CA1180413A - Central monitor for home security system - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Improvements in security alarm systems are disclosed.
A security alarm system may be of the type having a plurality of sensors for one or more of fire, smoke, intrusion, appli-ance operation and the like. A central monitor is provided for monitoring and perceptibly indicating the status of each of the sensors. To provide for communication between the sensors and the central monitoring system, transmitters are located on the sensors and a receiver is provided on the central monitor. When one of the sensors establishes an alarm condition, its transmitter is actuated to transmit in-formation indicating the type of alarm. The receiver is adapted to recognize the code of its transmitters and indicate through the central monitor the type of alarm. An improvement comprises electronic means for loading information data into an electronic memory of each of the transmitters and into the electronic memory associated with the receiver. Each trans-mitter may be electrically coupled to the data loading device and is separable from the loading device after completion of data entry, thereby precluding altering of the information stored in the electronic memory of the respective transmitter.
To avoid replacement of existing sensors, a transmitter is provided which is adapted for insertion between the electrical coupling to a power supply for the alarm sensor and the power supply leads of the alarm sensor. The transmitter has a de-vice for sensing excessive power drawn by the alarm sensor when it goes into an alarm state. The transmitter is then activated to transmit the coded information of its memory to identify itself to the central monitor regarding the alarm condition information.

Description

1 FIELD 0~ ~HE INVE~TION
This inventioll relates to security alarm sy~tems ~hich include monitoring alarms for fire, smoke, intrusion, appli-ance operation and the like.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVEN~IO~
Security alarm systems are becoming increasingly popular in residential communities. Ilhe most common form of sensor in residential areas and homes is -the form of fire and smoke de-tector. However, -there has been increaaed use in reside~tial areas of intrusion or burglar alarms and also devices which monitor the status of various appliances in the home 9 whether it be a gas-fired water haater, gas-fired furnace, free~ers and the like. Similar alarm systems are, of cour~e, used in industryO As the sy~tems are e~panded at each installation, it becomes more and more important to have a central monitor-ing device which determines the status of all of the sensors to ensure that they are operative at all times and which is to be located in an area such that, when an alarm is sounded,the type of alarm and its whereabouts can be det~rmined.
This hAs resulted in the demand for a central monitor which can communicate ~ith all forms of sen~ors in a home or industrial installation. To accomplish this ob3ective, trans-mitters have been devised for coupling with the various sen-sor~ and transmitting information to a receiver of a central monitor sy~tem. ~he information transmitted may identify the type of alarm and its location~ In industrial applications, radio transmitters are not frequently used, because it is easy to install wiring to hook up the various sensors directly with the central monitor system. Ho~ever in the home, wiring is unattractive and with the use of radio receivers and trans-~.~

