EP2983148A1

EP2983148A1 - Voice-sensitive emergency alert system

Info

Publication number: EP2983148A1
Application number: EP14382309.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Héctor Ortiz Valencia
Original assignee: UTC Fire and Security EMEA BVBA
Current assignee: Carrier Fire and Security EMEA BVBA
Priority date: 2014-08-06
Filing date: 2014-08-06
Publication date: 2016-02-10
Anticipated expiration: 2034-08-06
Also published as: EP2983148B1

Abstract

A sound-sensitive two-way emergency alert system in a building includes at least one electronic alarm module disposed at a predetermined location in the building. When the system detects an emergency event, the alarm module outputs an acoustic and/or visual alert and listens for sounds indicating the presence of people or animals in the building. If voices are detected, their location is transmitted to a remotely located control module to inform emergency personnel about the location of individuals needing assistance. The alarm module operates dynamically based on the recognised acoustic responses and requests of persons in the vicinity. The system can be applies for example to locate and aid victims trapped in a building during an emergency.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally related to emergency alert systems, and more specifically, to fire emergency systems.

BACKGROUND

Conventional emergency alert systems are configured as non-interactive, one-way alert systems. Fire emergency systems, for example, typically include one or more alarms located at various locations such as hallways and/or individual rooms. The alarms can include an audio alert and/or a visual alert that is sensed by one or more persons located in the vicinity of the alarm system. In this manner, the alarm system only output alerts without taking into consideration the actions of one or more persons located in proximity -of the alarm.
During a fire emergency, it may be imperative that emergency officials evacuate all persons from the vicinity of the fire. However, the exact location of any person located in the vicinity of the fire is often difficult to ascertain. In addition, the alarms are conventionally designed to output a high decibel (dB) sound at fixed volume to ensure persons in the vicinity are notified of the emergency. High decibel sound further increases the difficulty of ascertaining a person's location.

SUMMARY

According to at least one exemplary embodiment, a sound-sensitive emergency alert system comprises at least one electronic alarm module disposed at a predetermined location in a building. The at least one electronic alarm module is configured to perform at least one of output at least one alert, detect at least one acoustic sound, and adjust the output of the at least one alert based on the detected at least one acoustic sound. The at least one electronic alarm module is further configured to transmit information about the detected at least one acoustic sound to components in communication with the emergency alert system.
According to yet another embodiment, a method of alerting an emergency event comprises outputting at least one alert in response to detecting an emergency event. The method further includes detecting at least one acoustic sound following detection of the emergency event and detecting a location of the at least one acoustic sound. The method further includes adjusting the output of the at least one alert in response to detecting the at least one detected acoustic sound. The method further includes transmitting information indicating the location of the at least one acoustic sound to an electronic control module remotely located from the location of the at least one acoustic sound.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a voice-sensitive emergency alert system according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating operation of a voice-sensitive emergency alert system according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating operation of a voice-sensitive emergency alert system according to another exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a plurality of electronic alarm modules disposed at a predetermined locations to detect the locality of acoustic voices sensed by a respective alarm module according to an exemplary embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display provided by a graphic user interface (GUI) according to an exemplary embodiment; and
FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of detecting the locality of acoustic voices during an emergency event according to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Unlike conventional non-interactive one-way emergency alert systems, at least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a two-way interactive voice-sensitive emergency alert system. The voice-sensitive emergency system can dynamically adjust operation in response to detecting one or more acoustic sounds such as voices, for example, during an emergency event. An emergency event can include various non-limiting events including, but not limited to, a fire, detected smoke detected carbon monoxide gas, a security breach of a building, and structural damage of a building. The acoustic voices include vocal requests for help during the emergency event. In response to detecting an acoustic voice, the voice-sensitive emergency alert system is configured to determine and display the location of the acoustic voice. The voice-sensitive emergency alert system is also configured to dynamically change operation of an individual alarm module in response to detecting the acoustic voice. For example, a volume of an emitted audio alert can be decreased to facilitate search/rescue and reduce discomfort of one or more persons in the vicinity of the alarm module. The audio alert and/or visual alert may also be output differently at the location where the acoustic voice is detected to guide the emergency personnel towards the locality of the acoustic voices (e.g., the help requests). In addition, the voice-sensitive emergency alert system can interact with persons requesting for help and can ask for clarification on their location and/or needs of the user such as, for example, the nature of the situation or amount of people located in a confined area. While various features of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that various embodiments of the invention may include only some or a combination of the inventive features.
Turning now to FIG. 1, a sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 is illustrated according to an exemplary embodiment. The sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 includes an electronic alarm module 102, an electronic control unit 104 and an electronic graphic user interface (GUI) 106. The alarm module 102 is disposed at one or more predetermined locations and is configured to detect one or more acoustic sounds 108 at a respective location.
The electronic control unit 104 is in electrical communication with each alarm module 102 and is programmed with the location of each respective alarm module 102. In this manner, the electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102, and determine the location of the respective alarm module 102 which detects the acoustic signal 108. Accordingly, the electronic control unit 104 can determine the location of one or more persons 110 based on the locality of the detected acoustic signal 108. The GUI 106 is in communication with the electronic control unit 104 and outputs information indicating the location of one or more detected acoustic signals 108 to emergency personnel 112, as discussed in greater detail below.
The alarm module 102 includes an acoustic sensor 114, an acoustic output device 116, a visual output device 118, an electronic alert communication and control module 120, an electronic sound recognition module 122, and an electronic communication and control module 124. According to an embodiment, for example, all the sensing, recognition, control and notification functions are implemented in the electronic alarm module, which in turn interfaces with pre-existing emergency systems like pre-existing alarm units to allow installation within legacy systems.
The acoustic sensor 114 includes, for example a microphone, and is configured to detect various acoustic sounds, including human voices 108. In this manner, the acoustic sensor 114 may sense one or more acoustic voices 108 and convert the acoustic voices 108 into a sound detection signal. Although acoustic voices are described, the acoustic sensor 114 may also be configured to detect other acoustic sounds such as animal response (e.g., dog barks) or hand clapping (useful for voice impaired individuals or individuals wearing gas masks).
The acoustic output device 116 and the visual output device 118 are each configured to output an audio alert 117 and a visual alert 119, respectively. The acoustic output device 116 may include a speaker, for example, and the audio alert 117 may include various selectable tones and/or voice messages and/or volume levels (i.e., decibels) output from the acoustic output device 116. The visual output device 118 may include a lamp, for example, and the visual alert 119 may include a light emitted at various selectable frequencies and/or colors (i.e., wavelengths).
The alert communication and control module 120 is in electrical communication with the acoustic sensor 114, the acoustic output device 116 and the visual output device 118. The alert communication and control module 120 is configured to control the output of the acoustic output device 116 and/or the visual output device 118 in response to detecting the acoustic voice 108 via the acoustic sensor 114. According to an embodiment, the alert communication and control module 120 is configured to control the acoustic output device 116 to selectively output the audio alert 117 at different decibel levels in response to detecting the acoustic voice 108. For example, the alert communication and control module 120 controls the acoustic output device 116 to output the audio alert 117 at a first decibel level when the sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 detects an emergency event, and at a second level less than the first decibel level in response to detecting an acoustic voice 108. In this manner, the requests for help are not masked during an emergency event such as, for example, a fire. In addition, the decreased volume reduces discomfort of one or more persons 110 located near the alarm module 102.
