GB2525882A - Alarm system communication - Google Patents
Alarm system communication Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2525882A GB2525882A GB1408034.5A GB201408034A GB2525882A GB 2525882 A GB2525882 A GB 2525882A GB 201408034 A GB201408034 A GB 201408034A GB 2525882 A GB2525882 A GB 2525882A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- alarm
- site
- alarm system
- configuration data
- receiving station
- 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.)
- Withdrawn
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Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
- G08B25/01—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium
- G08B25/08—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems characterised by the transmission medium using communication transmission lines
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
- G08B25/14—Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B29/00—Checking or monitoring of signalling or alarm systems; Prevention or correction of operating errors, e.g. preventing unauthorised operation
- G08B29/18—Prevention or correction of operating errors
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L41/00—Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
- H04L41/08—Configuration management of networks or network elements
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04M—TELEPHONIC COMMUNICATION
- H04M11/00—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems
- H04M11/04—Telephonic communication systems specially adapted for combination with other electrical systems with alarm systems, e.g. fire, police or burglar alarm systems
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G08—SIGNALLING
- G08B—SIGNALLING OR CALLING SYSTEMS; ORDER TELEGRAPHS; ALARM SYSTEMS
- G08B25/00—Alarm systems in which the location of the alarm condition is signalled to a central station, e.g. fire or police telegraphic systems
- G08B25/004—Alarm propagated along alternative communication path or using alternative communication medium according to a hierarchy of available ways to communicate, e.g. if Wi-Fi not available use GSM
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- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Business, Economics & Management (AREA)
- Emergency Management (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
- Telephonic Communication Services (AREA)
- Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
Abstract
A method is provided for configuring an alarm receiving station and an alarm system for communication therebetween. The method comprises: 21 entering configuration data at a first one of first and second sites, the first and second sites comprising one of the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; 22 initiating a connection for communication between the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; 23 on receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, copying configuration data from the first site to the second site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and an alarm system. In a further embodiment, different parts of the configuration data may be entered at each of the alarm receiving station and the alarm system whereby upon receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, configuration data may be copied from the first site to the second site and from the second site to the first site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and the alarm system. Copied configuration data may be merged with entered configuration data. Configuration data may be produced as an XML file which is installed at the first site and copied to the second.
Description
ALARM SYSTEM COMMUNICATION
This invention relates to a method of configuring for communication in an alarm system.
Alarm systems are typically installed at a site or location and monitored remotely. For example the alarm system may be installed on a building, or a series of buildings, or on one or more pieces of equipment at the site, Whether the alarm systems are monitored remotely, or at the site, they need to be aNe to communicate with an alarm receiving station. For efficiency, the alarm receiving station typically monitors many sites and so is usually at a location remote from the site at which the alarm system is installed.
As well as using alarms to indicate an intrusion into a site, an alarm may be used to provide data about operation of machinery or events, such as fire or flooding that require some action in response. The more data that is available to the alarm receiving centre about the cause of the alarm, the better the centre is able to determine what response is required. However, a problem with the alarm systems being remote from the alarm receiving centre is that configuration during installation is complicated, lii many cases, the same data needs to be entered at both sites, but this is time consuming and expensive if the operative does not have correct information about which configuration is required in each case. The alarm receiving centre may monitor many alarm systems, with different terms and as technology is updated, not all alarm systems that it monitors will be the same.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention a method of configuring an alarm receiving station and an alarm system for communication comprises entering configuration data at a first one of first and second sites, the first and second sites comprising one of the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; initiating a connection for communication between the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; on receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, copying configuration data from the first site to the second site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and an alarm system.
Preferably, the method further comprises entering different parts of the configuration data at each of the alarm system and the alarm receiving station and on receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, copying configuration data from the first site to the second site and copying configuration data from the second site to the first site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and an alarm system.
Preferably, the method further comprises merging the copied configuration data with the entered configuration data.
Preferably, the method further comprises monitoring for an update event and updating the configuration data at the alarm system and the alarm receiving station on occurrence of the update event.
Preferably, the update event comprises one of number of messages sent between the alarm system and alarm receiving station exceeding a predetermined threshold; or time elapsed since the previous update exceeding a predetermined threshold; or change of communication configuration settings occurring at one of the alarm system and alarm receiving station.
Preferably, the configuration data is produced as an XIVIL file which is installed at the first site and copied to the second site.
An example of an alarm system and method of configuration according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompany drawings in which: Figure shows an example of an alarm system stmcture in which the method of the present invention may be used; and, Figure 2 is a flow diagram of the method of the present invention.