~ ~o~

1 mitters, the wiring is eliminatedO
In residential applications, it i~ important to disting uish the security alarm system o~ one household relative to all ad,jacent households~ ~lhis pr~vents a transmitter in one household transmitting fln alarm condition and having it picked up by the neighbouring household alarm system. To avoid this each transmitter i~ coded with in~ormation, l~hich not only identifies the particular alarm system, but also the sensor which is transmitting the alarm. This require~ that some form of memory be provided with each transmitter and with the re-ceiver~ Presently this has been accomplished by use of a mem-ory which is precoded before the unit is sold, offering little ~lexibi~ity to the householder or by use of memories which may be coded by mechanically flipping switches. By using a prede--termined format, the code ~or the system can be entered intG
the device by ~lipping the appropriate switches along with a code for the particular sen~or being coupled with a tran~mit-ter. Such preprogramed or limited mechanical switching pro-gram memories of~er little flexibility and to the average con-sumer are difficult to program. Since the pro~ram is providedby way of switches; they can be accidentally altered or could be intentionally altered by an intruder into a household. In addition, the tramsitters normally have their o~n power supply which is ~eparate from the sen~or. It usually involves locat-ing the transmitter outside of the sensor, adding to the bulk-iness of the overall system and detracting from the attract--iveness o~ the various sensors which are visible, such as the smoke and perhaps the intru~ion detectors.
The improvements in security system~, according to thi3 invention, overcome the above problems in providing a far more 1 flexible syste~ to accommodate variations oP each household and which can be read:ily installed by the con~umer.
SU MARY OF THE IWVRRTION
In most ~scurity alarm ~y~tem~, there are a plurality of sensors for one or more of fire, ~moke, intrusion, appli-ance operation and the like. A central monitor d~vice moni~
tors and i9 capable of perceptibly indicating the ~tatus of each of the sensors. Individual tran~mitters are provided for each of the sensors for transmitting information from a re-spective sensor to a rec0iver associated with the central mon-itor. The central monitor proces~es the transmitted infor-mation to indicate perceptibly the status of the respective sensor causing tran~mission of the information. A memory is associated ~ith each transmitter and with the receiver for storing information. This enables the monitor to recogni~e information transmitted by a respective transmitter of its system, as actuated by a corresponding sensor, to identify the 3tatus of the sensor. The improvement, according to this in-vention, comprises electronic means for loading information data into an electronic memoxy for each of the transmitters and into an electronic memory associated with the receiverO
Each tran~mitter has electrical coupling means for electric-ally connecting the transmitter to the data loading means.
The transmitter is ~eparable from the data loading means after completion of loading the desired identification information data into the electronic memory. Thi~ preclude~ altering the information data 3tored in the electronic memory.
The data loading means may be a keyboard to ~acilitate manual entry of the prede-termined information. The data load-ing means is adapted to process the information entered via ~ ~$~3 1 the Xeyboard and convert it into data which i9 loaded into therespective electroni.c memory for the transmitter and the re cei~er. The dRta loading means may be a component of the mon-itor, where the monitor has an elect:ricnl coupler compatible with the electrical coupler of each transmitter to pro~ide for electrical communication between the respective transmitter and the data loading means, In this instance, the data load-ing means may be adapted to load at the same time the informa-tiOII into both the respective transmitter memory and the mem-ory associated with the receiver to avoid errors in loadinginformation into the memories of the transmitter and receiver.
This ensures that the proper information of the sensor i~
transmitted and recogni~ed by -the receiver of the monitor The transmitter then, for use in associ.ation with the security alarm system has a programmable electronic memory and an electrical co~lpling means for electrical connection to an electronic device ~or loading information into the program-mable electronic memory.
To facilitate use of a transmitter with e~isting sen-sors, the transmitter is adapted for insertion between anelectrical coupling to or terminals of a power supply for a corresponding alarm sensor and the power supply leads to the alarm sensor. The transmitter has means for sensing e~cess-ive power drawn by the alarm sensor when the alarm goes into an alarm state. 'rhe power sensing means activates the trans-mitter when there is an alarm, to indicate the alarm by trans-mitting the coded information in it~ memory for identifying itself to the central monitor.
The -transmitter may be provided with a t~mporary power ~0 supply to power -the electronic memory of the -transmitter once o~

