Abstract:
A security system comprising a plurality of remote wireless units, a central control unit and an adaptive console for translating messages in radio frequency signals into messages in signals suitable for transmission over a wire in order to augment the wireless capability of the system. The adaptive console has a wireless receiver for receiving the radio frequency signal, which includes identification and status information from a wireless remote units. The adaptive console also has a processing unit which translates the identification and status information from the radio frequency signal to corresponding function data derived from a mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, the function data representative of a function to be performed by the security system. The adaptive console also has a transmitter which transmits a signal over a wired connection which includes the corresponding function data to the central control unit or a wired security unit. The adaptive console may additionally have components enabling it to receive a signal from a wired connection, translate that signal to valid identification and status information, and then transmit a second radio frequency signal to the wireless remote units. Alternatively, the central control unit may contain the mapping and perform the translation from valid identification and status information to function data.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [1]    1. This invention relates to security systems, and in particular to a method and apparatus for increasing the number of wireless devices/identification codes to which a wired or wireless security system will respond.  
           [2]    2.FIG. 1 illustrates a typical wired security system  10  of the prior art comprising a central control unit  12 , a central transceiver  14 , a console display/keypad  18 , a plurality of remote sensors  20  and local sensors  22 , a telephone dialer  24  and a siren  26 . The remote sensors  20  are hard-wired to the central transceiver  14 , which communicates with the central control unit  12  via a system bus  28 . The system bus  28  also links the central control unit  12  to the console display/keypad  18 . The central control unit  12  is connected to the telephone dialer  24  and the siren  26  via an auxiliary local bus  30 . The central control unit is also hardwired to the local sensors  22 . Despite a lack of wireless capability (i.e., wireless communication between components, especially between the remote sensors  20  and the central control unit  12 ), this type of wired security system  10  prevails in a majority of commercial applications.  
           [3]    3. In contrast, a relatively recent innovation in security systems is a wireless security system  32  as illustrated in FIG. 2 in which wireless remote sensors  21  communicate with a wireless central receiver  15  in order to report their status to the central control unit  12 . Wireless keys  34 , which are small remote control devices, have become popular for remote arming and disarming of the wireless security system  32 , as well as remote control of other devices via the wireless central receiver  15  and central control unit  12 . As shown in FIG. 2, the conventional wireless security system  32  is substantially functionally the same as the wired security system  10  illustrated in FIG. 1, except that the wireless central receiver  15 , an optional wireless central transmitter  17 , and wireless remote sensors  21  have been substituted for their wired counterparts of FIG. 1. In addition, the wireless key  34  transmits control messages to the wireless central receiver  15 . The wireless central receiver  15  transfers these control messages over the system bus  28  to the central control unit  12 , which performs an appropriate action or function. Such appropriate action may involve the initiation of an alarm condition that then sounds the siren  26  and causes the telephone dialer  24  to automatically dial an appropriate number such as the police station or firehouse. Substantially any change in status of the wireless security system  32  would be displayed to the user on the console display/keypad  18 .  
           [4]    4. One of the major advantages of a wireless security system is a reduction in installation time due to the fact that the wireless remote sensors  21  do not require wiring back to the wireless central receiver  15 . However, the local bus  30  and the system bus  28  must still be hard-wired and the wireless central receiver  15 . Wireless central transmitter  17  and console display/keypad  18  must be assigned unique system bus addresses to avoid contention on the shared system bus  28 . In a similar manner, an identification code for each of the wireless remote sensors  21  as well as the wireless key  34  must be “learned” by the central control unit  12 . The identification code  36 , as illustrated in FIG. 6, represents a portion of a radio frequency or wireless message  38  transmitted by each of the wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless key  34 , and is used to distinguish between them. The process of learning the identification codes (i.e. initializing the system) involves causing the wireless remote sensors  21  and the wireless key  34  to transmit their respective radio frequency message  38  while denoting the validity of the wireless message  38  received by depressing a button or buttons on the console display/keypad  18 , which also assigns a corresponding function to be performed upon receipt of each of the valid identification codes. The learning process results in the storage of a set of valid identification codes mapped to specific functions for each wireless remote sensor  21  and wireless key  34  of the wireless security system  32  in the central control unit  12  of the wireless security system of the prior art illustrated in FIG. 2.  