In any communications device of an alarm system at supervised premises, there is a need to be able to communicate securely with an alarm receiving station, for example an alarm receiving centre where operators monitor and respond to alarm signals e.g. from buildings, or an alarm base station for monitoring alarmed moveable equipment. In some cases the alarm receiving centre may receive and process alarm signals from an alarm base station which ads as a local alarm receiving centre for alarmed moveable equipment. The alarm system and alarm receiving centre form part of an alarm network.
An alarm network may comprise one or more alarm systems and an alarm receiving station. With building based intruder alarms, one of the alarm systems may be co-located with the alarm receiving centre, but generally all of the alarm systems are sited remote from the alarm receiving centre, Fig.] illustrates an example of such an alarm network I, in this case showing up to n alarm systems 2, 3, 4 connected to an alarm receiving centre via a network 6, such as the internet, although other types of network connection, such as cable or telephone networks or local area networks may be used, depending on the distances and type of communication appropriate for the application.
S In order for the communication between the alarm system and alarm receiving centre to be effective, the two sites must be have their communication settings configured appropriately, so that the configuration at each site matches the other.
However, actually achieving this in practice can be difficult for many reasons. At the initial set-up stage, data is entered at both sites by different personnel, An error in data entry by one of those people will resuh in the configuration at the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre not matching and prevent communication between the two sites from operating correctly.
The likelihood of the data entry being erroneous is increased by the fact that some of the configuration settings are difficult to understand and this becomes more complex as increasing number of alarms systems are moving to communications using IP based systems requiring entries of TP Address, TCP Ports, events filtering or remapping. In addition, some of the configuration settings are dependent on a commercial agreement, or contract put in place between the management of the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre, such as account code, or timing settings and this information may not get passed on to the operative on site at the alarm system. If different settings to those which have been contractually agreed are entered, then the operative may have to return to the site to change the settings when this is found out, adding to the costs of operation, The present invention solves the difficulties of ensuring matching of configuration data at two sites which are remote from one another by entering information at one location and allowing the other location to copy the information, This both saves in the time required to configure the system and also reduces the chances of a mis-configuration and the need for an installer to return to a site to correct the data entry.
The data entry may be done all at one site, or in part at both sites, but in either case, the site where the configuration data is entered then communicates with the other site and allows that other site to copy across the configuration information, Thus, for some applications the data is entered at the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre is allowed to copy the data, for other applications the data is entered at the alarm receiving centre and the alarm system copies the data across. In those applications where some of the data is entered at the alarm receiving centre and some at the alarm system, then both sides need to be able to merge the data correctly.
The alarm system owns all of the configuration data. When the alarm system connects to the alarm receiving centre the alarm receiving centre re-synchronises to the data that the alarm system passes as part of the connection request. If the alarm receiving centre wants to update some or all of the data of the alarm system, then it can issue a command to update the configuration settings. The alarm system updates its settings and creates a new connection to the alarm receiving centre, The alarm receiving centre re-synchronises its data with the alarm system, but this time the alarm system includes the updated data that the alarm receiving centre had sent to it.
The alarm receiving centre may update or add connection details for a different alarm receiving centre. This allows the alarm system to connect to special alarm receiving centre called a "Commissioning Server" which then adds to or updates the configuration for a separate alarm receiving centre, the real alarm receiving centre.
This is useful in allowing a change to the alarm receiving centre configuration of many alarm systems from the same place, eg, on a change of contract, or managing company for the alarm receiving centre. Instead of connecting to each alarm system individually, the new alarm receiving centre configuration details may be entered at the "Commissioning Server" and updated on each of the alarm systems, Each of the alarm systems then creates a connection to the new alarm receiving centre and the configuration is synchronised at the alarm receiving centre, After the initial configuration of the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre, there may be a need to change the configuration of the system. Preferably, changes to the configuration only have to be made at one site with the other site automatically updated as described above, By contrast, conventionally if an update to the system was required the information had to be entered at both sites, Fig.2 illustrates an example of the steps involved in the method of the present invention. From a pair of remote sites, typically an alarm system and alarm receiving centre, one site is chosen 20. Configuration data is entered at that first chosen site 21 and a connection to the second site of the pair is attempted, That configuration data may be all of the configuration data, or the configuration data may be split into two different parts and one part of the configuration data is entered at each site. When a valid connection is achieved, the configuration data settings entered at the first site are copied across 23 to the second site. If the first site had all of the configuration data entered 24, then automatic updates of the configuration at both sites are arranged, either at regular intervals, or in response to a threshold being triggered, e.g. a certain number of alarm messages having been sent, or a given period of time having elapsed, or an update being detected at the other site. If the first site did not have 24 all of the configuration data, then the other part of the configuration data is copied 25 from the second site to the first site, Then automatic updates of the configuration at both sites are arranged 26 as above.
