GB2455336A

GB2455336A - Social alarm to monitor people in a dwelling using a timer responsive to multiple sensors

Info

Publication number: GB2455336A
Application number: GB0723856A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Richard Ian Stone
Original assignee: Tunstall Group Ltd
Current assignee: Tunstall Group Ltd
Priority date: 2007-12-06
Filing date: 2007-12-06
Publication date: 2009-06-10
Also published as: GB0723856D0; EP2068290A1

Abstract

A social alarm system comprises a plurality of sensors 101 installed throughout a dwelling (see fig 1) to produce sensor data in response to activities of a person within the dwelling. At the dwelling, client unit (20) receives the sensor data and can raise an alarm call to a remote monitoring apparatus (40 - fig 2) - suitably over a PSTN network (30). The client unit comprises at least one alarm logic unit 210c comprising a timer unit 212c and a corresponding timer reset unit 214c. The timer unit receives a signal from a first sensor 103 among the plurality of sensors 101 and starts to count a predetermined upon receipt. The timer reset unit 214c receives at least one signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors 101 and so resets the timer unit 212c. The client unit (20) raises an alarm call when the timer unit 212c finishes counting the predetermined time. In this way, the occurrence of false alarms is reduced.

Description

SOCIAL ALARM SYSTEM

The present invention relates in general to a social alarm system and to a method of controlling alarm generation within a social alarm system.

A social alarm system monitors the safety and wellbeing of a client in their dwelling Traditionally, the social alarm system comprises a client unit that is installed in the dwelling and is arranged to initiate an alarm call to a remote monitoring apparatus In the event of an alarm being triggered, an operator at the remote monitoring apparatus is able to communicate with the client via the client unit. More recently, such social alarm systems have become more complicated and have been provided with a wide variety of sensors. As examples, the sensors may include passive infra-red movement detectors, a bed or chair occupancy sensor, an electrical appliance usage sensor, and a door usage sensor, amongst others It is particularly desired to use the social alarm system in order to enable a client to live independently for as long as possible. A particularly important application is to support the increasing number of people who are likely to suffer from a cognitive impairment as they get older It has been estimated that one in five people over eighty years old is likely to suffer from a dementia In particular, significant numbers of people have short term memory problems or confusion Difficulties arise such as with a tendency to have accidents in the kitchen, in the bathroom or at night. However, there is a need for the social alarm system not only to respond to the emergency situations as they happen, but also to be flexible enough not to generate false alarms.

It is desired to provide an improved social alarm system having greater flexibility. At least some exemplary embodiments of the present invention aim to provide a social alarm system which reduces the number of false alarms generated, and which is operationally more configurable.

According to the present invention there is provided a system, method and apparatus as set forth in the appended claims Other optional features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows.

In one aspect of the present invention there is provided a social alarm system comprising a plurality of sensors arranged to produce a plurality of sensor outputs in response to conditions within a client dwelling, a client unit arranged at the client dwelling to receive the plurality of sensor outputs from the plurality of sensors over a local communication link, and to raise an alarm call in real time according to the sensor data including initiating a speech communication path over a public switched telephone network, a monitoring apparatus located remotely from the client dwelling and operable to receive the alarm call from the client unit over the public switched telephone network and to establish the speech communication path with the client unit, wherein the client unit comprises at least one alarm logic unit, the or each alarm logic unit comprising a timer unit and a corresponding timer reset unit, the timer unit being configurable to receive an output signal from a corresponding first sensor among the plurality of sensors and to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, and the timer reset unit being configurable to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors and being arranged to reset the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor, 1 0 the client unit being arranged to raise an alarm call when the timer unit finishes counting the predetermined time In this way, the social alarm system is able to generate fewer false alarms because of the intelligent use of other sensors within the client dwelling For example, in known systems an alarm will be generated if a client leaves their bed during the night to visit the toilet and does not return to bed within a predetermined time period. However, sometimes a client may visit the kitchen to make a drink or something to eat, in which case an alarm is generated even though the client is safe The present invention avoids this situation by resetting the timer unit when a predetermined safe condition is recognised by the other sensor The social alarm system will generate a true alarm if the client does not return to bed and is not detected doing a predetermined safe activity.

In another aspect of the invention there is provided a client unit comprising at least one alarm logic unit, the alarm logic unit comprising a timer unit and a corresponding timer reset 2 5 unit, wherein the timer unit is configurable to receive an output signal from a first sensor among a plurality of sensors and to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, and the timer reset unit is configurable to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors and being arranged to reset the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor, the client unit being arranged to raise an alarm call when the timer unit finishes counting the predetermined time In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method of controlling alarm generation within a social alarm system, the method comprising receiving an output signal from a first sensor among a plurality of sensors, starting a counter to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, resetting the counter upon receipt of the output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors, and raising an alarm call to a remote monitoring centre when the counter finishes counting the predetermined time Preferred features of the invention are outlined below and are generally applicable to all of the aspects of the invention described above.

Preferably, the timer unit is dynamically configurable to receive an output signal from any sensor among the plurality of sensors, and the timer reset unit is dynamically configurable to receive at least one output signal from any of the other sensors In this way, a carer or client is able to configure the system to suit the lifestyle of the client For example, one client may often go to the kitchen during the night, so a sensor indicating activity in the kitchen may be programmed to reset the timer unit to avoid false alarms On the other hand, a different client may never go to the kitchen during the night but may instead go to a living area to watch television, for example. In this case, a sensor indicating activity in the living area would be programmed to reset the timer unit. The present invention thus provides additional flexibility to the system, allowing the system to be tailored to 1 5 a client's specific lifestyle In one preferred embodiment, the timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a corresponding first sensor which is arranged to represent whether a user is in an expected location such as a bed or a chair, and the corresponding timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to determine that a client is performing an activity falling within predetermined safe conditions Advantageously, the first sensor is a bed or a chair sensor, and the second sensor is a motion sensor.

Also, the timer unit preferably has a real time clock and is configured to count a predetermined time only if the corresponding output signal is received from the first sensor during a predetermined time window In this way, the social alarm system can deactivate certain alarm monitoring activities during certain hours, to avoid creating false alarms. For example, a client is unlikely to return to bed during daylight hours In the present invention, the alarm logic unit associated with such alarm monitoring would not allow the timer to begin counting.

In another preferred embodiment, the timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a sensor arranged to detect entry into a predetermined room at the client dwelling, and the timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to detect an exit from the predetermined room In this way, an alarm may be raised if a client dwells too long in a certain room, for example a bathroom False alarms are avoided by intelligently using other sensors to detect activity elsewhere Preferably, the first sensor is a motion sensor located in the predetermined room, and the at least one other sensor is a motion sensor located in an adjacent room In one example, the predetermined room is a bathroom Preferably, the timer reset unit is arranged to reset and stop the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor In a further embodiment, the timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a first sensor arranged to detect that an exit door from the client dweHing has been opened; and the corresponding timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to detect that a client remains in the client dwelling In this way, false alarms are avoided where the client opens the door to a guest, or leaves the dwelling for a short time such as to empty rubbish, say hello to a neighbour, put out their empty milk bottles, etc. Preferably, the first sensor is a door usage sensor and the second sensor is a motion sensor.

Preferably, the timer is arranged to count a predetermined time only after the first sensor determines that the exit door has been closed Preferably, the timer reset unit is arranged to reset and stop the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor Preferably, the timer unit is arranged to be disabled to allow a person to leave the property without causing an alarm to be raised In all of the embodiments of the invention, the timer unit may be configurable to receive a plurality of output signals from a corresponding plurality of sensors, and may be arranged to count a predetermined time upon receipt of at least one output signal from the plurality of sensors. Preferably, the timer unit is dynamically configurable so that the predetermined time

is updatable

For a better understanding of the invention, and to show how embodiments of the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which Figure 1 is schematic plan view of a client dwelling having an exemplary social alarm system installed therein; Figure 2 is a schematic overview of a social alarm system of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention; Figure 3 is a more detailed schematic diagram of the exemplary social alarm system, Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing a client interlace module according to an embodiment of the invention in more detail; Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail an alarm logic unit in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail an alarm logic unit in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; and Figure 7 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail an alarm logic unit in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

2 5 Referring to Figure 1, an example client dwelling 1 is shown for illustration having an exemplary social alarm system installed therein. Here, a variety of sensors 101-106 are installed at various points around the client dwelling such as in the living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom The sensors are arranged to communicate with a client unit 20, which in this example is located in a hallway near a main entrance of the dwelling.

