GB2146469A - A theft deterrent and burglar alarm - Google Patents

A theft deterrent and burglar alarm Download PDF

Info

Publication number
GB2146469A
GB2146469A GB08420010A GB8420010A GB2146469A GB 2146469 A GB2146469 A GB 2146469A GB 08420010 A GB08420010 A GB 08420010A GB 8420010 A GB8420010 A GB 8420010A GB 2146469 A GB2146469 A GB 2146469A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
sound
barking
burglar alarm
deterrent
circuit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
GB08420010A
Other versions
GB8420010D0 (en
GB2146469B (en
Inventor
Charles Martyn Kaye
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Publication of GB8420010D0 publication Critical patent/GB8420010D0/en
Publication of GB2146469A publication Critical patent/GB2146469A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of GB2146469B publication Critical patent/GB2146469B/en
Expired legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • GPHYSICS
    • G08SIGNALLING
    • G08BSIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
    • G08B15/00Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives
    • G08B15/002Identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves or intruders, e.g. by explosives with occupancy simulation

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Burglar Alarm Systems (AREA)

Abstract

A theft deterrent and burglar alarm comprises an electronic circuit which produces the synthesised sound of a dog barking when triggered by an external noise picked up by a microphone 1, or by a signal from a burglar alarm, movement detector 9 or other external contacts 4. An electronic doorbell 6 can optionally be included in the circuit giving both a chime and the sound of a dog barking when the bell push 6 is operated. A different phrase of barking is produced by speech synthesiser 10 each time microprocessor 5 is triggered and increasingly aggravated barking is synthesised if the trigger is continued. As the circuit has low power consumption in the idle state, it can be run from batteries so as to be independant of mains failure. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A theft deterrent and burglar alarm This invention relates to a theft deterrent and burglar alarm for private and commercial properties.
It is well known that a suitable dog, acts as a deterrent to thieves or as a burglar alarm by barking at any significant noise. However it is not always possible to own or keep a suitable animal, due to cost, circumstances, or safety.
An object of the present invention is to replace the desirable features of a guard dog, namely the ability to hear and the ability to bark, by solid state electronics.
With this object in view, the present invention provides a theft deterrent and burglar alarm comprising an electronic circuit including means to synthesise a sound of a dog barking and means to trigger production of the sound when external noise is picked up by a microphone.
Advantageously, production of the sound is also triggered by actuation of external contacts or buttons, or by signals from a burglar alarm, movement detector or similar security device.
An electronic doorbell may additionally be included in the circuit so that ringing of the doorbell also triggers production of the barking sound. In such instance there is preferably a different chime for the front and rear doors of a house. Advantageously it should be possible, when desired, to eliminate the dog bark whilst retaining the doorbell chime.
A preferred embodiment of the deterrentlalarm includes means to synthesise an increasingly aggravated barking sound when the means to trigger production of the sound continues to be activated.
Moreover, a different phrase of synthesised barking is preferably produced in response to each separate trigger and the circuit ideally includes means to continuously synthesise the sound of a dog barking by selecting different phrases in succession. In this way the present proposal is quite different from and indeed much preferred compared to a deterrent/ alarm incorporating a tape recording of a dog barking which cannot be varied and has to be rewound at intervals.
Advantageously the circuit of the present invention is so designed that it is possible to select the synthesised sounds of different types of dogs barking, so that there is variety once the alarm circuit is installed.
A preferred embodiment of the deterrent/alarm of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying circuit diagram.
External sound is received by a microphone 1 and fed to an amplifier 2 which increases the sound level enough to be fed to a comparator 3. There the sound level is compared to a preset value and when this is exceeded, a trigger pulse is generated to trigger a microprocessor 5. This microprocessor 5 combines trigger signals from the comparator 3 and from external contacts 4, which allow the microprocessor 5 to be triggered by signals from a burglar alarm, a movement detector or window and door contacts.
It is also possible, as indicated in the drawing, for the microprocessor 5 to be triggered by external bell pushes 6. When this occurs the microprocessor 5 generates either of two synthesised chimes on an output line 7 depending whether the front or rear bell push 6 was operated.
Further control signals are also fed to the microprocessor 5 from control switches 8. These switches 8 allow the selection of one of three different types of dog bark (SW1, SW2, SW3) whilst SW4 inhibits operation of the synthesised dog barking while still allowing the chime to operate.
When the microprocessor 5 has received a trigger pulse to produce a synthesised dog bark, it performs a number of functions.
Firstly it generates phrase select control signals which are transmitted via lines 9 to instruct a speech synthesister device 10 which phrase of sound to generate. When initially triggered the microprocessor 5 selects a random phrase from a group of phrases which simulate normal barking. After a period of about eight seconds, this particular phrase finishes and the microprocessor 5 checks for further trigger signals. If trigger signals from the microphone 1, the contracts 4 or the bell pushes 6 are still present, one of another group of phrases which produce a more aggravated barking is selected and soon. This process of selecting different phrases continues until all trigger signals to the microprocessor 5 finally cease.
When the trigger signals to the microprocessor 5 are finally removed, the microprocessor 5 is ready to select another phrase of normal barking at random from that particular group.
The speech synthesiser 10 is a specially designed integrated circuit normally used for reproducing the human voice usually rather a 'mechanical' voice is produced. In this instance, the human voice has been replaced by that of a dog barking. The sound information is held digitally in read only memory (ROM) on a speech chip, along with the necessary logic to convert it back to an analog output.
The resulting sounds from the speech synthesiser 10 are first buffered by an operational amplifier 11 before being combined at 2 with any sound from the synthesised chime output line 7. The combined sounds are fed to a low pass filter 13 which is designed for use with speech synthesisers and removes any digital noise still remaining in the combined signal. The output from the low pass filter 13 is fed to a power amplifier 14 where the sound output is increased to a suitable level to drive a loudspeaker 15. The complete unit is run from the mains using a power supply unit 16. However, since the entire circuit has a low power idle state it can easily be run from batteries incorporated into the supply unit 16 in the event of mains power failure.
1. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm comprising an electronic circuit including means to synthesise a sound of a dog barking and means to trigger production of the sound when external noise is picked up by a microphone.
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (8)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION A theft deterrent and burglar alarm This invention relates to a theft deterrent and burglar alarm for private and commercial properties. It is well known that a suitable dog, acts as a deterrent to thieves or as a burglar alarm by barking at any significant noise. However it is not always possible to own or keep a suitable animal, due to cost, circumstances, or safety. An object of the present invention is to replace the desirable features of a guard dog, namely the ability to hear and the ability to bark, by solid state electronics. With this object in view, the present invention provides a theft deterrent and burglar alarm comprising an electronic circuit including means to synthesise a sound of a dog barking and means to trigger production of the sound when external noise is picked up by a microphone. Advantageously, production of the sound is also triggered by actuation of external contacts or buttons, or by signals from a burglar alarm, movement detector or similar security device. An electronic doorbell may additionally be included in the circuit so that ringing of the doorbell also triggers production of the barking sound. In such instance there is preferably a different chime for the front and rear doors of a house. Advantageously it should be possible, when desired, to eliminate the dog bark whilst retaining the doorbell chime. A preferred embodiment of the deterrentlalarm includes means to synthesise an increasingly aggravated barking sound when the means to trigger production of the sound continues to be activated. Moreover, a different phrase of synthesised barking is preferably produced in response to each separate trigger and the circuit ideally includes means to continuously synthesise the sound of a dog barking by selecting different phrases in succession. In this way the present proposal is quite different from and indeed much preferred compared to a deterrent/ alarm incorporating a tape recording of a dog barking which cannot be varied and has to be rewound at intervals. Advantageously the circuit of the present invention is so designed that it is possible to select the synthesised sounds of different types of dogs barking, so that there is variety once the alarm circuit is installed. A preferred embodiment of the deterrent/alarm of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying circuit diagram. External sound is received by a microphone 1 and fed to an amplifier 2 which increases the sound level enough to be fed to a comparator 3. There the sound level is compared to a preset value and when this is exceeded, a trigger pulse is generated to trigger a microprocessor 5. This microprocessor 5 combines trigger signals from the comparator 3 and from external contacts 4, which allow the microprocessor 5 to be triggered by signals from a burglar alarm, a movement detector or window and door contacts. It is also possible, as indicated in the drawing, for the microprocessor 5 to be triggered by external bell pushes 6. When this occurs the microprocessor 5 generates either of two synthesised chimes on an output line 7 depending whether the front or rear bell push 6 was operated. Further control signals are also fed to the microprocessor 5 from control switches 8. These switches 8 allow the selection of one of three different types of dog bark (SW1, SW2, SW3) whilst SW4 inhibits operation of the synthesised dog barking while still allowing the chime to operate. When the microprocessor 5 has received a trigger pulse to produce a synthesised dog bark, it performs a number of functions. Firstly it generates phrase select control signals which are transmitted via lines 9 to instruct a speech synthesister device 10 which phrase of sound to generate. When initially triggered the microprocessor 5 selects a random phrase from a group of phrases which simulate normal barking. After a period of about eight seconds, this particular phrase finishes and the microprocessor 5 checks for further trigger signals. If trigger signals from the microphone 1, the contracts 4 or the bell pushes 6 are still present, one of another group of phrases which produce a more aggravated barking is selected and soon. This process of selecting different phrases continues until all trigger signals to the microprocessor 5 finally cease. When the trigger signals to the microprocessor 5 are finally removed, the microprocessor 5 is ready to select another phrase of normal barking at random from that particular group. The speech synthesiser 10 is a specially designed integrated circuit normally used for reproducing the human voice usually rather a 'mechanical' voice is produced. In this instance, the human voice has been replaced by that of a dog barking. The sound information is held digitally in read only memory (ROM) on a speech chip, along with the necessary logic to convert it back to an analog output. The resulting sounds from the speech synthesiser 10 are first buffered by an operational amplifier 11 before being combined at 2 with any sound from the synthesised chime output line 7. The combined sounds are fed to a low pass filter 13 which is designed for use with speech synthesisers and removes any digital noise still remaining in the combined signal. The output from the low pass filter 13 is fed to a power amplifier 14 where the sound output is increased to a suitable level to drive a loudspeaker 15. The complete unit is run from the mains using a power supply unit 16. However, since the entire circuit has a low power idle state it can easily be run from batteries incorporated into the supply unit 16 in the event of mains power failure. CLAIMS
1. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm comprising an electronic circuit including means to synthesise a sound of a dog barking and means to trigger production of the sound when external noise is picked up by a microphone.
2. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 1 further including means to trigger production of the sound when external contacts or buttons are activated, or when a signal is received from a burglar alarm, movement detector or similar security device.
3. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein an electronic doorbell is included in the circuit so that ringing of the doorbell also triggers production of the sound of a dog barking.
4. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 1,2 or 3 which has a low power idle state so that it can be run from batteries and thus be immune from mains power failure.
5. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in any preceding claim including means to synthesise an increasingly aggravated barking sound when the means to trigger production of the sound continues to be activated.
6. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the circuit includes means to produce a different phrase of synthesised barking in response to each separate triggering of production of the sound.
7. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 6 wherein the circuit includes means to continuously synthesise the sound of a dog barking by selecting different phrases in succession.
8. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
8. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the circuit is so designed that it is possible to select the synthesised sounds of different types of dogs barking.
9. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawing.
New claims or amendments to claims filed on 5 oct 1984 Superseded claims All New or amended Claims:- 8.
1. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm comprising an electronic circuit including a speech synthesiser operative to produce a sound of a dog barking, means to trigger production of the sound when external noise is picked up by a microphone, and means to cause the synthesiser to produce an increasingly aggravated barking sound when the aforesaid means to trigger production of sound continues to be activated.
2. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 1 further including meanstotriggerproduc- tion of the sound when external contacts or buttons are activated, or when a signal is received from a burglar alarm, movement detector or similar security device.
3. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein an electronic doorbell is included in the circuit so that ringing of the doorbell also triggers production of the sound of a dog barking.
4. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claims 1,2 or 3 which has a low power idle state so that it can be run from batteries and thus be immune from mains power failure.
5. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the circuit includes means to produce a different phrase of synthesised barking in response to each separate triggering of production of the sound.
6. Atheft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in claim 5 wherein the circuit includes means to continuously synthesise the sound of a dog barking by selecting different phrases in succession.
7. A theft deterrent and burglar alarm as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the circuit is so designed that it is possible to select the synthesised sounds of different types of dogs barking.
GB08420010A 1983-09-10 1984-08-06 A theft deterrent and burglar alarm Expired GB2146469B (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB838324289A GB8324289D0 (en) 1983-09-10 1983-09-10 Theft deterrent and burglar alarm

