GB2520757A - Control panel for a fire detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

A fire control panel of a fire detection system comprises: a processor; a storage medium; a user interface having a graphical display; and a detector interface arranged to connect to a plurality of fire detectors and to generate detector values indicative of a parameter detected by the detector. The processor is arranged to periodically sample the detector values received by the detector interface; to time stamp the sampled detector values; and to store the time-stamped detector values in the storage medium. The user interface is arranged to display the time-stamped detector values from a detector graphically on the graphical display. The invention thus allows a technician to analyse detector values of one or more detectors for false alarm conditions over an extended period of time without the need to attach an external processing device such as a laptop to the control panel for a period of time over which data is to be collected.

Description

Cunirol Panel fur a Fire 1)etectinn System I ffl& Ifl\CflhiOI1 ILldtL'S to a ire deteetton control pund via Jirt. detection SVSm. Such IiiLflels are eriercdIv knc.;wri in 1 utope as coffin'! and iiidkaiing CCILUPn1COL (CII.

B.WICGROUNII OF TIlE INVENTION A huiduw. theton or industrial plant typically includes a plwahtv ot tire detecuon system device, ,ut.l as detec ms. cal poluN. ounder' and beacons which de ices may he conl rolled 1mm a lire detection control panel. tpicalI' at a central location.

* \ tire LicTec ton control i-mud karranued so that a technician or other miser ma inspect or moth 1\ instatuaneotis svstcni state.; or contro: individual parts of the detection system. The dt'leetors nieastire ptranieters \viich. are ilidiLatne ot a tire. fiLl prcidut.e instantaneous detector values represcnt ig the measured nai alrieft.rs and these detector vu lue' cart lx ievt.ed by the technician or user depending on the puruciilar apphennon oF the dcleeliorl sc STem For c amplc. paramelers include the cathay dioxide level temperature. and ob'xiiraiioi iiit the case ol inokc detecIioiiL dependinu tin the type vt detector I hi' ilk;tv' die tccluiieian In easily see it' II'JL'IC tS.1 lauh sonieniiee in the ss stem. or,ec if an alanri condition 4 prt4c111 UI U particular detector.

)IIen ire dcteuion svstenv are installed acros:, a wide area. sidi dereetc:rs installed in m;-iu\ diliereut k'canc'ns. the hitutiuns hwc trw dillereni environmental churaemen'aics. I his can often lcau to improper locarron ol detectors, or improper detectors beiria instailed In a paitictilar locanon An example an impioper instaflLlmion aught be a smoke detector n',tailed in a kitchen urea. }reqtieiil ai:irlfl ecndiIiuns art. Iikc[ to be generated \hefl the ZIIV in the kitchen becomes cnokv through eookiiw. although no Inc exists. A heat detector i\ ii kelv to he a more appropnatc detector in His cnvircsnmt. t hecaue it is less likely to indicate a take alarm condition dur!ng cooking. hut vil I correctly indicate a ft it execssivc itcat k detcccd.

A tee luncian can look 31. and ret jew. the insiautaneous detector w due., r1* the den. et4 s in the iu'tal Iat;ou above w lx re there i a k;chen in'utlled s. th a siam ke detct. [or. 1 OWL J if there is no cooking acti it at the that ii!' the technic. ian's review, the tecimician ts ill not i cause I hat an uiuppropnate smoke detector ha', been instalkd in die kitchcn and that tidse alurm s'. ir rc-su! I. 1 he techn ILIaD real lv needs to he able to amah so the deteL tar values of the detectors over a longw pcric'd of tune idudinu tnnc-c -hen cookmL' aciuiR is takmL'. placc.

Ic o uId then he able to identi is timi. n iriapprupriitl e C itlec tar lia been Inst ailed h the devated detector v nine of the smoke tietectut in the kitchea.