1 disconnected from the data loading means until the transmitter is connected to the power supply of the alarm sensor~ The transmitter includes an electrical connector device to permit connection with the means for loading the ideIItification information data into the electronic memory of the tran~mitter and permit discon.nection. ~he transmitter may also be equipped with a battery voltage sensor to determine when the battery voltage has dropp0d at steady state below a predeter-mined lavel. Such device actuate~ the transmitter to signal the central monitor that the power ~upply of the particular battery powered sensor i~ low to notify the need for-battery replacement.
B~IE~ DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWI~GS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, wherein:
~ igure 1 is a schematical representation of a security alarm system having a plurality of ~ensoræ and a central moni-toring ~ystem. A transmitter i9 associated with each 3ensor which is adapted to transmit information to a receiver of -the central monitor system;
Figure 2 is a schematical representation of the use of an electronic keyboard for loading identification coding in-formation into the memory of the transmitter a~sociated with each sensor;
Figura 3 is a æchematical representation of the use of th0 keyboard of Figure 2 for loading information into the mem-ory associated with the receiver of the central monitoring ~ystem;
Figure 4 is a peræpective view of the keyboard;
~Q Figure 5 is a perspective view of the component form of 1 the transmitter which is adapted for insertion between the power supply for and the electrical leads to the particular ~ensor;
Figures 6a through 6e ~chematical].y represen-t the ~tor-age format in the memory of the transmitter and the string of output of data when the transmitter is activated;
Figure 7 i9 a block diagram of the central monitor and receiver network; and Figure 8 is a block diagram of the tran~mitter~
DETAILED DESCRIPTIO~ OF THE PREF~RRED EMBODIME~TS
It i8 appreciated that there are many tran~mitter and receiver components available which may be operated by way of integrated circuit chips to provide compact units. ~igure 1, thereforel schematically repre~ents the transmitter and re-cei~er in the central monitor ~ystem where it is understood for sake of illu~tration that the transmitter~ are 3hown as large blocksO In Figure 19 the ~ecurity alarm system 10 com-pri~es a central monitor 12 and a plurality of ~ensors 14, 16, 18 and 20. Each sensor i~ speci~ic to fire, window entry~
door entry and detection of high water level in a basement sump area. Obviou~ly there are many other application~ for ~ensors, particularly in the household~ for sensing the status of appliances ~uch as free~ers and refrigerator~ and the sup-ply of gas to gas-~ired water heater~, to gas-fired furnaces and the like. Associated with each of the sensors is a specific trans~itter 22, 24, 26 and 28.
~ or purpose of 1llustration~ each tran~mitter is elect-rically connected to the sensor by way of electrical leads 30.
The central monitor 12 includes a cabinet 32 which may include a visual di~playO ~he cabinet houses a receiver for -the ~.~a~l3 1 tr~nsmitters 22, 24, 26 and 28. The central monitor can ~ctu-ate an outside horn ~4, a telephone dialer 36, a voice synthe-sizer 3~ and a trouble indicator ~0~ Sen30r 14, upon ~en~in8 smoke in a room, actuates the transmitter 22 to signal the central monitor 12 and the appropriate a~arm or c~ll is made.
Similarly the opening of window 42 and door 4~ are detected by contact switches to actuate the transmitters 24 and 26, where the signal as received by the central monitor actuates the appropriate alarm. With the detector leads 46 i~ the sump area 48, a high water level is detected to actu-ate sensor 20 and in turn cause the transmission from trans-mitter 28 to signal the central monitor and cauee a trouble alarm at 40. Each of the transmitters 22, 24, 26 and 28 has an electronic memory which stores the particular coded infor-mation to identify the sensor that the transmittar is associ-ated with and to provide a code which identifies the alarm system that the transmitter belongs to. As can be appreci-ated, the central monitor system must be able to recognize only its own transmitters and not those of some other building. Thus, each transmitter memory is loaded with a code to identi~y the system.
The particular format of the in~ormation stored in the electronic memory o~ each transmitter is illustrated in Figure 6a. Bits 1 through 7 are reserved for storing in Binary form the system identification number which uniquely identifies the central monitor system that the transmitter belones to. The seven bits of information can uniquely identify up to 128 dif ~erent systems and 7 therefore 9 with a judicious selection of a system identi~ication number9 interference from neighbouring systems will be eliminated.

