Patent Publication Number: US-8994525-B2

Title: Method for testing notification appliances in alarm systems

Description:
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The disclosure relates generally to the field of alarm systems, and more particularly to an improved method for testing notification appliances in alarm systems and recording the results of such testing. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     Alarm systems, such as fire alarm systems, typically include a plurality of notification appliances (e.g. horn/strobe units), that are installed throughout a monitored building and are configured to be activated upon the detection of an alarm condition, such as the presence of fire or smoke. Occupants of the building may thereby be notified of a potentially hazardous condition and may evacuate the building or take other action before being harmed. It is therefore critically important that notification appliances of alarm systems always be in good working order. 
     Governmental entities may require that notification appliances, and particularly those of fire alarm systems, be tested periodically to verify that such appliances are operating properly. Such testing is typically performed by one or more designated inspectors who walk through an entire monitored building and physically visit each notification appliance installed therein. The inspectors may activate each appliance for a predetermined amount of time to verify functionality. 
     One shortcoming associated with traditional notification appliance testing methods is that they require inspectors to manually record test results, such as whether a particular appliance passed or failed testing. This is generally accomplished by noting test results on a piece of paper or by entering test results into an arbitrary electronic device (e.g. laptop, tablet, personal data assistant, etc.). Such manual notation can be extremely time consuming and cumbersome, especially in systems having hundreds or thousands of notification appliances. 
     A further shortcoming associated with traditional testing methods is that, when noting test results, inspectors must unambiguously identify each appliance that is tested. This can be surprisingly difficult, since appliance differentiation within a large group of nearly identical appliances in a building requires complex descriptions of appliances&#39; locations and/or tedious notation of appliances&#39; serial and device numbers. In addition to being arduous, such manual identification is susceptible to a certain level of inconsistency that is naturally attendant with any complex, manual task of this type. 
     SUMMARY 
     In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide inspectors and other interested parties with convenient and reliable means for testing notification appliances in alarm systems and creating a record of such testing. 
     An exemplary method in accordance with the present disclosure may include the steps of placing an alarm system in a test mode, actuating an input device of a notification appliance a first time, whereby a notification feature of the notification appliance is activated for a test period, and automatically entering a waiting period after expiration of the test period. The method may further include actuating the input device of the notification appliance a second time during the waiting period, whereby a pass signal is transmitted from the notification appliance, and creating a record of the pass signal. The method may further include transmitting a fail signal from the notification appliance after expiration of the waiting period if the input device of the notification appliance was not actuated during the waiting period, and creating a record of the fail signal. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of an alarm system in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method in accordance with the present disclosure. 
         FIGS. 3-8  are a series of schematic diagrams illustrating the exemplary method shown in  FIG. 2  being performed on the alarm system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Methods for testing notification appliances and recording the results of such testing in accordance with the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. The disclosed methods, however, may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements throughout. 
     It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the methods described herein may be implemented in virtually any type of alarm or monitoring system, including, but not limited to, fire alarm systems, burglar alarm systems, surveillance systems, air quality monitoring systems, inventory monitoring systems, etc., or any combination thereof, such as may be provided for detecting an alarm event (e.g. a security breach) or a warning condition (e.g. an elevated temperature) in a building, structure, enclosure, or area. Many other applications are contemplated and may be implemented without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. All such applications are collectively referred to herein as “alarm systems.” 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary alarm system  10  in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. The alarm system  10  may include a plurality of notification appliances  12  that may be installed throughout a monitored structure and connected to one or more alarm panels  14 . Each notification appliance  12  may be associated with a unique address within the alarm system  10  for facilitating identification thereof by the alarm panel  14  and enabling selective routing of command/control signals from the alarm panel  14  to each notification appliance  12 . The notification appliances  12  may be configured to provide notification of an alarm condition within the structure, such as may be detected by one or more initiating devices (not shown) in the alarm system  10 . The notification appliances  12  shown in  FIG. 1  are strobe/horn units, but it is contemplated that other varieties of notification appliances, such as sirens, bells, buzzers, etc., may additionally or alternatively be implemented in the alarm system  10  in a similar manner. For the sake of convenience and clarity, only three notification appliances  12  are shown, but it is to be understood that the alarm system  10  may include many additional notification appliances  12  without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The exemplary alarm system  10  may also include a workstation  16 , such as a personal computer (PC) or server, which is operatively connected to the alarm panel  14 . The workstation  16  may be loaded with one or more software applications that provide human operators of the system  10  with a user interface  18  for monitoring and controlling certain aspects of the alarm system  10 . For example, the user interface  18  may allow an operator to observe the functional status of the notification appliances  12 , and to activate, deactivate, test, inspect, or otherwise exert control over the notification appliances  12  as further described below. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the workstation  16  and user interface  18  may be entirely omitted from the alarm system  10 , and that an operator may activate, deactivate, test, inspect, observe the functional status of, or otherwise exert control over the notification appliances  12  via the alarm panel  14 . 
