Patent Publication Number: US-9905093-B1

Title: Auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
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     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH Not Applicable 
     REFERENCE TO APPENDIX 
     Not Applicable 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of signaling systems, calling systems and alarm systems, more specifically, a visible and audible signaling system for announcing alarm conditions. 
     The use of modern alarm and security systems protects both lives and the resources of the organizations and individuals that use them. Modern alarm and security systems monitor a large variety of dangers including, but not limited to, the accumulation of carbon monoxide, smoke and fire detection, and the physical security of perimeters and checkpoints. 
     Unfortunately, as the breadth of potential dangers a modern alarm and security system monitors is expanded, they have become confusing. Specifically, the alarms generated by many of these existing modern alarm and security systems generally comprise an audible siren that merely indicates an alarm has occurred without providing additional information regarding the nature of the alarmed hazard or emergency. In many cases, a person specially trained in the operation of the alarm system has to physically go to a panel to determine the source of the alarm. 
     Clearly a more broadly and easily interpretable system of categorizing and organizing alarms would be of great benefit in responding to emergency situations. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     The auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system is adapted for use with an installed security system. The auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system monitors each individual alarm condition monitored by the installed security system. The auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system is organized into a plurality of alarm channels. Each alarm channel contained within plurality of alarm channels corresponds to an individual alarm condition monitored by the installed security system. When the installed security system generates an alarm condition, the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system turns on an alarm channel selected from a plurality of alarm channels. The selected alarm channel then generates a visual alarm and an audible alarm that clearly identifies the individual alarm condition that triggered the installed security system to generate the general alarm. 
     These together with additional objects, features and advantages of the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     In this respect, before explaining the current embodiments of the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system in detail, it is to be understood that the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system is not limited in its applications to the details of construction and arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustration. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the concept of this disclosure may be readily utilized as a basis for the design of other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system. 
     It is therefore important that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system. It is also to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. They are meant to be exemplary illustrations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  is a detailed block diagram of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart of an embodiment of the disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT 
     The following detailed description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the described embodiments of the application and uses of the described embodiments. As used herein, the word “exemplary” or “illustrative” means “serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as “exemplary” or “illustrative” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. All of the implementations described below are exemplary implementations provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure and are not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any expressed or implied theory presented in the preceding technical field, background, brief summary or the following detailed description. 
     Detailed reference will now be made to one or more potential embodiments of the disclosure, which are illustrated in  FIGS. 1 through 5 . 
     The auxiliary alarm for existing alarm system  100  (hereinafter invention) comprises a housing  101  and a control system  102 . The control system  102  is contained within the housing  101 . The invention  100  is adapted for use with an installed security system  191 . The installed security system  191  monitors a plurality of alarms  160 . The invention  100  monitors the plurality of alarms  160  monitored by the installed security system  191 . The invention  100  is organized into a plurality of alarm channels  130 . Each alarm channel contained within plurality of alarm channels  130  corresponds to an individual alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  that are monitored by the installed security system  191 . When the installed security system  191  generates an alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160 , the invention  100  turns on the corresponding alarm channel selected from a plurality of alarm channels  130 . The selected corresponding alarm channel generates a visual alarm and an audible alarm that clearly identifies the individual alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  that triggered the installed security system  191  to generate a general alarm. 
     The control system  102  comprises a logic module  121 , a memory module  122 , a speaker  124 , and the plurality of alarm channels  130 . The logic module  121  is a readily and commercially available programmable electronic device that is used to control and operate the control system  102 . Each alarm channel selected from the plurality of alarm channels  130  further comprises an audio alarm file selected from a plurality of audio alarm files  140  and a visual alarm selected from a plurality of visual alarms  150 . There is a one to one correspondence between any alarm channel selected from the plurality of alarm channels  130  and an audio alarm file selected from the plurality of audio alarm files  140 . This insures that any audio alarm generated by the invention  100  is unique to the alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  that corresponds to the selected alarm channel. There is a further one to one correspondence between any alarm channel selected from the plurality of alarm channels  130  and a video alarm selected from the plurality of visual alarms  150 . This insures that any video alarm generated by the invention  100  is unique to the alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  that corresponds to the selected alarm channel. Each of the plurality of audio files  140  is an individual audio file that is stored in the memory module  122 . The memory module  122  is a readily and commercially available electronic device that is used to store information in a digitally encoded data. 
