination with a wireless information system and a wireless remote control system. More particularly, it is better suited for the cases in which the user is not physically present at the premises, under the monitoring system. DISCUSSION OF THE PRIOR ART Presently several security solutions are available for protection against fire and intrusion into a confirmed premises. However, in all these cases these two units are available as two independent devices. Therefore, if an individual wants both the features to be installed he would have to buy both the devices. As a result this increases the cost of both buying and maintenance and the labor costs involved in installing the unit. In the light of the above arguments it could be said that a device that takes care of these disadvantages would provide a cost effective security solution, which would cater to both the said needs. Security control systems, which are being presently used, are mostly self-contained security control systems. Self-contained security control systems comprises a keypad-like package, which combines a control panel, a short-range radio frequency (RF) receiver, a keypad, a sounder (loud audible device) and a communicator. The keypad-like package is mounted in visible plain site at a convenient location or multiple locations throughout a premise. A self-contained security system is operated by an AC power supply with a plug-in external transformer. A backup battery is also provided to maintain the system operational in the event of a power outage. This type of system configuration is very convenient, but suffers from a major security problem. If the keypad-like package is damaged or destroyed, as by an intruder, the security system can become non-functional. Such self-contained systems typically contain a delay feature before arming the alarm system in order to allow a user to exit the premises or to enter a present code to disarm the system when entering the premises. Since the delay feature may produce audible beeps to warn the user, it also draws attention to the location of the keypad-like package containing the control panel. If the control panel in the keypad-like package is damaged or destroyed by an intruder during the expiration of the delay, the security system can be effectively defeated. Hence, it is required that the integrated hardware unit is placed such that it concealed from the sight of the intruder. A typical self-contained system is primarily an RF-based system having wireless RF communicating remote sensors. A self-contained system may contain a small number of hard-wired inputs to the control panel. This type of Security system is based on the dial-up hard-wire communications (i.e. normal analog dial-up communications) as their primary communications technology which requires that they be wired at the entry point for phone service to the premises. In such systems a basic problem exists in the fact that the dial-up hard-wire line is very easy to defeat. The line can be cut easily by a number of different means, and most security systems do not monitor the status of the phone line. The security systems that do monitor the status of the phone line are plagued with false alarms, since most phone outages do not result from a security incident, but instead are caused by issues with the phone company such as storms, accidents, maintenance etc. Accordingly, there is no suitable response to each such event from the security monitoring company, as the user can't call the local police every time the phone is out. Moreover, monitoring the phone line is not the critical issue, which is making sure that a security incident is reported, even if it is accomplished redundantly. Therefore, in order to ensure that the system being used provides complete security from intrusion it is necessary to use a wireless communication device to notify the event. The most common concept used in the fire alarm systems available presently is the detection of smoke using a smoke sensor. However, cases have been reported where the fire is initiated or spread by the presence of a fuel or a gas. In these cases, as the fire is being supported by ample fuel, smoke is not generated in large amounts. As a result the amount of smoke being generated may not cross threshold limit and a considerable amount of damage would have already been done before the fire is detected and reported. This necessitates the requirement of a fire alert system that uses both temperature sensor and smoke sensor as the transuding elements. A drawback of the fire alarm devices and systems is that they are not designed for installation in buildings that are under construction or otherwise unoccupied. Workers at a construction site and/or persons in the immediate vicinity are the primary means for noticing a potential fire. Because unoccupied buildings are typically vacant during off work hours, a fire may cause increased damage to the building, increased damage to adjacent properties, and/or pose an increased danger to emergency response personnel. Another drawback of some self-contained fire alarms is the lack of effective means for automatically notifying emergency response personnel of the specific location of the fire emergency. Direct contact with a fire security service, can be a factor in the response time of the emergency response personnel. For example, during a fire emergency, evacuating building occupants are faced with sudden conflicting decisions, which include immediately evacuating the burning building, helping others to evacuate safely, gathering valuable property, or calling to the fire station to report the fire and summon emergency response resources. In most cases, building occupants calling to a fire station in a fire emergency will use a conventional wireless telephone or a mobile cellular telephone. In such a situation, the caller may be in a heightened state of anxiety and confusion, so