           [5]    5. Despite the fact that the same identification code may be emitted by more than one wireless key (as found with automobile security systems where more than one wireless key provided to the purchaser of the automobile can control the security system), this is typically not the case with the majority of wireless security systems installed in commercial businesses and residential homes. Wireless keys  34  typically have two or more buttons which, although will emit the same identification code  34  upon being depressed, will emit different radio frequency messages differentiated in one or more status bits  40 . Therefore, a significant problem is encountered in providing sufficient storage space to maintain the complete set of valid identification and status information mapped to functions for a wireless security system of any reasonable size. This problem is compounded by the fact that existing central control units  12  found in wireless security systems include only a very limited storage area for this type of information. Furthermore, in the case of wired security systems  10  without wireless capability, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, there is understandably no such storage whatsoever. This problem is not present in conventional wired systems because such systems are not required to respond to radio frequency messages.  
           [6]    6. One solution to this problem has been to replace existing security systems with a unit that includes the wireless central receiver  15 , wireless central transmitter  17 , console display/keypad  18  and central control unit  12  including a larger identification code storage area in one unit. Such a unit must be placed near an access way to the secured building in order to provide an auxiliary means for the user to arm or disarm the system upon entering or leaving the premises as a failsafe backup to the wireless key  34 . In addition, since the wireless central receiver is contained in the unit, the unit must be installed in a central location to facilitate adequate reception and transmission of radio frequency signals from the wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless key  34 . However, a significant disadvantage results in that the unit, due to its location near an access or entry way, becomes particularly susceptible to destruction by an intruder before it has an opportunity to initiate an alarm condition. For this reason, many professional security installers are unwilling to install such a unit, preferring to keep the central control unit  12  physically separate from the receiver, transmitter and console. Furthermore, many users choose not to reinstall an entirely new unit due to the associated cost.  
           [7]    7. Therefore, it would be advantageous if a practical and affordable solution to interfacing with existing security systems could be designed which would supplement a limited or nonexistent storage area for identification codes already located in the central control unit while maintaining adequate reception and transmission of wireless radio frequency signals.  
           [8]    8. The spread of wireless technology in the manufacture of security systems has been delayed significantly due to consumers&#39; preference for wired systems. This is partially due to the vast quantity of wired security systems  10 , such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, already in existence and partially due to various perceived disadvantages with wireless security systems, such as the need to replace batteries, poor reception and transmission of wireless signals, etc. Thus, the user having a wired security system  10  already installed without any wireless capability is not likely to install a wireless security system, even though he might benefit from the many advantages associated with a wireless security system such as the absence of wires as well as ease of installation, maintenance and upgrade. Likewise, many installers of security systems choose not to offer wireless security systems because of their relative inexperience with such systems in addition to the disadvantages already discussed.  
           [9]    9. Therefore, it would be advantageous if a method were developed whereby existing non-wireless ready wired security system could be retrofitted, thereby providing wireless capability to such units in an unobtrusive, inexpensive, and practical manner.  
           [10]    10. Many of the wireless security systems currently in use are limited in the number of identification codes  36  that can be recognized by the system. As illustrated in FIG. 2 and discussed above, the wireless key  34  is a common element in the typical wireless security system  32 . The wireless key  34  may have four buttons, each initiating a different function within the wireless security system  10 , such as arming/disarming of the system, opening a garage door, emergency alert and testing, via transmission of a unique radio frequency message in response to depression of a different button. For security purposes and ease of manufacture, each wireless key  34  will be designed to transmit a unique radio frequency message in response to depression of each button. Such a configuration can rapidly outpace the capacity for storage of valid identification and status information built into existing central control units  12 .  
           [11]    11. Therefore, it would be advantageous if a method were developed which could supplement the number of wireless identification codes recognizable by an existing wireless security system in an efficient, unobtrusive and inexpensive manner.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [12]    12. In accordance with the present invention, a method and apparatus is provided for augmenting the wireless capability of a security system, which comprises receiving a radio frequency signal comprising identification and status information, translating the identification and status information derived from the radio frequency signal to corresponding function data derived from a mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, the function data representative of a function to be performed by the security system, and transmitting the function data over a wired connection.  
           [13]    13. In further accordance with the present invention, the method and apparatus receive from a wired connection a second signal comprising second function data to be performed by the security system, translate the second function data to corresponding valid identification and status information derived from the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, and transmit a second radio frequency signal comprising the corresponding valid identification and status information.  
           [14]    14. In still further accordance with the present invention, the method and apparatus program the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data by entering function data corresponding to receipt of the radio frequency signal, the function data comprising keypress information, associate the identification and status information in the radio frequency signal with the keypress information in the function data, and store the identification and status information with the keypress information, thereby generating the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data.  
           [15]    15. In further accordance with the present invention, a security system is provided comprising a plurality of wireless remote units, a control unit, and an adaptive console. The adaptive console comprises a receiver module which receives a radio frequency signal comprising identification and status information from the plurality of wireless remote units, a processing module which translates the identification and status information from the detected radio frequency signal to corresponding function data derived from a mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, mapping memory which stores the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, a console display/keypad module which enables a user to program the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, and a transmitter module which transmits a signal suitable for transmission over a wire comprising the corresponding function data to the control unit. The adaptive console optionally comprises a second receiver module which receives a second signal suitable for transmission over a second wire comprising second function data to be performed by the security system from the control unit, the processing module translating the second function data in the second signal suitable for transmission over a second wire to corresponding valid identification and status information derived from the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data, and an optional second transmitter module which transmits a second radio frequency signal comprising the corresponding valid identification and status information to the plurality of wireless remote units.  
           [16]    16. In further accordance with the present invention, the central control unit contains the mapping of valid identification and status information to function data and performs the translation after having received the identification and status information from the adaptive console. The adaptive console having already verified the validity and format of the message in the received radio frequency signal prior to transmission to the central control unit.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [17]    17.FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a wired security system of the prior art.  
         [18]    18.FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless security system of the prior art.  
         [19]    19.FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless security system utilizing an adaptive console of the present invention.  
         [20]    20.FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the adaptive console of FIG. 3.  
         [21]    21.FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a hardware embodiment of the adaptive console of FIG. 4.  
         [22]    22.FIG. 6 illustrates a format of a wireless message.  
         [23]    23.FIG. 7 illustrates a format of a system bus message.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [24]    24.FIG. 3 illustrates a composite wireless security system  42  comprising each of the components of the wireless security system  32  of FIG. 2 with the substitution of an adaptive console  44  of the present invention for the wireless distributed receiver  11 , wireless distributed transmitter  13  and console display/keypad  18 . Each of the wireless distributed receiver  11 , wireless distributed transmitter  13  and console display/keypad  18  within the adaptive console  44  is separately addressable via a system bus  28 , just as the corresponding units are in existing security systems. Therefore, the adaptive console  44  is designed to operate as an efficient “drop in” compatible replacement or supplement for these elements in new and existing wired and wireless security systems such as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, respectively.  
         [25]    25. In the wired security system  10  of FIG. 1 the existing central transceiver  14  and console display/keypad  18  could be removed along with the hard-wired remote sensors  20 , enabling the adaptive console  44  to be installed with a new set of wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless key  34 . The wireless remote sensors  21  comprise garage door openers, PIR detectors, shock detectors, glass break detectors, smoke detectors and other security units well known in the art. In so doing, the previously wired security system could be provided with wireless capability. Alternatively, any or each of the central transceiver  14  and console display/keypad  18  could be retained in the system and the adaptive console  44  added with additional wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless keys  34 , resulting in a hybrid system having increased wireless capability.  
         [26]    26. In the wireless security system  32  of FIG. 2 the existing wireless central receiver  15 , wireless central transmitter  17  and console display/keypad  18  could be removed, enabling the adaptive console  44  to be installed with another or additional set of wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless keys  34 . In so doing the existing wireless security system  32  is upgraded to enable response to a greater number of identification codes and, therefore, is able to respond to a greater number of wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless keys  34 . Alternatively, any or each of the wireless central receiver  15 , wireless central transmitter  17  and console display/keypad  18  could be retained in the system and the adaptive console  44  added, resulting in the ability of the security system to respond to an even greater number of wireless remote sensors  21  and wireless keys  34  while saving identification and status information storage area or zones inherent in the existing central control unit  12  for additional identification and status information. In such an embodiment an attempt would first be made to verify the identification code in the adaptive console  44 . If the verification was unsuccessful the identification code could then optionally be passed to the central control unit  12  for verification against the identification and status information area stored in the central control unit  12  or it could be discarded as invalid.  
         [27]    27. A commercially available example of the wireless security components is provided by a 5800 series manufactured by Alarm Device Manufacturing Co., located in Syosset, N.Y. Specifically, a 5881 wireless receiver receives radio frequency messages from a 5804 wireless key and passes the complete message (in digital format) to a central control panel or unit in order to be decoded, checked for validity, and ultimately perform a pre-programmed function. In addition, bi-directional wireless keys, such as a 5804BD wireless key, transmit information to the central control unit and receive an acknowledgment back via a 5800TM central transmitter module, which transmits to a receiver contained within the 5804BD wireless key. Thus, the 5804BD bi-directional wireless key provides feedback to the user by indicating system status via lights and tones on the 5804BD enabling the following:  
         [28]    28. 1. remote arming of the security system upon leaving the premises with confirmation that the process was successful;  
         [29]    29. 2. remote verification of the security status for the occurrence of an alarm condition in order to be able to react if necessary; and  
         [30]    30. 3. remote verification that the security system has been disarmed to eliminate false alarms upon authorized entry.  
         [31]    31. It is anticipated that despite the ability of the adaptive console  44  to access the central control unit  12  via the system bus  28 , the adaptive console  44  is not required to do so in all cases. For instance, in a central control unit bypass mode, the wireless key  34  may transmit identification and status information which, upon receipt by the wireless distributed receiver  11 , prompts the adaptive console  44  to transmit a command via the wireless distributed transmitter  13  to one of the wireless remote sensors  21  responsible for opening a garage door or another wired security unit well known in the art. Such a process could be carried out without any intervention by the central control unit  12 .  
         [32]    32. Although one embodiment of the adaptive console  44  comprises the wireless distributed receiver  11 , the wireless distributed transmitter  13 , the console display/keypad  18 , and processing means such as a microprocessor  46  and a memory  48 , an alternative embodiment of the adaptive console  44  comprises the wireless distributed receiver  11 , the microprocessor  46 , and the memory  48  with or without the console display/keypad  18 . Such an embodiment would provide wireless capability in the receive direction only. An additional embodiment of the adaptive console  44  comprises the wireless distributed transmitter  13 , the microprocessor  46 , the memory  48  with or without the console display/keypad  18 . Such an embodiment would provide wireless capability in the transmit direction only.  
         [33]    33. The fact that the adaptive console  44  communicates to the central control unit  12  via a hard-wired system bus  28  permits the adaptive console  44  to be mounted in a convenient location near access ways and away from the central control unit. In this way, the wireless distributed receiver  11  and wireless distributed transmitter  13  are located near the wireless remote sensors  12 , enabling improved reception and transmission of wireless signals. In addition, maintaining a reasonable distance between the combination of the central control unit  12 , siren  26 , and telephone dialer  24  and any access ways ensures that the combination of the central control unit, siren and telephone dialer can alert the proper authorities prior to an opportunity to destroy them by an intruder entering one of the access ways. Such an installation overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art solution involving the self contained unit which combines the functionality of the central control unit  12  and the adaptive console  44  into one physical unit as described above.  