     Each of the plurality of audio files  140  contains a spoken message verbally stating the specific individual alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  that triggered the installed security system  191  to generate the general alarm. When an alarm channel selected from the plurality of alarm channels  130  is activated, the logic module  121  queries the memory module  122  to download the specific audio alarm file corresponding to the selected alarm channel and then converts the selected audio file into an electronic signal that is sent to the speaker  124  for audible announcement. The speaker  124  is a readily and commercially available speaker  124 . 
     Each visual alarm selected from the plurality of visual alarms  150  is a light  125  that is dedicated to the selected visual alarm. When an alarm channel selected from the plurality of alarm channels  130  is activated, the logic module  121  powers a circuit that illuminates the light  125 . It is preferred that each light  125  be a unique color such that the underlying individual alarm condition selected from the plurality of alarms  160  can be more readily identified. As shown most clearly in  FIG. 4 , in a first potential embodiment of the disclosure, each visual alarm selected from the plurality of visual alarms  150  comprises an LED for the light  125  and an associated limit resistor  126 . 
     The housing  101  comprises a chamber  111 , a window  112 , a speaker aperture  113  and a plurality of light apertures  114 . The chamber  111  is a rigid hollow box that contains the control system  102 . The speaker aperture  113  is a hole that is formed in the chamber  111  within which the speaker  124  is mounted such that audible sounds produced by the speaker  124  are audible from the exterior of the housing  101 . Each of the plurality of light apertures  114  is an individual hole formed in the chamber  111 . Each of the plurality of light apertures  114  receives a light  125  associated with a visual alarm selected from the plurality of visual alarms  150  in such a manner that the light  125  associated with a selected visual alarm is visible from the exterior of the housing  101 . 
     The above paragraph can be made clearer using the first potential embodiment of the disclosure as an example. This example is exemplary in nature and should not necessarily be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. This example is provided for the purposes of simplicity and for clarity of exposition of the disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of the appended claims but is instead provided to enable persons skilled in the art to practice the disclosure. Specifically, it is noted that the first potential embodiment of the disclosure will make assumptions regarding the individual alarm condition contained within the plurality of alarms  160  that are monitored by the installed security system  191  that can be readily modified without undue experimentation. 
     This specification now moves to a detailed description of a first potential embodiment of the disclosure. 
     In the first potential embodiment of the disclosure, the invention  100  is designed to monitor a plurality of alarms  160  from the installed security system  191 . The plurality of alarms  160  comprises a first alarm  161 , a second alarm  162 , a third alarm  163 , a fourth alarm  164 , a fifth alarm  165 , a sixth alarm  166 , a seventh alarm  167 , and an eighth alarm  168 . The first alarm  161  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that carbon monoxide has been detected. The second alarm  162  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that smoke has been detected. The third alarm  163  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that one of the manual fire alarms has been activated. The fourth alarm  164  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that the sprinkler system has been activated. The fifth alarm  165  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that a security breach has been detected. Security breaches can occur along the perimeter of the area secured by the installed security system  191  or internal to the area secured by the installed security system  191 . The sixth alarm  166  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that a panic button has been activated. 
     A panic button of the installed security system  191  comprises one or more switches monitored by the installed security system  191  that is designed to be manually activated for the purpose of tripping the alarm of the installed security system  191  in order to generate an immediate emergency response to an otherwise unmonitored emergency situation. The seventh alarm  167  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that a custom alarm  167  has been activated. The custom alarm  167  is a sensor integrated into the installed security system  191  that monitors a potential security weakness specifically identified within the area secured by the installed security system  191  that is not otherwise monitored within this described structure. The eighth alarm  168  is a signal received from the installed security system  191  indicating that a duress alarm  168  has been activated. A duress alarm  168  is a predetermined security code that can be used to deactivate the installed security system  191 . The use of the duress alarm  168  indicates that the installed security system  191  is being deactivated under duress. The assumption underlying the use of the duress code is that the enterer is under some form of personal physical threat and that immediate but discrete emergency assistance. In these instances, the installed security system  191  will generally appear to shut down and send silent alarms directly to the appropriate authorities 
     The plurality of alarm channels  130  further comprises a first alarm channel  131 , a second alarm channel  132 , a third alarm channel  133 , a fourth alarm channel  134 , a fifth alarm channel  135 , a sixth alarm channel  136 , and a seventh alarm channel  137 . The first alarm channel  131  corresponds to the first alarm  161 . The second alarm channel  132  corresponds to the second alarm  162 . The third alarm channel  133  corresponds to the third alarm  163 . The fourth alarm channel  134  corresponds to the fourth alarm  164 . The fifth alarm channel  135  corresponds to the fifth alarm  165 . The sixth alarm channel  136  corresponds to the sixth alarm  166 . The seventh alarm channel  137  corresponds to the seventh alarm  167 . As described elsewhere in this disclosure, the eighth alarm  168  is handled logically and does not require a separate alarm channel. 
     The plurality of audio alarm files  140  further comprises a first audio alarm file  141 , a second audio alarm file  142 , a third audio alarm file  143 , a fourth audio alarm file  144 , a fifth audio alarm file  145 , a sixth audio alarm file  146 , and a seventh audio alarm file  147 . The plurality of visual alarms  150  further comprises a first visual alarm  151 , a second visual alarm  152 , a third visual alarm  153 , a fourth visual alarm  154 , a fifth visual alarm  155 , a sixth visual alarm  156 , and a seventh visual alarm  157 . The first alarm channel  131  comprises the first audio alarm file  141  and the first video alarm  151 . The second alarm channel  132  comprises the second audio alarm file  142  and the second video alarm  152 . The third alarm channel  133  comprises the third audio alarm file  143  and the third video alarm  153 . The fourth alarm channel  134  comprises the fourth audio alarm file  144  and the fourth video alarm  154 . The fifth alarm channel  135  comprises the fifth audio alarm file  145  and the fifth video alarm  155 . The sixth alarm channel  136  comprises the sixth audio alarm file  146  and the sixth video alarm  156 . The seventh alarm channel  137  comprises the seventh audio alarm file  147  and the seventh video alarm  157 . 
     The operation of the first potential embodiment of the disclosure is now described in this paragraph. The logic module  121  makes a first decision  201  to determine whether the first alarm  161  is activated. If the first alarm  161  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a first action  211  of turning on the first alarm channel  131 . If the first alarm  161  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a second action  212  of turning off the first alarm channel  131 . The logic module  121  next makes a second decision  202  to determine whether the second alarm  162  is activated. If the second alarm  162  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a third action  213  of turning on the second alarm channel  132 . If the second alarm  162  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a fourth action  214  of turning off the second alarm channel  132 . The logic module  121  next makes a third decision  203  to determine whether the third alarm  163  is activated. If the third alarm  163  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a fifth action  215  of turning on the third alarm channel  133 . If the third alarm  163  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a sixth action  216  of turning off the third alarm channel  133 . 
     The logic module  121  next makes a fourth decision  204  to determine whether the fourth alarm  164  is activated. If the fourth alarm  164  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a seventh action  217  of turning on the fourth alarm channel  134 . If the fourth alarm  164  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes an eighth action  218  of turning off the fourth alarm channel  134 . The logic module  121  next makes a fifth decision  205  to determine whether the fifth alarm  165  is activated. If the fifth alarm  165  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a ninth action  219  of turning on the fifth alarm channel  135 . If the fifth alarm  165  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a tenth action  220  of turning off the fifth alarm channel  135 . The logic module  121  next makes a sixth decision  206  to determine whether the sixth alarm  166  is activated. If the sixth alarm  166  is activated, the logic module  121  takes an eleventh action  221  of turning on the sixth alarm channel  136 . If the sixth alarm  166  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a twelfth action  222  of turning off the sixth alarm channel  136 . 
     The logic module  121  next makes a seventh decision  207  to determine whether the seventh alarm  167  is activated. If the seventh alarm  167  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a thirteenth action  223  of turning on the seventh alarm channel  137 . If the seventh alarm  167  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a fourteenth action  224  of turning off the seventh alarm channel  137 . The logic module  121  next makes an eighth decision  208  to determine whether the eighth alarm  168  is activated. If the eighth alarm  168  is activated, the logic module  121  takes a fifteenth action  225  of deactivating the plurality of alarm channels  130 . By deactivating the plurality of alarm channels  130  is that the logic module  121  will not turn on any alarm channel selected from the of the plurality of alarm channels  130  should such an alarm be received from the installed security system  191  while the eighth alarm  168  remains activated eighth alarm  168 . If the eighth alarm  168  is not activated, the logic module  121  takes a sixteenth action  226  of activating the plurality of alarm channels  130 . By activating the plurality of alarm channels  130 , the logic module  121  will respond to any alarms received from the installed security system  191  as described elsewhere in this disclosure. 
     As shown most clearly in  FIG. 4 , the control system  102  is powered with a readily and commercially available battery  123 . As a shown most clearly in  FIG. 1 , the plurality of visual alarms  150  are protected by a window  112 . The window  112  is a transparent plate placed through which each of the plurality of visual alarms  150  will illuminate. 
     The following definitions were used in this disclosure: 
     Audio File: As used in this disclosure, an audio file is a digital representation of a sound that is used to store a recording of the sound. Separate hardware is used to convert the digital representation of the sound into an audible sound. 
     Audio Source: As used in this disclosure, an audio source is a device that generates electrical signals that can be converted in to audible sounds by a speaker. 
     Battery: As used in this disclosure, a battery is a container consisting of one or more cells, in which chemical energy is converted into electricity and used as a source of power. 
     Correspond: As used in this disclosure, the term correspond means that a first object is in some manner linked to a second object in a one to one fashion. 
     Diode: As used in this disclosure, a diode is a two terminal semiconductor device that allows current flow in only one direction. The two terminals are called the anode and the cathode. 
     LED: As used in this disclosure, an LED is an acronym for a light emitting diode. A light emitting diode is a diode that is also a light source. 
     Light: As used in this disclosure, a light is an electrical device that generates visible light to illuminate objects so they can be seen. 
     Logic Module: As used in this disclosure, a logic module is an electrical device that is programmable and that accepts digital and analog inputs, processes the digital and analog inputs according to previously stored instruction and to provide the results of these instructions as digital or analog outputs. 
     Sensor: As used in this disclosure, a sensor is a device that receives and responds in a predetermined way to a signal or stimulus. As further used in this disclosure, a threshold sensor is a sensor that generates a signal that indicates whether the signal or stimulus is above or below a given threshold for the signal or stimulus. 
     Speaker: As used in this disclosure, a speaker is a transducer that converts an electrical signal into an audible sound. 
     Transducer: As used in this disclosure, a transducer is a device that converts a physical quantity, such as pressure or brightness into an electrical signal or a device that converts an electrical signal into a physical quantity. 
     With respect to the above description, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationship for the various components of the invention described above and in  FIGS. 1 through 5  include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function, and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the invention. 
     It shall be noted that those skilled in the art will readily recognize numerous adaptations and modifications which can be made to the various embodiments of the present invention which will result in an improved invention, yet all of which will fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.