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB8420010D0 GB8420010D0 (en) 1984-09-12
GB2146469A true GB2146469A (en) 1985-04-17
GB2146469B GB2146469B (en) 1986-09-24

Family

ID=10548610

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB838324289A Pending GB8324289D0 (en) 1983-09-10 1983-09-10 Theft deterrent and burglar alarm
GB08420010A Expired GB2146469B (en) 1983-09-10 1984-08-06 A theft deterrent and burglar alarm

Family Applications Before (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
GB838324289A Pending GB8324289D0 (en) 1983-09-10 1983-09-10 Theft deterrent and burglar alarm

Country Status (1)

Country Link
GB (2) GB8324289D0 (en)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2202982A (en) * 1987-03-27 1988-10-05 Mercer Energy Conservation Com Improvements in or relating to alarm systems
GB2215104A (en) * 1988-02-04 1989-09-13 Voicebox Limited Messsage apparatus
WO1993007599A1 (en) * 1991-10-04 1993-04-15 Barbro Forsell Sound effects system connected to door bell or burglar alarm
GB2264380A (en) * 1992-02-21 1993-08-25 Gordon Stokes Indoor alert signal device for outdoor intruders or visitors
GB2320350A (en) * 1996-12-12 1998-06-17 Stephen Albert Wilson Electronic guard dog intruder deterrent system
GB2373909A (en) * 2001-03-27 2002-10-02 Te-Chin Jan Noise detecting burglar warning device
EP3032510A1 (en) * 2014-12-08 2016-06-15 Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH Presence simulation based on a home entertainment system
RU2710904C1 (en) * 2019-02-28 2020-01-14 Юрий Иосифович Полевой Device to protect small-size points of trade from robberies

Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2126390A (en) * 1982-09-03 1984-03-21 Douglas Malcolm Ritchie Alarm

Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2126390A (en) * 1982-09-03 1984-03-21 Douglas Malcolm Ritchie Alarm

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2202982A (en) * 1987-03-27 1988-10-05 Mercer Energy Conservation Com Improvements in or relating to alarm systems
GB2215104A (en) * 1988-02-04 1989-09-13 Voicebox Limited Messsage apparatus
WO1993007599A1 (en) * 1991-10-04 1993-04-15 Barbro Forsell Sound effects system connected to door bell or burglar alarm
GB2264380A (en) * 1992-02-21 1993-08-25 Gordon Stokes Indoor alert signal device for outdoor intruders or visitors
GB2264380B (en) * 1992-02-21 1995-06-07 Gordon Stokes Discreet indoor alert signal for outdoor intruders or visitors
GB2320350A (en) * 1996-12-12 1998-06-17 Stephen Albert Wilson Electronic guard dog intruder deterrent system
GB2373909A (en) * 2001-03-27 2002-10-02 Te-Chin Jan Noise detecting burglar warning device
EP3032510A1 (en) * 2014-12-08 2016-06-15 Harman Becker Automotive Systems GmbH Presence simulation based on a home entertainment system
US9928706B2 (en) 2014-12-08 2018-03-27 Harman Becker Automotive Systems Gmbh Presence simulation based on a home entertainment system
RU2710904C1 (en) * 2019-02-28 2020-01-14 Юрий Иосифович Полевой Device to protect small-size points of trade from robberies

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB8420010D0 (en) 1984-09-12
GB8324289D0 (en) 1983-10-12
GB2146469B (en) 1986-09-24

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US5499014A (en) Security alarm system
US5245694A (en) User-programmable voice notification device for security alarm systems
US4912457A (en) Detector and message annunciator device
US7479893B2 (en) Method and apparatus of generating a voice siren in a security system
US5210520A (en) Programmable doorbell control
US4839749A (en) Recorded voice warning system for providing safety alerts and personal messages
US5570083A (en) Door bell/answering system
US20030104800A1 (en) Telephone with alarm signalling
GB2146469A (en) A theft deterrent and burglar alarm
JPS5682483A (en) Electronic timepiece with sound recording function
US4207559A (en) Alarm system with acoustically coupled transmitters and receiver
US4544920A (en) Intrusion detector and method
US3740737A (en) Home protection system employing barking dog tape
GB2285530A (en) A doorbell answering machine
US4571583A (en) Barking dog simulated alarm system
US5635912A (en) Audio system alarm interface
GB2126390A (en) Alarm
JP2004127068A (en) Crime prevention device for door
WO1983002349A1 (en) Apparatus for the prevention of burglary
GB2114345A (en) Electrical apparatus for deterring intruders
JPH0543600Y2 (en)
KR200360300Y1 (en) Burgler alarm
BE1006975A3 (en) Electronic prevention and deterrence for the protection of vehicles againsttheft and vandalism
JP2811967B2 (en) Facsimile with sound wave generation function for insect repellent
GB2320350A (en) Electronic guard dog intruder deterrent system

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19930806