Abstract:
An alarm apparatus may include a housing constructed of a base and a lens. A control apparatus, a light and a siren may positioned within the housing. An external sensor may also be provided to monitor an environment and trigger the alarm. The control apparatus is operable to permit a user to select a particular arrangement of light flashes, siren tones and siren volumes. Accordingly, the same type of alarm apparatus may be used in connection with many different types of sensors since a different alert arrangement could be select for each alarm apparatus. Furthermore, alarm apparatus having different alert arrangements could be used with the same type of sensors to give an indication of the location of the alarm within a facility.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention concerns an alarm apparatus. More specifically, the invention concerns an alarm apparatus usable with an external sensor that permits selection of a variety of alarm signals such that the same type of alarm apparatus may emit an alarm signal comprising different patterns of light and sound depending on the need of the user.  
         [0003]     2. Reference to Related Art  
         [0004]     The art includes alarm systems that include audio and visual alerts. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,659 issued Jul. 21, 1992 to Kuo disclosed a flashing light siren alarm. Specifically, Kuo described an alarm system that included a flashing strobe light and a siren. A battery is provided to provide power to the light and siren during use. Further, the convex plate is positioned in front of the siren to radially deflect an alert emitted from the siren away from the alarm housing.  
         [0005]     Another reference is U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,309, which issued Nov. 7, 2000 to Fagence. This reference disclosed an alarm device with audio and visual indicators positioned in flameproof housing. Specifically, a siren is positioned at one end of the housing and a strobe at an opposite end of the housing. A dome is positioned above the siren to radially deflect an alert emitted by the siren. The housing is constructed to contain any flames that may result from an explosion of the unit. Further, a circuit board is included that has a control switch for the siren or the strobe. Using the switch, the siren can emit different sounds or frequency of sounds to give an alert that a toxic gas is present, or to give a general alarm.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     An alarm apparatus may include a housing constructed of a base and a lens that is positioned on or otherwise fitted to the base. A control apparatus in the form of a circuit board may positioned on the base. A light and a siren may be provided and are positioned on the base or the circuit board and operate to communicate with the circuit board.  
         [0007]     The control apparatus may include toggle switches that are positioned on the circuit board and permit selection of the tone or volume of the siren or a flash pattern for light.  
         [0008]     The apparatus may be in communication with a sensor that monitors an environment and, if necessary, triggers the apparatus. The sensor may include most any sensor system including, but not limited to, a sensor for detecting smoke, fire, carbon-monoxide, radon, improper entry, movement, heat and pressure.  
         [0009]     Accordingly, the same type of alarm apparatus may be used in connection with many different types of sensors since a different alert arrangement could be selected for each alarm apparatus. Furthermore, alarm apparatus having different alert arrangements could be used with the same type of sensors to give an indication of the location of the alarm within a facility.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]     Reference will now be made to the attached drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout and wherein:  
         [0011]      FIG. 1  is an environmental perspective view showing an embodiment of an alarm apparatus mounted to a surface;  
         [0012]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an embodiment of an alarm apparatus wherein the lens is shown in phantom and the interior of the apparatus is visible;  
         [0013]      FIG. 3  is a partial perspective view of the toggle switch array for control of an alarm light;  
         [0014]      FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of a toggle switch arrangement for control of the siren alarm tone;  
         [0015]      FIG. 5  is a partial perspective view of a terminal strip;  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a table view of the toggle switch arrangement for controlling the timing of and volume of the siren and timing of the light;  
         [0017]      FIG. 7  is a rear perspective view of an embodiment of an alarm apparatus;  
         [0018]      FIG. 8  is a side view of an embodiment of an alarm apparatus;  
         [0019]      FIG. 9  is a partial perspective view of the tamper switch shown in  FIG. 8 ; and  
         [0020]      FIG. 10  is a circuit diagram of the electronics for an embodiment of the alarm apparatus.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  7 - 9 , an alarm apparatus  10  may include a housing  12  that has a base  14  and a lens  16  positioned on the base  14 . A control apparatus  18 , that may include a circuit board  20 , is positioned in an interior of the housing  12 . A light  22  and a siren  24  may be positioned on the base  14  and communicate with the control apparatus  18 . The control apparatus  18  may permit selective setting of the tone or volume of the siren  24  and a flash pattern for light  22 . The control apparatus  18  may also be in communication with a sensor  26  that may monitor an environment or condition and, if necessary, activate the apparatus  10 . The sensor  26  may include most any sensor system including, but not limited to, a sensor for detecting smoke, heat (fire), carbon-monoxide, radon, improper entry, movement and pressure.  
