Patent Publication Number: US-9418523-B1

Title: Intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 §119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 104204195 filed in Taiwan, R.O.C. on Mar. 20, 2015, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a home alarm system, and more particularly to an intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system that drives and sets up a lamp to achieve an excellent alarm effect. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Doorbell is a common necessary household device with the functions of telling a house owner about the arrival of a guest or a visitor or providing the guest or visitor a polite way of informing his/her arrival. In a conventional doorbell device, a switch is installed outside a door, and at least one buzzer is installed at an indoor place such as a dining room or a room and electrically connected to the switch through an electric wire, so that when the switch is triggered by the guest or visitor, a driving signal is transmitted to the buzzer through the electric wire to remind the house owner. 
     To avoid disturbing neighbors, the buzzer of the conventional doorbell device is set to a low volume, but the house owner may ignore the doorbell or do not hear the ring at all when the house owner is busy or situated at a position farther, from the buzzer, or there are many floors in the house, and thus the doorbell loses its function. 
     Therefore, additional buzzers are installed at different places of the house to improve the effectiveness of notification, but the number of connected wires and the required connected circuits will be increased significantly since the buzzers and the switch are connected by physical electric wires for transmitting the driving signal. Obviously, the conventional doorbell device with complicated circuits and wires is inconvenient for maintenance and repair. Furthermore, once the switch is triggered, all drivers are driven to produce a very loud sound which affects others and fails to achieve the original intention of reducing the volume of sound. In addition, reminding the house owner by simply using the buzzer for alarm is monotonous and provides a relatively lower alarm effect, and the buzzers do not come with any other function until the doorbell is triggered. 
     Therefore, the inventor of the present invention invented an intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system in hope of overcoming the common drawbacks of the conventional doorbell. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide an intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system that uses a lamp as an alarm device, and a wireless communication is provided for setup, connection, and driving, not just providing a diversified ways of notification only, but also achieving the alarm effect for an indoor space of a large area or a multiple of floors, and preventing the signal transmission accuracy or hit rate from being reduced by the wireless communication distance. 
     To achieve the aforementioned objective, the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system of the present invention set and driven by a wireless communication protocol comprises: at least one doorbell switch, having a wireless signal module, for generating a startup signal after the doorbell switch is triggered; a plurality of lamps, each having a wireless transmission module and a driving module, and electrically coupled to one another through each respective wireless transmission module and also electrically coupled to the doorbell switch, and each driving module driving the lamps to give an alarm by light; and an electronic device, electrically coupled to the lamps, and having a setup module for setting the lamps, and operation information being generated and stored after each lamp is set; wherein, after the lamps receive the startup signal through the wireless transmission modules, the lamps are driven according to the operation information and/or the startup signal is transmitted to the other remaining lamps by the wireless transmission modules; and when each lamp receives the startup signal transmitted from other lamps is received again or the startup signal transmitted from the lamps has not been received within a predetermined time, the lamps stop the transmission of the startup signal. Preferably, the predetermined time falls within a range of 2-5 seconds, and the wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth, WiFi or Zigbee. 
     To improve the alarm effect of the present invention, the present invention further comprises a plurality of buzzers electrically coupled to the doorbell switch and the electronic device for accepting the setup and giving a sound alarm after the startup signal is received. Preferably, the buzzers are installed in the lamps and driven by the driving module, so that the lamps also have the effect of the sound alarm. 
     Wherein, each piece of operation information includes setup data of an alarm ON/OFF status, a light display status, a timing function of each lamp, or a combination thereof, and/or a sound reminding status of each buzzer, so that the lamps may execute the corresponding operation by the driving modules according to the operation information. Preferably, each driving module has a storage unit for storing the operation information. 
     To allow users to recognize each lamp to improve the speed and accuracy of the setup quickly, each lamp includes a recognition module having a code corresponsive to each respective lamp for confirming the code of each lamp when the wireless setup module is connected. Preferably, the recognition modules are quick response codes respectively. 
     In addition, the electronic device is a Smartphone or a tablet PC, and the setup module is an application program. To facilitate users to set up the lamps quickly and conveniently and improve the alarm performance, the electronic device synchronously receives the startup signal to display a doorbell ON message when the doorbell switch is triggered. 
     In summation of the description above, the present invention can improve the alarm performance of the doorbell effectively. Particularly, an excellent alarm effect for indoor space of a building with a large area or a multiple of floors is achieved. The invention not only provides the wireless operation and system that require no complicated wiring of the lamps, but also offering a mechanism for transmitting the startup signal to the lamps. Regardless of the communication protocol, the alarm effect is not affected significantly by the transmission distance, so that the lamps provide an effective alarm effect, and the lamps may be used for illumination while not being used for the alarm, so as to improve the practicality of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded view of a schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of setting an application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention to a lamp; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic view of a first application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic view of a second application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic view of a third application of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The technical content of the present invention will become apparent with the detailed description of preferred embodiments and the illustration of related drawings as follows. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4-6  for a schematic block diagram, a flow chart, a schematic view of setting an application for a lamp, and schematic views of different applications of an intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively, the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system  1  may be applied to a building with a large area of a plurality of floors, wherein a wireless communication protocol is used for setting and driving the system, and the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system comprises at least one doorbell switch  10 , a plurality of lamps  11  and an electronic device  12 . 