The alert communication and control module 120 is also configured to control the visual output device 118 to output light at a first wavelength (i.e., a first color) and/or first frequency when the sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 detects the emergency event. When, however, the acoustic sensor 114 detects an acoustic voice 108, the alert communication and control module controls 120 the visual output device 118 to output the light at a second wavelength (i.e., second color) different from the first wavelength and/or a second frequency different from the first frequency. For example, a white light is output at locations where no acoustic voices are detected whereas a red light is output at locations where a respective alarm module 102 detects acoustic voices. The second color (e.g., red light) may also be pulsed at a faster/slower frequency than the frequency of the white light. In this manner, the locations of detected acoustic voices 108 can be visually distinguished from other locations to indicate the locality of one or more persons 110 requesting help, which aids emergency personnel in quickly finding and providing assistance to those persons 110.
The sound recognition module 122 is in electrical communication with the acoustic sensor 114 and is configured to convert the acoustic voices 108 into a sound detection signal. Although acoustic voices are described, the sound recognition module 122 may also identify other acoustic sounds such as animal response including, but not limited to, dog barks. In addition to detecting an acoustic voice, the sound recognition module 122 may also determine specific vocal statements of one or more persons 110. The statements may include, for example, names of one or more persons requesting help, a number of people in an area near the alarm module 102, the verbal location of one or more persons, etc. The sound recognition module 122 may utilize various well-known acoustic and language models and speech recognition algorithms for determining and recognizing human speech and verbal statements including, but not limited to a hidden Markov model (HMM).
The sound recognition module 122 can recognize one or more vocal statements and can determine a vocal alert response message in response to receiving a vocal statement from one or more persons 110. For example, the sound recognition module can store a plurality of vocal alert responses/messages, and select a particular vocal alert response among the plurality of vocal alert responses based on the vocal statement received from one or more persons 110. The vocal alert responses include, but are not limited to, a vocal inquiry, a vocal answer, and a vocal recommended course of action based on the recognized voice signal, e.g., the recognized human speech. The selected vocal alert response/message is then communicated to the alert communication and control module 120 such that the corresponding vocal alert response 117 is output to nearby persons via the acoustic output device 116, as illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2B. The vocal alert/response messages include, for example, information on the location of one or more exits and precise instructions that direct persons in the vicinity to an exit route leading to the exits. Accordingly, the vocal alert/response messages can instruct people in the vicinity of the electronic alarm module about how and when to use the sound recognition feature of this system.
Turning back to FIG. 1, the communication and control module 124 is in electrical communication with the sound recognition module 122, the alert communication and control module 120, and the electronic control unit 104. The connection between the sound recognition module 122, the communication and control module 124 and the alert communication and control module 120 forms a feedback loop that controls operation of the acoustic output device 116 and/or the visual output device 118 in response to detecting an acoustic voice. In this manner, the alarm module 102 can operate dynamically based on the acoustic responses and requests of one or more persons 110 located in the vicinity.
The electronic control unit 104 is located remotely from the alarm modules 102 included in the emergency alert system 100 and may operate as an electronic main control and indicating panel. According to an embodiment, a location signal indicating the predetermined location of one or more alarm modules 102 may be communicated from the communication and control module 124 to the electronic control unit 104. The electronic control unit 104 may also be programmed with the location of each respective alarm module 102. In a system where the electronic control unit 104 is connected to the alarm module 102 using wires or radio protocols (See FIG. 3), the electronic control unit 104 may determine which connection delivered the sound detection signal to determine the respective alarm module 102 that detected the acoustic voice 108.
In a system where the alarm modules 102 are in wireless communication with the electronic control unit 104 or any other third party equipment with similar purpose, the sound detection signals may also include data indicating which particular alarm module 102 generated the respective voice signal. In this manner, the electronic control unit 104 is configured to receive one or more sound detection signals from a respective alarm module 102, and can determine the location of the respective alarm module 102 that detected the acoustic voice 108. In either case described above, the electronic control unit 104 can determine the location of one or more persons 110 based on the locality of the detected acoustic voice 108.
The GUI 106 is in communication with the electronic control unit 104 to input and/or output information corresponding to the emergency alert system 100 as discussed in greater detail below. The GUI 106 may be integrated with the electronic control unit 104 and/or may be located remotely from the electronic control unit 104.
Turning to FIG. 4, for example, a graphical representation of the sound-sensitive emergency alert system 100 shown in FIG. 3 is displayed by the GUI 106. More specifically, the GUI 106 displays the predetermined locations (e.g., Units 1-9) containing a respective alarm module 102. The predetermined locations may also include, but are not limited to, hallways, stairwells, etc. When an acoustic voice 108 is detected by one or more alarm units 102, an alert indicator 126 is displayed at the respective location (e.g., unit 6 and unit 7) of the detected acoustic voice. Accordingly, emergency personnel 112 can quickly and easily ascertain the location of one or more persons 110 in need of assistance during an emergency event. The GUI 106 may also display additional information about each predetermined location including the number of persons, the name of the persons, etc.
Referring now to FIG. 5, a flow diagram illustrates a method of detecting the locality of acoustic voices during an emergency event according to an exemplary embodiment. The method begins at operation 500, and at operation 502 an emergency event is detected. The emergency event includes, for example, a fire emergency. The fire emergency may be detected in various manners including, but not limited to, smoke/fire/heat detectors, emergency exit usage, and manual detection. At operation 504, audio alerts and/or visual alerts are output from respective audio output devices and visual output devices. At operation 506, an acoustic sound such as a voice, for example, is detected by one or more respective alarm modules. At operation 508, the location of the acoustic sound is determined. The location of the acoustic sound may be determined based on the location of the respective alarm module and/or based on a verbal statement provided by a person in proximity of the respective alarm module. At operation 510, the locality of the detected acoustic sound is displayed with respect to the predetermined locations of each alarm unit. At operation 512, the audio alert and/or the visual output from one or more alarm modules that detected a respective acoustic sound is adjusted. For example, the volume of the acoustic alert may be decreased and the color of the visual alert may be changed. At operation 514, a vocal alert message is output from one or more of the audio output devices that detected the respective acoustic sound, and the method ends at operation 516.
As described in detail above, one or more embodiments provide a two-way interactive voice-sensitive emergency alert system that can dynamically adjust operation in response to detecting one or more acoustic voices during an emergency event such as, for example, a fire. The voice-sensitive emergency system therefore is capable of enhancing search/rescue of individual while reducing discomfort in the vicinity of the alarm module.
While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