~ ~ 8~1 3 lBits 8 through 19 are reserved for describing the type of sensor and its characteristics. In particular, bits 8 through ll identify the description of the sensor suoh as sensors for fire, window or door entry, and high water level detection. Up to sixteen types of sensoIs can be described by the sensor description field. In a large building, it is desirable to have more than one of any particular type of sensor. For e~ample, it rnay be desired to have a fire .sens-ing device in each room of the house. ~herefore, bit fields lO12 through 15 and 16 through l9 are reserved for indexes and subindexes specifying the particular sersor's loc~tion. The sensor location index field may be used to uniquely identify up to sixteen locations in the systems purview. Each of these sixteen locations may be further broken down into another si~-teen sub locations by the sensor location subinde~ field con-tained ~n bits 16 through l9. It will be appreciated that the sensor description codes and .sensor location inde~ and sub-inde~ codes may either be predetermined or as~igned a specific meaning to be interpreted by the monitor at the time of loading the information into a particular transmitter memory.
In order to load the information into the transmitter, as shoNn in ~igure 2, a portable handheld keyboard 50 is u3ed which has a visual display 52 and keys 54. ~he keyboard has an electrical couyling 56 at the end of it~ electrical lead 58, which is connectible to the transmitter 28~ Information can be loaded into the memor7 of the transmiter 28 by pressing the appropriate keys of the keyboard 500 ~he keyboard 50 may include a microprocessor to process the information being entered on the keys and displayed at 52 to convert it into properly coded information which is storable in the memory of 1 transmitter 28.
Figure 4 shows the keyboard 50 in greater detail with the electrical coupler 56 having metal prong~ 60 which are adapted to fit in the appropriate recepticle of' the tran~mit-ter. Figure '7 ~how~ electrical lead 58 comprising two infor-mation carrying wire~ 80 and 82. Wire 80 carries one of the bits of data that is to be loaded into the transmitter memory 84 of Figure 8 and wire 82 carries a clock pul~e for synchron-ization purpose~. As can be ~een in Figure 8, the transmitter is equipped with a recepticle 80 to accept the electrical coupler 56. Data on line 80 i9 transferred to line 88 in the particular transmitter and the data on line 82 i8 transmitted to line 90 in the particular transmitter. The nineteen bits of information comprising the system identification number, sen~or description, sensor location index and sensor location subindex are sequentially down loaded into the memory 84 of the transmitter. The-keyboard 50 is disconnectible from the transmitter after the information is loaded into the memory of the transmitter. Thus the information coded in the trans-mitter cannot be altered unless it is recoupled with the key-board 50. Thi~ prevents altering of the information loaded into the transmitter to avoid errors and mishaps and also to prevent intruders, such as burglars 9 modif`ying the program before an alarm can be sounded.
As suggested in Figure 3, the keyboard 50 can in actual f`act be an integral component of the central monitor system and remain with the central monitor. ~he central monitor can be provided with appropriate coupler to permit hook up of the transmitter which is to be loaded with information to the central receiver and then by use of the keyboard, load the l necessary information into the respective tran~mitter.
If the keyboard is alpha-numeric, then the information to be entered on the keyboard may read as follows: "~mi-th"
to identify the system identification number; "Water Sump" to identify the sensor description; "~urnace Room" to identi~`y sensor location; and a sub~location nams if so desired. The keyboard is adapted to process such information and convert it into data which is loaded into the corresponding memory 84.
When the sensor leads ~6 sense a high water level, the trans-mitter 28 is actuated to transmit this information. Thereceiver, upon receiving the initial code of the transmission, recogni3es the transmitter 28 as one of its system and pro-cesses the transmitted information to actuate the trouble alarm 40. Similarly with transmitters 22, 24, and 2~, the keyboard 50, as shown in dot in each instance, may be used to load the appropriate information into the electronic memory of each of tho~e transmitter~
It will be appreciated to those skilled in the art that many possibilities e~ist for the sequence and type of in-structions accepted by the keyboard unit. It may bedesirable to have a "high level" type of communication with the keyboard as previously discussed. That is to say, full textual descriptions of the system identification number, sensor description, sensor location index and sensor location ~ubindex may be used. ~his type of coding is readily under-stood by the avera~e consumer, however, as will be appreci-ated, leads to more complicated processing requirement~ in ei-ther the keyboard or central monitor than may be economicalO
A le~s complex, but easy to use encoding system may be as follows. Any number between l and 128 may be used for the l sy~tem identification number. For the sensor description, various codes may be preassigned, such as l for fire ~ensors,

2 for window en-try sensor, and so on. Similarly, for -the sensor location index, l may identi~y the basement, 2 may identi~y the attic and 90 on. The con~umer would be left to attach a particular meaning to the sensor location subindex codes which may rsng0 from l through 16. The system identifi-cation number need only be entered oncey if the keyboard is an integral component of the central monitor system. The micro-processor of the central monitor would be adapted to automat-ically load the system identification number into each trans-mitter memory when the transmitter is being loaded with data.
In any event, when loading information into the memory of a particular transmitter, the sensor description, sensor location index and sensor location subindex codes must in-dividually be specified. During loading of a particular tran3mitter's memory, the display on the keyboard prompts the user with the ne~t code to be entered. After all the codes are entered the display on the keyboard responds with the codes entered and an opportunity for verification i5 afforded.
The codes are then processed into the format illustrated in Figure 6a and loaded into the memory 84 of the particular transmitter .
The central monitor system 12 must also have a memory 92 to hold associated information indicative of ~hat has been loaded into the transmitters. The keyboard 50 is used to load into the central monitor system 12 all of the pieces of information identifying the various transmitters 22, 24, 26 and 28, along ~ith the identification number for the system.

If the keyboard is an integral component of the central ~ ~û4~ 3 1 monitor sy~tem, it wlll be appreciated that the memory 92 of the monitor system i9 loaded with the appropriate information simultaneou~ly with the loadin~ of the informa-tion lnto the memory 84 of a particular transmitter.
Figure 8 ~how~, enc]osed in dot, a transmitter such aa transmitter 22. External to the transmitter is a power supply 62 which i9 conneoted through leads or terminal~ 64 and 66 to tarminals 94 and 96 of the transmitter. Power internal to the transmitter i9 designated by numeral 98. ~erminals 72 and 74 are provided on the transmitter to power a particular sensing device 100 through leads 68.
Memory 84, which has been previously discussed~ is a shift register capable of holding 19 bits of information. A
clock input 102 shift~ data one position to the right a~ in-dicated by arrow 104 upon each clock pulse. A bit of data enters the shift register memory at 108 and e~its at 110. A~
information i~ loaded into the memory 84 from the keyboard or central monitor, data enters on line 88 and synchronizin~
clock pulses enter on line 90. The information on lines 88 and 90 are OR'd through gate~ 112 and 114. Therefore, the binary string of information, as indicated in Figure 6a, is sequentially clocked into memory 84. ~he electrical coupler 56 i9 then disconnected from connsctor 80 and thereafter the information stored in memory 84 is non-alterable~
After the coupler 56 is di~connected from connector 80, the transmitter iB moved to its appropriate location and connectsd between power supply 62 and sensor 100. In sit-uations where the transmitter is programmed away from the sensor power supply 62, the optional power supply l~ads 6~, ~0 65 from the k~yboard 50 are coupled to the transmitter ~ ~ 8 ~ 3 1 ~ockets g4 and 96 to power the transmitter while being pro-~rammed. When the programming iæ complete, the power leads 63, 65 are di~connected. A capacitor 116 of sufficient cap-acitance is connected acrosæ the power supply terminal~ in order to maintain æufficient voltage in the tran~mitter and in particular memory 84 so that it does not loo~e the informa-tion that has been loaded into it prior to connection of the transmitter to power supply 62.
A status register 118 i~ provided in the transmitter to hold 6 bits of information indicative of the s$atus of the sensor. One bit of the status register is connected to a low voltage detector which indicates when power supply 62 is below a predetermined threshhold levelO Another bit of the status register i9 connected to a current sensor 122. If sensor 100 is of a certain type, upon an alarm condition being detected, it will draw an amount o~ current above normal~ Current sensor 122 is adapted to sense this increase in current drain and thereby detect an alarm condition in the ~enæor 100. The remaining four bits of statuæ register 118 are connected through line~ 124 to æockets 126 in the side of the tran~mit-ter. For a sensor 100 having outputs indicative of a partic-ular ætatus, lines 12S æhown in dot, are connected to socketæ
126 thereby transferrine the information to the associated bitY of thP status register 118. The six bits of information of the status register 118 are shown in field format in Pig-ure 6b.
Upon a status condition being sensed in status register 11~, the information in the transmitter i9 transmitted. Ac-cording to this embodiment, the information is transmitted at radio-wave frequenc~ through air. It is understood, however, 1 the information may also be transmittsd through air by using other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as ultra-sonic and infra-red. In addition, the signal may be tranami-tt0d through the existing household wiringO Thefra~le generator 130 CreQtes a binar~ stream of information, w'hich is output there~rom on data line 132 and clock line 134. The frame generator concatenates a unique deliminator flag, as shown in Figure 6c, the in*ormation stor~d in memory 84, as shown in Figure 6a 9 and the information stored in status register 118, as sho~n in Figure 6b, into a string, as ~hown in Figure 6d.
To effect this concatenation, the information stored in memory 84 is clocked from output 110 into the frame generator and thereafter reinserted into the memory 84 through input line 108 thereby restoring memory 84 to its original condition.
The bit stream as e~emplified in Figure 6d, is cyclic-ally repeated until the information in status register 118 is cleared by the alarm condition being corrected. q'o comply with the regul~tions of certain communication authorities, the repetition of the bit stream is randomnized. '~he repeating bit stream is fed down data line 132 with clock pulses being provided on line 134. Sync pulse generator 136 adds R synch-ronizing pulse to the bit stream and has an output 138. As representatively shown in Figure 6e, each downgoing edge of the wave form serves as a timing edge for the receiver to synchroni~e witho If a 1 is to be represented in the bit frame, the sync pulse generator gener~tes a high level shortly following the down going sync pulse. If a 0 is to be repre-sented, -the level does not go high as soon.
~'he ~ignal on line 138 is then fed to a frequency shift key (FSK) modulator 140. I'he output from the FSK modulator 1 appears on line 142 and, in accordance with the signal on line 138, varies between 11 kilohert~ and 9 kilohert~. This ~ignal is then fed to transmitter 144 which amplitude modulate~ the signal at a carrier frequency of 300 million hert~. In order to comply ~ith csrtain communication regulatory authorities, the field strength output by the transmitter should be limited to less than 6,000 microvolts per meter at 3 meters. The -transmitter receives a control signal on line 146 from the frame generator to turn the tran~qmitter on only when the frame generator is cyclically repeating the bit ~tream.
As shown in ~igure 5, a transmitter, such as transmitter 22 ? i.S very compact compared to the si~e of the usual battery power supply 62 for a fire/smoke detector or intrusion de-tector. ~he nine volt batory includes the usual male terminal 64 and female terminal 66 which mate with transmitter termin-alæ 94 and g6 as may be ~een in E'igure 80 ~he electrical leads to the sensor are encased in wire coating 6~ and, al-though not ~hown, the underside of tab 70 includes the male and female terminals which mate with the corresponding termin-als on the battery. 'rhe tran~mitter i3 inserted between thelead 68 to the sensor and the power ~upply. ~hus the trans-mitter i~ provided with two sets of male and female terminals 72 and 74. The s:ide of the transmitter includes the connect pin arrangement 80 and 82 which permits connection of the transmitter to the connect coupler 56 of the keyboard to per-mit loading of information into the memory of the tranqmitter 22.
With this arrangement, it is apparent that the transmit-ter may be simply inserted between the power supply and the lead~ to the sensor without adding substalltially to the bulX

4 :~ ~

1 of the system. This permits users, particularly hou~eholders, to insert the transmitter into existing sensor housings with-out having to alter or replaco their existing units.
With reference to Figure 7, receiver and demodulator 148 receives the signals transmitted by the various transmitters The modulator uses the down going edges of the pulses intro-duced by sync pulse generator 136 to decode the received signal and output a ~ignal on line 150 which corresponds with the bit stream produced by frame generator 130 in a particular transm:itter. The demodulated signal is then proces~ed by flag recognizer 152 which searches for the unique deliminstor flag sequence as illustrated in ~igure 6c. Upon recognition of this flag bit pattern, the following 25 bits of information are separated from the received stream and passed down line 154 to bit stream comparator 156. The 25 bit~ of information contain the system identification number, sensor description9 sensor location index, sensor location subindex and sensor status transmittsd by a particular transmitter. This informa-tion is stored in the bit stream comparator 15~.
It will be appreciated that many transmitters from either one security alarm system or neighbouring systems may tran~mit simultaneously and thus result in broadcast congest-ion and collisions which result in an erroneous signal being recei~ed, Since each transmitter in either the security alarm system itself or neighbouring systems transmits synchronously and with periods of random length between the repeated *rames, it i9 neces~ary to en~urs that the in~ormation passed on by the flag recognizer 152 is correct. Many erron~ous recapt-ions due to oYerlap ~ill be eliminated by the flag recognizer 152, but the possibility still exists for error in the ~ ~8~

1 subsequent 25 bits of information. Since the transmitters randomly repeat the f'rame of informat:ion being -transmitted, it is possible to compare several transmis~ions and determine their correctnass~ To this effect, bit stream comparator 1S6 stores the most recent ten 'bit streams pas~ed on by fl~g recogn,izer 152. If a matching pair of bit streams can be found in the mo~t recent ten bit ~treams received, it is as-sumed that the transmission is correct. A copy of the matched bit stream is passed down bus 158 to a microproce~or 160 which is the principal par-t of the central monitor 12.
~ he microprocessor checks the first seven bits of the bit stream received and determines if the information therein corresponds to the ~ystem identification number which has pre-viously been stored in memory 92 of the central monitor 12.
If the received sy~tem identification number corresponds to the stored system identification number, the remainder of the received information is processed and the correct response in~
itiated. The sensor description, sansor loation inde~ and sensor location subindex and sensor s-tatus is compared with the information stored in memory 92 and depending upon pre-determined crite-ria, the appropriate alarm or alarms are act-uated according to a predetermined response. ~he alarms in-clude an outside horn 34, a telephone dialer 36, a voice synthesi~er 38 ~nd a trouble indicator 40. The home o~ner is alerted to the sensed alarm condition and appropriate cor-rective action may then be taken~
Although variou~ preferred embodiments o~ the invention have been described herein in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (23)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. In a security alarm system having a plurality of sensors for one or more of fire, smoke, intrusion, appliance operation and the like, a central monitor for monitoring and perceptibly indicat-ing the status of each of said sensors, individual means for trans-mitting information from each of said sensors to means associated with said central minotor for receiving and processing such infor-mation. to indicate perceptibly by said monitor the status of the respective sensor causing transmission of such information, indi-vidual memory means associated with each respective transmitter means and with said receiver means for storing information which enables said monitor to recognize information transmitted by a transmitter means of its system as actuated by corresponding sensor and thereby identify the status of such sensor, the improve-ment comprising electronic means for loading information data into an electronic memory of each transmitter means and an electronic memory associated with said receiver means, each transmitter means having electrical coupling means for electrically connecting said transmitter to said data loading means, said transmitter means being separable from said data loading means after completion of loading the desired identification information data into said electronic memory to preclude altering the information data stored in said electronic memory.

2. In a security system of claim 1, said data loading means having a keyboard for entering of predetermined information, said data loading means being adapted to process such information and convert it into data which is loaded into a corresponding electronic memory.

3. In a security system of claim 2, said data loading means being a component of said monitor, said monitor having an electri-cal coupler compatible with said electrical coupler of each trans-mitter to provide for electrical communication between said respective transmitter means and said data loading means.

4. In a security system of claim 3, said data loading means being adapted to load the information into both of said respective transmitter means memory and said memory associated with said receiver.

5. In a security system of claim 4, said monitor having a programmable microprocessor which is adapted to access the memory for said receiver means upon receiving transmitted information from a respective transmitter means to enable said microprocessor to process the received information and provide the corresponding perceptible indication via said monitor.

6. In a security system of claim 4, said microprocessor being adapted to actuate one or more of an alarm, telephone dialer and sensor status indication light in accordance with the content of the received information from a respective transmitter actuated by the corresponding sensor.

7. In a security system of claim 1, each transmitter means having a temporary power supply to power its electronic memory once the transmitter means is disconnected from said data loading means until said transmitter is coupled with a power supply for said sensor with which said transmitter means is associated.

8. In a security system of claim 1, 3 or 7, each of said transmitter means being a radio wave transmitter and said receiver means being a radiowave receiver.

9. In a security system of claim 3, said keyboard being an alpha-numeric keyboard, said monitor having a programmable micro-processor which is adapted to process alpha-numeric information entered via said keyboard and convert such information into binary coded decimal format for storage in the electronic memory of each transmitter means being loaded with its identification information and for storage in the electronic memory for said receiver means to enable said monitor to identify anyone of its transmitter means and the information being transmitted, said data entry in both said transmitter and receiver means memory reducing likelihood of data entry error in coding said system.

10. In a security system of claim 1, 3 or 9, said memory being a shift register random access memory having sufficient bits of memory to accommodate the predetermined identification information to be stored.

11. A transmitter for use with a security alarm system having central system monitor with a receiver means for receiving trans-mitted information, said transmitter having an electronic memory for storing coding information to identify the transmitter as asso-ciated with an alarm sensor of a security alarm system, said trans-mitter being adapted for insertion between the electrical terminals of a power supply for an alarm sensor and power supply leads for such alarm sensor, said transmitter having means for sensing ex-cessive power draw by an alarm sensor when such alarm sensor goes into an alarm state, said power sensing means activting said trans-mitter to transmit the coded information in its memory to identify to its central system monitor the alarm condition.

12. A transmitter of claim 11, wherein said power sensing means senses a predetermined abnormal current drawn by an associ-ated sensor alarm in an alarm state.

13. A transmitter of claim 11, wherein said power sensing means senses a predetermined abnormal voltage drop across such sensor power supply caused by an associated sensor alarm in an alarm state,

14. A transmitter of claim 11, 12 or 13, wherein a battery is used to power a sensor alarm, means for sensing when the voltage of such battery has dropped to a predetermined low level during non-use, said low-battery sensing means actuating said transmitter to transmit a signal indicating a low battery condition for such associated alarm sensor.

15. A transmitter of claim 11, wherein an electrical connector is provided to permit connection with means for loading identifica-tion information data into said electronic memory and permit dis-connection of such data loading means.

16. A transmitter of claim 15, wherein a temporary power supply is provided to power said electronic memory once disconnected from such data loading means until said transmitter is connected to a power supply of an alarm sensor.

17. A transmitter of claim 11, wherein said memory is a shift register random access memory having sufficient bits of memory to accommodate the identification information to be stored.

18. A transmitter of claim 17, wherein said transmitter is adapted to access said memory when actuated by said power sensing means to transmit sequentially the information stored in said memory.

19. A transmitter for use in association with a security alarm system having a central system monitor with a receiver means for receiving transmitted information, said transmitter being associ-ated with a respective sensor of a security alarm system, said transmitter having a programmable electronic memory and an electri-cal coupling means for electrical connection to an electronic device for loading information data into said programmable elec-tronic memory.

20. A transmitter of claim 19 wherein said transmitter has a temporary power supply to power it electronic memory once the transmitter means is disconnected from an electronic device for loading data in said programmable memory until said transmitter is coupled with a power supply for a sensor of such alarm system.

21. A transmitter of claim 19 wherein said electronic memory is a shift register random access memory having sufficient bits of memory to accommodate the predetermined identification information to be stored.

22. A transmitter of claim 21 wherein said transmitter is cap-bye of transmitting information stored in its memory when the asso-ciated sensor goes ito an alarm condition.

23. A transmitter of claim 19 or 20 wherein said electronic memory is re-programmable.