         [34]    34. The block diagram of FIG. 4 illustrates the operation of the adaptive console  44  in greater detail. A wireless message  38  of the type illustrated in FIG. 6 is transmitted by one or more of the remote sensors  21  in the radio frequency band and is received by the wireless distributed receiver  11  by means which are well known in the art. The wireless message  38  is comprised of preamble bits  50 , start bits  52 , proprietary bits  54 , the identification code  36 , status bits  40  and CRC bits  56 . In the preferred embodiment, Manchester data encoding is used to encode a data word by means well known in the art as follows; the message commences with the preamble bits  50 , which are used by the wireless distributed receiver  11  to extract timing information and to indicate that the wireless message follows. The preamble  50  is followed by the start bits  52  which indicate the start of the wireless message  38 ; this is followed by proprietary bits  54  which are used to indicate a particular manufacturer, system code that the system maintains a proprietary rather than open standard. The identification code  36  uniquely identifies the source of a wireless message  38  received by the adaptive console  44 , or the destination of the wireless message  36  transmitted by the adaptive console  44 . The status bits  40  indicate various information; for example, the status of the battery and the identity of the button on the wireless key  34  that was depressed. This is followed by CRC bits  56  which are used for error checking of the wireless message  38  by means well known in the art.  
         [35]    35. Upon conversion of the wireless message  38  by the wireless distributed receiver  11  to a form suitable for subsequent processing, the CRC bits  56  are verified to ensure that there were no errors in transmission, and the identification code  36  and status bits  40  are verified against a set of valid identification codes and status bits stored in memory  48  as a valid identification code to valid function mapping  58 . Such a mapping  58  provides not only a list of the identification codes and status bits currently recognized as valid, but also the function to be performed by the security system upon receipt of the particular identification code and status bit combination. The functions comprise arming and disarming the security system, opening a garage door, entering a test mode, sounding an emergency state, etc.  
         [36]    36. Such a mapping  58  will have been entered into the adaptive console  44  during a learning phase. In the learning phase the user or installer will cause one of the wireless remote sensors  21  to transmit its wireless message comprising a particular identification code  36 . Simultaneously or at some predetermined time thereafter, the user enters the function on the console display/keypad  18  that he wishes to be associated with the particular identification code  36  contained in the wireless message being transmitted. Alternatively, the function could be entered first via the console display/keypad  18  followed by the identification code  36 . It is anticipated that the function will be represented in the form of keypress information  62  originating from a keypad  60  and displayed to the user on a display  72  by means well known in the art. In this way, the mapping  58  between valid identification codes  36  and the corresponding functions that the user determines should be performed upon receipt of each of the valid identification codes  36  is generated and may be stored in memory  48 . The mapping  58  is used to determine the function corresponding to a given identification code  36  as well as to determine the identification code  36  corresponding to a given function expressed in terms of keypress information  62 . Alternatively, an existing or external keypad and display may be used to program the mapping via an external port  16 .  
         [37]    37. Once the corresponding function is obtained from the mapping  58 , the adaptive console  44  will utilize the keypress information  62  associated with the identification code  36  from the received wireless message  38  and incorporate it into a system bus message  64  as shown in FIG. 7. The system bus message  64  is then transferred to the central control unit  12  via the system bus. Therefore, the adaptive console  44  of the present invention may be used to simulate the keypress information or output of the console display/keypad  18  which is hard-wired to the central control unit  12  as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.  
         [38]    38. As illustrated in FIG. 7, the system bus message  64  comprises  3  words, each comprising a start sequence  66 , the keypress information  62 , a parity bit  68 , and a stop bit  70 . The system bus message  64  is transmitted between the adaptive console  44  and the central control unit  12 . Prior to transmission of the system bus message  64 , a polling signal (not shown) is typically transmitted by the central control unit  12  which requests an update of information from the adaptive console  44 . The polling signal typically comprises system bus addressing information to enable individualized polling of units in communication with the system bus  28  peripheral to the central control unit  12  and to prevent contention on the system bus  28  between these peripherals (e.g., multiple adaptive consoles  44 , wireless distributed receivers  15 , wireless distributed transmitters  17  and central control units  12 ).  