         [0022]     Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , an embodiment of the housing  12  of the apparatus  10  may have a polycarbonate construction with a flammability rating of UL94V-2. However, the housing  12 , particularly the base  14 , may be constructed using different materials (e.g., aluminum, steel, stainless steel, carbon fiber, or Plexiglas) according to the needs of the user. The housing  12  may also have dimension in the range of a width of 83 mm, a length of 123 mm and a height of 69 mm.  
         [0023]     Still referring now to  FIGS. 1, 2  and  7 , the lens  16  may be formed as a transparent or colored (e.g., amber, blue, green, red or white) polycarbonate structure having a pair of tapered end walls  28 , pair of tapered sidewalls  30  and a generally flat top surface  32 . A series of grooves (not shown) may be provided on the interior (not shown) of the lens  16  to diffuse any transmission by the light  22 . As best shown in  FIG. 7 , one end wall  28  of the lens  16  may include a lip  34  or flange that may engage the base  14  as described below.  
         [0024]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 7 , the base  14  may include a generally rectangular shape having a front  36  and rear  38  face (although other shapes e.g., circular or oval, may be used). As shown in  FIG. 7 , the rear face  38  includes a groove  40  that may be engaged by the lip  34  of the lens  16  to assist in mounting the lens  16  to the base  14 . As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the circuit board  20  may be secured to posts  42  that extend from the front face  36  such that the circuit board  20  is spaced a distance above the front face  36 . A plurality of clips  44  that extend from the front face  36  may also be provided to further engage and fix the circuit board  18  in position above the base  14 .  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , a pair of spaced apart walls  46  may extend from the front face  36  to form a channel for retaining a temporary power source  48  such as a  9 V battery. A plurality of mounting apertures  50  may be defined through the base  14  for use in securing the base  14  to a mounting plate  52  (discussed below). The base  14  may feature apertures  54 ,  56  for use, respectively, in the threading of external wiring (not shown) into the housing  12  and for the extension of a tamper switch  58  (discussed below). Finally, an aperture  60  may be defined in the base  14  for use in positioning (as will be discussed below) the siren  24 .  
         [0026]     Still referring to  FIGS. 1 and 10 , the siren  24  may be positioned on the front face  36  of the base  14  below the circuit board  20 . Insulation (not shown) may also be provided between the siren  24  and the circuit board  20  to prevent damage to either part. A speaker (not shown) of the siren  24  may extend through the aperture  60  of the base  14  such that the front (not shown) of the speaker (not shown) is generally flush with the rear face  38  of the base  14 . The siren  24  may operate to emit an alert in a range between 85 to 100 db. However, the apparatus  10  may be constructed to include a siren  24  having a greater or lesser range of sound emission.  
         [0027]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2-5  and  10 , the circuit board  20  of the control apparatus  18  may include the light  22 , an alarm tone switch  62 , a timing and volume switch  64 , a terminal strip  66 , low battery indicator light  68  and a battery cable  70 . It will be appreciated that the battery cable  69  functions to connect the temporary power source  48  to the control apparatus  18  and that the low battery indicator light  68  activates following an indication from the control apparatus that the life temporary power source  48  will soon terminate.  
         [0028]     As best shown in  FIG. 2 , the light  22  may include one or more LEDs. For example, the light  22  may include an array of ten LEDs. However, a greater or fewer number of LEDs may be used in the present invention. Furthermore, the light  22  may include other manner of lights such as chemical, fluorescent or incandescent lights.  
         [0029]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2, 4  and  10 , the control apparatus  18  may further include an alarm tone switch  62  and a timing and volume switch  64 . The alarm tone switch  62  may be used to control the character of the sound alert emitted by the siren  24 . Specifically, as shown, the switch  62  is set to emit an alert that is “steady fast”. However, other tones may also be selected to be used, at least as set forth on the following table.  
                                                                                                       SWITCH               (42)       TONE   SETTING            NUMBER   1   2   3   4   5   TONE                    1   0   0   0   0   0   BUZZ       2   1   0   0   0   0   SLOW ON/OFF       3   0   1   0   0   0   SLOW SIREN       4   1   1   0   0   0   3 BEEP/PAUSE/REPEAT       5   0   0   1   0   0   UFO FAST       6   1   0   1   0   0   FAST SIREN       7   0   1   1   0   0   # 5 FAST       8   1   1   1   0   0   # 2 MEDIUM       9   0   0   0   1   0   # 5 MEDIUM       10   1   0   0   1   0   SWOOP MEDIUM       11   0   1   0   1   0   #3 MEDIUM       12   1   1   0   1   0   BUZZ TONE       13   0   0   1   1   0   STEADY FAST       14   1   0   1   1   0   SWOOP SLOW       15   0   1   1   1   0   CONTINOUS       16   1   1   1   1   0   FAST REPEAT       17   0   0   0   0   1   STANDARD ALARM       18   1   0   0   0   1   # 3 FAST       19   0   1   0   0   1   # 5 SLOW       20   1   1   0   0   1   FAST BEEP       21   0   0   1   0   1   SOUND A       22   1   0   1   0   1   SOUND B       23   0   1   1   0   1   SOUND C       24   1   1   1   0   1   SOUND D       25   0   0   0   1   1   SOUND D LOUD       26   1   0   0   1   1   SOUND E       27   0   1   0   1   1   SOUND F       28   1   1   0   1   1   SOUND G       29   0   0   1   1   1   SOUND H       30   1   0   1   1   1   # 4 LOW       31   0   1   1   1   1   SOUND K       32   1   1   1   1   1   CONTINUOUS FAST                  
 
 As shown, the switch  62  is a toggle switch in the form of a five-throw dip switch. However, other manner of switches or programmable memory may also be used to construct the switch  62 . 
 
         [0030]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2, 3  and  10 , and as best shown in  FIG. 6 , the timing and volume switch  64  may be used to control the timing of an signal emitted by the siren  22 , the timing of the flash for the light  22  and the volume of the signal emitted by the siren  24 . For example, as shown in  FIG. 3 , the switch  64  is set such that the apparatus  10 , if activated, would emit a  60  second alert at a high volume with a sixty-second flash pattern. As shown, the switch  64  is a toggle switch in the form is a five-throw dip switch. However, other manner of switches or programmable memory may also be used to construct the switch  64 .  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 5 , the terminal strip  66  has an array of terminals including DC connection terminals  70 ,  71  for connecting a remote power source. Therefore, it will be appreciated that the apparatus  10  may be directly connected to an external permanent power supply (e.g., a facility power supply) in addition to the use of the temporary power source  48 . Still other terminals may include a key switch terminal  72 ,  73 , an alarm switch terminal  74 ,  75 , a normally closed terminal  76 , a COM terminal  78  and a normally open terminal  80 . Any external wiring for the apparatus  10  may be threaded into the housing  12  through the aperture  54  defined in the base  14 .  
         [0032]     As best shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 ,  7  and  8  and as mentioned above, mounting apertures  50  are positioned in each of the corners of the base  14  such that the base  14  may be secured to a mounting plate  52 . Specifically, as best shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , the mounting plate  52  includes a plurality of legs  82  that may be aligned with and fitted (through the use of fasteners or the like) to the base  14  at the mounting apertures  50 . The mounting plate  52  is spaced a predetermined distance from the base  14  such any alert emitted by the siren  22  is deflected off the mounting plate  52  and into the environment. As an alternative to the mounting plate  52 , the housing  12  may also be secured to a key switch lock mounting bracket (not shown), an electrical back box (not shown), a single gang electrical box (not shown) or other similar structures. The mounting plate  52  may include apertures  84 ,  86  that may be aligned, respectively, with the apertures  54 ,  56  of the base  14 . A generally circular wall  88  may extend from the mounting plate  52  around the aperture  84  to enclose the space between the aperture  54  of the base  14  and the aperture  84  of the mounting plate  52  such that wires (not shown) may be threaded though the mounting plate  52  and the base  14  and into the housing  12  without being exposed to the environment.  
         [0033]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 7 - 9 , the tamper switch  58  operates to activate apparatus  10  when housing  12  has been removed from an installed position. The tamper switch  58  may be positioned on the base  14  and include an arm  90  that extends through the apertures  56 ,  86 , respectively, of the base  14  and mounting plate  52 . For example, as best shown in  FIGS. 7-9 , the arm  90  of the tamper switch  58  engages a surface  92  upon which the housing  12  may be mounted. The removal of the housing  12  from the surface  92  results in the extension of the arm  90 , activation of the switch  58  and thus the apparatus  10 . As best shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , a wall  94  may extend from the mounting plate  52  around the aperture  86  to enclose the space between the aperture  55  of the base  14  and the aperture  86  of the mounting plate  62  so that the tamper switch  58  is not exposed to the environment.  
         [0034]     Having thus described my invention, various other embodiments will become known to those of skill in the art that do not depart from the spirit of the present invention.