Patent Publication Number: US-9905115-B2

Title: Systems and methods for installing, commissioning, testing, and maintaining a fire alarm control panel via a mobile device

Description:
FIELD 
     The present invention relates generally to fire alarm control panels. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods for installing, commissioning, testing, and maintaining a fire alarm control panel via a mobile device. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Known user interfaces of fire alarm control panels are not cost effective or easy to use and do not quickly provide a necessary information for installing, commissioning, testing, and maintaining a fire alarm control panel. For example, known user interfaces are not intuitive and do not easily or quickly guide a user to program the fire alarm control panel. Indeed, it may be necessary to identify detailed information from user manuals and have more than fundamental system knowledge to install, commission, test, and maintain the fire alarm control panel. 
     In view of the above, there is a continuing, ongoing need for improved systems and methods. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system in accordance with disclosed embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     While this invention is susceptible of an embodiment in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein in detail specific embodiments thereof with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention. It is not intended to limit the invention to the specific illustrated embodiments. 
     Embodiments disclosed herein can include systems and methods for installing, commissioning, testing, and maintaining a fire alarm control panel via a mobile device. For example, in some embodiments, systems and methods disclosed herein can include the fire alarm control panel with one or more wireless interfaces or transceivers, a fire alarm control panel application executed on the mobile device, and a server device. In some embodiments, the mobile device disclosed herein can include, but is not limited to a tablet, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, and the like. 
     In some embodiments, the one or more wireless interfaces or transceivers of the fire alarm control panel can support and communicate via a product tag, a RF signal, and a receiver, via a Bluetooth signal, or via a WiFi signal. For example, in some embodiments, the fire alarm control panel can include the first wireless interface that can include a product tag and that can support and communicate via a first type of signal, for example, the RF signal, and a second wireless transceiver that can support and communicate via a second type of signal, for example, the Bluetooth signal or the WiFi signal. 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device can include one or more wireless interfaces or transceivers that can support and communicate via the RF signal, the Bluetooth signal, or the WiFi signal. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the mobile device can communicate with the one or more wireless interfaces or transceivers of the fire alarm control panel via the first and/or second types of signals and with the server device via the first and/or second types of signals. In this manner, the mobile device can be used to wirelessly install, commission, test, and maintain the fire alarm control panel, for example, by receiving, via the fire alarm control panel and/or the server device, programming information, flash upgrade data, historical data, and information related to testing and maintenance activities. 
     In accordance with disclosed embodiments, the fire alarm control panel and the mobile device can communicate with one another, via respective wireless interfaces or transceivers, to initiate a session or to pair with one another. In some embodiments, the mobile device or a user thereof can be preassigned a unique identification number that can authorize the mobile device or the user thereof to program the fire alarm control panel. For example, the mobile device can transmit its identification number to the fire alarm control panel, and the fire alarm control panel can make a determination as to whether the fire alarm control panel will further communicate with the mobile device based on whether the received identification number is authorized. 
     If the mobile device, or the user thereof, is authorized for communication, the fire alarm control panel can transmit information related to the fire alarm control panel to the mobile device, and the mobile device can transmit received fire alarm control panel information and other user input or other mobile device information to the server device. In some embodiments, the user input or the mobile device information can include location information of the mobile device. 
     In some embodiments, the server device can include a database device that can cross-reference fire alarm control panel information and/or the user input or other mobile device information with related information, such as, for example, work flow templates or regulatory guidance and instructions for the installation, commissioning, testing, and maintenance procedures stored on the server device. The server device can retrieve the appropriate work flow template or regulatory guidance or instructions based on the received fire alarm control panel information and/or user input or mobile device information and transmit the retrieved work flow template or regulatory guidance or instructions to the mobile device. For example, in some embodiments, the server device can identify the regulatory guidance and information based on the location information of the mobile device. The mobile device can display the received work flow template or regulatory guidance or instructions and receive additional user input for navigating the displayed information. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system  100  in accordance with disclosed embodiments. As seen in  FIG. 1 , the system  100  can include a fire alarm control panel device  200 , a mobile device  300 , and a server device  400 . The fire alarm control panel device  200  can include a first wireless interface device or transceiver  210 , a second wireless interface device or transceiver  220 , a user interface device  230 , and a database device  240 , each of which can be in communication with control circuitry  250 , one or more programmable processors  250   a , and executable control software  250   b  as would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Similarly, the mobile device  300  can include a first wireless interface device or transceiver  310 , a second wireless interface device or transceiver  320 , a user interface device  330 , a database device  340 , and a GPS device  350 , each of which can be in communication with control circuitry  360 , one or more programmable processors  360   a , and executable control software  360   b  as would be understood by one or ordinary skill in the art. The server device  400  can also include a wireless interface transceiver  410  and a database device  420 , each of which can be in communication with control circuitry  430 , one or more programmable processors  430   a , and executable control software  430   b  as would be understood by one or ordinary skill in the art. 
     In some embodiments, the executable control software  360   b  of the mobile device  300  can include a fire alarm control panel application that can execute and control some of the methods described above and herein. Each of the executable control software  250   b ,  360   b , and  430   b  can be stored on a transitory or non-transitory computer readable medium, including, but not limited to local computer memory, RAM, optical storage media, magnetic storage media, flash memory, and the like. In some embodiments, some or all of the control circuitry  250 ,  360 ,  430 , the one or more programmable processors  250   a ,  360   a ,  430   a , and the executable control software  250   b ,  360   b ,  430   b  can execute and control the methods described above and herein. 
     For example, the mobile device  300  can obtain information related to the fire alarm control panel device  200  by communicating with the fire alarm control panel device via one or more of the wireless interface devices or transceivers  210 ,  220 ,  310 ,  320 . In some embodiments, the first wireless interface device  210  can include a wireless product tag, and the first wireless interface device  310  can include a wireless product tag scanner or receiver. In these embodiments, the mobile device  300  can initiate communication with the fire alarm control panel device  200  by tapping the wireless interface device  310  on the wireless interface device  210  to cause the wireless interface device  210  to transmit to the wireless interface device  310  an RF signal that includes information stored in the database device  240  and related to the fire alarm control panel device  200 . Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, each of the second wireless interface transceivers  220 ,  320 , can include a transceiver device that can support and communicate via a Bluetooth signal or a WiFi signal, and the mobile device  300  can communicate with the fire alarm control panel device  200  via such signals. For example, the mobile device  300  can initiate communication with the fire alarm control panel device  200  by the wireless transceiver  320  transmitting an initial signal to the wireless transceiver  220 . 
     In some embodiments, the wireless interface device or transceiver  310 ,  320  can transmit an identification number of the mobile device  300  stored in the database device  340  or of a user thereof received via the user interface device  330  to the wireless interface device or transceiver  210 ,  220 . The fire alarm control panel device  200  can determine that the mobile device  300  or the user thereof is authorized by identifying the identification number in the database device  240  prior to the wireless interface device or transceiver  210 ,  220  transmitting to the wireless interface device or transceiver  310 ,  320  the information stored in the database device  240  and related to the fire alarm control panel device  200 . 
     As explained above, the fire alarm control panel device  200  can transmit the information stored in the database device  240  and related to the fire alarm control device  200  to the mobile device  300 . In some embodiments, such information can include a type, a variant, or other details about the fire alarm control panel device  200 . 
     The mobile device  300  can transmit to the server device  400  the received information related to the fire alarm control panel device  200 . For example, the mobile device  300  can communicate with the server device  400  via one or more of the wireless interface devices or transceivers  310 ,  320 ,  410 . In some embodiments, each of the wireless interface devices or transceivers  310 ,  320 ,  410  can include a transceiver device that can support and communicate via the Bluetooth signal or the WiFi signal, and the mobile device  300  can communicate with the server device  400  via such signals. 
     In some embodiments, the mobile device  300  can receive user input via the user interface device  330  and/or identify a location of the mobile device  300 , which can be indicative of a location of the fire alarm control panel device  200  by proximity thereto, via the GPS device  350 . In these embodiments, the mobile device  300  can transmit the received user input and/or the identified location of the mobile device  300  to the server device  400  with the received information related to the fire alarm control panel device  200 . 
     Upon receipt of the information and/or the user input from the mobile device  300 , the server device  400  can identify and retrieve one or more templates or regulatory guidance or instructions documents in the database device  420  that correspond to the received information or user input, and the server device  400  can transmit the retrieved templates or regulatory guidance or instructions documents to the mobile device  300  via the wireless interface devices or transceivers  310 ,  320 ,  410 . Upon receipt of the templates or regulatory guidance or instructions documents from the server device  400 , the mobile device  300  can display the received templates or regulatory guidance or instructions documents on the user interface device  330  and can receive user input via the user interface device  300  for navigating through the displayed templates or documents. 
     In accordance with disclosed embodiments, displaying the templates and regulatory guidance or instructions documents on the user interface device  330 , as opposed to the user interface device  230 , is advantageous because the user interface device  330  of the mobile device  300  is more intuitive for the user to quickly and easily navigate through displayed information and can display more information than can be displayed on the user interface device  230  of the fire alarm control panel device  200 . Furthermore, it can be more cost effective to display the templates and regulatory guidance or instructions documents on the user interface device  330  of the mobile device  300  than to upgrade the user interface device  230  of the fire alarm control panel device  200 . Even further still, the mobile device  300  can retrieve information from the server device  400  that is more detailed, relevant, and helpful to the user than what can be stored in the database device  240  of the fire alarm control panel device  200 . 
     Although a few embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the logic flows described above do not require the particular order described or sequential order to achieve desirable results. Other steps may be provided, steps may be eliminated from the described flows, and other components may be added to or removed from the described systems. Other embodiments may be within the scope of the invention. 
     From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific system or method described herein is intended or should be inferred. It is, of course, intended to cover all such modifications as fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.