The c'r(nrnrincc ol such a system owi imo is difficLilt to:tnal', st. I he cautmi panel is Lzeneral K not pro' ided s lib nrICeSSing pt\s ci he and that which required hI prnce-;\ ineomini,' dma fr&.nn die ddectiirs (ITgrOLIpS UI deItctOrsLind UeIWIaIC alarm conditions, which might be indicated Lw die soundi ig ol an alarm. nr 1w a arnmnu light heui il [unnamed on the panel or elsewhere. lEiiA ml nnntsanon il pt nccssmg pow-cr 11)11) lii ISOS the cost at tilL control panel. s hich makes it u tracti e to bu>-en. In the situation where Process] fl' is to be kept a" a minimum, II IS 3i50 important that ILtiV]UnLIiini1iih shieh i added to die control rand doeN not i riterfere ith the met imi rig ±aastrcarn [rain the detectors or mercas the h ad the proce *:ot which might impair the proper functionimr at the systen I I hus, theme is ii sul hetent processing capacit:' to do length) mm nitoring at the detector s-alues in conventiOntil e ntrol tUUi( S C urrentlv. if a tire alarm 5% tcin teelmictan needs to mt.'iutor amid anal> se the deectur values ot er a penud at time, he is requtred lo a't ich a portable computing des-ice to the control panel or detection S\ stem. [his rnean' that he portable computing ctevieL:. such as t laptop eompuLflu. de ice, must be attached in the s' stem Fbi a per'od of tune ovet which dati is 0 be ee.llcctcd Since control i mdc are alLen leaned in iflCOfl\ entoiL or noii-see;.irc locations.

this can be a difficult task to achicve. even tith a laatop computing de'icc it is an aim of the presi-'n1 irn'entiop to imProve the inspection cii detector \aiues.

SIWS-IARY OF i'ui-: l\VESTR)N Accordi ia to a Iirst aspect. the prc:n1 in entiiln pn R ides a lire control pmnei of a the detection s's stem. tI IC Itre control panel edunprisi n a processom a,It image rue urn: a user intem Iae ha ing a gra1uue1d displa: and a detLL'tor immtethtee arranged for Lonfleetiun to a p1 uraiitv of tire detcuoms of the hrc detection system, and w Filch t4CWi ate detectom dues indicative of' a parameter detected 1w the detector, wherein the lirneessur includes.:msan]per ir!-nlced to pcrjodicafl' sampk Uk delector alues received by the detector interlace. and the processi r is arranged to time slamp the arnnled detccI' vu! ues. and it store the Lime-s.ianipcd detector values in the storage incdni i; and wherein the user interlace is arranged to di splay the i nle--siurnpeu detector a) ties fiuirt a deteuoi gi aphical lv * n the w apliR:ul display.

Ihus. a user may assess the pertbrniance 0 the system or part of the system from ithin the introl pailci he1l' ihe jet that the prncc''or periodical!) anpks and stares the ddeclor vilues received from the detectors lii io'vs t'or an i nuiiti c graphical Ut In he prodicec' and di spirived nii the graphical di ay Th is cli ni mates he requiremel it that the technic an tliU\i attach Cl COmpLuifl2 de' jee I' the sy'zm.eni in order to collect and view the data. 1 he periodic sainp! ing al'o a! low; in'pect ion o the perlormunec of ihe sstem or part of the system over a pci ioU of Ume.

In a jn-ter-ed embodiment, the sampler is ai raned In rentidicaI! saniile the dctecuw allies I. Li mOle than one SCti SO:' P rid the processor r arranged to ii inc L imp the detector \-LtIUcS and to store the tin ic 5t1t1fl)cd detector values in the storage mcdi urn, Advarnugeousk. the user interfttcc is arranged Iv di splay the linie-stanped dt:icctnr alucs iii m two or more dctcctos conci,lrrcit ly FIns a cons that a e' mi panson can he made eiwi R hekseen time piiraiimeters detected 1w t'% o or more. duiec turs. making eva! nail nz their reiat ye perlornianee owi a dcii ned pet odi easier.

Preft-rabk. the pnicco.ol is provided with a sestemil condition generator. whtch;sarranged {t generate ss stem condition inlormnauon liusec on the detector Ulllc'S. 11115 information is ind,cati it of the state of the system. such a. a butt condition alan n condition or normal eonditic'n.Rk hased upon analysis of at least the tietecto values ret. ci ed from the detectors.

sshich reLtie to a parametci being measured at the detector locatIon, but ou1d be expected it? use ()tJlcl S' Stein in fo.rmatton It a. The processor can then store thc system c( adil ton iii OmiR' ion with each I tme-stampcd detector vii] tie in the storaee mcdi urn. This ensures that a\\cl I a the deiecwr aluc being sto;ed. thnt they are associated w UN the ystiii condit mt''rrnation relating In them at the sahimple time.