     The doorbell switch  10  is installed at an outdoor position proximate to an entrance or exit and provided for a visitor to trigger, and the doorbell switch  10  includes a wireless signal module  101  for generating a startup signal after the doorbell switch  10  is triggered and transmitting the startup signal via wireless transmission. Preferably, the lamp  11  is a spherical lamp, a down lamp, a ceiling lamp or a panel light and has a wireless transmission module  111  and a driving module  112  electrically coupled to one another through each wireless transmission module  111 , and electrically coupled to the doorbell switch  10 , and each driving module  112  is provided for driving the lamps  11  to give alarm by light, and each driving module  112  has a storage unit  1121 . The electronic device  12  is electrically coupled to the lamps  11  and has a setup module  121  for setting the lamps  11 . After each lamp  11  is set, operation information is generated and stored in the storage unit  1121 . Preferably, the operation information includes an alarm ON/OFF status, a light display status, a timing function of each lamp  11 , or a combination of the above, or setup data. In other words, the setup module  121  is provided for enable or disable the alarm of each lamp  11  and the light for the alarm of each lamp  11  may be set according to a user&#39;s preference of the color temperature that shows the light display status such as a blinking status or a continuously lit status, and the alarm operation time such as the alarm being issued after a specific time period. In the present invention, the wireless communication protocol is Bluetooth, WiFi or Zigbee, and the electronic device  12  is a portable device such as a Smartphone or a tablet PC, and the setup module  121  is an application program provided for facilitating the user&#39;s operation. 
     After the lamps  11  receive the startup signal through the wireless transmission modules  111 , the lamps  11  are driven to give an alarm according to the operation information and/or the startup signal is sent to the other lamps  11  through the wireless transmission modules  111 , so as to overcome the drawback of the wireless communication being limited by the transmission distance. In the present invention, each lamp  11  has the signal transmitting and receiving functions, so that even if some of the lamps  11  are too far from the doorbell switch  10 , the closer lamps of the doorbell switch  10  may serve as relays to broadcast and transmit the startup signal to assure that the wireless transmission path of the startup signal is not limited by the distance significantly. If each lamp  11  receives the startup signal transmitted from other lamps  11  again, or no startup signal transmitted from lamps  11  is received within a predetermined time, the lamps  11  will stop the transmission of the startup signal. Preferably, the predetermined time falls within a range of 2-5 seconds. With the aforementioned two conditions for the wireless signal broadcast, each lamp  11  can receive the startup signal at the beginning of triggering the doorbell switch  10  and generating the startup signal and prevent the lamps  11  to continue transmitting the startup signal when the lamps  11  receives the startup signal repeatedly, or the lamps  11  broadcast the startup signal and have not received any response and automatically transmit the transmission of the startup signal. To enhance the warning performance, after the doorbell switch  10  is triggered, the electronic device  12  synchronously receives the startup signal and displays a doorbell ON message. The electronic device  12  automatically receives the startup signal of the doorbell switch  10  or the startup signal from other lamps  11  according to the position of the electronic device  12 . Since the setup module  121  is an application program, the setup module  121  may be used for displaying and recording the doorbell ON message and compiling the doorbell ON message as a doorbell startup record and storing the record in the electronic device  12 . 
     To provide a variety of alarms of the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system  1 , the present invention further comprises a plurality of buzzers  13  electrically coupled to the doorbell switch  10  and the electronic device  12  and driven by the startup signal to give alarm and receive setup information of the setup module  121 . Preferably, the buzzers  13  are installed in the lamps  11  and driven by the driving module  112 . Similarly, a user may use the electronic device  12  to set the buzzers  13  with regard to the type, the length, or the volume of the sound through the setup module  121 , and such set information may be combined into the operation information, so that the operation information further includes a sound warning status to be stored in the storage unit  1121 . 
     In addition, each lamp  11  includes a recognition module  113  having a code corresponsive to each lamp  11  for confirming each lamp  11  when the setup module  121  is connected. When a user uses the electronic device  12  to connect the lamps  11  via wireless transmission, the user may recognize each lamp  11  quickly to facilitate the setup of the aforementioned different alarm statuses of the at least one the lamp  11 . Preferably, the recognition modules  113  are quick response codes. 