     Each of the notification appliances  12  may be equipped with one or more waiting mode indicia  20 . The waiting mode indicia  20  may be configured to be activated upon completion of a functional test of a respective notification appliance  12  as further described below. The waiting mode indicia  20  may include any type of visual indicia that are capable of being activated in response to an electrical signal, including, but not limited to, light emitting diodes (LEDs), incandescent light bulbs, fluorescent light bulbs, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), strobes, and the like. Such visual indicia  20  may be prominently located on the exteriors of the notification appliances  12 . The waiting mode indicia  20  may additionally or alternatively include any type of audible indicia that are capable of being activated in response to an electrical signal, including, but not limited to, sirens, horns, bells, buzzers, and the like. 
     Each of the notification appliances  12  may be further provided with a manually actuated input device  22 , such as a switch or a button. The input devices  22  may be configured such that actuation of an input device  22  may cause a respective notification appliance  12  to perform a functional test, whereby the notification feature(s)  26  (e.g. strobe and horn) of the notification appliance  12  are activated for a predefined amount of time, hereinafter referred to as “the testing period.” An inspector may thereby determine whether the notification appliance  12  is operating properly. The input devices  22  may be further configured such that actuating an input device  22  a second time after the testing period has concluded may cause the notification appliance  12  to transmit a pass signal to the alarm panel  14 , wherein such pass signal indicates that the notification appliance  12  passed the functional test. The purpose and operation of the input devices  22  will be described in greater detail below within the context of the disclosed testing methods. 
     The input devices  22  shown in  FIG. 1  may be magnetic switches that are actuated by waving a magnetic key  24  (shown in  FIG. 4 ) in close proximity thereto. Such magnetic keys  24  may be made available to a designated system inspector or group of designated system inspectors. Limiting access to the input devices  22  in this manner is advantageous because it prevents unauthorized individuals from interfering with the inspection and testing of the alarm system  10 . However, it is contemplated that various other types of input devices  22  may additionally or alternatively be implemented without departing from the present disclosure. For example, it is contemplated that the input devices  22  may be simple buttons or switches that can be actuated by any individual. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for testing the notification appliances  12  of the alarm system  10  in accordance with the present disclosure is shown. The method will now be described in detail in conjunction with the schematic representations of the alarm system  10  shown in  FIGS. 3-8 . 
     At a first step  100  of the exemplary testing method, an inspector may place the system  10  in a “test mode.” This may be achieved by the inspector making an appropriate selection in the user interface  18  or at the alarm panel  14 , such as by selecting a “TEST MODE” option in a menu or sub-menu of the alarm panel  14  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The inspector may further be provided with an option to initiate a “self-test” of the alarm system (further described below). 
     At step  110  of the exemplary method, the inspector may visit a first of the notification appliances  12  and may actuate the input device  22  of the notification appliance  12 . For example, the inspector may wave a magnetic key  30  (described above) in close proximity to the input device  22  as shown in  FIG. 4 . Actuating the input device  22  thusly may cause the notification appliance  12  to perform a functional test by activating its notification features  26  for a test period of predetermined duration (e.g. 5 or 10 seconds). For example, the notification appliance  12  may flash its strobe and/or sound its horn as shown in  FIG. 4 . Of course, the particular type of functional test performed will depend on the particular type of notification appliance  12  being tested. The functional test may allow the inspector to determine whether the notification appliance  12  operates as intended (e.g. at a sufficient volume or brightness). 