Preferably. tue uset intvrdic.e is arranged to thsplav the Li roe stamped deLeett in \alues anti the s\Steifl conduit In!IoI mation u' nieurrcnl Is tn the user inter thee displas Dispia ing tile et,iihumaiioii cu the dctteetni i alues and the system;jidjfon mibrmation allows the u'er to nure cai!v cross reference the Iwo dli ug' lot e\a;nple to ussess deteetut vL'lues at the time of an alarm condvioii.

I reierublv. the user jute, ILtCC tndudc an input to mccix c user instructions sped I\ i i the san pit period at 1d the s:anpL Jut at ic n 1 he user in gin set the sunpie period to he we minute (Iflat r-i. s:uipliitg (lie detee [or value c rv one ininuieL for examnie. ii' a high resolution of detector v.tlue nitonnaflon is aquired. and Ilk: sainpk diuttitiii U' he 121)0 imnutes, tFerefoi e givIng a sample SUe ot-I 200 ahie' !i each deteen r. This Would he USt liii ri revie\\ mu aspects ol the UaUv cycle If a dc'tcctor if a Ic uiger duration ui operri ion ts requ red for anatHs. the use might set the saniple period U) I Salflph per I bUy. with a cumpk thu at ion! 1 2(R) ow s. s Inch tu LI Ed ne [he san' sai nple size as before. and record i he characteristics ii( the system nvci a puiiod a)A ceks. (U' course. thc dau storage of 11w s stern could be inereast d to mcreas.e tne sample ltc. it neccssar\ Preferably. the user interlace input is arranged 10 [ceCiVe 115Cr instructions cpeeiyi qa the detector UIUCS ti) he tlispla' ed on the gra hica I display. Advantcq2enusi\-. the User J ilierlace innut is arranced to receive user instruct LOIi spet2i I! flu the raUtc of utne-stamped detector valucs u' he disnla ed lhetechnicmn or USLI rn1i provide instructions Lleh that the graphical di s]av dispiae s a particular selected pat umeter o. r a sptici tic tune perjod. the tune pei lot1 ini'ht he the lU Ic period n-ct-Mieli data was coVet-ted, or it nag! tt he U fXi Iii' range of interest.

Prelcrabhy_ the prt'ec's'.or includes a loop pri CLSS"r and a main DrOt essor herein the nop proec ssoi is arrniiied to COflhlflhitlieaiC liii he detectors a the detector inter['Ltee.. and truIwtntts the alues to the main processor. I he loop procc'-sor takes (he ineoniintt data streams from the detcet r interthee and samples the values from at I of the deicc'turs arid passes these onto the main processor.

Pret'ei ably, the user ntcriace has a user interittec k'eui memory. 1 his can he used to,toi e usc ilIsUlIetiOns, such as the sarpk' period and duration, and user oieicrcrtt'es. Preterahis-the 11 Ute-StaW ped cleteui.'r vu I ties arc streLimed to and stored in the usci interlace ii ical n lu I c In this way. Aicfl tI it USCi is pros iwng irish uchons Lu th.. user interface. I IC fl.:IVigaLiOll Of tI it' uisptayt-u vii ties tic ics iot iterlere with the ç'roee.*irtu necessary to i ncnntain the junction ot the system s ith regard to receiving detector data and gcnerating system condition mfbrmat ion.

According to a second aspect a tire detection s stem comprises a fire control panel according to the lust aspect of the invention, and a pluralit> of' detectors connected to the fire control panel.

According to a third aspect of the invention, a method of forming a graphical image on a tire control panel of a fire detection system comprises the steps: receiving a detector signal from one ot more detecton including a detector wdue indicative of a parameter detected by the or each detector; periodically sampling the detector ntne. and time-stampmg the sampled detector value, storing the time-stamped detector s alue and graphically displaying the time-stamped detector values.

