JP2010055626A - Fire alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fire alarm system capable of suppressing battery consumption. <P>SOLUTION: In a normal operation mode, a radio signal, in which a master station ID of a master station TR1 is specified as a header HD, and also, each count value stored in each memory 1a of the master station TR1 and sub-station TR2, etc. is specified as a count value RC, and each assigned device number is specified as a transmission source address SA and a transmission destination address DA, is transmitted and received. Accordingly, as compared to a case of specifying the transmission source and transmission destination addresses, using only a proper identification code pre-assigned to each fire alarm unit TR, one frame length becomes relatively short by using the device number having a sufficiently smaller information amount than the identification code. As a result, a radio signal transmission time is shortened, enabling the suppression of battery consumption. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fire alarm system in which a plurality of fire alarm devices transmit and receive radio signals using radio waves as a medium.

  For radio stations used in Japan, the characteristics of radio waves used (RF characteristics) such as occupied frequency bandwidth and adjacent channel leakage power must satisfy the provisions of the Radio Law. In the Radio Law, different standards (communication standards) are defined for each purpose of use. For example, “low-power radio stations” defined as one of the radio stations that do not require a license in the proviso to Article 4 of the Radio Law include “wireless stations for cordless telephones”, “specified low-power radio stations”, “ There are “security system”, “low-power data communication system radio station”, etc., and the standards for the radio equipment of each radio station are stipulated by the equipment regulations of the law.

  On the other hand, since the obligation to install fire alarms in houses was legislated to reduce the number of victims of house fires, multiple fire alarms were linked using wireless signals from the viewpoint of workability in existing houses. A fire alarm system is desired. Such a fire alarm system has a function in which a plurality of fire alarms (radio stations) installed at multiple locations sense the fire and sound an alarm sound, and any one of the fire alarms When a fire is detected, the relevant fire alarm sounds an alarm sound and transmits information (fire detection information) notifying the fire detection to other fire alarms by radio signal, so that not only the fire source fire alarm A plurality of fire alarms can be interlocked to sound an alarm sound all at once, thereby quickly and reliably informing the occurrence of a fire. Such a fire alarm is driven by a battery as a power source in order to take advantage of the characteristic of transmitting fire detection information by radio signal, and is usually in a place where maintenance (battery replacement) is difficult such as indoor ceilings. Since it is installed, it is desirable that it can be used without maintenance for a long period of time such as several years.

  Here, in the fire alarm system as described above, when a fire is detected, a wireless signal is transmitted between a plurality of fire alarms. At that time, each fire alarm is arbitrarily (asynchronously). ) When wireless signals are transmitted, the wireless signals collide. In order to avoid such a collision, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a fire alarm system in which a plurality of fire alarm devices transmit radio signals by a TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) method. In the conventional example described in Patent Document 1, since each fire alarm device stores and transmits a radio signal in a time slot assigned to itself, the above-described collision can be avoided.

JP 2006-343983 A

  By the way, in order for fire alarms to transmit and receive radio signals to each other, it is necessary to specify the address of the transmission source and the transmission destination, and in general, a unique ( A unique identification code is often used for the address. However, since this type of identification code needs to have a relatively long bit length (for example, 48 bits) in order to satisfy the condition that it is unique, the identification of the fire alarm as the source and destination addresses, respectively. When a code is designated, a bit length of 48 + 48 = 96 bits is necessary even with only the address. As a result, the transmission time of the radio signal becomes relatively long, so that the battery is consumed earlier.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said situation, The objective is to provide the fire alarm system which can suppress consumption of a battery.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a fire alarm system comprising a plurality of fire alarms and transmitting a radio signal using radio waves as a medium between the plurality of fire alarms, When a fire alarm is detected by a fire detection means, a fire detection means for detecting a fire, a warning means for informing a fire alarm, a transmission means for transmitting a radio signal, a reception means for receiving a radio signal, and a fire detection means Causes the alarm means to notify the fire alarm and causes the other fire alarm to transmit a radio signal including a fire alarm message for notifying the fire alarm from the transmitting means, and is transmitted from the other fire alarm by the receiving means. Control means for notifying the alarm means when the radio alarm signal is received and the fire alarm message is received, the battery for power supply, and the respective fire alarms are assigned in advance. A storage means for storing a unique identification code and an operation input reception means for receiving an operation input, and when a radio signal including a fire alarm message is transmitted from any fire alarm device, the radio signal The control means of the specific fire alarm device that has received the signal causes the wireless signal including the fire alarm message to be transmitted from the transmission means to all other fire alarm devices, and the control means of the specific fire alarm device performs registration When the operation input for switching to the registration mode is accepted by the operation input accepting means, the operation mode is shifted to the registration mode, and when the operation input for transmitting the registration message is accepted by the operation input accepting means, the other fire alarm control means The transmission means transmits a radio signal including a registration message with its own identification code as the transmission source address, and the control means for the specific fire alarm is assigned to itself. When a registered message is received in the registration mode, a unique device number is assigned to the identification code of the other fire alarm specified in the transmission source address, and the other fire alarm is stored. A radio signal including a unique device number assigned to the other fire alarm device, with the identification code of the device and the device number stored in association with each other and the identification code of the other fire alarm device as the transmission destination address The correspondence between the unique equipment number assigned to all other fire alarms and the identification codes of the other fire alarms is stored, and the control means of each fire alarm A transmission source and a transmission destination of a wireless signal are determined by a combination of an identification code of an alarm device and a device number.