     Upon completion of the functional test, the notification appliance  12  may, at step  120  of the exemplary method, automatically enter a “waiting mode” (described in greater detail below). The notification appliance  12  may positively indicate that it is in the waiting mode by activating its waiting mode indicium  20  as shown in  FIG. 5 . The notification appliance  12  may remain in the waiting mode, and the verification indicium  20  may remain activated, for a predefined amount of time, hereinafter referred to as “the waiting period.” The duration of the waiting period may be in a range of 30 to 60 seconds, but may be shorter or longer without departing from the present disclosure. 
     If the inspector determines that the notification appliance  12  functioned properly during the functional test performed in step  110 , the inspector may, at step  130   a  of the exemplary method, actuate the input device  22  of the notification appliance  12  before the expiration of the waiting period (i.e. while the waiting mode indicium  20  is activated) as shown in  FIG. 6 . Such actuation may be performed in substantially the same manner as described in step  110 , such as by waving the magnetic key  30  in close proximity to the input device  22 . Alternatively, it is contemplated that the notification appliance may be provided with a separate input device (i.e. separate from input device  22 ) that may be actuated in a similar or different manner during this step for indicating passage of the functional test. 
     By actuating the input device  22  during the waiting period, the inspector may cause the notification appliance  12  to transmit a “pass signal” to the alarm panel  14  as indicated by the dashed arrow in  FIG. 6 , wherein such signal indicates that the notification appliance  12  passed the functional test performed in step  110 . Actuation of the input device  22  during the waiting period may also cause the notification appliance  12  to conclude the waiting period and to deactivate its waiting mode indicium  20 , indicating to the inspector that the pass signal was transmitted. Upon receiving the pass signal, the alarm panel  14  may record the unique address of the tested notification appliance  12 , and may also record the date and time when the pass signal was received. The alarm panel  14  may further record a unique identification number associated with the magnetic key  30  that was used to actuate the input device  22  if such information was captured by the notification appliance  12  and conveyed by the pass signal. Alternatively, it is contemplated that the above-described functions of receiving the verification signal, creating an inspection record, as well as all other command, control, and storage functions described below, may instead be performed by the workstation  16 . 
     If the inspector determined that the notification appliance  12  did not function properly during the functional test performed in step  110 , the inspector may, at step  130   b  of the exemplary method, allow the waiting period to expire without actuating the input device  22 . Expiration of the waiting period may be indicated by deactivation of the waiting mode indicium  20 . If the waiting period is allowed to expire in this manner, the notification appliance  12  may automatically transmit a “fail signal” to the alarm panel  14  upon conclusion of the waiting period as indicated by the dashed arrow shown in  FIG. 7 , wherein such signal indicates that the notification appliance  12  failed the functional test performed in step  110 . Alternatively or additionally, it is contemplated that the notification appliance  12  may be provided with a separate input device (i.e. separate from the input device  22 ) that the inspector may actuate to cause the fail signal to be transmitted to the alarm panel  14 . 
     Upon receiving the fail signal, the alarm panel  14  may record the unique address of the tested notification appliance  12 , and may also record the date and time when the fail signal was received. The alarm panel  14  may further record a unique identification number associated with the magnetic key  30  that was used to actuate the input device  22  if such information was captured by the notification appliance  12  and conveyed by the fail signal. 
     If the inspector determined that the notification appliance  12  functioned properly during the functional test of step  110 , but allowed the waiting period to expire without actuating the input device  22  for some reason (e.g. the inspector became distracted or was unexpectedly called away from notification appliance  12 ), the fail signal may be transmitted to the alarm panel  14  in error. If the inspector wishes to subsequently transmit and record a correct pass signal for the notification appliance  12 , the inspector may simply repeat steps  110 - 130   a  of the method on notification appliance  12 . Particularly, the inspector may actuate the input device  22  of the notification appliance  12  to again perform a functional test, and may again actuate the input device  22  during the subsequent waiting period to cause a pass signal to be transmitted to the alarm panel  14 . This pass signal may supersede the previously transmitted fail signal, and the alarm panel  14  may replace the previously recorded fail result with a pass result for the notification appliance  12 . The inspector is thereby relieved from having to manually record an exception to the test, or from having to start the entire system test over again. 