PreferabLy, the method includes the steps ot generating system condition information and stoi lug the 5) stein condition information with each time-stamped detector value It is further preferred that the step of giaphically displaying the time-stamped detector values includes displaying the associated system condition information.

LIST OF DRAWINGS

A control panel in accordance ith the present linenuon iH now be described, by way of example only, with refe erice to the acompunying diawungs in which Figure I is a block diagram of the control panel, Figure 2 is a block diagram of ik uscr inici face and Figu e 3 is a diagram of the display on the uber interface.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF 1 HE DRA\VINCS

*\ tirc COL1tFO! panet 11)0 eLi tire detectiOn sstem is hosn. hv'.'u ctteMInlpIe. i 1'.-I. The control panel 100 FlIts 1 piucessOl 10!, WhiCh. thiough a detector ink rface 102 cOInmuniccIIc's tiitb One (U more &kLeUON 1)01 Sh0\ II) Sill A cOnlniuniC:Ltic)n link I Oô.

Although ilie detectors can he C0UB&tk.d radially from the detecier inter1aee, groups of detectors arc normally connected in scries on U loop with [he ends ol the loops mee1in' at the detector interlace 102. In inot 5),SiL'II1S, more Ihan one loop ut detectors arc connected at urn dc-tectcr ntcrtace I he prOCcSSO} liii has a swripkr 103. ;. Filch san;pk's inci.nmg i niorn t:ti ion. the control panel I I) liaise icl!.ldc a System condition gcneflttor 1 04 and a storauie medium I 1):. A loop processor Ii l is also located in the control}MmcI 100. hcts cen the pntccsor 01 and the dc tcetor interlax' 102. The control panel I 1)1.' includes a user interlace t I ti. I he user intcrlhce is sh'wn in more detail in Figure 2, and comunses a disula' 114 and local memorY 11.2.

1-uch detector in the y;tcni is provided wmth a sciisi ng element. or sensor. iRe sen'or is desiuned to sense a nrtieuIaj' palanieter v hidt relates to thc conditions at the location of the detecicu and to transmit a detector value indicitive of the ScUsec! [)aIalnetei to the ctMiti I] panel in a seilsor signal. Ihe pat unteler that 3510 he measwed ts cieptudent on the speci lie etincI il ions to he measured at the icil ion el the del Cc Ir. and thc panic ular use to *s Rich the detector is pm. For e'.anlple. if the sellse'c is art optical smoke deiccior. it will trancinit signals including.lecctor aloes corresponding lu the amount ol' obscuration causcci by smoke at the location of that detector. t1c pcrectitage 01 obscuration being the pat an icter us HeR i an inuicalion cii' [he amount of smoke at that location A teinnennare sensor would Irai1sTuI a siwnal haviu a detector value inuealne of the tcniperature at tIm. keatiun 0! the detector. 1 he iempeta[ure is tite paranletcr. A tU-detector vi II ii ansmit a siwnal ha mug a detectoi ulue iriweanve 01 [tIc' C. Q Icuel at the location 0! tilt' detector. [heFt): kvl is the pa ameter. 01' course other parameters could also he measured.

am. mndi idl tai detector inn be pro'. dccl us. ith inure than One sensing element. .11k! thereli re 1111 ridvidutl detector can measure mire than one;)ai aineter at the tktector loeatin, Lit th-sante tin IC gereratng.ktcetor values which are i udicati x of [hose parameters. The sianals lad ttdc' the detector \ LII tiCS letitting to the [)tr1Il1eWrs thai WV ineastired by the sensing elements within the ctctectc'r and arc transmitted Ltionc the eomninnieations link I Oh 1 he .iunals are received at time detector inlerhiec. I (I..'.

11w detector interface 102 controls and manages the signals sent to and iecei\ed from the detectors, and transmits the signals recened from the detectors to the loop processor 107.

[he ioop processor 107 time-multiplexes the incoming detector values from all of the detectors at high frequency. so that the integrity of the system is known to a resolution of a rn2tter of a few seconds The loop processor passes the data to the processor 101.

The system condiuon generator 104 receive and analyses the loop processor output valucs.

The system condition generator 104 provides the processor 101 with information relating to the status of the detection system bascd on the signals received florn the detector interface.

The system condition generated will he a fault condnion if a fault has been detected. or an alarm condition if detector values indicate that a parameter detected by a sensor element is outside a noumil range or a normal condition if the system is operating normaliy with no fire detected.

ihe sampler 103 periodically samples the detector values and the system condition from the system condition generator 104. The time period between samples and the duration 01 sampling may be defined b a user on the usex interface, and varied depending on the parameter or parameters being sampled, and the specifk conditions ol the S)SLCITh The period and duration are sto ed in the storage medium 105 or \ithm the user interface 110 as is mentioned later.

The piocessor 101 time-stamps the periodically sampled detector value or values and the system condition information at the time at which the value was sampled. rhese values and information are stored b the processor 101 in the storage medium 105. The detector values and inlbrmation may be stored at sepatate loeattons in the storage medium In one embodiment of the invention, the values relating to different detectors ate stored in scparate files in the storage medium The processor 101 is in communication %ith the user interface 110. The usLr interface 110 has a local user interface processor 112. a local niemoty 111. a user input 113 and a graphical di play 114. 1 he user interface processor 112 performs operations relating to the control of the sampler 103 and to the displa of the sampled values. Toe user interface processot 112 retrieves the lime-strnnped detector values from One or more detectors stored in C, rh, clorape' mediun-i 105 cm jfl'lyucflon iriuna user and sturc the nlormauon in is local incrriois 11 1 1 he tune_stamped detector zilues n1a then be displayed graphically en Inc gtaphkal display 114 v ithout iinpa] ring the perk)! inance ol the processor 101 ftc uranhical dtispla 114 i. usLd to display the time-stamped detector uitonnauon raplucallv in the lorro ol an X-Y pIOL a 1ine graph. or othef ploL aliies irum more than one dueuor or ir.ni ui detectors rmiv be disphnc.1.oncurreniIv. 11Th allows the user to ie\'. pcci he stem dim aeteristies either independenik in relation to each oilier. which tact itales the anais sis of the svsn s bekn'iour over t line.

lie 9\ steni cOndtt0t) intO!ThrflIOn ti ILl also he indicated on the uaphic:d di splat 1 14 ol the user tniertaee lii'.

The user input 113 is a ke' pad in this enihodiment. dihouuh other user inputs are possible.

In use, the control and I Ot k accessed bs user, tvpwul ly a tcchmcian, using the user I npni I 3 oIl he User interlace I U. he ser may cuiuitgorc the control ilik' 1 1 00 to store detec. br viIucs from one or more ot the detectors. or utoups ol detectors in the storage medium 1 05.

-(he er ii a\ tic. tine the t inc L'flO11 beiss een -hiel i i tie San pits are taken, and the time dur;rlio; I o\ er which they arc tt. he taken, For example. the user might deline a sample period ui mc minute with a sample drtji n of 10(10 minutes, for each detector in the S\' skm. The pruce'sor 101 then samples the nqured detector xaiues 01 the deteetoN at one minute nuervals 1mm a deflned start time selected by the user the saw p1 ini can be made to begin i mtncdi a ie1 u-to bc deliR ed so ats to star at predeterini ned I ater time.

Durina subsequent OCi ation of the tire detector s stem. cacti detet br transm its a sensor :ignil which met tides (1w detector value which I ndieat ive uI the patarreter bc.ing;ensed In that detector and this s receive by the ditcior interlace I 01 and pa'sed to the mop processor 1 07. Once the iunipImg period beam-, the sampler 10$ sample.; thc. detector values from the detectors that lane been se]cctcd li'r sampling.

he satnph'd at ue' are time-stamped us they arc eofleued and si.ored in Inc storaue medium I 05 vt tilt aloes rei:i ring to each detector or roup of dc. teeturs being stored in a di l'flicr locution on the sR:'rage inediun 1 05 if multiple detectors are selected to he sampled. (I

ihc technic ian later selects some en all ii' the stored deteelor aiucc to he CiIpIQVed using the iser mteriacc 110. and rhes ale k,adcd job the local nlemorv 111 11w selected deleetor VU] LieS Cdfl he giaphteahlv tlisphtvui on the dispki 114 plnued a2ain.t time, using the time sb ai lips.

Ihe urarhx al rcn eselmifloTi a I the sLiceted values mac take the ftrm ni ne plot. a hiSlO.tLdfli or oilier graphical plot. Us LIiSCL1SSCCI alyn. e. Firiure 3 N an cxaitiple CE a urZtPhLCflh plot hnwin, the temperature detected ht a deiccior on the Y axis auainst time. -t he Ust r ma'v use the oer interlace to -c\c-dam Irvin one or more sensor demerit., \vhlch mac he displaced on the same graph. and the User macalso make a selection bQ U Spiav a piot of the condition status. lie usei eali also View a specific time portion ni the sampled data, ii atiat VMS kit a rrticlar event i;equi red. Fig. 3 shoss s thaI the temperature at t pail ieuiai detect' ir on a loop ol detect-is I nap A) vas eleated for:j pc iou in the middle of the rbIflic of s-nnpled vihies, pos\ibh sigmh jug an alarm condition.

If the iser interlace has keaI memory, tile selec lcd valucs arc streamed hum the storaue nediuni and stored (here pn r to being dhp:aved. so that the user ma-manipulate or Vie\\* the display uthout unpainmi the flifliti priice'.or Jul of the control panel 1(1(3. ihe storu,te ot the values to be wranincnhlvrhspla\ed in the local fllcmor I I of the user inter [ace HO preeh!de' the graphical chsphtv Itnmn niakinLi tuinccessarv demands on the prt'eesscr 100.

hieh is required to maintain the integrity of the detection system.

Ii s use [ui at this point to expIam one particular advaiitagc l using the present invention beyt nd siinpi -hocvinc,' the detector values. II a Lire detection ss stem has been I n'1taJleJ Lii ft building. one inn of the buiidmng being a kitchen. thai kitchen ii1 include a fire detector. . kilehen bus the Li'*fleLristie of I requenttv beonnrat partly III led cc ith smoke as a result o.f cookimia acuc ilv. hut that inike is lit t iiecessai i l\ inLIltauve ot a lire which must be sjLnahbed.

1 bus. smoke aetectors iii kitchens tend to lead to frequent Like also as. Instead, a i n me appmpm kite tvpc of detector might he a heat deleL-ton since this is ii oie indicatk e in a kitchen of a 15 me ct nd i tion. i-fowe er. smoke detc'c tors are S'Nflet tines i flu JI opriatel nstal led ri kitchens. has hitherto been difticult ilir a ieehmn ician to subseqiierith-realIse that a smoke detector has I appmopt late]' been used in a kitchen lx cause instantaneous testing vi LI not denti v there tt Ix a prohic in ii' the kitchen is nor at that instant heiug used lilt cooking

I U

Ins ever. usmu the present in enuon. u teehmeian Ic able to arraime for thc detect r salaLs in the lire deteetiari ss sli.m to be stoicti mr a penud of tune. perhaps 24 hou s. so that he can then study tilL' values the IoUc:wing day once me suinpl na pt'riotl has ocen completed On review mu the sampled values, he svi Ii 10th. c that the va!ues from the srnLe detcci.oi in the k lichen s crc iticautlv jfl reased br a short uerod id Uiue dLiflrW, the sainphng period.

:\n example of Ibis might be that h' iwn ft j:j,iç 3 in which the value of a ptrticuiwr detector Ic raised. The technician en then inst.'ILeab.t the cause of the increase in values froni that detector and Ic!ik& to nnliee ihut a smoke ci.:teUor has k-en instctllc'u SA-hen a terilperalule detector couid have been a better choice I K' ts then oNe to take the necessars remedial act] on b' rentaL inn the dctectc'r with an apnn P ale inc.

Various changes ten be made to the configuration of the inventino Sd out above. I-or ex:iinpIe (he precessor I can he ariwigL(l so that its cnistlltLent parts air distributed rather than held within ti SIi:»=!ICUP.it. I he storage InS Ic shov' a us belie pan oitht proctssor 104, bin the.,itiranc f1)S could he placed.cparatcIs It