JP2006515487A - Universal gateway module that interfaces security system controller and external peripheral devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Security system interface means for interfacing the peripheral device with the security system and interfacing the gateway module with the security system control panel via a security system bus or other dedicated wired connection, and the gateway module A gateway module including peripheral device interface means for interfacing with peripheral devices. The gateway module also has processing means for controlling the operation of the gateway module. The processing means is adapted to send and receive security system data to and from the security system interface means, in which case the security system data is a security system protocol suitable for communication with the security system control panel. And adapted to send and receive peripheral device data to and from the peripheral device interface means, wherein the peripheral device data is configured with a peripheral device protocol suitable for communicating with the peripheral device. The processing means converts the security system data received from the security interface means into peripheral device data suitable for transmission to the peripheral device interface means, and the peripheral device data received from the peripheral device interface means is secured. It is also adapted to convert to security system data suitable for transmission to the system device interface means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a security system, and more particularly to a universal gateway module suitable for interfacing a security system with one of various types of peripheral devices such as telephones and PDAs.

  There is an increasing demand for interfaces between existing security systems and external peripherals and devices having functions not traditionally based on security system control. For example, it is desirable to be able to use a telephone (code-based or cordless) for a variety of security system functions including, but not limited to, entering system commands (such as arm or disarm), viewing system status, and the like. Current security system control panels allow direct interfacing with some external peripheral devices. Most of these external peripherals communicate with the security system control panel via a suitable hardware / software communication channel specific to the security system design. Further, each such communication channel is associated with an appropriate type of device that can interface with the control panel. New that can interface with existing security systems due to non-standard characteristics of control panel hardware / software communication channels and the need to change panel software when new peripherals are introduced The number and selection of external peripherals / devices will be limited.

  In order to overcome the problems of the prior art, a universal gateway module is provided that interfaces one or more various devices not traditionally used in security system controls with existing security systems.

  The gateway module of the present invention allows the security system control panel to interface with a wide range of new external peripheral devices that do not support the security system's non-standard communication channels. This is achieved by the gateway's simpler and more standardized communication channel. The new gateway module interfaces between the new external device and the security system control panel in a manner that is completely transparent to the security system control panel hardware and software. In most cases, hardware or software changes need not be made on the control panel to be able to interface with a variety of new external devices. These universal gateway modules have many benefits. New, existing, and future development products (manufactured by various companies) with some engineering design effort on new potential peripheral devices and in most cases without engineering design effort on existing security control panels You can easily interface with existing control panels.

  The gateway has a subassembly and a storage device. The subassembly consists of a microprocessor and appropriate interface circuitry (drivers, connectors, power supplies, etc.), all mounted on a printed circuit board. The microprocessor (including the embedded memory storing the appropriate programs and variables) can transfer / control the appropriate data / signals appropriately between the control panel and the external device. The gateway module communicates with the existing communication channel of the control panel at its “front end”. The gateway module communicates with the new external peripheral / device at its “back end” in a simple and standard way. The gateway can communicate with the new external device via a standard “transmit” / “receive” signal / protocol using simple / standard hardware driver circuitry. The gateway can provide additional signals to the new external device to meet more specific needs depending on the requirements indicated by the new external device. For example, such additional signals may be telecommunications company telephone lines, trigger outputs, and the like.

  Various additional options can be provided in addition to the basic functions described above. For example, the gateway can provide power to new peripherals / devices, including during AC losses (battery backup).

  The present invention is specifically a gateway module that interfaces a peripheral device with a security system, which gateway module is connected via a security system bus and / or other suitable dedicated signal line. Security system interface means for interfacing the module with a security system control panel, and peripheral device interface means for interfacing the gateway module with peripheral devices. The gateway module also has processing means for controlling the operation of the gateway module. The processing means is adapted to send and receive security system data to and from the security system interface means, in which case the security system data is a security system protocol suitable for communication with the security system control panel. And is adapted to send and receive peripheral device data to and from the peripheral device interface means, in which case the peripheral device data is configured with a peripheral device protocol suitable for communicating with the peripheral device. The The processing means converts the security system data received from the security interface means into peripheral device data suitable for transmission to the peripheral device interface means, and the peripheral device data received from the peripheral device interface means is secured. It is also adapted to convert security system data suitable for transmission to the system device interface means.