The sensors suitably include any one or more of a movement sensor 101, an occupancy sensor 102, a door sensor 103, an electrical appliance sensor 104, a communication sensor and an instant activation sensor 106, amongst others The one or more movement sensors 101 are located to monitor movement of a client in different areas of the dwelling and are conveniently passive infra-red (PIR) detectors The one or more occupancy sensors 102 measure occupancy of specific positions in the dwelling or occupancy of specific items of furniture, including, for example, a bed sensor 102a and a chair sensor 102b.

The one or more door sensors 103 are provided to monitor movement of a door or drawer and are typically contact sensors, such as magnetic switches. In this particular example, a fridge door switch 103a and an exit door switch 103b are provided. As further examples, door sensors 103c and 103d are installed in the kitchen area to monitor movement of a cutlery drawer or the door of a food cupboard, or movement of a microwave oven door.

The one or more appliance sensors 104 are provided to monitor usage of electrical appliances in the dwelling and are suitably current sensors. In particular, the appliance sensors 104 monitor the use of interactive appliances such as a television, radio or other entertainment device. The appliance sensors 104 may also be employed to measure the use of cooking appliances such as a kettle, a fridge, a washing machine, a microwave oven or an electric cooker The one or more communication sensors 105 are arranged to monitor communication activity by the client. In the exemplary embodiment, a communication sensor 105 is integrated within the client unit 20. Here, a PSTN telephone line 31 carries telephone calls through the client unit 20, conveniently by connecting the client unit 20 with a customer termination point from the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) 30 or similar wide area speech communication network. The communication sensor 105 is thus arranged to monitor activity of a voice telephone by monitoring activity of the PSTN telephone line 31 The one or more instant activation sensors 106 may include an instant activation button on the client unit 20 Also, the instant activation sensors 106 may include an alarm pendant worn by the client, or alarm buttons or pull-cords mounted near to floor level for easy access by a client who has fallen The instant activation sensor 106 may include automatic sensors, such as an automatic fall detector In the exemplary embodiment, the client unit 20 is arranged to raise an alarm call dependent upon the sensor outputs received from the sensors 101-106 A primary responsibility of the client unit 20 is to actively monitor the outputs from the sensors 101- 106 in real time according to a predetermined set of rules and then, when appropriate, raise an alarm call over the PSTN 30 The exemplary social alarm system discussed herein is intended to be retro-fitted into an existing dwelling Conveniently, the sensors are installed appropriate to the needs of the client living in the dwelling and thus it is common for each dwelling to have a specially adapted set of sensors. Most commonly, the client is elderly or infirm but is able to remain in their home with appropriate care, monitoring and assistance, by installing the social alarm system However, it is desirable to minimise disruption and intrusion while the social alarm is installed Also, it is desired in many cases to adapt the social alarm system as the needs of the client change over time Further still, it is desired to remove the social alarm system easily, such as if the client moves to more specialised care facilities Hence, a social alarm system has many different needs and demands, particularly when compared to alarms for other purposes such as a fire alarm system or an intruder alarm system As a further constraint, it is often necessary to provide the social alarm system at a low capital cost and with low maintenance costs Many clients who purchase such social alarm systems are elderly or infirm and thus cost is a key consideration Even when the social alarm system is provided by a health agency or care agency, cost is still a key factor.

In another exemplary embodiment, the social alarm system is integrated into the fabric of the building such as when a group of dwellings are designed and built together as a sheltered housing complex. However, this is less common, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries Even so, the needs of each client are different and over time a particular dwelling may accommodate several different clients Thus, even in a dedicated social housing complex, there is a need for a social alarm system which is readily installed, modified and removed with minimal disruption to the structure of the building and which can be provided at a low capital cost and with modest maintenance costs.

2 5 Figure 2 is a schematic overview showing the social alarm system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention The system comprises a set of sensors 10, one or more of the client units 20 installed in various different dwellings and a monitoring apparatus 40 Figure 2 also shows a wide area communication network which in this case is a PSTN 30 As shown in Figure 2, the sensors 10 generate sensor outputs 12 by monitoring conditions within the respective client dwelling Each client unit 20 receives the sensor outputs 12 and will raise an alarm call if needed, in real time, over the PSTN 30 including initiating a speech communication path. The monitoring apparatus 40 is located remote from the client dwellings and is operable to receive the alarm call from the respective client unit 20 over the PSTN 30 and establish the speech communication path.

Figure 3 is a more detailed schematic overview showing the social alarm system according to two particular exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the sensors 10 communicate with the client unit 20 over a local communication link 11. In the exemplary embodiment, the sensors 10 communicate over a short-range local wireless link, most suitably using the 869 MHz frequency band which has been reserved for social alarm systems in the United Kingdom. In other embodiments, the sensors 10 communicate with the client unit 20 using any other suitable wireless or hard-wired local links In the exemplary embodiments, the sensor data is relatively simple Typically, the sensors 10 provide binary (on" or off') state information Conveniently, the client unit 20 1 0 stores the sensor outputs 12 as sensor data in a data storage unit such as a hard disk drive or solid-state memory Each sensor output 12 is suitably time-stamped by the client unit 20 The first embodiment shown in Figure 3 is a dispersed system where each client unit 20a is suitable for use in a single dwelling. Here, the client unit 20a comprises a client interface module(CIM)21 A primary function of the CIM 21 is to provide a speech communication path over the PSTN 30 from the client unit 20 to the monitoring apparatus 40. Suitably, the CIM 21 is arranged to dial a predetermined telephone number (i e. a using a preset speed-dial) over the PSTN 30 and act as a customer premises equipment (CPE) on the PSTN. The speech communication path is then available for communication between the client and an operator at the remote monitoring apparatus 40. In particular, this speech communication path is initiated automatically when an alarm condition is identified in response to the sensor data from the sensors 10 Also, the CIM 21 provides a primary data path which allows data to be exchanged between the client unit 20 and the remote monitoring apparatus 40, as shown with solid arrows in Figure 3 Suitably, the client unit 20a comprises an ITU-T V.34 modem and is thus able to dial on demand over the PSTN 30 to the remote monitoring apparatus 40 to establish the primary data path The modem is suitably integrated within the client unit 21. Optionally, the CIM 21 receives instructions and/or programming information from the remote monitoring apparatus 40 over the V 34 modem.

Here, it will be appreciated that the client unit 20a is readily installed to use an existing PSTN customer line, as found in substantially all dwellings in the UK and elsewhere, as part of the communication infrastructure of the social alarm system. The system does not rely on the provision of additional communications overheads A second exemplary embodiment of the client unit 20b is also shown in Figure 3, which is a grouped product most appropriate to a group of client dwellings in close proximity, such as a sheltered housing scheme Here, the client unit 20b includes a telecommunications overlay unit (IOU) 23 and a communication control unit (CCU) 24, which monitor several different client dwellings simultaneously Here, the sensors 10 in each separate dwelling report the sensor data to the central IOU 23 When an alarm condition is identified, a call is raised over the PSTN 30 to the remote monitoring apparatus 40 through the CCU 24 and a speech communication path is established through to a speech terminal unit (not shown) in the appropriate dwelling The remote monitoring apparatus 40 includes an operator management unit (OMU) 41.

The operator management unit 41 is primarily responsible for managing and responding to alarm calls from each of the client units 20 Suitably, the OMU 41 routes incoming alarm calls to individual operator stations (OS) 42 for an immediate response action to be taken Typically, the first response action taken by the system is to complete the speech communication path with the client unit 20. However, the operator may if appropriate direct the system to initiate other responses, such as placing an outgoing telephone call to contact a warden or other carer so that they may visit the dwelling and assist the client Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary client interface module CIM 21 in more detail. The CIM 21 comprises a plurality of alarm logic units (ALU) 210a, 210b, 210c. Each alarm logic unit comprises a corresponding timer unit 212a, 212b, 212c and a timer reset unit 214a, 214c, 21 4c As an example, ALU #1 210a illustrates the structure of an alarm logic unit in more detail The timer unit 212a is configurable to receive an output signal from a corresponding first sensor 101-106 among the plurality of sensors and to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor. The corresponding timer reset unit 214a is configurable to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor from among the plurality of sensors, and is arranged to reset the corresponding timer unit 212a upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor. If the timer unit 212a counts to the corresponding predetermined time, the first alarm logic unit 210a is arranged to cause the client unit 20 to raise an alarm call Figures 5 to 7 illustrate further, more detailed, exemplary embodiments of the invention Figure 5 illustrates the ALU 210a In this example, the timer unit 212a is configured to receive an output signal from an occupancy sensor 102, such as a bed sensor or a chair sensor The timer reset unit 214a is configured to receive a signal from at least one movement or motion sensor 101 in the client dwelling 1.

In use, when a client gets out of a bed or chair the timer unit 212a begins to count a predetermined time If the timer unit 212a counts the predetermined time before the client has got back into the bed or chair, then an absence event is generated by the ALU 210a Correspondingly, the client unit 20 raises an alarm and initiates a speech communication channel with the remote monitoring apparatus 40 as described above In this exemplary embodiment, a configurable monitoring period is possible. Instead of the timer unit 212a always being active to count the predetermined time upon receipt of the signal from the occupancy sensor 102, a configurable time window is set (for example, from 2200 hours to 0700 hours) In this way, the timer unit 212a will only count a predetermined time, and therefore cause an alarm to be raised, during a particularly vulnerable time period, for example during the night. At all other times, alarms including false alarms are not generated A real time clock is provided on the client unit for this purpose Furthermore, it is also possible to control electrical devices such as a bedside lamp when the client gets in or out of bed This is achieved using mains switching devices which are operated remotely by the client unit 20 upon receipt of an output signal from the occupancy sensor 102.

For example, a social alarm system according to this embodiment operates as follows A user leaves their bed during the night to go to the toilet. The occupancy sensor 102 detects this and causes the timer unit 212a to count a predetermined time. The user then decides not to go back to bed but instead to make a cup of tea in the kitchen The motion sensor 101 detects this activity and the reset unit 214a resets the timer unit 212a to automatically extend the time period prior to an alarm being raised. The motion sensor 101 causes this time period to be continuously extended whilst the user is being sensed moving in the kitchen If the client becomes inactive and does not get back into bed, for example because they have had a fall, then the timer unit 212a will count the predetermined time without being reset and an alarm will be raised.

Figure 6 illustrates an alarm logic unit 210b according to another embodiment of the invention In this embodiment, the timer unit 212b is configured to receive an output from a motion sensor 101 in a predetermined room. The timer reset unit 214b is configured to receive an output from a motion sensor 101 located in an adjacent room.

In use, when a client enters the room being monitored, the timer unit 212b begins to count a predetermined time If the timer unit 212b counts the predetermined time then an inactive client event is generated, and the client unit 20 raises an alarm. However, if the client leaves the room being monitored before the timer unit 212b has counted the predetermined time, and the motion sensor 101 located in an adjacent room senses activity in that room, the timer unit 212b is reset and stopped. In this embodiment, a further ALU may be configured to begin a further timer unit to ensure that a client has not remained in another room for longer than a considered safe period of time 1 0 For example, this arrangement could be used to raise an alarm is a user has been in their bathroom for over one hour This may indicate that they have fallen or are unable to get out of the bath In this embodiment, this is achieved by using a motion sensor 101 in the bathroom and other motion sensors 101 within the property to detect activity outside the bathroom to reset and stop the timer unit 212b, and thus prevent a false alarm.

Figure 7 illustrates an ALU 210c according to a third embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the timer unit 212c is arranged to receive an output signal from a door sensor 103 located on an exit door The timer reset unit 214c is arranged to receive at least one output signal from a motion detector 101 within the client dwelling.

In use, this arrangement can be used to detect if a client has left the client dwelling for longer than a configurable time period When a client opens the monitored exit door, the alarm logic unit 21 lOc is armed and the timer unit 212c begins to count for a predetermined time If the timer counts the predetermined time, then a property exit event will be generated and an alarm is raised by the client unit 20. At this stage it is also possible to generate an away state entry event which would cease monitoring of the type described with reference to Figures 5 and 6.

However, if one of the plurality of motion sensors 101 detects specified activity in the client dwelling once the monitored door has been closed again, then the timer unit 212c will be reset and stopped. In this way, there is a lower risk of false alarms.

Also, in the preferred embodiment the client unit 20 is programmable to disable the timer unit 212c for a predetermined time so that a carer may leave the property without raising an alarm.

Also, a configurable time window is available to that an alarm will only be raised during a predetermined time period, such as from 2200 hours to 0700 hours.

For example, this arrangement allows a client to be monitored and an alarm to be raised if the client leaves their dwelling outside the pre-specified hours, such as during the night.

However, a client may need to leave the dwelling temporarily for a short period of time to put out milk bottles and shut their front gate for example. In this case, a predetermined time of five minutes can be configured to allow them to perform these tasks without raising an alarm call.

However, if the client does not return to their dwelling within the predetermined time of five minutes, then an alarm is raised Of course, the predetermined time of five minutes is only an example and any other 1 0 predetermined time can be configured by the system.

In all of the above embodiments, the system is fully configurable and dynamically updatable by a client and/or a carer. For example, the predetermined times counted by the timer units 212a, 212b, 212c are all individually configurable. Also, each time unit 212a, 212b, 212c may be configured to receive an output signal from any of the sensors 101-106 in the client dwelling Also, each timer reset unit 214a, 214b, 214c may be configured to receive output signals from any of the sensors 101-106 ri the client dwelling It should also be noted that there may be many more than three alarm logic units, each 2 0 of which is individually configurable to suit a client's lifestyle.

It will be appreciated that other variations are possible without departing from the scope of the invention For example, there may be more than one timer unit in each alarm logic unit.

Each timer unit may be arranged to receive an output signal from one or more of the sensors 101-106 Furthermore, there may be more than one timer reset unit in each alarm logic unit each arranged to reset one or more timer units Each timer reset unit may be arranged to receive an output signal from one or more of the other sensors. Additionally, a single sensor may provide an output signal to one or more timer units simultaneously, in addition to providing an output signal to one or more timer reset units, again simultaneously. In this way, more complex alarm logic units can be arranged allowing more sophisticated alarm control routines to be set up by a client and/or a carer.

It is also envisaged that the social alarm system is at least partially pre-configured In practice, this will mean that the social alarm system is set-up in the factory to operate in a particular way, for example in accordance with one of the embodiments described herein. A client and/or a carer is able to alter the predetermined times and/or the precise sensor which triggers each alarm unit and each alarm reset unit. Of course, it will be envisaged by the skilled person that more complex algorithms could be developed requiring one or more output signals during pre-specified time intervals to be present in order that false alarms are not generated. One or more of these algorithms may be pre-configured at the factory, or may be fully configured on site by a client and/or a carer.

The social alarm system of the present invention enables the client unit 20 to tailor the use of information from a plurality of sensors to the needs of a client thereby reducing the risk of a false alarm being generated The system also allows individual sensors to be used for multiple purposes Advantageously, the client unit 20 can be configured remotely by the monitoring apparatus 40 Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications might be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims Attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed SOCIAL ALARM SYSTEM

is updatable

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s). The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed

Claims

1 A social alarm system comprising: a plurality of sensors arranged to produce a plurality of sensor outputs in response to conditions within a client dwelling; a client unit arranged at the client dwelling to receive the plurality of sensor outputs from the plurality of sensors over a local communication link, and to raise an alarm call in real time 1 0 according to the sensor data including initiating a speech communication path over a public switched telephone network, a monitoring apparatus located remotely from the client dwelling and operable to receive the alarm call from the client unit over the public switched telephone network and to establish 1 5 the speech communication path with the client unit, wherein the client unit comprises at least one alarm logic unit, the or each alarm logic unit comprising a timer unit and a corresponding timer reset unit, the timer unit being configurable to receive an output signal from a corresponding first sensor among the plurality of sensors and to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, and the timer reset unit being configurable to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors and being arranged to reset the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor, the client unit being arranged to raise an alarm call when the timer unit finishes counting the predetermined time.

2. The social alarm system of claim 1, wherein; the timer unit is dynamically configurable to receive an output signal from any sensor among the plurality of sensors; and the timer reset unit is dynamically configurable to receive at least one output signal from any of the other sensors.

3 5 3 The social alarm system of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in one alarm logic unit: the timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a corresponding first sensor which is arranged to represent whether a user is in an expected location such as a bed or a chair, and the corresponding timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to determine that a client is performing an activity falling within predetermined safe conditions 4 The social alarm system of claim 3, wherein the first sensor is a bed or a chair sensor, and the second sensor is a motion sensor The social alarm system of claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the timer unit has a real time clock and is configured to count a predetermined time only if the corresponding output 0 signal is received from the first sensor during a predetermined time window 6 The social alarm system of any preceding claim, wherein in one alarm logic unit the corresponding timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a sensor 1 5 arranged to detect entry into a predetermined room at the client dwelling; and the timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to detect an exit from the predetermined room 7 The social alarm system of claim 6 wherein the first sensor is a motion sensor located in the predetermined room, and the at least one other sensor is a motion sensor located in an adjacent room 8. The social alarm system of claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the timer reset unit is arranged to reset and stop the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor 9 The social alarm system of any preceding claim, wherein in one alarm logic unit: the corresponding timer unit is configured to receive an output signal from a first sensor arranged to detect that an exit door from the client dwelling has been opened; and the corresponding timer reset unit is configured to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor arranged to detect that a client remains in the client dwelling.

The social alarm system of claim 9, wherein the first sensor is a door usage sensor and the second sensor is a motion sensor.

11 The social alarm system of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the timer is arranged to count a predetermined time only after the first sensor determines that the exit door has been closed 12. The social alarm system of any of claims 9 to 11, wherein the timer reset unit is arranged to reset and stop the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor 13 The social alarm system of any of claims 9 to 12, wherein the timer unit is arranged to be disabled to allow a person to leave the property without causing an alarm to be raised 14 The social alarm system of any preceding claim, wherein the timer unit is configurable to receive a plurality of output signals from a corresponding plurality of sensors, and is arranged to count a predetermined time upon receipt of at least one output signal from the plurality of sensors The social alarm system of any preceding claim, wherein the timer unit is dynamically configurable so that the predetermined time is updatable.

16. A client unit comprising at least one alarm logic unit, the or each alarm logic unit comprising a timer unit, and a corresponding timer reset unit, wherein the timer unit is configurable to receive an output signal from a first sensor among a plurality of sensors and to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, and the timer reset unit is configurable to receive at least one output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors and being arranged to reset the corresponding timer unit upon receipt of the output signal from the at least one other sensor, the client unit being arranged to raise an alarm call when the timer unit finishes counting the predetermined time.

17 A method of controlling alarm generation within a social alarm system, the method comprising receiving an output signal from a first sensor among a plurality of sensors, starting a counter to count a predetermined time upon receipt of the output signal from the first sensor, resetting the counter upon receipt of the output signal from at least one other sensor among the plurality of sensors; and raising an alarm call to a remote monitoring centre when the counter finishes counting the predetermined time 18 A social alarm system, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings 19 A client unit, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

20. A method of communicating with a social alarm system, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings