Abstract:
A monitored alarm system that has an alarm unit and a remote monitoring station. The alarm unit is arranged to contact the monitoring station via a telephone call when an alarm event or other circumstances occur. The monitoring station is arranged to leave said telephone call unanswered whilst logging the telephone number of the alarm unit which has telephoned so that the alarm unit can be identified.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims priority to GB Application No. 0601816.2, filed Jan. 30, 2006, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates in general to a monitored alarm system. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Monitored alarm systems are commonly used on commercial and residential property, wherein a monitoring station monitors the status of a number of alarmed properties and may issue alerts to security or police services when an alarm is activated. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention has been particularly designed for circumstances where the monitored alarm is only temporarily installed, but may be used in permanent installations as well. For example, the alarm may be used in properties that are unoccupied for a period of time. 
         [0005]    The present invention seeks to provide a monitored alarm system allowing reduced operational costs. According to the present invention, there is provided a monitored alarm system comprising an alarm unit and a remote monitoring station, the alarm unit being arranged to contact the monitoring station via a telephone call in a predetermined instance, wherein the monitoring station is arranged to leave said telephone call unanswered whilst logging identification details thereof. In this way, while the cost of calls between the alarm unit and the monitoring station are avoided as the call is not answered, caller identification information received prior to a telephone call being answered is duly obtained identifying to the monitoring station the alarm that has been activated. 
         [0006]    For portable or temporary installations, the alarm unit includes a mobile phone transmitter for contacting the monitoring station via a mobile phone network. This avoids the possibility that the telephone line is disrupted by accident or intentionally cut during unauthorized activities. The telephone network provider will normally provide at low cost a number of unique SIM cards at relatively low cost. Each SIM card can be used in an alarm unit and may be programmed to contact various different numbers depending upon the alarm status. 
         [0007]    In most installations, the alarm unit is powered by an internal power supply such as a battery, thus avoiding the unit being denied power during unauthorized activity. 
         [0008]    The alarm unit is preferably provided such that the predetermined instance or particular event is selected from:
   (a) the alarm unit being activated to alarm status;   (b) the alarm unit being armed;   (c) the alarm unit being disarmed;   (d) low battery and or interrupted power supply being detected;   (e) a test mode; and/or   (f) combinations of the above.
 
In such cases, the alarm unit is advantageously arranged to call a different telephone number for each of the instances (a) to (e). All of the numbers would connect to the monitoring station. In this way, the monitoring station is able to keep a log of the status and changes thereto of the alarm unit. When contacted on certain numbers (e.g., those associated with alarm activation), the monitoring unit may immediately contact a security or police service to inspect the property associated with the alarm.
   
 
         [0015]    In order to avoid a notification not reaching the monitoring system, the monitoring system can have secondary numbers which an alarm will use if the normal (primary) number is unavailable (for instance, it is engaged). The alarm unit is then arranged to call the backup telephone number if the normal telephone number is unavailable. 
         [0016]    It will be appreciated that in most instances the alarm system will include a plurality of alarm units in contact with the monitoring station, maybe many hundreds or thousands. Each alarm unit will be unique in the telephone number or other caller identification details associated therewith and so uniquely identifiable to the monitoring station. 
         [0017]    In a particularly preferred embodiment, the alarm unit is fitted to a door, such as a removable security door. In such circumstances, the door may be unlockable remotely by the monitoring station. This can be particularly useful in such circumstances as a person requiring entry to a property for maintenance or other reasons who does not need to be given the unlock code for any particular unit. The person is simply given a contact code, which will be recognized by the alarm unit to contact the monitoring station. The monitoring station will have otherwise been informed of the likely entry and can even double check with the person directly (for example, via a telephone call to the person after the unlock code is input). If the entry is authorized, the monitoring station can unlock the door. This is of particular use when there are a number of different people who require entry into the various properties being monitored, as individual unlock codes do not have to be provided. Also, if unauthorized entry is attempted by someone knowing a contact code, the monitoring station will know that entry is not, in that case, permitted (due to time or place) and refuse to unlock the door. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the monitoring station and transmitter of the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the monitoring station and transmitter of the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the monitoring station of the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the monitoring station according to the present invention; 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the monitoring station of the present invention; 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of the layout of hardware components of a monitoring station according to the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a schematic diagram of the monitoring station of the present invention; 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a schematic diagram of the monitoring station of the present invention; 
           [0028]      FIG. 10  i s a perspective view of an alarm unit according to the present invention; and 
           [0029]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view of a portable security door to which the alarm unit of  FIG. 10  can be fitted. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0030]    While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail several specific embodiments, with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered merely an exemplification of the principles of the invention and the application is limited only to the appended claims. 
         [0031]      FIGS. 1 to 9  show an embodiment of a monitoring system according to the present invention. The same number is used in the different Figures to illustrate a similar part. All types of telephone network now provide basic caller identification, such as a telephone number when a call is directed to its recipient. This information is provided before the call is actually answered. Thus, for the basic operation of the invention, the alarm unit  50  (e.g., as shown in  FIG. 10 ) can contact a monitoring station  10  via GSM modems, ISDN terminal adapters or modems on a PSTN telephone line. The monitoring station  10  is also known as a Remote Management and Control Station ( 10 ). It is preferred to use a GSM or other mobile connection for a variety of reasons. Firstly, this allows the alarm unit  50  to be easily portable in temporary or non-fixed (e.g., vehicles, boats, statues) installations. Also, the basic SIM cards used in such mobile networks allows for a variety of numbers to be stored for dialling, thereby facilitating simple implementation of the invention. It is also much more difficult to put an alarm out of communication with the monitoring station when there are no fixed phone lines. 
         [0032]    The entirety of the communications of this system illustrated in  FIG. 1  uses a GSM network. The alarm unit  50  includes a tranmitter  52  that is arranged to generate calls in “DATA” mode towards the monitoring station  10 , and the monitoring station  10  is arranged to send SMS towards the party (e.g., an individual using GSM phone  20 ), or sends a request for a third party, such as a security company, to attend the premises that house the particular alarm unit  50 . Of course, the system may actually incorporate a large number of alarm units  50  which may all be the same of different, but the monitoring station  10  will contain the information on each alarm unit  50 . 
         [0033]      FIG. 2  illustrates a transmitter  52  calling the monitoring station  10  via a GSM network. The alarm unit  50  is entirely self-sufficient; it incorporates a GSM modem (not shown separately) enabling the transmitter  52  to communicate autonomously with the monitoring station  10 . The transmitter  52  is powered by a battery that preferably has one to five years autonomy depending on the utilization ratio. It is connected to the GSM network only during the time of the communications with the monitoring system  10 . The transmitter  52 , for reasons of energy saving, is maintained in “sleeping” mode whilst not in use. It switches to “connected” mode in three cases: (1) the detection of human presence, for example by means of an incorporated infrared detector  52 ; (2) the transmitter  52  is switched “on” or “off” by an associated keyboard at the transmitter location; or (3) a test call done periodically. The transmitter  52  preferably will call a different telephone number for each different instance. 
         [0034]    The transmitter  52  may repeat each call towards the monitoring station  10  three times until reception is acknowledged. In the case of non-reception, three calls are sent towards the overflow station with the same principle of acknowledgement (i.e., he call from the transmitter  52  is not answered, but details of the transmitter are logged with the monitoring station  10 ). The acknowledgement of receipt of the transmitter details comes via a call back from the monitoring station  10 . Thus, the calls from the transmitter  52  are never answered, thereby greatly improving the cost efficiency of the system. 
         [0035]    At the reception of an alarm, or other call from the transmitter  52  (e.g., an alarm following detection of a presence by the infrared detector  54 ), the monitoring station  10  will send a SMS message to the contact or a request for control, according to the instructions registered in the associate instructions contained for each alarm unit  50 . This is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . At reception of a SMS or a request for control, the personnel must call the center back to carry out an acknowledgement, in order to stop the sequence of investigation. Of course, the monitoring station  10  could be programmed in other ways, such as automatically sending a voice message to a security service or initiating police contact. 
         [0036]    In order to confirm correct transmitter operation, the transmitter  52  is programmed to periodically contact the monitoring station  10  in the case of no event occurs in a set period of time (e.g., ten days). The transmitter  52  carries out the periodic test call towards the monitoring station  10  on a different number than the number used for the alarm warning. This allows the confirmation of the correct operation of the transmitter  52  again by the call to the monitoring station  10  being logged but not answered. Of course, the monitoring station  10  contains a database letting the system know which transmitter  52  should be calling and, if a call is missed, initiates an alarm for the alarm unit  50  that has failed to call. 
         [0037]    Further, each alarm unit  50  checks automatically its battery level and, in the event of a weak battery, the transmitter  52  informs the monitoring station  10  by calling the monitoring station  10  at a different number. If the battery level is reported to be low, the monitoring station  10  is programmed to send a message to maintenance personnel to replace the battery at the particular transmitter  50 . 
         [0038]    In order to confirm correct operation of the monitoring station  10 , a selected test transmitter calls the monitoring station  10  periodically (e.g., each hour), and awaits the acknowledgement of the correct operation of the system. In the event of a defect, the selected test transmitter sends a message (e.g., SMS) to an “on duty” agent to signal the non-function of the monitoring station  10 . 
         [0039]    Each transmitter is normally maintained in “sleeping” mode so the transmitter cannot answer calls sent from the monitoring station  10 . However, it is possible “to awake it” with the help of the keyboard  56  and to obtain a connection to the GSM network. Alternatively, or additionally, if the alarm unit  50  is fixed to a door  58  ( FIG. 7 ) or the like, the keyboard can be provided on the door panel. Once awake, for a period of time (e.g., two minutes), it waits for a call from the monitoring station  10 . It is possible then to, among other things, transmit its configuration or to erase its secret code or to read the events stored in its memory. 
         [0040]    The monitoring station  10  contains two main operational software packages, known as VIGIGLOBAL and VIGICONFIG, which are each independent of each other as illustrated in  FIG. 4 . 
         [0041]    The software “VIGIGLOBAL” allows the follow-up of alarms, the reports of intervention and the states of the fleet of alarm units  50  of the customers. 
         [0042]    The software “VIGICONFIG” allows the local or distant configuration of the alarm units  50 . It manages also the periodical tests to supervise the correct operation of the transmitters  52 . Of course this latter software is independent of the hardware and other software. It is not required for basic operation of the invention, but does permit preferred performance and may be used in relation to control of a wide range of remote devices. 
         [0043]    The basic unit of the monitoring station  10  is shown in  FIG. 5  as reception  12 . Reception  12  is made of a personal computer (PC)  14  and a frame of 8 GSM modems  16 . The reception  12  is designed to receive calls from about 2000 transmitters  52 . Each call is confirmed using three GSM lines “CALL TOWARDS TRANS”. Each transmitter  50  repeats its calls three times in the event of non-reception of the acknowledgment, (i.e., the call back from the reception  12 ). 
         [0044]    Reception  12  has five input lines  26 A- 26 E, each with a different telephone number, and three output lines  24 A- 24 C. Line  26 A receives the alarm signals. Line  26 B receives calls that an alarm unit  10  is armed (i.e., set for surveillance) and line  26 C receives calls on disarming of an alarm unit  10 . Line  26 D receives calls that each alarm unit  10  periodically is set to ensure that the alarm unit  10  is functioning correctly. Line  26 E receives calls when an alarm unit  10  has a low battery or an interrupted power supply. The computer  22  will be set to log all of these calls, though, of course, none of the incoming calls will be answered. It will further be set to transmit information about the change in status of each alarm unit  10  that is being monitored via one or more of the three output lines  24 A,  24 B and  24 C. Normally, all alarm notifications will be immediately further relayed as with monitoring station  20 A. For example, the owners of the properties being monitored may wish to receive an SMS message each time a door is disarmed or when a low battery is detected. 