  The peripheral device may be, for example, a telephone or a handheld computing device. The peripheral device can communicate with the gateway module via a tether connection, such as a UART, USB or Ethernet LAN connection, or the communication may be wireless, eg according to the IEEE 802.11 standard or the BLUETOOTH standard.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a gateway module of the present invention implemented to interface a peripheral device with a normal security system. Thus, FIG. 1 shows a security system 2 comprising a control panel 4, a console keypad and display 8, a plurality of sensor / expansion device 10, an RF receiver 12, and an RF transmitter 14. All communicate via the wired system bus 6. Sensor / expansion device 10 detects changes in the surrounding environment using devices well known in the art, such as passive infrared motion detectors, glass break detectors, magnetic reed switches, and the like. The RF receiver and transmitter communicate with one or more wireless devices 16 that monitor the environment as described above. The control panel is configured to monitor the status of the sensor device and indicate an alarm condition under certain conditions, call the central security office and / or sound a local siren to signal the alarm condition it can. All these devices and operations are well known in the security system art and need not be further described.

  FIGS. 1 and 2 also show a universal gateway module 20 (referred to herein as a gateway). This gateway 20 is connected as an interface between the control panel 4 and a peripheral control device 22 (referred to herein as a peripheral device) via the security system bus 6 and (if necessary) a dedicated connection 7. The That is, the system design provides one or more direct wired connections between the peripheral device and the control panel in addition to interfacing with the peripheral device and the system bus to communicate with the control panel and provided by the system bus Data transfer or control can be performed in a manner that is not possible. As already described, peripheral devices are devices such as telephones, PDAs, etc. that are not conventionally used for security system control but can provide security system control and status through the gateway of the present invention.

  An example of a peripheral device that can be adapted to control the security system and provide status to the user via the gateway is a telephone. The telephone is a keypad 26 for data entry, a dedicated security system function and a series of dedicated buttons 30 that can be configured for telephone functions (eg left / right arrows, redial buttons), and in most cases a display 28. It is suitable for user interface tasks. The display is typically used for caller ID functionality in modern telephones and can therefore be used to display security system status to the user when used in conjunction with the gateway 20. The phone further has a handset 24 with voice input / output capabilities and / or hands-free conversation speaker / microphone combination. Such audio devices are useful in conjunction with a security system, for example, to inform system status or to allow audio input for control.

  In addition, many telephones sold today are cordless and have keys, displays, and audio devices on the remote handset 24 so that users can use these cordless telephones to access the base station. Enables remote control of security systems in protected premises without tethering. Further, by interfacing the telephone with the security system via the gateway 20, remote operation can be executed. This is because the user can easily call his home phone from another phone (for example, on vacation) and easily interface with the security system via peripheral device 22 and gateway 20.

  The gateway 20 is shown in the block diagram of FIG. The gateway includes a microprocessor 30, an associated memory component 32, a security system interface circuit 34 for interfacing with the security system control panel (via system bus connection 6 and direct wired connection 7), and peripherals. It has an interface circuit 36 for interfacing with the device 22. The gateway takes data and signals from the system bus 6 and direct connection 7 and converts / converts them into a protocol / signal suitable for interfacing with the peripheral device 22 by a predetermined conversion method. Essentially function as. In one example, the gateway appears on the control panel 4 as a security system console with a keypad and display. If the control panel wishes to send data to the gateway, the control panel sends a suitable command over the bus 6 to the gateway 20. Similarly, when the user enters data and / or commands into the keypad 26 of the peripheral device 22, the entered data is converted by the gateway 20 into a system protocol understood by the control panel 4 and on the system bus 6. Sent by. The control panel interprets the data as coming from the keypad because the gateway / peripheral combination emulates a security system keypad to the control panel.

  In the case of the telephone peripheral device 22, the dedicated connection wired between the gateway 20 and the control panel 4 includes a standard telephone connection such as a tip and ring connection, as shown in FIG. Provided by connection 9 between 22 and gateway 20. The gateway operating with commands from the control panel can then control the operation of the telephone peripheral device 22 by sending the appropriate signal passed on the telephone peripheral device 22 to the gateway, as shown in the figure. .

  Power is supplied to the gateway by a dedicated “battery” circuit or an optional power source. Both are shown in FIG. The gateway can optionally provide backup power to the peripheral device 22 if the primary power is lost. The tamper detection circuit 33 can be used and can be directly connected to the control panel via the direct connection 7.

  As an example of the operation of the present invention, a user may wish to arm the security system via a telephone peripheral. A dedicated button on the phone panel is provided on the phone panel to switch the phone to security system interface mode so that subsequent key presses are directed to the gateway 20 without turning the dial and calling on the PSTN. can do. In a dedicated button alternative, the user's code, such as a unique number of sequences (eg, “# 45456 #”), can be entered, which is interpreted as a security system control code by the processor inside the phone. Subsequent data inputs are then directed to the gateway to control the control panel. For example, the user can press a key sequence to indicate that the system should be armed (this can also be done by pressing a dedicated button such as a redial button). In other alternative implementations, using a menu displayed (or pronounced) on a peripheral device, keys or buttons are used to search the menu and select a desired command, function, etc. To. In the case of a phone peripheral, the user can press a number key according to the desired menu selection or use an up / down arrow or the like. As an example of menu selection, a user can select a system status request from a menu (or press a key sequence). The status request transmitted by the telephone to the gateway in a simple predefined serial protocol is then converted by the gateway into a system protocol understood by the control panel. The control panel receives the system status request and responds to the system status message. This message is received by the gateway and then converted to a serial protocol understood by the peripheral telephone device. A status message is then displayed on the telephone display or pronounced via a telephone handset (including a cordless handset) or a speaker (eg, at the base unit).

  For example, assume that the control panel receives an alert message from one of the sensors and determines that an alarm condition exists. The gateway detects an alarm condition from the security system bus and transmits appropriate information to the telephone peripheral device using a predetermined protocol scheme between the gateway and the telephone peripheral device. The telephone peripheral device then displays and / or sounds the alarm condition accordingly on its display and / or speaker.

  By using the telephone as a peripheral device in conjunction with the gateway, access from a location away from the premises via the telephone network can be easily performed. Thus, the user dials his home phone number, and after a call is placed (ie, the call is recorded on the internal answering machine), the user presses a predetermined PIN to access the security system control function. Users who call remotely control the operation of the security system in the same way that they use the on-site peripheral phone device directly.

  The phone can also be used as a two-way audio device. For example, an alarm condition can be detected by the control panel, which sends an alarm report to a central office that monitors the service, as is well known in the art. Surveillance service companies are on the line and can hear what is happening on the premises. The available options are call / receive / speakerphone mode. The gateway instructs the phone when to enter the interactive session. This function clearly has the advantage of standard functions (receive / call / speaker phone) available on the phone. A telephone line connection to the central office is established by the control panel, as is well known in the art, and (when instructed) the surrounding telephone is online and two-way audio is heard for each DTMF command coming from the monitoring device. Note that it is established.

  By adapting to interface with the gateway module 20, other devices can be used as peripheral devices. By adapting the appropriate peripheral interface / driver 36, the gateway can be modified to communicate with any desired type of peripheral device. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a personal digital assistant (PDA) configured with a wireless communication device such as BLUETOOTH, IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), or other type of protocol is adapted to the present invention. be able to. When wireless communication is performed by a PDA, the gateway 20 is also configured with the same wireless standard. As shown in FIG. 5, the gateway is configured with an Ethernet (registered trademark) connector (RJ45) and an interface circuit, or is connected to the LAN through a hub or the like, so that a local area network (LAN) is provided. Can be part of. This allows any device on the LAN (desktop PC, laptop PC, tablet PC with touch screen display, PDA, etc.) to communicate with the control panel of the present invention. The LAN may be wired, wireless (such as the 802.11 device described above), or a combination thereof, as is well known in the art. Furthermore, the adaptability of BLUETOOTH is particularly advantageous because the cell phone can be equipped with BLUETOOTH at the choice of the manufacturing plant, thereby allowing easy compatibility with the gateway. Application software is available on the peripheral device and enables communication according to the present invention.

  Other applications and features that can be implemented with the gateway of the present invention are described below. Gateways are used to control external appliances, relays, lights, video sources, dialing devices, X-10, and other devices by leveraging security controls built into functions such as scheduling, privilege levels, etc. be able to. FIG. 6 shows a gateway connected to an X-10 device via an X-10 bus (which is just a premises power line, as is well known in the art).

  The gateway can also be used to interface with the caller ID to filter users / authorities and perform appropriate functions (call filtering). The gateway can interface with access control peripherals (eg, card readers) and various remote control / data collection devices (finger detection, touch screen) to appropriately control the security system.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the gateway interfaces with a wide area network such as the Internet to control the security system and retrieve data from the security system, including video output / streaming to the network (LAN or WAN). Can be taken.

  The gateway can interface with the voice device to inform the situation / event that occurs for the security control.

  The gateway can also interface with elderly care and other monitoring devices (so that the security control can dial the appropriate agency at the appropriate time / event).

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a security system including a universal gateway module according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an additional block diagram illustrating the present invention with a phone used as a peripheral device. It is a block diagram which shows a gateway module. FIG. 2 shows a gateway used with a wireless PDA. FIG. 2 illustrates a gateway used with a local area network. 1 is a diagram illustrating a gateway used with an X-10 network. FIG. It is a figure which shows the gateway used with wide area networks, such as the internet.

Claims (37)

A gateway module for interfacing with peripheral devices and security systems,
a. Security system interface means for interfacing the gateway module with the security system control panel;
b. Peripheral device interface means for interfacing the gateway module with the peripheral device;
c. Processing means for controlling the operation of the gateway module,
i. Sending and receiving security system data configured with a security system protocol suitable for communication with a security system control panel to and from the security system interface means;
ii. Peripheral device data configured with a peripheral device protocol suitable for communication with the peripheral device is transmitted to and received from the peripheral device interface means,
iii. Converting security system data received from the security interface means into peripheral device data suitable for transmission to the peripheral device interface means;
iv. Processing means adapted to convert peripheral device data received from said peripheral device interface means into security system data suitable for transmission to said security system device interface means; module.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein the security system interface means is adapted to interface the gateway module and a security system control panel via a security system data bus.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein the security system interface means is adapted to interface directly with the gateway module and a security system control panel via a direct wired connection.   The gateway module of claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means is configured to interface the gateway module with a telephone.   The gateway module of claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means is configured to interface the gateway module with a handheld computing device.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises a wireless communication module for enabling wireless communication with a peripheral device.   The gateway module of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication module is adapted to communicate according to an IEEE 802.11 standard.   The gateway module according to claim 6, wherein the wireless communication module is adapted to communicate according to the BLUETOOTH standard.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.   The gateway module of claim 1, wherein said peripheral device interface means comprises means for communicating according to an X-10 protocol.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means is adapted to control a lighting device connected to the peripheral device interface means.   The gateway module of claim 1, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises a local area network (LAN) adapter for communicating with a computing device connected to a LAN.   The gateway module according to claim 1, wherein said peripheral device interface means is adapted to interface with an external access control device. A. A control panel for controlling the operation of the security system;
B. A plurality of alarm sensors interconnected to the control panel;
C. A security system bus for interconnecting the control panel and the plurality of alarm sensors;
D. A security system controller comprising a gateway module interconnected to the control panel and a peripheral device interconnected to the gateway module, wherein the gateway module comprises:
a. Security system interface means for interfacing the gateway module with the control panel;
b. Peripheral device interface means for interfacing the gateway module with the peripheral device; and c. Processing means for controlling the operation of the gateway module,
i. Sending and receiving security system data configured with a security system protocol suitable for communication with the control panel to and from the security system interface means;
ii. Peripheral device data configured by a peripheral device protocol suitable for communication with the peripheral device is transmitted to and received from the peripheral device interface means,
iii. Converting security system data received from the security interface means into peripheral device data suitable for transmission to the peripheral device interface means;
iv. Security system control comprising processing means adapted to convert peripheral device data received from said peripheral device interface means into security system data suitable for transmission to said security system device interface means A security system comprising a device.   The security system of claim 14, wherein the security system interface means is adapted to interface the gateway module and the control panel via a security system bus.   15. The security system of claim 14, wherein the security system interface means is adapted to interface directly with the gateway module and the control panel via a direct wired connection.   15. The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device is a telephone and the peripheral device interface means is configured to interface the gateway module with the telephone.   15. The security of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device is a handheld computing device and the peripheral device interface means is configured to interface the gateway module and the handheld computing device. ·system.   15. The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device is a wireless device and the peripheral device interface means comprises a wireless communication module for enabling wireless communication with the wireless device.   The security system of claim 19, wherein the wireless communication module is adapted to communicate in accordance with an IEEE 802.11 standard.   The security system of claim 19, wherein the wireless communication module is adapted to communicate according to the BLUETOOTH standard.   The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector.   15. The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises means for communicating according to an X-10 protocol.   15. A security system according to claim 14, wherein the peripheral device interface means is adapted to control a lighting device connected to the peripheral device interface means.   15. The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device interface means comprises a local area network (LAN) adapter for communicating with a computing device connected to a LAN.   The security system of claim 14, wherein the peripheral device interface means is adapted to interface with an external access control device. A method for controlling a security system with peripheral devices, comprising:
a. Receiving a first set of peripheral device data from the peripheral device with a gateway module interconnected to the peripheral device;
b. Converting the first set of peripheral device data received from the peripheral device into a first set of security system data suitable for transmission to a security system control panel;
c. Communicating with the security system control panel,
i. Transmitting the first set of security system data to the security system control panel;
ii. Communicating with the gateway module by receiving a second set of security system data from the security system control panel;
d. Converting the second set of security system data received from the security system control panel into a second set of peripheral device data suitable for transmission to the peripheral device;
e. Transmitting the second set of peripheral device data to the peripheral device.   30. The method of claim 29, wherein the gateway module communicates with the security system control panel via a security system data bus.   30. The method of claim 29, wherein the gateway module communicates directly with the security system control panel via a direct wired connection.   30. The method of claim 29, wherein the peripheral device is a telephone.   30. The method of claim 29, wherein the peripheral device is a handheld computing device.   30. The method of claim 29, wherein the peripheral device is a wireless device.   35. The method of claim 34, wherein the wireless device is adapted to communicate according to an IEEE 802.11 standard.   35. The method of claim 34, wherein the wireless device is adapted to communicate according to a BLUETOOTH standard.   25. The method of claim 24, wherein the peripheral device communicates with the gateway module using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) protocol.   25. The method of claim 24, wherein the peripheral device communicates with the gateway module using an X-10 protocol. 25. The method of claim 24, wherein the peripheral device communicates with the gateway module using a local area network (LAN).

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