United States Patent [19]
`Pacheco
`
`lllllllllgllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
`lllllllllllllllllllllll
`US 05499196A
`Patent Number:
`[11]
`[45] Date of Patent:
`
`5,499,196
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`[54] SENSOR INTERFACE FOR
`COMPUTER-BASED NOTIFICATION
`SYSTEM
`
`.
`
`4,232,308 11/1980 Lee et a1. ................. . .
`4,964,065 10/1990 Hicks et a1. ..
`5,022,404
`6/1991 Hafner ........... ..
`5,289,372
`2/1994 Guthrie et a1.
`
`.
`
`340/539
`..... .. 364/514
`364/413.06
`..... .. 364/403
`
`
`
`Inventor: Steven M. Pacheco, Carrollton’ Tex‘ _ _ _
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`................................. .. Primary Examiner——Emanuel T. Voeltz
`
`[73] Assignees: P.C. Sentry, Inc., RIChaI‘dSOII; Harris
`Partners, Ltd-A Allen’ both of Tex-
`
`Assistant Examiner__craig Steven Miner
`Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Konneker & Bush
`
`[21] Appl. No_: 139,544
`.
`‘
`[22] Flled'
`
`Oct' 19’ 1993
`Related Us. Application Data
`
`[62] Division of Sen No_ 108,884, Aug 18’ 1993_
`6
`[51] Int. Cl. ..................................................... .. G08B 1100
`[52] US. Cl. ........................................... .. 364/552; 364/469
`[58] Field of Search ................................... .. 364/469, 550,
`364/551.01, 552, 556
`
`[56]
`
`'
`References Clted
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`ABSTRACT
`[57]
`A noti?cation system for reporting events occurring within
`a de?ned area being monitored thereby. The noti?cation
`system includes a plurality of sensors installed at_selected
`locatlons within the de?ned area and a sensor mterface
`coupled to each of the sensors. The sensor interface peri
`odically polls the sensors and stores status information
`received therefrom_ Coupled to the Sensor interfac? is a
`computer System for receiving and analyzing the stored
`status data. Upon determining from the status data that an
`event requiring issuance of a noti?cation has occurred, the
`computer system issues a series of noti?cations for which
`each recipient of a noti?cation receives a selected message
`rega‘dmg the event‘
`
`3,909,722 9/1975 Bennett, Jr. ........................... .. 340/224
`
`12 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`15
`\
`18
`14
`KEYBOARD /
`MOUSE
`\ MX'NDIESR
`1
`I
`l
`COMMUNICATION APPLICATION {53
`NOTIFICATION APPLICATION {20 27
`PLATFORM
`/
`/ ,
`COMPUTER SYSTEM
`\12
`l
`
`34
`
`{COMMUNICATIONS}
`CARD
`
`NaTElSHSigTEIgN?/‘iCELLULAR PHONE]
`32 L
`
`_
`28 2
`28-4
`28-3
`
`_
`28 4
`28—5
`
`'
`
`'
`
`'
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`.
`
`ALARM INTERFACE
`
`STANDBY POWER SUPPLY
`
`120 VOLT POWER SOURCE 38
`
`10
`'/
`28-N
`
`32
`/
`REMOTE
`UNIT
`%
`REMOTE
`NT
`\1— [NTléR'FACE
`25
`go
`
`SAMSUNG EXHIBIT 1010
`
`Page 1 of 22
`
`

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`S.U