locating a telephone, dialing the number, waiting for a call connection, and articulating the nature of the emergency to a fire station can waste critical evacuation time. These complexities place children, the elderly, and the handicapped at high risk. Therefore, a need exists to provide a fire alarm that automatically notifies the fire security personnel of the emergency and automatically provides a geographic location of the emergency. During a fire emergency the occupants of the building, where the event of fire has occurred, are in a heightened state of anxiety and nervousness and hence in such a scenario a provision to automatically open the door and window, to allow them to escape, can be extremely useful. Further, this could also provide a path for the smoke to escape and would hence help in reducing the number of deaths due to suffocation. Also, it would provide an easy entry route to the fire security personnel. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one aspect, the Security Alarm Device operates as an Intruder Alert System and in another aspect it operates as a Fire Alarm System. Although these two alert systems use two exclusive alarm control circuits but the processing unit and the cellular communication device for both the systems remains the same. The wireless Intruder Alert System provides a methodology to accurately and cost effectively detect the event of an intrusion and inform the user about it. It also includes the facility of alerting the security personnel about the event. This device is particularly used for intruder detection in those cases in which the user is not physically present at the premises being monitored. For example a factory outlet, a warehouse, any commercial establishment or even a residential house when the occupant is not present. The Intruder Alert Alarm is essentially an integrated unit consisting of the intrusion sensors, alarm control circuit, a wireless transceiver, a processing unit, a memory unit and a wireless cellular communication device. In one aspect the device works in a Non-Guard mode, as described below. The said integrated unit consists of two primary sensors installed at the main entrance, of the place under supervision, for counting the number of people entering and existing from the premises. The count is maintained by the processor and stored in the memory unit and is refreshed each time the said system switches from the Guard mode to the Non-Guard mode. When the count reaches a specified value, specified by the user, the said system sends a text message (SMS) to the user informing him about the current status of the count and asking his permission to switch to the guard mode. If the user responds by sending "NO" as the text message the switching operation is not performed. However, if no text message is received within a stipulated time or the user responds by sending "YES" as the text message, the Guard mode is activated. In the above description the term "count" refers to the number of people in the premises (i.e. number of people entering minus the number of people exiting). This provision also ensures to prevent any neglect by the user to activate the Guard mode of the said system. In another embodiment, as the guard mode of the said alarm system is activated, all the possible entries to the premises are automatically locked using the wireless Door Operating System (DOS). This embodiment takes care of any neglect on the part of the user to lock the doors or entries to the premises. The DOS is another extremely useful application of the said system. It consists of a wireless transceiver connected to the processing unit in integration with all the electromechanical locks. Therefore, as soon as the request for the activation of the Guard mode is received, a signal generated by the processing unit is sent to the said transceiver that triggers the door locking process. In another aspect, the said alarm system can be configured in the Guard mode. Once the said alarm system has been switched to the Guard mode, any intrusion sensed by the intruder sensors triggers the alarm control circuit to generate a signal which is communicated to the processing unit through the transceiver. This causes the processing unit to send a stream of data bytes, which is an encrypted message stored in the said integrated memory unit, to the interfaced cellular communication device which in turn communicates this event of intrusion to the user through a text message. In another embodiment, the user is also informed about the number of people intruding in the premises, through the aforesaid test message (SMS). In another embodiment, the signal generated by the processing unit, in the event of an intrusion, can be used to place an emergency call to the nearest PCR van and hence informing the security personnel of the event. This application has an advantage that it relieves the user of the need to inform the security personnel, especially when he/she might be in a stage of panic, hence it reduces the reaction time of the police. In another embodiment, once the intrusion has been detected and after waiting for a stipulated period of time, the DOS is again triggered by a signal generated by the processing unit, which again locks all the doors. This application has been incorporated to introduce a vital advantage of trapping the intruders within the premises and thus preventing them from escaping before the security personnel arrive. This system also provides a provision to switch from the Guard mode to the Non-Guard mode at a particular instant of time each day, specified by the user. However, the switching can also be done by using a wireless transmitter having two push buttons, one each to configure the system in the 'Guard" mode and the 'Non-Guard" mode. This provision prevents the case of a false alarm being alerted. In yet another embodiment, a series of loud audible horns installed at the outside periphery of the premises might be sounded, in case the cellular communication device fails to send the said text message three times in a row to the user. This application is essential to ensure that the system does not fail even if an intruder employs a mechanism to jam the network. The wireless Fire Alert Alarm system provides a methodology to accurately and cost effectively detect the occurrence of a fire and inform the user about it. It also includes the facility of alerting the security personnel about the event. This device is particularly used for fire detection in those cases in which the user is not physically present at the premises being monitored. For example a factory outlet, a warehouse, any commercial establishment or even a residential house when the occupant is not present. However, this unit is equally beneficial and effective in the case, if an outbreak of fire takes place in the presence of user. The Fire Alert Alarm is essentially an integrated unit consisting of the plurality of temperature and smoke sensors, alarm control circuit, a wireless transceiver, a processing unit, a memory unit and a wireless cellular communicating device. Once the said alarm system has been activated, the event of an outbreak of a fire, which is sensed either by the temperature sensor, or by the smoke alarm sensor or by both, triggers the alarm control circuit to generate a signal, which is communicated to the processing unit through the transceiver. This signal is also indicative of the address of the localized region where the event of fire has actually taken place. This causes the processing unit to send a stream of data bytes, which is an encrypted message stored in the said integrated memory unit, to the interfaced cellular communication device, which in turn communicates this event to the user through a text message. This message, thus also contain the address of the localized region affected by the fire. For example, the message could be: "FIRE 3rd Floor Room 2". In another embodiment, the signal generated by the processing unit, in the event of an outbreak of a fire, can be used to place an emergency call to the Fire Station and hence informing the fire security personnel of the event. This application has an advantage that it relieves the user of the need to inform the fire brigade, especially when he/she might be in a state of panic, hence it reduces the reaction time of the fire brigade. This is similar to an emergency call being made to the PCR van in case of an intrusion. In another embodiment, a loud audible horn would also be installed within the premises and this would be sounded due to a signal generated by the processing unit. This feature ensures to alert any person within the premises when the event occurs so as to provide him ample time to escape. However, this feature has not been included as a part of the intruder alert system since, the sounding of the alarm would alert the intruder and hence the attempt to trap him would prove futile. In another embodiment, once the outbreak of a fire has been detected, the Door Operating System (DOS) is triggered by a signal generated by the processing unit, which opens all the doors and windows. This provision has been incorporated to introduce a crucial application of allowing the people within the premises to escape safely. Further, it also facilitates the entry of the fire security personnel into the building so as to reduce the time taken to enter the building. In another embodiment, the fire alarm system has a provision to verify whether the fire has been caused due to the short circuiting of electric lines or not. In the event when the fire has not been caused due to short-circuiting, the water sprinkler at the affected sub-region, is turned on to extinguish the fire. In yet another embodiment, a series of loud audible horns, installed at the outside periphery of the premises, would be sounded to alert the neighboring establishments of the outbreak of a fire. Hence, this application would ensure that no loss of life is caused due to the fire. In another embodiment, an additional mechanism has been included, to cut off the power and gas supply to the building in the case of a fire. This provision has been incorporated to prevent the further spread of fire, as the presence of gas or electric lines could further assist the spread of fire. In another embodiment, the text message received by the user, in the event of a Fire or an Intrusion, on his cellular device would generate a signal that will in turn trigger the secondary alarm unit installed at his residence, or any other place where the secondary unit has been installed and in turn this will sound a horn. This application has an advance that it takes care of the ignorance of the user to read the text message. A Display Unit (LCD) is also attached to the secondary alarm unit, which would display the cause of the emergency. For example "FIRE" in case of outbreak of a fire. In yet another embodiment, the alarm system has also been provided with a power-backup system to provide an alternative source of power to the entire unit in case of a power failure. This provision takes care of the case wherein an intruder might think of deactivating the said alarm system by cutting off the power supply. The power backup system will also provide power to the unit in case of a fire when the power supply is cutoff to curtail the spread of fire. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS In the following paragraphs, a detailed description of the various embodiments discussed above has been given in order to provide a thorough understanding of the concepts involved. The functioning of the Intruder Alert Unit is quite similar to that of the Fire Alarm Unit but both the systems have been explained independently below so as to facilitate easy understanding. Although these two alert systems use two exclusive alarm control circuits but the processing unit, the power supply, the secondary alarm unit and the cellular communication device for both the systems remains the same and therefore in Figure 1 and Figure 2 these have been represented by the same block number. Description of the Intruder Alert Unit The block 101, representing the central Controlling Unit, consists of a processing unit and a memory unit. The Controlling unit 101 is connected to the cellular phone 102, the intruder alarm control unit 103, to the counting circuits 104, and to the Door Operating System (DOS) 113. The Control Unit is essentially the brain of the entire Intruder Alert System. The intruder alarm control unit 103 is further interfaced with a plurality of intruder sensors 107 through a wireless transceiver 106. An output signal is sent to the Control Unit 101 by the intruder alarm unit 103 when an intruder sensor senses an intrusion. This causes the Control Unit 101 to send a sequence of data bytes to the cellular phone 102. On receiving these data bytes; the cellular phone 102 sends a text message (SMS) to the users cellular phone 110. The Control Unit 101 then sends another sequence of data bytes, after a specified time delay, to the cellular phone 102, which causes the cellular phone to place an emergency call to the nearest PCR Van 109. The voice call contains information such as the location of the establishment where the event of intrusion has taken place. The mechanism being used, for determining the "location is the in-built location tracking service provided by the communication networks. The Control Unit 101 further generates a signal, which activates the Door Operating System 113, thus locking all the doors and windows and trapping the Intruder inside. The Secondary Alarm, Unit 111 consists of a controlling unit similar to 101 and an alarm control circuit. The users cellular phone 110 is integrated with the above said secondary alarm unit 111. When the users cellular phone 110 receives an SMS, it is sent to the controlling unit for processing. If this message is the encrypted code sent by the cellular phone 102, to indicate an intrusion, the control unit sends a signal to the alarm circuit and hence sounds the alarm horn 114. However, if somehow, due to network failure or when the intruder uses a mechanism to jam the network, the cellular phone 102 fails to send a text message (SMS) to the users cellular phone 110, a signal would be generated that would sound the loud audible alarm horns 108. The counting circuit 104 consists of two optical sensors installed at the main entrance of the premises, for maintaining a count of the number of people present inside the premises under the monitoring system. This count is displayed on a count display unit 105. This count is sent to the controlling unit 101 after every change in its value. The control unit 101 compares this with a pre-determined count, specified by the user, and if the count reaches the specified value, the control unit 101 causes the cellular phone 102, to send a text message to the users mobile phone 110 asking his permission to switch to the Guard mode and if no reply is received within a stipulated period of time the alarm system is switched to the guard mode. At the same time the control unit 101 generates an output signal, which triggers the Door Operating System (DOS) 113. The power supply unit 112 consists of a power back-up system to provide an alternative source of power in case of power failure or if the intruder cuts off the power supply in an attempt to deactivate the alarm system. This unit provides power to the control unit 101, to the counting unit 104 and to the intrusion -detecting units (ISU) 107. Description of the Fire Alarm System The block 101, representing the central Controlling Unit, consists of a processing unit and a memory unit. The Controlling unit 101 is connected to the cellular phone 102, the fire alarm control unit 203, to the fire extinguishing unit 214, to the short circuit detector 215 and to the Door Operating System (DOS) 113. The Control Unit is essential the brain of the entire Fire Alert System. The alarm control unit 103 is further interfaced with a plurality of temperature and smoke sensors 207 through a wireless transceiver 206. An output signal is sent to the Control Unit 101 by the firm alarm unit 203 when any of temperature or smoke sensor senses the" outbreak of a fire. This causes the Control Unit 101 to send a sequence of data bytes to the cellular phone 102. On receiving these data bytes; the cellular phone 102 sends a text message (SMS) to the users cellular phone 110. The test message (SMS) also contains the address of the localized region affected by the fire. For example, the message could be: "FIRE 3rd Floor Room 2". The Control Unit 101 then sends another sequence of data bytes, after a specified time delay, to the cellular phone 102, which causes the cellular phone to place an emergency call to the Fire station 209. The voice call contains information such as the location of the establishment where the event of the outbreak of a fire has taken place. The mechanism being used, for determining the location is the in-built location tracking service provided by the communication networks. The Control Unit 101 generates a signal, which activates the Door Operating System 113, thus opening all the doors and windows to allow trapped inside the building to escape safely. This also ensures that the smoke generated due to the fire escapes, and hence it will help reducing the deaths due to suffocation. The Short-circuit detector 215 checks if the fire has been has caused due to short-circuiting of electrical lines and accordingly sends an output signal to the Control Unit 101. The Control Unit 101 checks the status of the signal sent by the Short Circuit detector 215 and if the fire has not been caused due to the short circuiting, it