A valid connection is acknowledged before the configuration data settings at the first site are copied across to the second site, for example using a message ID that corresponds to an Acknowledge message, such as in response to a Connection Establish command sent from the alarm system to the alarm receiving centre, the alarm receiving centre acknowledges the command by sending a message with the message ID coresponding to a "Connection Establish ACK". All other data in the message ACK, such as account codes, sequence numbers, random data etc., must also be correct for the message to be considered as having been acknowledged, If the alarm receiving centre does not want to accept the connection it typically ignores the message, but it may send a negative acknowledgement (NACK) message. This is usually only done in the case that normally the Alarm Receiving Centre would acknowledge the message, but is not acknowledging the message for some reason, such as being out of memory and this reason is included in the NACK message, A more detailed example of the set-up of the communications between the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre will now be described, The process varies slightly according to whether the setup is carried out at the alarm system or at the alarm receiving centre or partially in each, but in all cases the side at which the configuration was not carried out then reads or copies the configuration from the side where the configuration data was entered.
In example I the data is entered at the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre copies the data after a communication link has been set up. An operative at the alarm system sets up all communication settings on the alarm system and once the alarm system is configured correctly the alarm system attempts to create a connection with the alarm receiving centre, If the connection is valid the alarm system informs the alarm receiving centre that certain information is available. This may include installation details, such as the type of panel, serial number and registration ID; details relating to the installer, such as name or phone number; alarm transmission system (ATS) information; and alarm transmission path (ATP) information for all ATPs in the ATS including the ATPs not being managed by the alarm receiving centre. Then the alarm receiving centre is updated as part of a Connection Establish message via XML data in the Connection Establish message.
In example 2, the data is entered at the alarm receiving centre and the alarm system copies the data. When an account is setup at the alarm receiving centre the full communication settings are entered at the alarm receiving centre according to the agreed setup. A compressed XtvIL file is produced at the alarm receiving centre which includes the full configuration of the ATS including all ATPs. This file can be copied into the alarm system in a number of ways, either an operative imports the file locally at the alarm system, or the file is imported by means of a remote connection, The alarm receiving centre may issue a command to the alarm system to import or update the ATS configuration.
In example 3, different parts of the required configuration data are entered at each site, copied across to the other site and then merged. The operative partially configures the system at the alarm system, which may be done by importing a template configuration at the alarm system, then the alarm system communicates with the alarm receiving centre to allow the alarm receiving centre to copy all the settings of the alarm system. The ATS configuration of the system may be made at the alarm receiving centre and an automatic update the alarm system carried out.
Preferably, in any of the three examples given above, if an operative updates the communication settings on the alarm system then the alarm receiving centre is updated automatically. Similarly if the communication settings are changed at the alarm receiving centre, then these changes are downloaded to the alarm system.
In summary, in an alarm system network having at least two sites remote from one another, the invention allows automatic configuration of the other side. This can be done by a number of mechanisms which may include a Connection Establish' message issued by the AS, importation of the ATS Configuration issued by the alarm receiving centre, locally or remotely and transfer of a command from the alarm receiving centre to the alarm system with the ATS configuration. The method of the present invention is applicable to any alarm system or alarm receiving centre sofiware, The data transmitted between the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre may contain sensitive information which the operator of the site wishes to keep confidential. Communications between the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre may be encrypted, for example as described in our co-pending patent application reference no. 2014P07385GB, or using conventional symmetric key encryption, where the same encryption key is entered at both the alarm system and the alarm receiving centre before any direct communication between the two can take place. The encryption key may be a 256-bit encryption key, which is usually written as 64 hexadecimal characters (0-9, A-F).
As is common with communications systems, it is desirable to have a back-up transmission mechanism in case of faults and this may be achieved by using primary and secondary communication paths as described in our co-pending patent application reference no. 2W4P07388GB The formatting of alarm event messages from the alarm system to the alarm receiving centre may be adapted as described in our co-pending patent application reference no. 2014P07390 GB to increase the amount of information which can be transmitted to the alarm receiving centre when an alarm occurs.
Claims (6)
- CLAIMS1. A method of configuring an alarm receiving station and an alarm system for communication, the method comprising entering configuration data at a first one of first and second sites, the first and second sites comprising one of the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; initiating a connection for communication between the alarm system and the alarm receiving station; on receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, copying configuration data from the first site to the second site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and an alarm system.