  According to the invention of claim 1, since the control means of each fire alarm device determines the transmission source and the transmission destination of the radio signal by the combination of the identification code of the specific fire alarm device and the device number, each fire alarm device Compared with the case where the source and destination addresses are specified using only a pre-assigned unique identification code, wireless communication is performed by using a device number that may have a sufficiently smaller amount of information than the identification code. Signal transmission time is shortened. As a result, battery consumption can be suppressed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the control means of the specific fire alarm device is configured such that all other fire alarms are received when an operation input for instructing deletion of stored contents is received by the operation input receiving means. All the unique device numbers assigned to the alarm and the identification codes of the other fire alarms are deleted, and all other fire alarm control means accept the operation input to instruct the deletion of the stored contents. The specific device number assigned by the specific fire alarm device and the identification code of the specific fire alarm device are deleted when accepted by the means, and the control device of the specific fire alarm device erases the stored contents each time. It has a counter for updating the count value, all other fire alarm control means store the count value notified at the same time as the device number assignment, and each fire alarm control means has a specific fire Alarm With another code and the device numbers by a combination of the count value, characterized in that to determine the source and destination of the radio signal.

  According to the invention of claim 2, if the count value of the counter possessed by the control means of the specific fire alarm device does not match the count value stored in the control means of the other fire alarm device, the other fire alarm Since the control means of the alarm device cannot receive the fire alarm message by receiving the radio signal, it is possible to avoid a problem when the same device number is assigned to a plurality of fire alarm devices.

  The invention of claim 3 is that in the invention of claim 1 or 2, the control means of the specific fire alarm is that the device number is assigned to the radio signal for assigning the device number to another fire alarm. In other fire alarm control means, including the information shown, the address of the transmission destination of the radio signal received by the reception means matches the identification code stored in the storage means, and the information is included in the radio signal. Only when the device number is included, the device number included in the wireless signal and the identification code of the specific fire alarm which is the address of the transmission source of the wireless signal are stored.

  According to the invention of claim 3, when a radio signal transmitted from another fire alarm system is received, a device number is erroneously assigned to a fire alarm device of another fire alarm system that is a transmission source of the radio signal. Can be prevented.

  According to the present invention, battery consumption can be suppressed.

It is a block diagram of a fire alarm device (master station and slave station) in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a frame format of the radio signal in the same as above. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which changes to a fire interlocking state from a standby state same as the above. It is a time chart for demonstrating the operation | movement which changes to the interlocking stop state from the interlocking ringing state same as the above. It is a time chart for demonstrating the operation | movement which changes to the interlocking stop state from the interlocking ringing state same as the above. It is a time chart for demonstrating the operation | movement which changes to a standby state from a fire interlocking state same as the above. It is a time chart for demonstrating the operation | movement in a fire interlocking state same as the above. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the master station in a fire interlocking state same as the above. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the registration mode and deletion mode same as the above.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of this embodiment, and a fire alarm system is configured by a plurality of (only two in the drawing) fire alarm devices TR. In the following description, when the fire alarm devices TR are individually shown, they are expressed as fire alarm devices TR1, TR2,..., TRn, and when collectively shown, they are expressed as fire alarm devices TR.

  The fire alarm TR transmits a radio signal using radio waves as a medium from the antenna 3 and receives a radio signal transmitted from another fire alarm TR by the antenna 3, and a sound (buzzer sound or voice message). Etc.) Fire alarm (mainly called alarm unit 5 that alerts (sounds from the speaker)) and microcomputer and rewritable non-volatile memory (for example, EEPROM) When the unit 4 senses a fire, the alarm unit 5 is caused to sound an alarm sound and the radio transceiver unit 2 transmits a radio signal including a fire alarm message for notifying other fire alarms TR of the fire alarm. As will be described later, the control unit 1, an operation input receiving unit 6 that receives an operation input for stopping ringing of an alarm sound, and a battery such as a dry battery as a power source. And comprising a battery power supply unit 7 supplies. The operation input receiving unit 6 has a plurality of switches (for example, push button switches). When the switch is operated, an operation input corresponding to each switch is received and an operation signal corresponding to the operation input is received from the control unit 1. Output to. Each fire alarm device TR1, TR2,... Is assigned a unique identification code at the manufacturing stage and stored in a storage means (ROM not shown).

  The radio transmission / reception unit 2 transmits / receives a radio signal using radio waves as a medium in accordance with “radio station of low power security system” defined in Article 6, Paragraph 4, Item 3 of the Radio Law Enforcement Regulations. In addition, the fire detection unit 4 detects fire by detecting smoke, heat, flames, and the like generated with the fire, for example. However, detailed configurations of the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and the fire detection unit 4 are well known in the art and will not be described in detail.

  The control unit 1 realizes various functions to be described later by executing a program stored in the memory with a microcomputer. When the fire detection unit 4 detects the occurrence of a fire, the control unit 1 drives a buzzer included in the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound, or an alarm voice message (stored in a memory or the like in advance) ( For example, in order to notify the fire alarm by causing the speaker to sound “fire”, etc., and to notify the fire alarm also in other fire alarm devices TR, a wireless signal including a fire alarm message is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2. Send it. Also, when the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 receives a wireless signal transmitted from another fire alarm device TR, the control unit 1 controls the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound. That is, in the control unit 1, when the fire detection unit 4 detects a fire, the alarm unit 5 sounds an alarm sound to notify the fire alarm, and the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 transmits a radio signal including the fire alarm message. Have.

  Here, in the radio equipment regulation Article 49-17 “Radio equipment of radio stations of the low power security system” of the Radio Law Enforcement Regulation, the period during which radio signals may be continuously transmitted (transmission period) is 3 seconds or less. It is stipulated that the period (pause period) provided between the transmission period and the transmission period in which the radio signal should not be transmitted is 2 seconds or more (see No. 5 of the same article). For this reason, in the control unit 1 in the present embodiment, the wireless signal is transmitted during the transmission period that complies with the wireless facility rules, and the transmission is stopped and received during the suspension period.

  Further, in order to extend the battery life of the battery power supply unit 7 as much as possible, the control unit 1 repeatedly counts a predetermined intermittent reception interval (however, the intermittent reception interval is longer than the transmission period) with a timer built in the microcomputer. In addition, every time the intermittent reception interval is counted, the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 is activated to check whether a desired radio wave (radio signal transmitted by another fire alarm device TR) can be received, and the radio wave is captured. If not, the average power consumption is greatly reduced by immediately stopping the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and shifting to the standby state. The radio wave reception check is performed based on the received signal strength indication signal (Receiving Signal Strength Indication: RSSI signal) output from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 and is a DC voltage signal proportional to the magnitude of the received signal strength. The details are well known in the art and will be omitted.

  Further, the control unit 1 of a specific fire alarm device TR1 (hereinafter referred to as a master station) activates the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 periodically (for example, every 25 hours) to provide other fire alarm devices TR2, TR3,. A radio signal including a periodic monitoring message is transmitted in order to confirm (periodic monitoring) whether or not (hereinafter referred to as a slave station) is operating normally. In the slave stations TR2,..., The control unit 1 monitors whether or not the fire detection unit 4 has failed and whether or not the battery power supply unit 7 has run out of battery at regular intervals (for example, every hour), and the monitoring result ( The presence or absence of a failure and the presence or absence of a battery) in a memory, and when a periodic monitoring message is received from the master station TR1, a radio signal including a notification message for notifying the monitoring result stored in the memory Reply to the master station TR1. After transmitting the radio signal including the notification message, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 switches the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to the reception state, receives the radio signal transmitted from each of the slave stations TR2,. There is a slave station TR2,... That does not transmit a radio signal including a notification message within a predetermined time after transmission of the included radio signal, or a notification message transmitted from any of the slave stations TR2,. When notifying the result of monitoring that the battery has run out, the slave station TR2,. ) Has also been reported. When the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,... Determines that a failure or a battery has run out, a warning sound for immediately informing the occurrence of an abnormality (failure or battery runout) from the alarm unit 5. (Buzzer sound, voice message, etc.) are sounded from the speaker of the alarm unit 5.

  Further, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 detects the fire and causes the alarm unit 5 to sound an alarm sound and transmits a fire alarm message to each of the slave stations TR2,..., Or any of the slave stations TR2. After receiving the fire alarm message from..., The wireless transmission unit 2 is caused to transmit a synchronization signal at a constant period. This synchronization signal is a signal that defines a time slot necessary for performing TDMA (time division multiple access) wireless communication between a plurality of fire alarms TR, and one cycle is a plurality of times. Each of the slave stations TR2,... Is assigned one time slot different from each other. Then, a message from the master station TR1 to the slave stations TR2,... Is transmitted in a synchronization signal, and a radio signal including a message from the slave station TR2,... To the master station TR1 is assigned to each slave station TR2,. Stored in the current time slot and transmitted. Therefore, it is possible to reliably avoid collision of radio signals transmitted from a plurality of fire alarm devices TR (the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,...). Note that time slots are assigned to each fire alarm device TR at the time of registration of slave stations TR2,...

  FIG. 2 shows a frame format of a radio signal transmitted and received by the fire alarm device TR. One frame is composed of a synchronization bit (preamble: PA), a frame synchronization pattern (unique word: UW), a header HD, data Data, and a CRC code. It is configured. The header HD includes an identification code of the master station TR1 (hereinafter referred to as “master station ID”), a count value RC of a registration counter, which will be described later, a source address SA, and a destination address DA.

  Here, if a device number (to be described later) assigned to each fire alarm device TR is designated as the destination address DA, only the fire alarm device TR of that device number receives the radio signal and acquires data (message). However, by setting a special bit string (for example, a bit string with all bits set to 1) different from any device number as the destination address DA, all the fire alarms are broadcast (multicast). The message can be acquired by the TR. For example, a radio signal including a fire alarm message is broadcast from the master station TR1 to all the slave stations TR2,. The control unit 1 transmits the radio signal for one frame from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 continuously in a number that can be transmitted within one transmission period when the radio signal is transmitted asynchronously. When transmitting and receiving data in the TDMA system, it is not necessary to store a plurality of frames of radio signals in one time slot.

  Next, referring to the time chart of FIG. 3, the transmission / reception operation of the present embodiment when shifting to the TDMA wireless communication will be described.

  For example, when the fire detection unit 4 detects a fire in the slave station TR2, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 sounds an alarm sound from the alarm unit 5 and activates the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 to transmit a radio signal including a fire alarm message. It transmits to all other fire alarm devices TR (master station TR1 and other slave stations TR3,...). At this time, the control unit 1 of the transmission source slave station TR2 continuously transmits the radio signal by the number of frames that can be transmitted within the transmission period, and the radio transmission / reception unit 2 during the pause period (reception period) after the transmission period. To the receiving state. Note that each fire alarm device TR is intermittently received asynchronously. However, if the transmission period is repeated a certain number of times (for example, three times), a radio signal including a fire alarm message can be received.

  Here, if the low-power radio is used, the wireless communication distance can be sufficiently covered as long as it is within an area of a normal house. Therefore, the fire source child station TR2 can connect other fire alarm devices TR (master station TR1 and master station TR1). It is usually possible to send a message to other slave stations TR3,. However, as described above, the master station TR1 periodically monitors the slave stations TR2 to TR5, and the normality of the communication path is confirmed between the master station TR1 and each of the slave stations TR3 to TR5. However, since the communication path between the slave stations TR2 to TR5 is not confirmed, there is a possibility that a message does not reach a certain slave station due to the influence of an obstacle, for example.

  Therefore, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 that has received the fire alarm message continuously transmits a radio signal including the fire alarm message to the other slave stations TR3 to TR5 other than the source slave station TR2 a plurality of times. . When the control unit 1 of the other slave stations TR3 to TR5 receives a fire alarm message transmitted from the slave station TR2 or the master station TR1, it immediately sounds an alarm sound from the alarm unit 5 and sends a fire alarm message from the radio transceiver unit 2. A response message (ACK) for confirming reception is returned by a radio signal. In addition, when all of the fire alarms TR notify the fire alarm (sounds an alarm sound) when a fire is detected by at least one fire alarm TR in this manner, hereinafter, it is referred to as “fire interlocking”. .

  When receiving the ACK from all the other slave stations TR3 to TR5, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 causes the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to transmit a synchronization signal for defining a time slot at a constant period. In the present embodiment, the first time slot TS1 is the slave station TR2, the second time slot TS2 is the slave station TR3, the third time slot TS3 is the slave station TR4, and the fourth time slot TS4 is the slave station. Each is assigned to TR5.

  Here, the master station TR1 periodically monitors each of the slave stations TR2 to TR5, and the normality of the communication path is confirmed between the master station TR1 and each of the slave stations TR3 to TR5. The communication path between the stations TR2 to TR5 has not been confirmed. Therefore, when a large number of slave stations TR2,... Are arranged, the number of communication paths between the slave stations TR2,. Since the exhaustion becomes intense, as described above, the specific fire alarm device TR1 is set as the master station, and the other fire alarm devices TR2,. By notifying a message (to be described later), even if there are slave stations that cannot establish a communication path with each other, it is possible to reliably link the fire.

  Further, when the interlocking is started by sounding an alarm sound from all the fire alarm devices TR, a synchronization signal is transmitted from the master station TR1 at a constant cycle as described above, and the operation shifts to TDMA communication. The control unit 1 of the master station TR1 repeatedly transmits a fire warning message to all the slave stations TR2,. Then, the control unit 1 of each slave station TR2,... Checks the state of the alarm unit 5 every time it receives a fire alarm message transmitted from the master station TR1, and if the alarm unit 5 is stopped, the alarm unit 5 Sound the alarm again. Therefore, after the fire alarm is started to be notified by all the fire alarms TR, all the other fire alarms (children) are set in a plurality of time slots defined by the synchronization signal transmitted by the specific fire alarm (master station) TR1. Stations) TR2,... Can be assigned to perform wireless communication by time division multiple access (TDMA) to avoid collisions. Furthermore, all other fire alarms from a specific fire alarm (master station) TR1 The fire alarm can be reliably notified to the slave stations TR2,. As a result, a plurality of fire alarms TR can be effectively interlocked while avoiding collision of radio signals.

  By the way, the periodic monitoring is performed almost once a day. Even if the communication path is normal in the regular monitoring described above, the cause (from generation of a new noise source or sudden failure) Etc.), a communication path between any of the slave stations TR3 to TR5 and the master station TR1 may not be established. Therefore, when the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 does not receive an ACK from any of the slave stations TR3 to TR5 (for example, TR5), the radio signal including the fire alarm message is transmitted again from the radio transceiver unit 2, and the slave station TR5 When the ACK is received from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2, the synchronization signal is transmitted to the wireless transmission / reception unit 2. However, if the ACK cannot be received from the slave station TR5 even if the fire alarm message is transmitted a predetermined number of times, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 stops the retransmission of the fire alarm message and sends it to the radio transceiver unit 2. Send a sync signal. In addition, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 transmits a radio signal including the above-described fire alarm message to a slave station that has not been able to establish a communication path in the regular monitoring or has received a notification message that the battery has run out in the regular monitoring. The synchronization signal may be transmitted regardless of whether retransmission is not performed, the number of retransmissions is reduced, or whether a response message is received from the slave station. However, for the slave station that has notified only the monitoring result with failure by the notification message in the periodic monitoring, it is possible that the alarm unit 5 can sound an alarm sound in response to the fire alarm message. It is desirable that the control unit 1 of the station TR1 retransmits a radio signal including a fire alarm message.

  By the way, the fire alarm system of this embodiment is in a state where no fire is detected in any of the fire alarms TR (standby state), and in a state where all the fire alarms TR are sounding an alarm sound (linked sounding) State), as described later, only the fire alarm TR that detects the fire (fire source) sounds the alarm sound, and the fire alarm TR other than the fire source stops the alarm sound (interlocked) The operation state is transited between (stop state). That is, when a fire is detected by at least one of the fire alarm devices TR in the standby state, as described above, the fire alarm is sent from the fire slave station TR2 and the master station TR1 to all the other slave stations TR3,. When the message is transmitted, an alarm sound is generated in all the fire alarm devices TR including the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,.

  When an operation input for stopping the alarm sound is received by the operation input receiving unit 6 of any fire alarm device TR in the interlocking sounding state, if the fire alarm device TR is the master station TR1, The station TR1 transmits a message (alarm stop message) requesting the stop of the alarm sound to all the slave stations TR2,... Or if the fire alarm device TR is the slave station TR2,. When the master station TR1 receives the alarm stop message from the stations TR2,... And transmits the alarm stop message to the other slave stations TR2,. Transition to the stop state. However, when an operation input for stopping the alarm sound is received by the operation input receiving unit 6 of the fire source fire alarm device TR, the alarm sound is also stopped in the fire alarm device TR of the fire source. Here, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 keeps the fire detection status of the master station TR1 and each slave station TR2,... Updated as needed in a memory (not shown), and all the fire alarms TR as will be described later. When a fire is no longer detected in, transition from the fire-linked state to the standby state.

  When the interlocking ringing state is changed to the interlocking stop state, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 starts a time limit for a predetermined alarm sound stop time (for example, 5 minutes). Then, after the alarm sound stop time has elapsed, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 refers to the fire detection status held in the memory, and if all the fire alarms TR have not detected fire, When a recovery notification message is sent, a transition is made from a fire-linked state to a standby state, and if a fire is detected by at least one fire alarm TR, the fire is stopped by sending a fire alarm message using a synchronization signal. Transition from state to linked ringing state. Even when any fire alarm device TR newly detects a fire in the interlock stop state, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 transmits a fire alarm message by a synchronization signal to change from the interlock stop state to the interlock ringing state. Transition.

  For example, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, in a fire-linked state (linked ringing state) in which the master station TR1 is a fire source, an operation input for stopping an alarm sound is received by the operation input reception unit 6 of the slave station TR4 that is not a fire source. When the alarm stop message is transmitted from the slave station TR4 by being accepted, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 that has received the alarm stop message transmits the alarm stop message M2 by the synchronization signal and sets the time limit of the alarm sound stop time. Do. However, in the master station TR1 that is the source of fire, the alarm unit 5 continues to sound an alarm sound. After the alarm sound stop time has elapsed, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 confirms the fire detection status of its own fire detection unit 4 and the fire detection status of the slave stations TR2,..., And at least one of the fires is detected. When the alarm device TR detects a fire, the fire alarm message is transmitted again to each of the slave stations TR2,.

  On the other hand, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 5, if the fire is extinguished within the warning sound stop time and the fire detection unit 4 stops detecting the fire, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 After a lapse of time, a recovery notification message is transmitted to each slave station TR2,... By a synchronization signal, and when an ACK returned from all the slave stations TR2,. Is stopped from wireless communication using the TDMA method (hereinafter referred to as “synchronous communication”) to wireless communication using intermittent transmission and reception (hereinafter referred to as “asynchronous communication”).

  Further, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 6, if the fire at the fire station extinguishes and the fire detection unit 4 of the slave station TR 4 does not detect the fire in the interlocking ringing state with the slave station TR 4 as the fire source, A recovery notification message is transmitted from the station TR4 to the parent station TR1. The control unit 1 of the master station TR1 that has received the recovery notification message refers to the fire detection status held in the memory, and if no fire is detected by all the fire alarms TR, the recovery notification message M3 is sent by a synchronization signal. It transmits to each slave station TR2,. When the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 receives ACKs returned from all the slave stations TR2,..., Transitions from the interlock stop state to the standby state, and stops the transmission of the synchronization signal, thereby stopping the asynchronous communication from the synchronous communication. Return to.

  On the other hand, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 7, when a fire is newly detected by another fire alarm device (for example, the slave station TR3), a recovery notification message is received from the slave station TR4 that is the first fire source. The control unit 1 of the master station TR1 refers to the fire detection status held in the memory, and since the slave station TR3 is detecting a fire, it does not send a recovery notification message and continues to send a fire alarm message. Maintain a fire-linked condition.

  Here, the processing performed by the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 in the fire-linked state is briefly summarized with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When a fire alarm message is received from any of the slave stations TR2,... In the standby state (step S1), the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 updates the fire detection status held for each slave station TR2,. (Change from non-detection to fire detection) (step S2) On the other hand, if a recovery notification message is received from the fire slave station TR2,... (Step S3), the fire detection status of the slave station TR2,. Update to fire non-detection (step S4). When a recovery notification message is not received from any of the slave stations TR2,... In the fire interlocking state, when the alarm stop message is received from any of the slave stations TR2,... (Step S5), the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 issues an alarm. Is determined to be stopped and a synchronization signal including an alarm stop message is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 (step S6). Also, an alarm stop message is periodically transmitted by a synchronization signal from the transition from the interlocking sounding state to the interlocking stop state until the alarm sound stop time elapses (steps S7, S8, S6), and the alarm sound stop time. (Step S8), it is determined whether or not the fire alarms (master station TR1 and slave stations TR2,...) That are detecting fire remain by referring to the fire detection status held in the memory (step S8). S9) If at least one fire alarm is still being detected, it is determined that the fire interlocking is continued and a synchronization signal including a fire alarm message is transmitted from the wireless transceiver 2 (step S10). If the fire alarm is not fire-detected, the recovery from the fire-linked state to the standby state is determined, and a synchronization signal including a recovery notification message is transmitted from the wireless transmission / reception unit 2 (step S11).

  Here, if any of the slave stations TR2,... Does not return an ACK in response to the recovery notification message, the control unit 1 of the parent station TR1 transmits a radio signal including the recovery notification message from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 again. It is desirable to stop the radio transmission / reception unit 2 from transmitting a synchronization signal when an ACK is received from the slave stations TR2,..., Or when a predetermined time has elapsed after the recovery notification message is retransmitted a predetermined number of times. Further, when the master station TR1 fails in the interlocking ringing state or the interlocking stop state and the synchronization signal is not transmitted, the radio transmission / reception unit 2 of the slave stations TR2,... Remains in the reception state in order to receive the synchronization signal. If the control unit 1 of the slave stations TR2,... Continues to receive a synchronization signal for a predetermined time (for example, a time corresponding to several cycles of the synchronization signal) or longer, the battery may be consumed significantly. It is desirable to stop the transmission / reception unit 2 to suppress battery consumption.

  By the way, as already explained, a unique (unique) identification code is assigned to the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,... Without distinction between the master station and the slave station and stored in the memory. When identification codes are designated as the signal source address SA and the destination address DA of the signal, the bit length of the header HD becomes relatively long, so that the radio signal transmission / reception time is increased, and the battery is consumed quickly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the identification code (parent station ID) of the master station TR1 is used in the header HD in order to identify one fire alarm system comprising one master station TR1 and one or more slave stations TR2,. In addition, a device number is assigned to each slave station TR2,..., And each fire alarm device in the same system is combined with the device number specified in the transmission source address SA and the transmission destination address DA and the master station ID. A radio signal is transmitted and received by identifying the TR. In this embodiment, slot numbers 1, 2,... Corresponding to the time slot order are used as device numbers, and device numbers (slot numbers) “1” to “4” are assigned to the slave stations TR2 to TR5, respectively. At the same time, a device number of “0” is assigned to the master station TR1.

  Next, the identification code (hereinafter referred to as “child station ID”) of the slave stations TR2,... Is stored in the master station TR1, and the device numbers are assigned to the slave stations TR2,. (Hereinafter referred to as “registration”) will be described with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

  First, when an operation input for switching to a mode for registering (registration mode) is received by the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1, an operation signal for switching from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the registration mode is sent to the control unit 1. In response to the operation signal, the control unit 1 shifts to the registration mode. On the other hand, when an operation input for transmitting a registration message is received by the operation input reception unit 6 of the slave station (for example, TR2) to be registered, an operation signal instructing transmission of the registration message from the operation input reception unit 6 is controlled. In response to the operation signal, the control unit 1 wirelessly transmits a radio signal having its own slave station ID as a transmission source address SA, a multicast address as a transmission destination address DA, and a registration message as data Data. Transmission is performed from the transmission / reception unit 2.

  When receiving the registration message from the slave station TR2, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 assigns a device number (for example, “1” of the slot number) to the slave station ID specified in the source address SA and The slave station ID and the device number are associated with each other and stored in the memory unit 1a. Here, as will be described later, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 has a registration counter that is incremented every time the registration contents (slave station ID and device number stored in the memory unit 1a) are deleted, and the transmission source address A registration message consisting of the assigned device number and the count value of the registration counter (initial value is 0) is set as data with SA as the master station ID, the destination address DA as the slave station ID of the slave station TR2 that is the source of the registration message. A radio signal as Data is transmitted from the radio transmission / reception unit 2 to the slave station TR2. However, information indicating that the device number is allocated (hereinafter referred to as “registration mode information”) is included in the head portion of the data Data.

  If the registration mode information is included in the head part of the data Data of the radio signal received by the radio transmission / reception unit 2, the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 includes the master station ID that is the transmission source address SA of the radio signal, The device number and the count value of the registration counter included in the registration message received by the radio signal are stored in the memory unit 1a in association with each other. As a result, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 stores the slave station ID and device number of the slave station TR2 and the count value of the registration counter in the memory unit 1a, and the control unit 1 of the slave station TR2 stores the master station ID of the master station TR1. The device number and the count value of the registration counter are stored in the memory unit 1a, whereby the registration of the slave station TR2 with the master station TR1 is completed. The other slave stations TR3,... May be registered in the same procedure. If the operation input reception unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input for returning from the registration mode to the normal operation mode and an operation signal is output from the operation input reception unit 6 to the control unit 1, the control unit 1 ends the registration mode and switches to the normal operation mode.

  Here, when transmitting and receiving radio signals between the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2,... In the registration mode, the identification codes (slave station IDs) of the slave stations TR2,. For example, even when registration messages are transmitted almost simultaneously from a plurality of slave stations TR2,..., The same device number is assigned to the plurality of slave stations TR2,. Can be prevented.

  By the way, once registered, the master station ID, slave station ID, device number, and count value can be deleted from the memory unit 1a. As shown in FIG. 9, when the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input for switching to a mode for deleting registered contents (erase mode), the operation input receiving unit 6 switches to the erase mode. An operation signal is output to the control unit 1, and the control unit 1 shifts to an erasing mode in response to the operation signal. In this erasure mode, when the operation input accepting unit 6 of the master station TR1 accepts an operation input for confirming erasure, an operation signal for confirming erasure is output from the operation input accepting unit 6 to the control unit 1, and according to the operation signal The control unit 1 erases the slave station ID and the device number stored in the memory unit 1a and increments the count value of the registration counter. When the operation input receiving unit 6 of the master station TR1 receives an operation input for returning from the erasure mode to the normal operation mode and an operation signal is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the control unit 1, the control unit 1 ends the erase mode and switches to the normal operation mode.

  On the other hand, when the operation input receiving unit 6 of the slave stations TR2,... Receives an erasing operation input, an operation signal for erasing is output from the operation input receiving unit 6 to the control unit 1, and in accordance with the operation signal, the control unit 1 erases the master station ID, the device number and the count value stored in the memory unit 1a.

  Thus, even if the registered contents of the registered slave stations TR2,... Are not deleted even though the registered contents of the master station TR1 are deleted, the newly registered slave stations TR2,. Since the count value of the registration counter is incremented and changed for ..., even if the same device number is assigned to different slave stations TR2, ..., it is currently valid depending on the count value of the registration counter of the master station TR1. The device number that is can be specified. Therefore, the slave stations TR2,..., Whose registered contents remain without being erased, do not receive the radio signal because the count values included in the header HD of the radio signal transmitted from the master station TR1 do not match. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a problem that a plurality of slave stations TR2,.

  Thus, in the normal operation mode already described, as shown in FIG. 2, the master station ID of the master station TR1 is designated as the master station ID of the header HD, and the master station TR1 and the slave stations TR2 are designated as the count value RC. The count value stored in the memory unit 1a is designated, and radio signals designating device numbers assigned to the transmission source address SA and the transmission destination address DA are transmitted and received. Compared to the case where the source and destination addresses are specified using only the assigned unique identification code, the device number whose information amount may be sufficiently smaller than the identification code (for example, the identification code is usually The device number may be 4 to 8 bits compared to 48 bits), so that the length of one frame is relatively shortened, and as a result, the transmission time of the radio signal is shortened. It is possible to reduce the drain on the battery Te.

  In addition, when the fire alarm system of the present embodiment is installed in a plurality of houses in a densely populated area, radio signals may interfere in the normal operation mode because the master station ID is different from the fire alarm system of the neighboring house. However, in the registration mode, the slave stations TR2,... That have received the radio signal transmitted from the neighbor fire alarm system may erroneously store the master station ID of the neighbor parent station TR1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 1 of the master station TR1 transmits registration mode information together with the registration message to the slave stations TR2,..., And the control unit 1 of the slave stations TR2,. Only when the registration mode information is included in the head portion of the data Data, the master station ID that is the transmission source address SA of the wireless signal, the device number included in the registration message received by the wireless signal, and the registration The count value of the counter is associated with and stored in the memory unit 1a. Therefore, even if the slave station TR2,... Receives a radio signal in the normal operation mode transmitted from the fire alarm system of the neighboring house, the erroneous information is not included unless the registration signal information is included in the radio signal. There is no risk of registration.

TR1 Fire alarm (master station)
TR2 Fire alarm (slave station)
1 Control unit (control means)
2 Wireless transmission / reception unit (reception means, transmission means)
4 Fire detection part (fire detection means)
5 Alarm section (alarm means)
6 Operation input reception unit (operation input reception means)

Claims (3)

A fire alarm system comprising a plurality of fire alarms and transmitting a radio signal using radio waves as a medium between the plurality of fire alarms,
Each fire alarm detects a fire with a fire detection means for detecting a fire, an alarm means for notifying a fire alarm, a transmission means for transmitting a radio signal, a reception means for receiving a radio signal, and a fire detection means. Sometimes the alarm means is notified of the fire alarm and the other fire alarm is notified of the fire alarm by the transmitting means and the wireless signal including the fire alarm message is transmitted from the transmitting means, and the receiving means is transmitted from the other fire alarm device. Control means for notifying the alarm means when the radio alarm signal is received and the fire alarm message is received, a battery for power supply, and a unique identification code assigned in advance to each fire alarm Storage means for storing the operation and operation input receiving means for receiving the operation input,
When a radio signal including a fire alarm message is transmitted from any fire alarm, the control means of the specific fire alarm that has received the radio signal includes a fire alarm message for all other fire alarms A wireless signal is transmitted from the transmission means,
When a control input of a specific fire alarm device is switched to a registration mode for registration, the operation input receiving device accepts an operation input, and the control mode of the other fire alarm device transmits a registration message. When the operation input for receiving is received by the operation input receiving means, a wireless signal including a registration message with its own identification code as a transmission source address is transmitted from the transmission means,
The control means of a specific fire alarm memorizes a specific device number assigned to itself, and when a registration message is received in the registration mode, it corresponds to the identification code of another fire alarm specified in the source address. A unique device number is assigned and the identification code of the other fire alarm device and the device number are stored in association with each other, the identification code of the other fire alarm device is used as the destination address, and the other fire alarm device A wireless signal including a unique device number to be assigned is transmitted from the transmission means, and the correspondence between the unique device number assigned to all other fire alarms and the identification codes of the other fire alarms is stored. ,
A fire alarm system characterized in that the control means of each fire alarm device determines the transmission source and the transmission destination of a radio signal by a combination of an identification code and a device number of a specific fire alarm device. The control means for a specific fire alarm device has its own device number assigned to all other fire alarm devices when the operation input for erasing the stored contents is accepted by the operation input acceptance means, as well as the other Remove all fire alarm identification codes,
The control means of all other fire alarms are the specific equipment number assigned by the specific fire alarm and the specific fire alarm when the operation input that instructs to erase the stored contents is accepted by the operation input acceptance means. Erase the identification code
The control means of a specific fire alarm has a counter that updates the count value every time the stored contents are erased,
All other fire alarm control means store the count value notified at the same time as the device number assignment,
2. The fire alarm according to claim 1, wherein the control means of each fire alarm discriminates a transmission source and a transmission destination of a radio signal based on a combination of an identification code of a specific fire alarm device, a device number, and the count value. system. The control means of a specific fire alarm includes information indicating that the device number is assigned to the wireless signal for assigning the device number to another fire alarm,
The control means of the other fire alarm device is used only when the address of the transmission destination of the radio signal received by the reception means matches the identification code stored in the storage means and the information is included in the radio signal. The fire alarm system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a device number included in the radio signal and an identification code of a specific fire alarm that is an address of a transmission source of the radio signal are stored.

Images