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`1
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`5,499,196
`
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`
`Page 2 of 22
`
`Page 2 of 22
`
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 2 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`59\ ENABLE DATA
`COLLECTION
`
`‘50
`
`POLL SENSORS
`
`62
`
`READ
`INPUT
`
`64\ SAVE DATA lN
`LEVEL REGISTERS
`
`END DATA f71
`COLLECTION
`
`INITIATE
`TIME COUNT \ 67
`
`RUN INITIALIZATION [70
`PROCRAM
`I
`INITIALIZE
`
`VARIABLES I}
`ALLOCATE
`MEMORY
`I
`LOAD CONFICURATION
`FILE
`CH COMMUNICATION
`APPLICATION
`
`ERROR
`
`ERROR
`\74
`
`ERROR
`\76
`
`UN
`LA
`
`\78
`
`RUN NOTIFICATION
`APPLICATION
`
`\80
`
`sTART TERMINATION OF
`NOTIFICATION APPLICATION\82
`
`lsAvE CONFIGURATION FILE|\84
`L
`I
`TERMINATE NOTIFICATION
`
`| DE—ALLOCATE MEMORY h5g8
`
`END TERMINATION OF
`NOTIFICATION APPLICATION\90
`FIG. 4
`
`SET FLAC IN
`68/ STATUS RECIsTERs
`I
`
`FIG' 3 '
`
`92\ LOAD MAIN PROCRAM
`
`WA
`110 C65;
`
`ENTRY PROCRAM
`VALID
`lD COOE
`
`ExIT PROCRAM
`3
`
`“JO/TERMINATE MAIN PROCRAM
`4
`GO TO sTEP 82
`(HQ 4)
`FIG. 5
`
`IO2f
`
`Page 3 of 22
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 3 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`LOAD ENTRY PROGRAM f104
`I
`DISPLAY ENTRY PROGRAM fms
`
`LOAD CODE FROM INI FILE fIOB
`I
`GET USER INPUT
`
`fIIO
`
`112
`I
`COMPARE ID CODE /
`
`118
`
`TERMINATE
`ENTRY PROGRAM
`I
`GO TO STEP 100
`(FIG. 5)
`
`/
`120
`
`GO TO STEP 98
`(FIG. 5)
`
`\
`116
`
`FIG. 6A
`
`a 122
`ENTRY E“ 1
`
`ENTER PASSWORD
`
`LOAD CONTROL
`PROGRAM
`‘I
`
`/'I 28
`
`DISPLAY CONTROL [130
`PROGRAM GUI
`
`START
`I SECOND TIMER
`I
`INITALIZE
`TIME AND DATE
`I
`INITALIZE
`COMMUNICATION APP
`I
`INITALIZE
`ALARM INTERFACE
`
`f132
`
`f1 34
`
`fI36
`
`/138
`
`I
`CHECK
`POwER SWITCH \I 40
`0N
`OFF
`I
`
`.1. A
`‘EJ/JZII
`5 ILI
`__4_
`.ILIIIIII
`_.*_ LITE v
`
`MONITOR
`144/ LOOP
`
`IDLE \
`LOOP
`I42
`
`.
`
`l
`
`I
`
`EXIT
`CONTROL PROGRAM “46
`
`I
`6° T8157?) ‘°° \148
`
`FIG. 7A
`
`Page 4 of 22
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 4 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`172
`
`FIG. 7B
`
`152 ‘64
`
`150
`166 /
`
`
`
`'-., |NOTIFICATION\]NFORMATION |
`
`
`
`MAIN MENU | CuRRENT CONDITIONSL/I |
`
`L.
`
`
`
`sYsTEM 11/ 176
`
`LOCATION
`
`I
`
`NO ALARM
`
`TIME
`
`INUMBER
`
`NAME
`
`I
`
`DATE
`1 CONDITION 1
`
`o/O'N'\/
`1
`E
`1
`11:15:15 WA 78
`/
`
`CONTROL
`
`5 JUN 95
`OFF
`
`/
`
`/
`
`A68
`' PHONE 31am
`170
`sENsoRjql182
`T
`
`'
`
`1 CHECKING
`
`IDLE
`
`EMERGENCY
`
`-
`
`I
`
`-
`
`SETUP
`
`V
`
`555 1212 DIRECTOR 1
`555 2525 DIRECTOR 2
`555 1515 DIRECTOR 5
`[198
`555 2424 MANAGER 1 196
`555 5211 MANACER 2
`‘\L .
`555 6666 EMPLOYEE1
`IPOUCEI. FIRE l‘ME?lcALl I
`184
`STANDBY U
`555 7777 EMPLOYEE 2 f1
`1
`I
`555 8888 POLICE
`160
`‘
`555 9999 POLICE FAX
`ALARM 'NFORMAT'ON \l m
`.
`555 1514 vICE PRESIDENT
`LOG
`ARM
`TEST
`,
`555 1515 PRESIDENT
`I
`)
`f
`/
`154 174
`
`I
`
`-
`
`I
`
`-
`
`-
`
`-
`
`I
`
`‘
`
`\
`/
`)
`I
`I
`I
`190192 158
`
`\
`I
`194 200
`
`~186
`
`~187
`
`| \
`ExIT I
`\' '
`- 156
`I
`188
`574
`/
`
`FIG. 10
`
`5:2 j a’ m
`
`I
`
`COMMUNICATION STATUS
`
`1
`
`I= ALARM DETECTED 1‘ LOCATION = MAIN ENTRANCE
`lNlTlALlZlNG PHONE
`DIAL TONE DETECTED
`DIALING _ 517 555 1212
`DIRECTOR
`WAITING FOR CONNECTION
`CONNECTION MADE
`ExECuTINC vOICE 2
`WAITING FOR ID CODE
`ID CODE FOUND
`NOTIFICATION COMPLETE
`TERMINATING CALL
`
`3_7§
`
`15; 5:17 22 APR 95
`15; 6:20 22 APR 95
`15: 5:25 22 APR 95
`15; 6:28 22 APR 95
`15; 5:51 22 APR 95
`15; 5:55 22 APR 95
`15; 5:41 22 APR 95
`15; 6:46 22 APR 95
`15; 5:48 22 APR 95
`15: 6:50 22 APR 95
`
`CALL TIME REMAINING
`
`51%
`
`I @9955 \380
`
`378
`
`Page 5 of 22
`
`

`
`U.S. ‘ Patent I
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 5 0f 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`'1/42
`
`204
`202
`/
`PRESSED
`\
`_>CHECK ON/OFFswITCH ———(CO TO STEP 144, FIG 7A)
`I
`208
`295W CHECK EMERGENCY - ‘DRESSED
`EMERGENCY FUNCTION $272+
`I
`210\ CHECK LOG BUTTON I PRESSED
`I
`CHECK ARM BUTTON - PRESSED
`
`LOG FUNCTION %>
`
`ARM FUNCTION J32?
`
`214
`
`218
`
`222
`
`226
`
`234
`
`238
`
`PRESSED
`‘
`CHECK TEsT BUTTON ———Q TEST FUNCTION P22?
`4
`PHONE FUNCTION P»
`CHECK PHONE BUTTON ‘DRESSED
`q
`I,
`SENSOR FUNCTION k»
`CHECK SENSOR BUTTON PRESSED
`228
`‘L
`PRESSED
`250/ CHECK SETUP BUTTON ———Q SETUP FUNCTION b»
`‘L
`PRESSED
`232
`CHECK STANDBY ‘—-—( STANDBY FUNCTION b
`4'
`PRESSED
`236
`CHECK ABOUT BUTTON ————( ABOUT FUNCTION b
`‘
`Q
`PRESSED
`240
`242/ CHECK ExIT BUTTON ——(;0 TO sTEP ‘I46, FIC Mb
`244
`
`7
`
`FIG. 8A
`
`Page 6 of 22
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 6 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`FIG. 8B
`
`246
`/
`
`__ _
`
`PHONE INFORMATION
`
`I NUMBER
`555 1212
`555 2323
`555 1313
`
`NAME
`DIRECTOR 1
`DIRECTOR 2
`DIRECTOR 5
`
`NOTIFY ENABLE RETRY SENSOR ID CODE]
`vOICE
`YES
`YES
`YES
`NO
`NONE
`YES
`YES
`YES
`NO
`PAGE
`YES
`YES
`YES
`NO
`
`INSERTI EDlTI RESET| EMEROENCYI OI<|
`
`1
`
`In
`
`,
`
`\
`\
`260
`
`\
`262
`
`264
`,/
`
`II
`
`|NUMBER§| 3 / ADD
`
`/
`I
`I
`/
`248 250
`
`DELETE
`
`1|? 4
`/
`252
`
`/
`254
`
`\
`256
`
`\
`258
`
`266
`
`FIG. 8C
`
`__
`
`_
`
`SENSOR INFORMATION
`
`_ _
`
`SEN
`
`LOCATION
`
`TYPE
`
`STATE
`
`DLY EN SEN CON NOTIFYj
`
`OOOI
`0002
`
`FRONT DOOR SWITCH LOW
`BACK DOOR
`SWITCH LOW
`
`YES
`NO
`
`Y
`Y
`
`I
`1
`
`I
`2
`
`PV
`PV
`
`LSENSORSI 2
`
`ADD
`
`DELETE ' INSERT
`
`EDIT
`
`RESET
`
`OK |
`
`/ i I
`
`I
`
`I
`
`I
`268
`
`l
`270
`
`I
`272
`
`\
`274
`
`\
`276
`
`\
`278
`
`Page 7 of 22
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 7 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`
`
`zo:<§Ez_nsmmmomzum
`
`ii
`
`_
`
`9
`
`HH
`
`525SE:zozsczoz<22
`
` _E_
`
`Page 8 of 22
`
`Page 8 of 22
`
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 3 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`mazfimE
`
`
`
`9._.m_§...u.wzo:<o::ozm_
`
`I
`
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`
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`
`Page 9 of 22
`
`Page 9 of 22
`
`
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 9 of 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`I44
`/
`
`I
`I SECOND TIMER INTERRDPT 0R
`CHANGE sTATE MESSAGE FROM f320
`ALARM INTERFACE
`II
`[322
`READ LEvEL AND STATUS
`REGISTERS OF ALARM INTERFACE
`
`324
`
`NO ALARM
`
`COMMUNICATIONS
`
`340
`\
`GENERATE
`ERROR MESSAGE
`
`TERMINATE
`MONITOR LOOP
`
`GO TO IDLE LOOP
`(STEP 202, FIG. 8A)
`
`350
`
`NOT PRESSED
`
`60 To IDLE LOOP
`(STEP 202, FIG. 8A)
`
`352
`
`FIG. 9A
`
`YES
`
`326
`
`ERRDR
`READING
`REGIgTERS
`‘NO
`CHECK
`FOR ALARM
`CONDITIONS
`'ALARM
`
`328
`
`330
`
`N0
`
`333
`
`SENSOR
`REDUNDANCY
`ENABLED?