     It is contemplated that, instead of requiring the inspector to observe the functional test of the notification appliance  12  and subjectively determine whether the appliance performed adequately as described above, one or more of the notification appliances  12  in the alarm system  10  may be equipped with a so-called “self-test” feature which enables a notification appliance  12  to automatically evaluate its own functionality. For example, such a notification appliance  12  may include one or more sensors (not shown), such as a microphone, sound detector, camera, photo eye, light detector, etc., located adjacent the appliance&#39;s notification features  26  (e.g. strobes, horns, sirens, etc.). Upon initiating a self-test of a properly equipped notification appliance  12 , such as by actuating the input device  22  as in step  110  of the exemplary method, the notification appliance  12  may activate its notification features  26  to perform a functional test as described above. While the functional test is being performed, the sensor(s) of the notification appliance  12  may measure the output of the appliance&#39;s notification features  26 . The measured output may then be compared to predefined values to determine whether the notification appliance  12  is functioning properly. Such comparison may be performed by the notification appliance  12  itself, by the alarm panel  14 , or by the workstation  16 , and the results of the self-test may be automatically entered into the test record (described above). The inspector is thereby relieved from having to observe and subjectively determine the results of a functional test. 
     By collecting pass/fail information in the manner described above, the alarm panel  14  may automatically create and store a test record for the notification appliance  12 , including when and by whom the notification appliance  12  was tested. Such a record may subsequently be reviewed by interested parties, and may provide confirmation that the notification appliance  12  was in-fact tested. 
     At step  140  of the exemplary method, the inspector may proceed to the other notification appliances  12  in the alarm system  10  and may sequentially test each appliance in the manner described in steps  110 - 130  above, as represented in  FIG. 8 . Particularly, the inspector may actuate the input device  22  of each notification appliance  12  to effectuate a functional test thereof, and may cause a pass or fail signal to be transmitted to the alarm panel  14  for each appliance connected thereto. A full test record for the entire alarm system  10  may thereby be automatically created and stored in the manner described above. 
     The method described herein thus provides inspectors and other interested parties with convenient, reliable means for testing notification appliances in alarm systems and for creating and storing records of such testing. 
     As used herein, an element or step recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly recited. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present invention are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. 
     While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described herein, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto. 
     The various embodiments or components described above, for example, the alarm system workstations, broker workstations, and the components or processors therein, may be implemented as part of one or more computer systems. Such a computer system may include a computer, an input device, a display unit and an interface, for example, for accessing the Internet. The computer may include a microprocessor. The microprocessor may be connected to a communication bus. The computer may also include memories. The memories may include Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM). The computer system further may include a storage device, which may be a hard disk drive or a removable storage drive such as a floppy disk drive, optical disk drive, and the like. The storage device may also be other similar means for loading computer programs or other instructions into the computer system. 
     As used herein, the term “computer” may include any processor-based or microprocessor-based system including systems using microcontrollers, reduced instruction set circuits (RISCs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), logic circuits, and any other circuit or processor capable of executing the functions described herein. The above examples are exemplary only, and are thus not intended to limit in any way the definition and/or meaning of the term “computer.” 
     The computer system executes a set of instructions that are stored in one or more storage elements, in order to process input data. The storage elements may also store data or other information as desired or needed. The storage element may be in the form of an information source or a physical memory element within the processing machine. 
     The set of instructions may include various commands that instruct the computer as a processing machine to perform specific operations such as the methods and processes of the various embodiments of the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of a software program. The software may be in various forms such as system software or application software. Further, the software may be in the form of a collection of separate programs, a program module within a larger program or a portion of a program module. The software also may include modular programming in the form of object-oriented programming. The processing of input data by the processing machine may be in response to user commands, or in response to results of previous processing, or in response to a request made by another processing machine. 
     As used herein, the term “software” includes any computer program stored in memory for execution by a computer, such memory including RAM memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, and non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) memory. The above memory types are exemplary only, and are thus not limiting as to the types of memory usable for storage of a computer program.