sends a signal to activate the water sprinkler of the fire extinguishing system. The Control Unit 101 generates another signal to the fire alarm control circuit 203, which activates the Gas Cutoff relay 204, and the Power Cutoff relay 205. This provision has been incorporated to prevent the further spread of fire, as the presence of gas or electric lines could further assist the spread of fire. The Secondary Alarm Unit 111 consists of a controlling unit similar to 101 and an alarm control circuit. The users cellular phone 110 is integrated with the above said secondary alarm unit 111. When the users cellular phone 110 receives an SMS it is sent to the controlling unit for processing. If this message is the encrypted code sent by the cellular phone 102, to indicate the occurrence of a fire, the control unit sends a signal to the alarm circuit and hence sounds the alarm horn 216. The Control Unit 101 also sends signal to the fire alarm control unit 203 to activate loud audible horns 208 installed both inside and outside the premises. This would help in notifying the people inside the establishment as well as those living near the building of the event. The power supply unit 112 consists of a power backup system to provide an alternative source of power, since once the fire has been detected the power supply would be automatically switched off. This unit provides power to the control unit 101 and to the fire-detecting units (FSU) 207, comprising both of temperature and smoke sources. Claims I/We claim: 1. A security alarm system using wireless communication for alerting a user in an event of at least one breach of security, the at least one breach of security occurring at a first location, the user being present at a second location, the security alarm system comprising: a. a sensing unit(107) configured for: i. sensing the at least one breach of security; ii. generating one or more signals corresponding to the at least one sensed breach of security; b. an alarm control unit(103) configured for: i. receiving the one or more signals; ii. generating at least one output signal based on the one or more signals; c. a control unit(101) configured for generating at least one of a signal and a sequence of data bytes based on the at least one output signal; d. a door operating system(113) configured for controlling the operation of doors based on the signal; e. a cellular phone(102) configured for wirelessly sending at least one of a text message and a voice call to the user based on the sequence of data bytes; and f. a secondary alarm unit(111) configured for generating an alarm based on the text message received by the user, the secondary alarm unit(111) being installed at the second location. 2. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing unit(107) comprises a plurality of sensors for sensing the at least one breach of security, the plurality of sensors comprising at least one of a smoke sensor, a temperature sensor, an infra-red sensor, and a laser beam sensor. 3. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensing unit(107) comprises a wireless transceiver configured for communicating the one or more signals to the alarm control unit(103). 4. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1, wherein the alarm control unit(103) comprises a wireless transceiver 106) for receiving the one or more signals. 5. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1 comprises a counting circuit(104) configured for counting the number of people present in the first location. 6. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 5, wherein the counting circuit(104) is configured to communicate at least one signal associated with the count of people present in the first location to the control unit(101) based on pre-defined criteria. 7. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1 comprises a short circuit detector(215) configured for: a. detecting a short circuit of the power supply in an event of fire; and b. generating a signal associated with the detection of the short circuit. 8. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 7, wherein the control unit(101) is configured for activating a fire extinguishing unit(214) based on the signal associated with the detection of the short circuit, the fire extinguishing unit(214) being installed at the first location. 9. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit(101) is configured for deactivating at least one of a gas supply and a power supply, the deactivation being performed in an event of fire, the at least one of the gas supply and the power supply being installed at the first location. 10. The security alarm system using wireless communication as claimed in claim 1 comprises a back-up power supply unit(112) configured for supplying back-up power to the security alarm system when there is a cut-off of a power supply. 11. The security alarm system using wireless communication as plaimed in claim 1 comprises one or more alarm horns(108), the one or more alarm "horns( 108) being installed at the first location, the one or more alarm homs(108) being activated based on the signal.

Documents:

1006-del-2006-abstract.pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Claims-(05-11-2008).pdf

1006-del-2006-claims.pdf

1006-del-2006-complete specification (granted).pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Correspondence-Others-(08-09-2008).pdf

1006-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Description (Complete)-(05-11-2008).pdf

1006-del-2006-description (complete).pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Drawings-(05-11-2008).pdf

1006-del-2006-drawings.pdf

1006-del-2006-form-1.pdf

1006-del-2006-form-18-(08-09-2008).pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Form-2-(05-11-2008).pdf

1006-DEL-2006-Form-2-(08-09-2008).pdf

1006-del-2006-form-2.pdf

1006-del-2006-form-5.pdf

1006-del-2006-form-9.pdf