         [0045]      FIG. 6  shows reception  20  or the “overflow” monitoring unit. The reception  20  is again made of a PC  14 ′ and a frame of 6 GSM modems  16 ′ receives the overflow calls of reception  12 . It does not receive the alarm calls because the overflow of the line “ALARM” is carried out by the back-up monitoring station explained in more detail below. 
         [0046]    Physically, the computers  14  and  14 ′ and other hardware of reception  12  and reception  20  are installed in the same 19 inches high bay as shown in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0047]    The calling server  28  is shown in  FIG. 8 . This calling server  28  is used to define the actions to be carried out upon reception of an alarm. It contains a PC  30  with a database of the addresses where VIGICONTACT software modules are installed as well as the various procedures of calling the different contacts. It allows the option of calling manually or automatically, the follow-up of the calls are registered and stored in separate database. 
         [0048]    The back-up server  30  is shown in  FIG. 9 . This backup server receives the overflow alarm calls from reception  12  (i.e., alarm calls from transmitters  52  for which no acknowledgement was received in the three attempts). This back-up server  32  is a totally separate monitoring system  10  and is normally located at a physically distinct location because it should not use the same GSM relay as the other lines in case of a breakdown of the normal GSM relay used by the principal lines to reception  12  and reception  20 . 
         [0049]    The back-up server  32  uses two GSM modems  34  on two lines  36 ,  38 . One  36  line is used for reception of calls from transmitters  52  (alarm calls only) and the other line  38  is used for the acknowledgment of alarms and the sending of SMS messages. The line used for receipt of calls also receives update information from the database of the principal server of reception  12 , which is also stored on the back-up server  32 . 
         [0050]      FIG. 10  shows a typical alarm unit  50 , which can be fitted to a temporary or permanent structure such as a door  58  (shown in  FIG. 7 ). The alarm unit  10  shown may have a strong plastic or metal case. If made from plastic, the unit will weigh about 1.5 kg and, when made from metal, will weigh about 4.0 kg. Inside the case, not shown, the alarm circuitry and GSM transmitter  52  will be located. The system is preferably powered by a long duration Lithium cell which is designed to hold a charge for at least five years but can output the charge at relatively high levels. The alarm unit  50  will be programmed to contact the monitoring station  10  when unauthorized entry is attempted or affected on the door  12 . The alarm unit  50  will also contact the monitoring station when the alarm is armed (i.e., door  58  is closed and locked), disarmed (i.e., door  58  is opened by authorized entry, e.g., with appropriate code), and/or when the alarm unit  50  has a low battery and periodically (e.g., every 10 days) to show the monitoring unit that the particular alarm unit  10  is functioning. 
         [0051]    The door  58  may be provided with electronic and/or key operated locks. The electronic locks will normally be operated through a keypad where the correct code needs to be entered to open the lock. However, the alarm unit  50  may also be programmed to operate an electronic lock on the door. In this way, where there are several doors in operation and, for example, several engineers or other outside contractors need access to various properties over time, there is a security risk in allowing all of these people to have door entry codes. The present invention can reduce the security risk by the contractors each being given an alarm contact code. The alarm code is input into the alarm unit via the normal door  58  keypad. The alarm unit  50  contacts the monitoring station  10 . At the monitoring station  10 , details are kept of properties the contractors are permitted to access at any time. Often, the contractor will also have to contact the monitoring station separately by telephone to verify this information. If cleared, the alarm unit  50  can be used to unlock the door  58 . 
         [0052]    The alarm units  50  may be standalone units or may be permanently mounted on a door  58  or other structure. The alarm units  50  may detect an alarm state by means of infra red sensors, incorrect codes being entered on an entry panel, breaking of an electrical or visual circuit or any other means as is common or known in the field of alarms. The size and appearance of the alarm unit  50  will vary depending upon what types of alarm states are being monitored. 
         [0053]    Although the alarm unit  50  is particularly suited for installation on temporary security doors, it can also be used in a wide range of other places. It could be fitted to boats, cars or other vehicles. It could be included as part of a permanent building alarm or even as part of an item such as a statue. 
         [0054]    It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.