WO2002017264A1

WO2002017264A1 - A device for remote transferring of alarms

Info

Publication number: WO2002017264A1
Application number: PCT/SE2001/001785
Authority: WO
Inventors: Claes HAFSTRÖM
Original assignee: Mobile Notifier Ab
Priority date: 2000-08-22
Filing date: 2001-08-22
Publication date: 2002-02-28
Also published as: SE0002981D0; AU2001282776A1

Abstract

A device (10) for remote transferring of alarms form an alarm equipment known per se has an input (12) for receiving an alarm signal (11) from the alarm equipment according to a first communication protocol. The device further comprises a control unit (16) and a telecommunication interface (24) for connecting the device to a public telecommunication network (30, 32), The control unit extracts alarm related information from the received alarm signal (11) and transfers this information as an output signal (28) to an alarm central (40) by way of the telecommunication network according to a second communication protocol that differs from the first communication protocol.

Description

A DEVICE FOR REMOTE TRANSFERRING OF ALARMS

Technical field

The present invention relates to a device for remote transferring of alarms by means of a telecommunication network. Prior art

A large number of products related to alarm equipment are available on the market today. The alarm equipment comprises one or more detectors that are arranged to detect the presence of an alarm situation by means of physical alteration. Furthermore, the alarm equipment often comprises an alarm transmitter which transfers alarm information by way of the public telecommunication network from the alarm detector to an alarm central which is normally manned and which in turn may contact a turnout company. Examples of alarm equipment are burglar alarms, fire alarms, alarms for water leakage etc from private residences, boats or industrial real estates, safety or assault alarms and so on.

When a user has chosen to procure alarm equipment of a specific brand and has signed an agreement with an alarm central and/or a turnout company, the user is normally bound to this agreement and all changes in this respect will lead to an additional cost for the user.

The transfer of alarm information by way of the tele- communication network is not standardized in the respect that only one alarm transfer protocol exists, which is accepted and used by all parties. Instead, a number of different alarm transferring protocols exist that alarm transmitters in alarm equipment of different manufacture use for being able to communicate with the alarm central . Today, at least ten different alarm transferring protocols exist of which about 2-4 constitute a majority of the market.

Alarm transmitters of today do not transfer any identifying information regarding the individual identity of the alarm transmitter. Consequently, different alarm transmitters principally send identical information when an alarm occurs. Since different alarm transmitters generally are connected to different alarm centrals this may not be a major problem as long as the situation is unchanged. If one tries to connect an existing alarm equipment in order that its alarm transmitter shall call a new alarm central, this may result in problems in case there is already existing alarm transmitters of the same type or manufacture that are connected to the new alarm central . Further, the alarm transferring protocols of today are of a very poor standard from a security point of view. They do not contain any components for an encryption or authentication which may leave the door open for criminal characters who want to manipulate or replace the trans- ferred alarm information in order to e.g. avoid discovery- when performing a burglary, assault or robbery. Summary of the invention

The present invention is aimed at improving the situation mentioned above. A specific object is to provide a simple and inexpensive way for a client to exchange an existing alarm operator for another alarm central without involving the existing alarm operator and without any installation or reprogramming procedures.

Another object with our invention is to increase the possibilities for a user to immediately be notified about an alarm that has occurred by a message by way of a mobile telephone, stationary telephone, email or the like.

The objects above are achieved by a device for remote transferring of alarms from alarm equipment known per se, comprising an input for^' receiving an alarm signal from the alarm equipment according to a first communications protocol, a control unit, a telecommunication interface for connecting the device to the public telecommunication network, wherein the control unit is arranged to extract alarm related information from the received alarm signal and transfer the alarm related information to an alarm central by way of the telecommunication network according to a second communication protocol which differs from the first communication protocol . Preferably the device is arranged to receive alarm signals from different alarm equipments according to various communication protocols known per se and transfer the extracted alarm information according to a new, unique communication protocol with a high security (encryption) to the alarm central by way of the telecom- munication network. Furthermore, the device is preferably provided with a unique identity which is transferred together with the extracted alarm information to the alarm central .

The above objects are achieved particularly through a device according to the enclosed independent claim. Other objects, features and advantages with the invention appears by the following detail description, by the enclosed dependent claims and from the drawings .

Brief description of the drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be disclosed in greater detail with reference made to the enclosed drawings, on which

Fig. 1 illustrates a device according to the invention and the environment in which it is intended to operate, and

Fig. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the device according to the preferred embodiment .

Detailed description of a preferred embodiment

Fig. 1 illustrates a device 10 for remote trans- ferring of alarms from an alarm equipment known per se in form of an alarm detector 1 and an alarm transmitter 2. The alarm detector 1 can be any sensor available on the market, for example an infrared detector, a photocell, a damp sensor, a magnetic door or window switch etc. Correspon- dingly, the alarm transmitter 2 may be in form of any commercially available product. The alarm detector 1 and alarm transmitter 2 are assumed to have been installed earlier by an alarm operator and to originally being dedicated to transfer information about an actual alarm situation to the alarm operator by calling the operator's alarm central by way of the telecommunication network. According to the invention the device is placed between the alarm transmitter 2 and the public telecommunication network 30, 32 in such a way that the device 10 will receive an alarm signal from the alarm transmitter 2, identify the actual communication protocol, extract relevant alarm information, pack this information in a message together with an unique identifying code for the device 10 according to a second communication protocol that is en- crypted and transfer the encrypted message by means of the public telecommunication network 30, 32 to another alarm central 40 than the one that the alarm detector 1 and the alarm transmitter 2 originally were intended to be connected to. The alarm central 40 is one aspect of the present invention and preferably comprises at least one server 42 with an associated database 44. The server 42 is connected to a gateway 46 towards the Internet 50.

The device is illustrated in more detail in Fig.2. By way of an input 12, the device 10 receives an alarm signal 11 from the alarm transmitter. The received alarm signal is transferred according to any communication protocol for alarm transfer that is available on the market. As mentioned earlier, many such protocols are available on the market . The received signal is decoded in a pulse decoder 14 that detects which protocol that is used for the alarm signal 11. Relevant alarm information is extracted from the alarm signal 11 and is provided by the pulse decoder to a control unit 16. The control unit 16 is preferably implemented by means of any commercially available microprocessor (CPU) or any other form of programmable electronic circuit arrangement with logic functions . The control unit 16 is operatively coupled to a working memory 18, preferably in form of a RAM-memory, and a static memory (20) , preferably in form of a ROM-memory. The latter memory preferably contains program code to be executed by the control unit 16 and also a unique identi- fying code for the device 10. A primary telephone number is preferably stored in the static memory to be used by the device 10 for calling the alarm central 40 when receiving the alarm signal 11 from the alarm transmitter 2. A secondary telephone number or reserve number may also be stored in the memory 20 for being used in case a call to the first telephone number is not answered.

The device 10 also comprises a modem 22 that is coupled between the control unit 16 and an output 24 from the device 10. The modem functions as an interface towards the telecommunication network 30, 32 in order to transfer the alarm information that is extracted from the received alarm signal 11 together with the identifying code that is stored in the static memory 20 to the alarm central 40. The transfer via the modem 22 and the output 24 is performed by way of a second communication protocol which differs from the first communication protocol for the alarm signal 11 and which preferably is encoded. The creation of an encrypted output signal from the device 10 from the extracted alarm information in the received alarm signal 11 and the identity code in the static memory 20 is performed by the control unit 16, possibly in combination with the modem 22 and the pulse decoder 14 according to a set of program instructions which are stored in the memory 20. Temporary data and variables are stored in the working memory 18 during execution of the program in the control unit 16.

The device 10 is arranged to receive supply of power from the public telecommunication network 30, 32. The device 10 is, however, preferably also equipped with auxiliary power 26 in form of a battery or a backup capacitor.

The device has the following advantages:

• Any alarm equipment (i.e. an arbitrary alarm detector 1 and alarm transmitter 2) may be connected via the device 10 to the alarm central 40. The device 10 automatically identifies the present communication protocol and performs a conversion to the new, unique, encrypted protocol .

• The connection of the device 10 between the alarm equipment 1, 2 and the telecommunication network

30, 32 does not call for any external installation work or reprogramming of the alarm equipment . The device 10 may advantageously be used together with the alarm central 40 in order to provide the user with a cost effective alarm intermediation which may be administrated by the user himself via an Internet-interface. By connecting to the Internet 50 in the conventional way, the user may connect to the server 42 by way of the equipment 46. In this way the user is provided with a possibility to specify which types of measures that shall be taken when different types of alarms occur. The user can specify how he or she shall be notified when an alarm occurs, e.g. via email, SMS -message to a mobile phone, spoken message to a mobile phone or a stationary telephone, message by way of WAP to a mobile phone or a palmtop and so on. The user may also specify if the alarm shall be forwarded to a local guard firm or the like under certain circumstances (for example during night time) . More advanced solutions, such as picture transferring and remote control of the alarm object by way of e.g. GPRS, are within the scope of the invention. There is also a possibility for the user to subsequently supplement with newly installed alarm sections. He or she may also choose in which way the services shall be paid for.

The invention has been described above in form of a preferred embodiment. Other embodiments are however possible within the scope of the invention as it is defined by the enclosed independent patent claim.

Claims

1. A device (10) for remote transferring of alarms from an alarm equipment (1, 2) known per se, characterized by an input (12) for receiving an alarm signal (11) from said alarm equipment (1, 2) according to a first communication protocol, a control unit (16) , a telecommunication interface (24) for connecting the device to a public telecommunication network (30, 32), wherein the control unit is arranged to extract alarm related information from the received alarm signal (11) and transfer the alarm related information as an output signal (28) to an alarm central (40) by way of the telecommunication network according to a second communication protocol which differs from the first communication protocol .

2. A device according to claim 1, comprising a deco- der (14) operatively coupled to said control unit (16), said decoder being arranged to identify said first communication protocol among a number of predefined communication protocols and in dependence of this extract the alarm related information for further transfer to said control unit .

3. A device according to claim 2, comprising a modem (22) which is connected between said control unit (16) and said interface (24) , said modem being arranged to establish a connection with the alarm central (40) and transfer the alarm related information according to said second communication protocol .

4. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein said second communication protocol comprises encryption of the alarm related information.

5. A device according to any preceding claim, further comprising a memory (20) for storing an indentity that is unique for the device.

6. A device according to claim 5, where in said control unit (16) is arranged to attach said unique identity to the alarm related information before transferring said output signal (28) to said alarm central according to said second communication protocol .

7. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein the device is adapted to be supplied with power from the telecommunication network.

8. A device according to claim 7, wherein the device also comprises means (26) for reserve supply of power.