- 2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises entering different parts of the configuration data at each of the alarm system and the alarm receiving station and on receipt of an acknowledgement of a valid connection, copying configuration data from the first site to the second site and copying configuration data from the second site to the first site to complete the configuration of the alarm receiving station and an alarm system.
- 3. A method according to claim or claim 2, wherein the method flurther comprises merging the copied configuration data with the entered configuration data.
- 4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the method flurther comprises monitoring for an update event and updating the configuration data at the alarm system and the alarm receiving station on occurrence of the update event.
- 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein the update event comprises one of number of messages sent between the alarm system and alarm receiving station exceeding a predetermined threshold; or time elapsed since the previous update exceeding a predetermined threshold; or change of communication configuration settings occurring at one of the alarm system and alarm receiving station.
- 6. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the configuration data is produced as an XJtvIL file which is installed at the first site and copied to the second site.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408034.5A GB2525882A (en) | 2014-05-07 | 2014-05-07 | Alarm system communication |
| PCT/EP2015/058485 WO2015169573A1 (en) | 2014-05-07 | 2015-04-20 | Alarm system communication |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408034.5A GB2525882A (en) | 2014-05-07 | 2014-05-07 | Alarm system communication |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB201408034D0 GB201408034D0 (en) | 2014-06-18 |
| GB2525882A true GB2525882A (en) | 2015-11-11 |
Family
ID=50980711
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB1408034.5A Withdrawn GB2525882A (en) | 2014-05-07 | 2014-05-07 | Alarm system communication |
Country Status (2)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2525882A (en) |
| WO (1) | WO2015169573A1 (en) |
Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2002091325A1 (en) * | 2001-04-24 | 2002-11-14 | Electronic Target System As | Security alarm |
| US20060022820A1 (en) * | 2004-08-02 | 2006-02-02 | Honeywell International, Inc. | Automatic panel configuration upload to a central station automation system |
| WO2008041214A1 (en) * | 2006-10-02 | 2008-04-10 | Europlex Technologies (Ireland) Limited | A security system and method |
| US20100030856A1 (en) * | 2006-08-14 | 2010-02-04 | Honeywell International Inc. | Instant messaging applications in security systems |
| GB2488750A (en) * | 2011-01-25 | 2012-09-12 | Cooper Security Ltd | Alarm apparatus generating data in XML or JSON for communication with external apparatus |
Family Cites Families (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US20030233429A1 (en) * | 2002-05-31 | 2003-12-18 | Pierre Matte | Method and apparatus for programming and controlling an environment management system |
| KR20050107476A (en) * | 2003-03-06 | 2005-11-11 | 마츠시타 덴끼 산교 가부시키가이샤 | Communication system, information terminal apparatus, communication method, and program thereof |
| EP2284816B1 (en) * | 2009-07-20 | 2014-10-29 | Afone | Alarm control method and system |
| CA2812808C (en) * | 2010-11-05 | 2019-08-13 | Tyco Safety Products Canada Ltd. | Alarm system providing tamper deterrent signalling and method |
| EP2891299B1 (en) * | 2012-08-28 | 2018-08-15 | UTC Fire & Security Americas Corporation, Inc. | Systems and methods for efficient remote security panel configuration and management |
-
2014
- 2014-05-07 GB GB1408034.5A patent/GB2525882A/en not_active Withdrawn
-
2015
- 2015-04-20 WO PCT/EP2015/058485 patent/WO2015169573A1/en active Application Filing
Patent Citations (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WO2002091325A1 (en) * | 2001-04-24 | 2002-11-14 | Electronic Target System As | Security alarm |
| US20060022820A1 (en) * | 2004-08-02 | 2006-02-02 | Honeywell International, Inc. | Automatic panel configuration upload to a central station automation system |
| US20100030856A1 (en) * | 2006-08-14 | 2010-02-04 | Honeywell International Inc. | Instant messaging applications in security systems |
| WO2008041214A1 (en) * | 2006-10-02 | 2008-04-10 | Europlex Technologies (Ireland) Limited | A security system and method |
| GB2488750A (en) * | 2011-01-25 | 2012-09-12 | Cooper Security Ltd | Alarm apparatus generating data in XML or JSON for communication with external apparatus |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| GB201408034D0 (en) | 2014-06-18 |
| WO2015169573A1 (en) | 2015-11-12 |
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| 732E | Amendments to the register in respect of changes of name or changes affecting rights (sect. 32/1977) |
Free format text: REGISTERED BETWEEN 20160303 AND 20160309 |
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| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |