JP2009146233A - Alarm - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extend the life of a battery in an alarm adapted to continuously perform smoke detection even while outputting a voice alarm by suppressing increase in instantaneous power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: A signal processing part 16 operates a light emitting element 11 of a smoke detection part in a repetitive manner according to a predetermined cycle, while it operates, when a voice alarm is output from a voice alarm part 13, the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection part only in a resting period in which no voice alarm is output. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention comprises a light emitting element and a light receiving element, irradiates the smoke particles from the light emitting element, receives the scattered light from the light receiving element, photoelectrically converts it into a detection signal, determines the level of this detection signal, The present invention relates to an improvement of an alarm device that repeatedly outputs a sound alarm in a predetermined pattern when a predetermined threshold is exceeded.

  Recently, an alarm device such as a fire alarm device installed on a ceiling surface of a living room is commercially available that can operate continuously for a very long time using a dry battery as a drive source. Various techniques for reducing power consumption have been proposed for such alarm devices.

  For example, in Patent Literature 1, a fire is detected or a test is issued to a residential fire alarm device having a plurality of alarm means such as an alarm by sounding a buzzer or a voice message or an alarm by displaying an operation indicator. A timer for measuring a predetermined time is provided, and further, alarm means during the timer timing and the main mode of the alarm, and setting means for setting the alarm means after the timer timing and the main mode of the alarm are provided. , Set in advance to change the number of alarm means and the mode of alarm output so that the power consumption is smaller than during timer timing, or switch to alarm means that consumes less power than during timer timing and issue an alarm In this way, a configuration that is set in advance is disclosed, and when a fire (actual fire) is detected and reported, or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the test was performed, It is possible to change the number of alarm means and the mode of alarm output so that the power is saved, so the power consumption of the fire alarm is reduced until an event to stop the alarm output occurs A fire alarm can be given to extend battery life.

Further, Patent Document 2 discloses a fire alarm means driven by a battery, a voltage detector that detects the output voltage of the battery and outputs a voltage detection signal, and an alarm sound and display light emission based on the voltage detection signal. And a warning stop button operated to input a ringing stop to the CPU, and the CPU detects that the output voltage of the battery is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage based on the voltage detection information. When the alarm stop sound is input from the alarm stop button after the alarm sound and display light emission control is started, the alarm sound control is stopped and the display light emission is stopped. It is disclosed that the control is continued, and the battery exhaustion can be continuously confirmed by the display light emission even after the alarm sound is stopped, so that it is possible to prevent forgetting to replace the battery exhaustion.
JP 2006-277024 A JP 2004-185582 A

  By the way, a battery is used as a drive source, a light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided, and it is determined whether or not a fire is detected by smoke detection based on reflection of light emitted from the light emitting element by smoke particles. If the alarm device is configured to output repeatedly, in order to achieve self-recovery, etc., to stop the sound alarm when it is determined that the fire has stopped, smoke It is necessary to continue detection. However, if the output of the sound alarm and the operation of the light emitting element are performed at the same time, a phenomenon occurs in which the power consumption increases and the battery voltage greatly drops at that moment. If such a phenomenon is repeated, the battery life is shortened. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to suppress an instantaneous increase in power consumption in an alarm device in which smoke detection is continuously performed even when a sound alarm is output.

  For the above purpose, the alarm device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, emits light from the light emitting element to smoke particles, receives scattered light by the light receiving element, photoelectrically converts it, and outputs a detection signal. Smoke detecting unit, voice alarm unit storing voice message as voice alarm in advance, level of detection signal from smoke detecting unit is discriminated, and voice alarm from voice warning unit when a predetermined threshold is exceeded And a signal processing unit that repeatedly outputs the signal in a predetermined pattern, using a battery as a driving source, the signal processing unit repeatedly operates the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit according to a predetermined period, When outputting a sound alarm, the light emitting element of the smoke detector is operated only during a pause period during which a sound alarm is not output.

  Here, the signal processing unit may operate the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit at an inverted phase having the same cycle as the voice alarm. Further, the signal processing unit repeatedly activates the light emitting element of the smoke detecting unit at a predetermined cycle, but prohibits the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detecting unit during a period in which the sound alarm is output positively. It may be.

  The alarm device according to the second invention includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, emits light to the smoke particles from the light emitting element, receives the scattered light by the light receiving element, and performs photoelectric conversion to output a detection signal. A detection unit, a voice alarm unit that stores a voice message to be a voice alarm in advance, and a level of a detection signal from the smoke detection unit are determined. When a predetermined threshold is exceeded, a voice alarm is given from the voice alarm unit. A signal processing unit that repeatedly outputs in a pattern of the above, using a battery as a drive source, and the signal processing unit repeatedly operates the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit according to a predetermined period, while outputting from the voice alarm unit When the voice alarm overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detector, the output volume of the voice alarm is reduced or muted.

  In each of the above configurations, the signal processing unit determines the level of the detection signal by operating the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit even after outputting the audio alarm from the audio alarm unit, and detects the detection signal. When the level falls below a predetermined threshold value, the voice alarm from the voice alarm unit may be stopped and automatically restored.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, since the output of the voice alarm and the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit do not occur simultaneously, the battery voltage does not drop greatly. That is, since an increase in instantaneous power consumption can be suppressed, the battery life is extended. In addition, malfunction due to fluctuations in the power supply voltage can be prevented.

  Further, according to the second invention, when the sound alarm output from the sound alarm unit overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit, the sound volume of the sound alarm is reduced or muted. An instantaneous increase in power consumption can be suppressed, and battery life is extended.

  Even after the sound alarm is output, the level of the detection signal is determined by operating the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit, and when the level of the detection signal falls below a predetermined threshold, a sound alarm from the sound alarm unit is issued. In the configuration of stopping, since the voice alarm is not continuously output for a longer time than necessary, the battery life is extended. Even in a state where a sound alarm is output, the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detector is not hindered, so that the recovery when the smoke concentration is reduced is accelerated.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an alarm device according to the present invention.
This alarm device 1 includes a light emitting element 11 composed of an infrared light emitting diode or the like, and a light receiving element 12 composed of an infrared photodiode or the like, which irradiates light from the light emitting element 11 and emits scattered light caused by smoke particles. A smoke detection unit that receives light by the light receiving element 12 and photoelectrically converts it and outputs a detection signal, a voice alarm unit 13 that includes a voice IC, an amplification amplifier, and the like and stores a voice message that is a voice alarm in advance, a wireless chip microcomputer The signal processing unit 16 is configured to discriminate the level of the detection signal from the smoke detection unit and repeatedly output a sound alarm in a predetermined pattern from the speaker 14 connected to the sound alarm unit 13 when a predetermined threshold is exceeded. And an operation unit 17 composed of push buttons or the like, and a battery 15 such as a dry battery is used as a drive source.

  The alarm device 1 monitors the smoke level by the smoke detection unit, and if a fire is judged, the alarm device 1 starts to output a sound alarm. When the operation unit 13 is operated to stop the alarm, the output is stopped, but the fire disappears. It is desired to have a self-recovery function that stops the voice alarm after a predetermined time has elapsed. This is realized by continuously operating the smoke detection unit and monitoring the smoke level while outputting an audio alarm. However, if the light emitting element 11 is operated during the period when the audio alarm is output, the load on the battery 15 increases, and not only the output voltage temporarily decreases, but also the life of the battery 15 is shortened. The problem of end up occurs. The present invention addresses such a problem by adopting the following configuration.

  That is, according to the present invention, the signal processing unit 16 repeatedly activates the light emitting element 12 of the smoke detecting unit according to a predetermined period, while outputting the sound alarm from the sound alarm unit 13, the light emitting element of the smoke detecting unit. 11 is operated only during a pause period during which no voice alarm is output, thereby preventing the occurrence of the above problem.

  More specifically, the signal processing unit 16 can be configured to operate the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit with an inverted phase having the same cycle as the voice alarm. The voice alarm is composed of a combination of beep sound, sweep sound, human voice, etc., such as “Peep, Peep, Fire. Fire”, and the series of sound alarms are repeatedly output at a cycle of, for example, 10 seconds. The Therefore, if the light emitting element 11 is operated during a period between voice alarms, that is, a period of a phase whose cycle is reversed, the output timing of the voice alarm and the operation timing of the light emitting element 11 never overlap. Here, the light emitting element 11 emits light, for example, for about 1 second by one operation. In addition, although the relationship between the timing which outputs an audio | voice warning and the timing which operates the light emitting element 11 may be preset before outputting an audio | voice alarm, when it will be in the state which outputs an audio | voice alarm ( When it is determined that a fire has occurred, the timing for outputting a sound alarm may be determined so as to satisfy such a relationship.

  FIG. 2 is a timing chart for explaining an example in which the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit is operated with the inverted phase of the same period as the voice alarm. The time change of the battery voltage, the output timing of the voice alarm, and the light emitting element 11 The operation timing is shown. In this example, the period T (for example, 10 seconds) of the voice alarm and the period T for operating the light emitting element 11 coincide with each other, but the timings of both do not overlap at all.

  In addition, the signal processing unit 16 repeatedly operates the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit at a predetermined cycle. However, if the sound alarm is being output, the signal processing unit 16 prohibits the operation of the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit. Good. That is, if the period for outputting the voice alarm is, for example, 10 seconds and the period for operating the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit is 5 seconds or 15 seconds, the output timing of the voice alarm and the operation timing of the light emitting element 11 May overlap, in which case the operation of the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detector is prohibited.

  FIG. 3 is a timing chart for explaining an example in which the operation of the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit is prohibited when the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit is repeatedly operated at a predetermined cycle, but the sound alarm is being output. The time change of a battery voltage, the output timing of a voice alarm, and the operation timing of the light emitting element 11 are shown. In this example, since the period for outputting the voice alarm is T (for example, 10 seconds) and the period for operating the light emitting element 11 is T / 2, the operation timing of the light emitting element is the voice alarm at a rate of once every two times. In this case, the operation of the light emitting element 11 is prohibited.

In the above-described embodiment, when a sound alarm is output from the sound alarm unit 13, the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit is operated only during a pause period during which the sound alarm is not output.
However, the alarm device 1 is configured to include an audio alarm unit 13 that outputs an audio alarm at a desired volume, and the signal processing unit 13 repeatedly activates the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit according to a predetermined period, while When the audio alarm output from the alarm unit 13 overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit, the output volume of the audio alarm may be reduced or muted. In this case as well, by suppressing a significant drop in battery voltage as in the above embodiment, an instantaneous increase in power consumption can be suppressed and the battery life can be extended.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart for explaining an example of lowering (muting) the output volume of the sound alarm when the sound alarm overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element 11 of the smoke detection unit. The alarm output timing and the operation timing of the light emitting element 11 are shown. In this example, since the period for outputting the voice alarm is T (for example, 10 seconds) and the period for operating the light emitting element 11 is T / 2, the operation timing of the light emitting element is the voice alarm at a rate of once every two times. In this case, the decrease in the battery voltage is reduced by lowering the output volume of the voice alarm.

It is a block diagram explaining schematic structure of the alarm device by this invention. It is a timing chart explaining the example which operates the light emitting element of a smoke detection part by the phase which reversed the same period as an audio | voice alarm. It is a timing chart explaining the example which prohibits the action | operation of the light emitting element of a smoke detection part, if the light emitting element of a smoke detection part is repeatedly act | operated with a predetermined | prescribed period, but the sound alarm is being output. 6 is a timing chart for explaining an example in which the output volume of the audio alarm is reduced (muted) when the audio alarm overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detector.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Light emitting element 12 Light receiving element 13 Voice alarm part 15 Battery 16 Signal processing part

Claims (5)

Smoke detector equipped with light emitting element and light receiving element, which emits light to smoke particles from light emitting element, receives scattered light by light receiving element, photoelectrically converts and outputs detection signal, and voice message for voice alarm is stored in advance And a signal processing unit for determining a level of a detection signal from the smoke detection unit and repeatedly outputting a voice alarm in a predetermined pattern from the voice alarm unit when a predetermined threshold is exceeded, In an alarm device using a battery as a drive source,
The signal processing unit repeatedly activates the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit according to a predetermined period, while the sound alarm of the smoke detection unit does not output a sound alarm when outputting a sound alarm from the sound alarm unit. An alarm that is activated only during idle periods. In claim 1,
The said signal processing part is an alarm device which makes it operate | move the light emitting element of the said smoke detection part with the reverse phase of the same period as the said audio | voice warning. In claim 1,
The signal processing unit repeatedly operates the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit at a predetermined cycle, and the alarm device is configured to prohibit the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit during the output period of the sound alarm. . A smoke detector that includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, irradiates smoke particles from the light emitting element, receives scattered light by the light receiving element, performs photoelectric conversion, and outputs a detection signal; A stored voice alarm unit; and a signal processing unit that determines a level of a detection signal from the smoke detection unit and repeatedly outputs a voice alarm in a predetermined pattern from the voice alarm unit when a predetermined threshold is exceeded. In an alarm device using a battery as a drive source,
The signal processing unit repeatedly activates the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit according to a predetermined cycle, while the sound alarm output from the sound alarm unit overlaps with the operation of the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit, An alarm device that reduces or mute the output volume of audio alarms. In any one of Claims 1-4,
The signal processing unit determines the level of the detection signal by operating the light emitting element of the smoke detection unit even after outputting the audio alarm from the audio alarm unit, and the level of the detection signal is greater than a predetermined threshold value. The alarm device that stops the sound alarm from the sound alarm unit and automatically restores it when the voltage drops.

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