         [39]    39. Similarly, the process described immediately above is performed in reverse order to transmit a wireless message  38 , wherein the system bus message  64  from the central control unit  12  is verified with respect to parity and valid keypress information in the mapping  58 . The identification code  36  and status bits  40  corresponding to the valid keypress information is incorporated into the wireless message  38  and transmitted by the wireless distributed transmitter  13  to any of the remote wireless sensors  21  or wireless keys  34 . Thus, the adaptive console  44  is able to process wireless messages  38  into system bus messages  64  and system bus messages  64  into wireless messages  38  without using wireless capabilities in the existing central control unit  12 . This effectively creates wireless capability within existing wired security systems or enables existing wireless security systems to respond to a greater number of wireless remote sensors and wireless keys.  
         [40]    40.FIG. 5 illustrates a hardware embodiment of the adaptive console  44  of FIG. 4 comprising the wireless distributed receiver  11 , wireless distributed transmitter  13 , console display keypad  18 , and memory  48 . As indicated on FIG. 4, the microprocessor  46  verifies the CRC, parity, keypress information, and identification code and status bits by comparison with the mapping  58  stored in memory  48 . In addition, the microprocessor  46  translates the system bus message  64  to the wireless message  38  and the wireless message  38  to the system bus message  64 . The same or an additional microprocessor or microcontroller may be used to monitor input and output from the wireless distributed receiver  11  and wireless distributed transmitter  13 . The mapping  58  is entered into memory  48  via the learning process described above using the keypad  60  and display and driver  72 .  
         [41]    41. An alternative embodiment of the present invention comprises optionally storing the partial or complete mapping  58  in the central control unit  12  as shown in FIG. 3. As described above a partial mapping  58  would be stored in the central control unit  12  in circumstances where the adaptive console  44  is being used to augment existing wireless capability in the existing wireless security system as illustrated in FIG. 2. A complete mapping  58  would be stored in the central control unit in situations where the wireless capability of the existing central control unit  12  is sufficient and the identification and status information storage area in the adaptive console  44  is not required. In these embodiments the wireless distributed receiver  11  would receive the incoming wireless message and transfer it to the microprocessor  46  which verifies the CRC, timing and format of the wireless message  38  in order to determine if the incoming message is valid or a result of interference. If the timing, format and CRC are valid then the content of the wireless message  36  is transmitted over the system bus  28  to the central control unit  12 , where it is compared against the mapping  58  in a manner similar to that described above and illustrated in FIG. 4 except that the process is performed in the central control unit  12  rather than the adaptive console  44 . Upon validation of the identification code  36  the appropriate function is performed. An advantage to retaining the mapping  58  entirely within the central control unit  12  is the relative simplicity of downloading updates and revisions to the mapping  58  via modem through the attached telephone and dialer  24  without the necessity of transferring the downloaded data over the system bus  28  to the adaptive console  44 . Alternatively, if a portion of the mapping  58  or the complete mapping  58  were retained in the adaptive console  44 , the mapping  58  could be revised in a similar manner with the additional step of reformatting and transmitting the downloaded data over the system bus  28 .  
         [42]    42. One advantage of these embodiments is an improvement in the location of the wireless distributed receiver  11 . In alarm systems of the prior art the wireless central receiver  15  is located near the central control unit  12 , such as in a basement, where radio frequency propagation is poor. By locating the wireless distributed receiver  11  away from the central control unit  12  (such as in the living space near an entry or exit way), radio frequency propagation between the wireless distributed receiver  11  and the remote sensors  21  will be improved. In addition, the wireless key  34 , which comprises an antenna exhibiting only a very limited range, is generally operated by the user as he approaches an entry or exit way and the decrease in distance between the wireless key  34  and the wireless distributed receiver  11  will clearly improve this propagation as well. Similarly, locating the wireless distributed transmitter  13  with the wireless distributed receiver  11  will improve transmission to and from the adaptive console  44  to bi-directional wireless key such as the 5804BD described above. Since the antenna within the 5804BD has only a limited range, locating the adaptive console  44  closer to the area in which the 5804BD is likely to be activated will improve propagation.  
         [43]    43. Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to best mode embodiments thereof, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions and additions in the form and detail thereof may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.