A sound-sensitive emergency alert system, comprising:
at least one electronic alarm module disposed at a predetermined location in a building, the at least one electronic alarm module configured to perform at least one of:
output at least one alert;

detect at least one acoustic sound;

adjust the output of the at least one alert based on the detected at least one acoustic sound; and

transmit information about the detected at least one acoustic sound to components in communication with the emergency alert system.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises:
an electronic control unit remotely located from the at least one electronic alarm module, the electronic control unit configured to receive at least one acoustic signal from the at least one electronic alarm module corresponding to the at least one acoustic sound detected by the at least one electronic alarm module, and to determine a location of the at least one acoustic sound based on the at least one acoustic signal and the predetermined location of the at least one electronic alarm module.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 1, wherein the at least one electronic alarm module comprises:
an acoustic sensor configured to detect at least one acoustic sound in the building and to output at least one acoustic signal corresponding to the at least one acoustic sound detected;

an acoustic output device configured to output an audio alert; and

an alert communication and control module in electrical communication with the acoustic sensor and the acoustic output device, the alert communication and control module configured to control the acoustic output device to adjust the output of the audio alert in response to the detected at least one acoustic sound.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 3, wherein the at least one electronic alarm module is configured to detect at least one emergency event, and wherein adjusting the output of the audio alert includes outputting the audio alert at a first decibel level when the sound-sensitive emergency alert system detects the at least one emergency event, and outputting the audio alert at a second decibel level less than the first decibel level in response to the acoustic sensor detecting at least one acoustic sound.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 3, wherein the at least one electronic alarm module further comprises:
a sound recognition module in electrical communication with the acoustic sensor, the sound recognition module configured to convert the at least one acoustic sound detected by the acoustic sensor into an electronic voice signal; and

a communication module in electrical communication with the sound recognition module, the communication module configured to electrically communicate the electronic voice signal to the electronic control unit for further processing, storage or transmission.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 5, wherein the sound recognition module recognizes the electronic voice signal as human speech based on at least one sound recognition algorithm, and outputs a vocal alert message based on the recognized human speech.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 6, wherein the sound recognition module stores a plurality of vocal alert messages and selects a particular vocal alert message among the plurality of vocal alert messages based on at least one of the detected acoustic sound, the recognized human speech, and an input received from the electronic alarm module.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim7, wherein the plurality of vocal alert messages includes at least one of a vocal inquiry, a vocal answer, and a vocal recommended course of action based on at least one of the detected acoustic sound, the recognized human speech, and the input received from the electronic alarm module.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 3, wherein the sound-sensitive emergency alert system is configured to detect an emergency event, and wherein the alert communication and control module further comprises:
a visual output device configured to output light having at least one of a selected frequency and a selected wavelength,

wherein the alert communications and control module controls the visual output device to output the light at a first selected wavelength and frequency when the sound-sensitive emergency alert system detects an emergency event, and at a second selected wavelength or frequency different from the first wavelength or frequency in response to the acoustic sensor detecting the acoustic sound to indicate the location of at least one individual.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 2, further comprising a graphical user interface (GUI) in electrical communication with the electronic control unit, the GUI configured to display the predetermined locations of each alarm module and the locality of each detected acoustic sound with respect to the predetermined locations.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of claim 5, wherein the sound recognition module is configured to detect predefined sounds, the predefined sound including at least one of yelling, hand clapping rhythmic knocking on furniture, footsteps, and dog barking.
The sound-sensitive emergency alert system of any of claims 4-11, wherein the emergency event includes the presence of at least one of smoke, heat and carbon monoxide.
A method of alerting an emergency event, comprising:
outputting at least one alert in response to detecting an emergency event;

detecting at least one acoustic sound following detection of the emergency event and detecting a location of the at least one acoustic sound;

adjusting the output of the at least one alert in response to detecting the at least one detected acoustic sound; and

transmitting information indicating the location of the at least one acoustic sound to an electronic control module remotely located from the location of the at least one acoustic sound.
The method of claim 13, wherein the outputted alert is an audio alert, and wherein the audio alert is adjusted in response to detecting the at least one acoustic sound.
The method of claim 13, further comprising recognizing the at least one acoustic sound as an acoustic voice and outputting a vocal alert message in response to recognizing the acoustic voice, wherein outputting the vocal alert message includes selecting a particular vocal alert message from among a plurality of stored vocal alert messages based on the recognized acoustic voice.