     The following procedure is described to make it easier to understand the operation of the present invention. For example, the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system of the present is applied to an indoor space  2  of a multi-floor building as shown in  FIGS. 2-6 , and the procedure includes the following steps. 
     S 01 : Install each lamp  11  in the indoor space  2 , and connect and pair the lamps  11  via the electronic device  12 . 
     The lamps  11  may be installed at different locations of the building such as a dining room, a bedroom, a study or a kitchen according to user requirements. In this preferred embodiment, the present invention is applied to a 3-floor building and an occupant of the building is situated at the third floor, and the building has three lamps  11  installed at the first floor, two lamps  11  at the second floor, and three lamps  11  at the third floor as shown in  FIG. 3 , and the user pairs the electronic device  12  with the lamps  11  by a wireless communication. Now, each lamp  11  displays a different code at the electronic device  12  according to the recognition modules  113 . In this preferred embodiment, the electronic device  12  is a Smartphone, and the setup module  121  is an application program. However,  FIG. 3  just shows a preferred embodiment only, but it is noteworthy that such embodiment is not intended for limiting the scope of the present invention. 
     S 02 : The setup module  121  sets each lamp  11 . 
     As described above, the user may set the ON/OFF status, the light display status, and the timing function of each lamp  11  through the setup module  121 . In this preferred embodiment, the lamps  11  include the buzzers  13 , so that the setup module  121  may be used for setting the buzzers  13 . 
     S 03 : After the setup is completed and the doorbell switch  10  is triggered, the wireless signal module  101  sends out the startup signal, and at least one the lamp  11  receives the startup signal through the wireless transmission module  111 . The lamp  11  determines the alarm status of the lamp  11  according to the operation information and transmits the startup signal to other lamps  11 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 4  for a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after the doorbell switch  10  is triggered and the startup signal is generated, the startup signal is received by three closest lamps  11  at the first floor. Assumed that one of the lamps  11  is set to an ON status, a user is alarmed by light and/or sound about the light display status and the sound warning status according to the operation information. In the meantime, the other two lamps  11  continue transmitting the startup signal to the other lamps  11 , so that the lamps  11  situated farther from the doorbell switch  10  can receive the startup signal quickly and effectively. 
     Step S 04 : After each lamp  11  has received the startup signal, the startup signal will be sent out again via the wireless communication protocol, so that when each lamp  11  receives the startup signal from other lamps  11 , the transmission of the startup signal will be stopped. 
     Step S 05 : If no startup signal from other lamps  11  is received by each lamp  11  again within the predetermined time, the transmission of the startup signal will be stopped. 
     As described above, the lamps  11  firstly receiving the startup signal transmitted from the wireless signal module  101  further send the startup signal out, and then the lamps  11  situated at the second floor receive the startup signal transmitted from the lamps  11  of the first floor while continuing the transmission of the startup signal. If one of the lamps  11  situated at the second floor transmits the startup signal to the lamps  11  at the first floor again, the lamps  11  at the first floor will not transmit the startup signal out again (same as Step  04 ). This is one of the conditions for the lamps  11  to stop the transmission of the startup signal. After the lamps  11  at the first floor has sent the startup signal out and if no startup signal transmitted from the lamps  11  at other position has been received within the predetermined time, the transmission of the startup signal will be stopped (same as Step S 05 ). This is another condition for the lamps  11  to stop the transmission of the startup signal. Therefore, the present invention transmits the startup signal with the highest efficiency and effectiveness to notify the user as shown in  FIG. 5 . In  FIG. 6 , the lamps  11  situated at the second floor transmit the startup signal to the lamps  11  at the third floor, so that the lamps  11  can alarm the occupant of the building, and the lamps  11  at the third floor simultaneously broadcast the startup signal according to the operation information, so as to terminate the signal transmission of the lamps  11  at the second floor. 
     In summation of the description above, the intelligent wireless doorbell alarm system  1  of the present invention is a device that uses a change of light of the lamps  11  to notify a user or a visitor. If the doorbell switch  10  is not triggered, the lamps  11  may be set by the setup module  121  and used as indoor lighting devices. If the doorbell switch  10  is triggered, the startup signal will be provided for the lamps  11  to give a corresponsive alarm according to the operation information. Regardless of the indoor space of a building with a large area or a multiple of floors, the present invention can drive the lamps  11  quickly and accurately by the wireless communication protocol, and the lamps  11  may serve as a mechanism for broadcasting and sending out the startup signal automatically, so that the lamps  11  may be driven and transmitted without being significantly limited by the distance of the wireless communication protocol. Therefore, a user situated in any area of the indoor space will not neglect the notification about the arrival of a visitor. In addition, the present invention may be operated together with the buzzers  13  to provide a more diversified warning method, and the buzzers  13  may be set up by the electronic device  12  through a wireless transmission.