`YES
`GET SENSOR
`REDUNDANCY PROGRAM
`334
`
`MATCH
`
`COMPARE
`PRE-sELECTED
`REDUNDANCY, LOGGED
`ALARMS
`
`NO MATCH
`
`G0 T0
`NOTIFICATION FUNCTION
`(STEP 366, FIG. 9B)
`
`GO TO
`NOTIFICATION FUNCTION
`(STEP 354, FIG. 9B)
`
`Page 10 of 22
`
`

`
`US. Patent
`
`Mar. 12, 1996
`
`Sheet 10 0f 10
`
`5,499,196
`
`@TART NOTIFICATION FuNCTION)/354
`
`SENSOR
`ENABLED SELEEN/E NOTIFICATION
`—‘\sEOuENCE ENABLEO/
`FOR SENSOR?
`362
`,
`NOT ENABLEO
`GET MAIN PHONE LIsT
`u
`
`CET MESSAGES FOR
`368/ ALERT SENSOR
`
`36“ GET SENSOR
`PHONE LIST
`
`£66
`
`SEITIFTM‘ITIEJN
`PHONE LlST
`
`370\I
`
`BuILO MESSAGE BLOCK
`
`|
`
`372% DISPLAY NQTIFICATION OIALOCOEI
`
`SEND FIRST PHONE
`NUMBER/MESSAGE TO
`COMMUNICATION APPLICATION
`
`/382
`
`~
`
`COMMUNICATION APPLICATION
`TRANsMITs MESSAGE
`To PHONE NUMBER
`
`\384
`'
`
`PHONE NO./
`MEssACE BLOCK
`
`SEND NExT
`PHONE NO./
`MESSAGE BLOCK
`TO COMMUNICATION
`APPLICATION
`__J \
`392
`
`REFORM
`PHONE LIsT/ \394
`MESSAGE BLOCK
`
`TERM‘MJSNST‘IEIS'CAMN
`(GO TO STEP 320, FTC. 9A)
`\
`358
`
`Page 11 of 22
`
`

`
`5,499,196
`
`1
`SENSOR INTERFACE FOR
`COMPUTER-BASED NOTIFICATION
`SYSTEM
`
`This is a division of application Ser. No. 08/108,884,
`?led Aug. 18, 1993.
`A portion of the disclosure of this patent document
`contains material which is subject to copyright protection.
`The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile
`reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent
`disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark O?ice
`patent ?le or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright
`rights whatsoever.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention generally relates to a computer
`based noti?cation system and, more particularly, to a com
`puter-based noti?cation system con?gured to provide auto
`matic noti?cation of events to selected recipients by
`asynchronously transmitting selected messages thereto.
`2. Description of the Related Art
`Heretofore, commercially available noti?cation systems
`have been restricted to alarm systems having very limited
`noti?cation capabilities. Such systems typically include a
`number of sensors, most commonly, either of the switch or
`motion type, ?xedly mounted at various locations within a
`structure and connected to a master panel. If one of the
`sensors change state, for example by opening a door having
`a switch installed between the door and its frame, the state
`change is detected at the master panel. Upon detection of the
`state change, the master panel reports an alarm condition to
`a remote monitoring station using a telephone line associ
`ated therewith. Personnel at the remote monitoring station
`are then asked to con?rm the alarm condition, most com
`monly by a return telephone call to the house and/or to one
`or more designated persons, for example, neighbors or
`friends of the owner of the structure. If not reassured that a
`false alarm has been issued, personnel at the remote moni
`toring Station will then dispatch an emergency vehicle to the
`structure.
`As can be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art,
`there are numerous shortcomings in such a system. Typi
`cally, such systems only inform the remote monitoring
`station that one of the sensors installed at the structure has
`been triggered and provides no other information regarding
`the type or nature of the alarm condition. The ability of the
`remote monitoring station to properly respond to the noti
`?cation of an alarm condition is, therefore, quite con—
`strained. If, however, detailed information related to the
`alarm condition itself accompanied the noti?cation of the
`remote monitoring station, the ability of the remote moni
`toring station to respond to the noti?cation of an alarm
`condition would be greatly enhanced. For example, if the
`information accompanying the triggering of a sensor could
`be individually tailored for each sensor, the recipient of such
`infonnation could react based upon the exact nature of the
`event taking place at the structure.
`Another shortcoming to such systems is that the recipient
`of a noti?cation of an alarm condition rarely has the infor
`mation at hand needed to determine whether the alarm is
`actually indicative of an emergency situation. Certain sen
`sors, for example, pressure sensors installed between an
`entry door and its frame are prone to false alarms, particu
`larly during severe or rapidly changing weather conditions.
`
`15
`
`20
`
`25
`
`35
`
`45
`
`50
`
`55
`
`65
`
`2
`The recipient of the noti?cation of an alarm condition,
`however, is rarely able to distinguish between an alarm
`condition issued by a sensor prone to false alarms and those
`issued by sensors almost always triggered by a true alarm
`condition requiring an emergency response. It would be
`desirable, therefore, to provide a system capable of discem
`ing the criticality of various alarm conditions and vary the
`noti?cation process appropriately.
`It can be readily seen from the foregoing that it would be
`desirable to provide an improved computer-based noti?ca
`tion system for reporting the occurrence of events within a
`monitored structure which is capable of providing enhanced
`information regarding the nature of alarm conditions
`detected by each sensor included as part of the noti?cation
`system. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention
`to provide such an improved computer-based noti?cation
`system.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`In one embodiment, the present invention is of a sensor
`interface for interconnecting a system having a plurality of
`sensor installed at selected locations within a de?ned area
`being monitored by a computer-based noti?cations system
`and a computer system for determining whether and event
`requiring an issuance of a noti?cation to a selected recipient
`has occurred. The sensor interface includes level and status
`registers, each having a bit corresponding to each one of the
`plurality of sensors, and a computer processor coupled to the
`level and status registers by a system bus and further coupled
`to each one of the plurality of sensors. The computer
`processor includes means for repeatedly polling each one of
`the sensors to determine its state, means for storing the state
`of each one of the plurality of sensors in the corresponding
`bit of the level register, means for determining changes in
`the state of each one of the sensors between successive
`pollings thereof, and means for setting the ?ag bits of the
`status register corresponding to each one of the sensors
`determined to have coupled state between successive poll
`ings. In one aspect thereof, the computer processor further
`includes means for selectively adjusting state change sensi
`tivity for each one of the sensors. In various aspects, the
`means for selectively adjusting state change sensitivity may
`include means for adjusting the time period between suc
`cessive pollings for each one of the sensors and a watchdog
`timer coupled to said system bus for initiating a selected
`time count between successive pollings for each of the
`sensors.
`In one aspect thereof, the sensor interface may further
`include as RS 485 interface, coupled to the system bus, for
`providing an interconnection between the system bus and a
`serial port of the computer system. In another aspect thereof,
`the sensor interface may further include a power supply
`coupled to each one of the sensors and a power monitor
`coupled to the power supply and the system bus. The power
`monitor monitors the level of power supplied by said power
`supply. In one aspect, the power monitor may include means
`for comparing the power level to a preselected threshold
`value and means for changing the value of a power level bit
`block of the level register based upon the comparison of the
`power level and the threshold value. In another aspect, the
`power monitor may also includes means for periodically
`comparing the contents of the power level bit block to the
`prior contents thereof and means for setting a power level
`?ag bit of the status register if the contents of the power level
`bit block has changed between successive comparison
`thereof. In further aspects of this embodiment of the inven
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`tion, the sensor interface may include a remote unit interface
`for receiving RF signals from a remote unit or means for
`individually addressing the sensor interface which, in a still
`further aspect thereof, may be comprised of a dip switch
`coupled to the system bus.
`In another embodiment, the present invention is of a
`sensor interface for interconnecting a system having a
`plurality of sensors installed at selected locations within a
`de?ned area being monitored by a computer-based noti?~
`cation system and a computer system for determining
`whether an event requiring an issuance of a noti?cation to a
`selected recipient has occured. The sensor interface includes
`level and status registers, each having a bit corresponding to
`each one of the sensors and a power supply bit, a power
`supply coupled to each one of the sensors, a power monitor
`which includes means for comparing the power level to a
`preselected threshold value and means for changing the
`value of the power bit based upon the comparison of the
`power level and the threshold value, and a computer pro
`cessor coupled to the level and status registers by a system
`bus and further coupled to each one of the sensors. The
`computer processor includes means for repeatedly polling
`each one of the sensors to determined its state, means for
`storing the state of each one of the plurality of sensors in the
`corresponding bit of the level register, means for determin
`ing changes in the state of each one of the sensors between
`successive pollings thereof, means for selectively adjusting
`state change sensitivity for each one of the sensors, means
`for setting the ?ag bits of the status register corresponding
`to each one of the sensors determined to have changed state
`between successive pollings, means for peroidically com
`paring the contents of the power bit to the prior contents of
`thereof and means for setting the power level ?ag bit if the
`contents of the power level bit has changed between suc
`cessive comparisons thereof. In various aspects thereof, and
`RS 485 interface, a watchdog timer, and a dip switch may be
`coupled to the system bus. In a further aspect thereof, the
`sensor interface may also include a water and ?re resistant
`housing in which the system bus, level register, status
`register, power supply, power monitor, computer processor,
`RS 485 interface, watchdog timer and dip switch are housed.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
`
`The invention will be better understood, and its numerous
`objects, advantages and features will become apparent to
`those skilled in the art by reference following drawing in
`which:
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer-based noti?cation
`system for reporting the occurrence of events which is
`constructed in accordance with the teachings of present
`invention;
`FIG. 2 is an expanded block diagram of an alarm interface
`portion of the computer-based noti?cation system of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 3 is a ?owchart illustrating a method by which the
`alarm interface of FIG. 2 collects data from the various
`sensors incorporated as part of the computer-based noti?
`cation system of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 4 is a ?owchart illustrating a method by which a
`noti?cation application for reporting the occurrence of
`events in accordance with the teachings of the present
`invention is loaded onto a computer system portion of the
`noti?cation system of FIG. 1;
`FIG. 5 is an expanded ?owchart of a main program block
`of the ?owchart of FIG. 4;
`
`4
`FIG. 6A is an expanded ?owchart of an entry program
`block of the main program of FIG. 5;
`FIG. 6B illustrates a graphical user interface (or “GUI”)
`for user access to the entry program of FIG. 6A;
`FIG. 7A an expanded ?owchart of a control panel pro
`gram block of the main program of FIG. 5;
`FIG. 7B illustrates a GUI for user access to the control
`panel program of FIG. 7A;
`FIG. 8A is an expanded ?owchart of an idle loop portion
`ova control panel program of FIG. 7A;
`FIG. 8B is a GUI for user access to a phone function of
`the ideal loop of FIG. 8A;
`FIG. 8C is a GUI for user access to a sensor function of
`the idle loop of FIG.8A;
`FIG. 8D is a GUI for user access to an add sensor portion
`of the sensor function of FIG. 8C;
`FIG. SE is a GUI for user access to a setup function of the
`idle loop of FIG. 8A;
`FIG. 9A is an expanded ?owchart of a monitor loop
`portion of the control program of FIG. 7A;
`FIG. 9B is an expanded ?owchart of noti?cation function
`portion of the monitor loop of FIG. 9A; and
`FIG. 10 is a noti?cation dialogue displayed during the
`noti?cation function of FIG. 9A.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION
`
`Referring ?rst to FIG. 1, a computer-based noti?cation
`system 10 constructed in accordance with the teachings of
`the present invention may now be seen. The noti?cation
`system 10 includes a computer system 12 which acts as a
`central console for the noti?cation system 10. For example,
`an IBM PC or other IBM-compatible personal computer
`having a 386 type microprocessor operable at 33 MHz, 80
`MBytes of auxiliary memory and 2 MByte of RAM would
`be suitable for the uses contemplated herein. Coupled to the
`computer system 12 are a video monitor 14, mouse 16 and
`keyboard 18, all of conventional design.
`Installed in the computer system 12 is shell software
`having a suitable platform 20, for example, an application
`process interface (or “API”) for the operation of a noti?ca
`tion application 22. For example, Microsoft Windows 3.1
`would be a suitable platform 20 from which the noti?cation
`application 22 may be launched. As will be more fully
`described below, the noti?cation application 22 is respon
`sible for receiving data from a plurality of sensors located
`within a structure being monitored, analyzing the received
`data to determining when to issue noti?cations, issuing
`noti?cations to selected recipients, and maintaining an inter
`nal database of phone, sensor and other information neces
`sary for issuing a series of such noti?cations. As will also be
`more fully described below, during the initialization of the
`noti?cation application 22, con?guration information for the
`noti?cation application 22 is loaded and a communication
`application 24 launched. The communication application 24
`provides both an internal and an external interface for the
`noti?cation application 22. Data collected by various sen
`sors are transmitted to the noti?cation application 22 via the
`communication application 24 and noti?cations determined
`by the noti?cation application 22 using the collected data are
`issued by the communication application 24.
`Interconnected with a serial port of the computer system
`12 is an alarm interface 26. The alarm interface 26 receives
`information from a plurality of sensors 28~1 through 28-N,
`
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`processes the received information, and transmits the pro
`cessed information to the computer system 26 via an RS485
`interface. It is contemplated that any number of sensors 28-1
`through 28-N may be interconnected to the alarm interface
`26, although, in the example described herein, it is contem
`plated that the alarm interface 26 is interconnected with
`?fteen sensors 28-1 (S0001) through 28-15 (S0015). The
`alarm interface 26 is also interconnected with a remote
`control interface 30. The remote control interface 30
`receives RF signals from a remote unit 32, converts the
`received RF signals into digital signals and transfers the
`converted signals to the alarm interface 26. In various
`con?gurations thereof, the remote unit 32 may be a remote
`controller capable of enabling or disabling the noti?cation
`system 10 or a remotely positioned sensor similar in func
`tion to the sensors 28 except that information transfers to the
`alarm interface 26 take place via the remote unit interface
`30.
`The sensors 28-1 through 28-N and/or the remote unit 32
`(if con?gured as a sensor) may be any one of various types,
`including switches for detecting changes between normally
`open and normally closed states, motion detectors for detect
`ing movement within a speci?ed distance of the sensor,
`keypads for providing authorization and/or entry codes
`which permit on-site enablement/disablement of the noti?
`cation system 10 as well as any alarm conditions detected
`thereby, temperature sensors for detecting temperatures out
`side of a preselected range, or other commercially available
`types of sensors.
`con?guration of sensors
`particular
`While the
`S0001-S0015 which would be installed within a given
`structure would vary depending .on the particular purposes
`for which the structure is used, an exemplary sensor con
`?guration for the noti?cation system 10 is as follows:
`
`Sensor
`
`Location
`
`Type
`
`S0001
`S0002
`S0003
`S0004
`S0005
`S0006
`S0007
`S0008
`S0009
`S0010
`S0011
`S0012
`S0013
`S0014
`S0015
`
`Main Entrance
`Rear Entrance
`East Entrance
`Main Door
`Rear Door
`Shipping Dock
`N. Windows
`E. Windows
`W. Windows
`O?ice Area 1
`O?ice Area 2
`Warehouse
`Location 1
`Location 2
`Location 3
`
`Keypad
`Keypad
`Keypad
`Switch
`Switch
`Switch
`Switch
`Switch
`Switch
`Motion
`Motion
`Temperature
`Temperature
`Temperature
`Temperature
`
`Installed on an expansion bus (not shown) of the com~
`puter system 12 is a communications card 34. Upon a
`determination by the noti?cation application 22 that a noti
`?cation comprised of a selected message or messages should
`be transmitted to a selected recipient or recipients, the
`communication application 24 issues one or more phone
`noti?cations using the communications card 34 and a cel
`lular phone 36 connected thereto. In this manner, the com
`munication application 24 will initiate and complete the
`transmission, in sequence, of noti?cation messages to a
`series of selected recipients. As will be more fully described
`below, each one of the noti?cation messages may be selec
`tively con?gured as either a page, voice, facsimile, or data
`type message and selectively directed to police, ?re, or
`medical emergency personnel and/or selected persons hav
`ing an interest in receiving noti?cations regarding the occur
`
`6
`rence of events at the monitored structure. It is further
`contemplated that various persons noti?ed of the same event
`may receive messages of differing type and/or content and
`that multiple messages, each of a different type, may be
`transmitted to a single person and/or destination.
`A 120 volt power source, preferably an interconnection
`with the local power distribution system, is used to provide
`power to the computer system 12, the alarm interface 26, the
`sensors 28-1 through 28-N and the cellular phone 36.
`External power is supplied to the various components of the
`noti?cation system 10 via a standby power supply 38 which
`includes a rechargeable battery (not shown). In the event of
`a power interruption, the standby power supply 38 will use
`the battery to provide power to the computer system 12, the
`alarm interface 26, the sensors 28-1 through 28~N and the
`cellular phone 36 for up to 60 minutes.
`Referring next to FIG. 2, an expanded block diagram of
`the alarm interface 26 may now be seen. The alarm interface
`26, which preferably is housed in a water and ?re resistant
`steel housing 40, includes a system board 42 having a
`microprocessor 44, for example, a type 8051 microprocessor
`manufactured by Intel Corporation of Santa Clara, Calif,
`?rst and second data registers 46 and 48, a watch dog timer
`50, an RS 485 type interface 52 and a power monitor 54, all
`of which are interconnected by a common system bus 56. It
`should be noted, however, in an alternate con?guration of
`the invention, the watch dog timer 50 may be incorporated
`into the microprocessor 44. The alarm interface 26 further
`includes a power supply 58 interconnected with the standby
`power supply 38. The power supply 58 provides 12 volt DC
`power to the sensors 28-1 through 28~N as well as to the
`system board 42.
`The alarm interface is connected to the computer system
`12 by a two-wire cable 27 interconnected between a serial
`port of the computer system 12 and the RS 485 interface 52
`of the systemboard 42. It should be noted, however, that
`while the alarm interface 26 is illustrated as having a single
`system board 42 for collecting data from the sensors 28-1
`through 28-N, it is speci?cally contemplated that the alarm
`interface 26 may include any number of system boards 42,
`each identically connected to the two-wire cable 27. Such a
`con?guration is made possible by the dip switches 55, each
`of which is set such that the system boards 42 are individu
`ally addressable by the computer system 12.
`Referring next to FIGS. 2 and 3, the method by which the
`alarm interface 26 collects data for transfer to the computer
`system 12 will now be described in greater detail. The ?rst
`(or “level”) register 46 and the second (or “status”) register
`48 are each con?gured to include a single bit block for each
`sensor 28-1 through 28-N and a single bit block for the
`power monitor 54. When the noti?cation system 10 is
`enabled at step 59, which, as more fully described below,
`occurs when the noti?cation application 22 enters a monitor
`loop of the control program portion thereof, the collection of
`sensor data by the alarm interface 26 commences at step 60
`by the microprocessor 44 polling each of the sensors 281
`through 28.-N to determine its state. Proceeding to step 62,
`the microprocessor 44 reads in data from each of the sensors
`28-1 through 28-N. For switch type sensors, the state of the
`sensor will either be open or closed and may, therefore, be
`represented by either a logical 0 or a logical 1. For other
`sensors, for example, temperature sensors, the state of the
`sensor will either be above or below a pre-selected threshold
`value. For such sensors, the microprocessor 44 will read in
`the sensor value, compare the value to the preselected
`threshold value and determine whether the received value is
`above or below the preselected threshold value.
`
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`Proceeding to step 64, the microprocessor 44 stores the
`state for each sensor 28 in the level register 46 and, at step
`66, the microprocessor 44 determines if the values stored in
`the level register 46 have changed. If the state of all of the
`sensors 28 have remained the same, the watchdog timer 50
`initiates a selected time count, for example, 10 milliseconds,
`at step 67 and, at the expiration thereof, a next polling of the
`sensors 28-1 through 28-N is initiated. If, however, the state
`of any of the sensors 28-1 through 28-N has changed, the
`microprocessor 44 sets a corresponding ?ag bit of the status
`register 48 before initiating the time count at step 67. By
`doing so, an alert may be determined by the computer
`system 12 whenever one of the sensors 28-1 through 28-N
`changes states, even if that sensor returns to its normal state
`by the time the data collected by the alarm interface 26 is
`transferred to the computer system 12. Before initiating a
`next polling of the sensors 28-1 through 28-N, enablement
`of data collection is checked at step 69 and, if disabled, data
`collection ends at step 71.
`In contrast to the polling of the sensors 28-1 through
`28-N, the power monitor 54 monitors the level of power
`supplied by the power supply 58. More speci?cally, the
`power monitor 54 compares the power level to a preselected
`threshold value, and changes the value of the power bit of
`the level register 46 from a logical 1 to a logical 0 if the
`power level drops below the threshold value. If the power
`level has not returned above the threshold value when the
`microprocessor 48 perf