JP2019036001A - Alarm and alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an alarm and an alarm system that can be transferred to a visible light communication mode without increasing operation types.SOLUTION: An alarm system 100 comprises an alarm 1 and a visible light receiver 20 for receiving information from the alarm 1 by visible light communication. The alarm 1 performs a first control for controlling blinking of indicator lights 6a and 6b when it is determined that a prescribed operation has been carried out to an operation switch, and performs a second control for controlling blinking of an indicator light 6c in a blinking state in accordance with information to be output to a visible light receiver 20 for performing visible light communication.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm device and an alarm system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an alarm device that issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in a monitoring area based on a signal from a monitoring sensor is known. Examples of abnormal conditions that can be alarmed include high concentrations of carbon monoxide such as gas leaks and incomplete combustion, and fires. In addition, the alarm device includes a light emitting unit that emits light such as green or yellow, and the light emitting unit is operated when an alarm is issued. There is also known an alarm device including a memory that stores information related to the history of operation of the alarm device (hereinafter simply referred to as “alarm history”) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In this type of alarm device, the alarm history stored in the memory can be confirmed using a light emitting unit or a PC (personal computer).

  Confirmation of the alarm history using the light emitting unit is to simply confirm the number of alarms for the most recent year through blinking of the light emitting unit. For example, when the number of alarms is 1 to 5 times, the green light emitting part blinks 3 times, and when the number of alarms is 6 times or more, the yellow light emitting part blinks 3 times. . This confirmation can be performed by a predetermined operation assigned in advance to an operation switch provided in the alarm device, for example, by long pressing.

  On the other hand, the alarm device includes a communication unit for communicating with the PC. For this reason, the alarm history stored in the memory can be acquired by connecting the alarm device and the PC via the communication unit. That is, the confirmation of the alarm history using the PC is to confirm all the information of the alarm history held by the alarm device or some information selected from all the information of the accessible alarm history. .

  Patent Document 2 discloses a technique of receiving meter information stored in a gas meter with a visible light receiving device using visible light communication technology.

JP 2006-224833 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-108553

  By the way, when visible light communication is considered as an alternative to PC communication, a switch operation is required when operating the alarm device in the visible light communication mode. In this case, it is necessary to add a new operation type for shifting to the visible light communication mode, but the actual situation is that it is not desired to increase the operation types other than the existing ones.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an alarm device and an alarm system that can shift to a visible light communication mode without increasing the type of operation.

  In order to solve such a problem, the first invention provides an alarm device that issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in a monitoring area based on a signal from a monitoring sensor. The alarm device includes a first light emitting unit that emits visible light, a second light emitting unit that emits visible light, an operation unit operated by a user, and a control unit that controls the alarm device. . When the control unit determines that a predetermined operation has been performed on the operation unit, the control unit performs the first control for controlling the blinking of the first light emitting unit and the visible light receiving device that performs visible light communication. On the other hand, the second control is performed for controlling the blinking of the second light emitting unit in the blinking state corresponding to the information to be output.

  Here, in the first invention, the predetermined operation is an operation assigned to visually notify the outside of the alarm device by the blinking state of the first light emitting unit, and the first control is an alarm. It is preferable to control the first light emitting unit to blink in a blinking state corresponding to information notified to the outside of the device.

  In addition, the first invention may further include a storage unit that stores information related to the history of operation of the alarm device as an alarm history. In this case, the first control is a control that causes the first light emitting unit to blink a predetermined number of times based on the number of times that the alarm has issued an alarm, and the second control is a second control based on the information stored in the storage unit. The control is preferably to make the light emitting unit blink.

  In the first invention, it is preferable that the second light emitting unit is set to a light emission color different from that of the first light emitting unit.

  In the first invention, the second light emitting section is preferably used only for visible light communication.

  Further, the second invention communicates with an alarm device that emits an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in the monitoring area based on a signal from the monitoring sensor, and from the alarm device. A visible light receiving device for receiving information. In this case, the alarm device according to the first invention can be used as the alarm device.

  According to the present invention, the second light emitting unit can be used for visible light communication. Accordingly, the second light emitting unit can be controlled to blink while the first light emitting unit is controlled to blink according to a predetermined operation assigned to the function involving the blinking of the first light emitting unit. As a result, it is possible to shift to the visible light communication mode without increasing the operation types of the operation unit.

Explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the alarm system which concerns on this embodiment. Block diagram showing the configuration of the alarm Block diagram showing the configuration of the visible light receiver Flowchart for explaining the operation of the alarm device according to the present embodiment

  Hereinafter, the alarm system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. Here, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the alarm system 100 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the alarm device 1, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the visible light receiving device 20.

  The alarm device system 100 according to the present embodiment is mainly composed of the alarm device 1 and the visible light receiver 20. The alarm system 100 transmits information held by the alarm device 1 to the visible light receiving device 20 when the visible light receiving device 20 receives visible light emitted from the alarm device 1.

  The alarm device 1 issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in the monitoring area based on a signal from the monitoring sensor. The alarm device 1 according to the present embodiment is an alarm device (ventilation sensor) that warns the occurrence of a high concentration state of carbon monoxide (an example of an abnormal state) such as incomplete combustion. The alarm device 1 is, for example, a battery type alarm device, but may be an outlet type alarm device. The alarm device 1 is, for example, a business alarm device, but may be a home alarm device.

  The alarm device 1 includes a gas sensor 2 and a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) 3 to which a detection result from the gas sensor 2 is supplied. The alarm device 1 further includes a communication unit 4, an operation switch 5, a plurality of indicator lights 6, an audio circuit 7, a speaker 8, and an EEPROM 9. The gas sensor 2, the communication unit 4, the operation switch 5, the plurality of indicator lamps 6, the audio circuit 7 and the EEPROM 9 are connected to the microcomputer 3.

  The gas sensor 2 is a sensor (an example of a monitoring sensor) that detects gas, and is, for example, a catalytic combustion type gas sensor. The gas sensor 2 detects the gas concentration of a detection target gas such as carbon monoxide (CO), and outputs a detection signal corresponding to the concentration to the microcomputer 3. As the gas sensor 2, a known gas sensor such as a semiconductor gas sensor can be used.

  The microcomputer 3 is a control unit that controls the alarm device 1. Specifically, the microcomputer 3 is mainly composed of a CPU 3A, a ROM 3B, and a RAM 3C. The CPU 3A executes various processes and controls according to a predetermined program. The ROM 3B is a read-only memory that stores programs executed by the CPU 3A. The RAM 3C is a readable / writable memory that stores various data and has an area necessary for processing operations of the CPU 3A.

  In the present embodiment, the detection result of the gas sensor 2 is supplied to the microcomputer 3. The microcomputer 3 determines from the detection result of the gas sensor 2 whether a high concentration abnormality of carbon monoxide has occurred.

  The microcomputer 3 controls the indicator lamp 6 and the sound circuit 7 and issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal carbon monoxide concentration is abnormal. Specifically, the microcomputer 3 causes the indicator lamp 6 to blink when it is determined that a high concentration abnormality of carbon monoxide has occurred. The lighting of the indicator lamp 6 corresponds to a lighting alarm that gives an alarm visually. In addition, the microcomputer 3 outputs one or both of a predetermined alarm sound and a predetermined sound from the speaker 8 when it is determined that a high concentration abnormality of carbon monoxide has occurred. The output from the speaker 8 corresponds to an acoustic alarm that emits an alarm audibly.

  In addition, when the microcomputer 3 determines that a predetermined operation assigned in advance has been performed on the operation switch 5, the microcomputer 3 performs a single inspection or a linked inspection. Here, the single check is performed by turning on and outputting sound and sound, and checking by the user confirming these. In the linked inspection, when the alarm device 1 is interlocked with other devices (such as an alarm device), the inspection is performed in conjunction with this device.

  In addition, when it is determined that a predetermined operation assigned in advance has been performed on the operation switch 5, the microcomputer 3 confirms the alarm history and performs visible light communication. The alarm history confirmation simply confirms an alarm history described later. Visible light communication outputs alarm history to the outside by visible light communication.

  The communication unit 4 is a communication interface, and communicates with a PC or communicates with another device (such as an alarm device).

  The operation switch 5 is a switch that outputs a signal corresponding to an operation performed by the user. The operation switch 5 functions as a stop switch for stopping the alarm at the time of alarm. Further, the operation switch 5 functions as an inspection switch, an alarm history confirmation switch, and the like when there is no alarm. Specifically, when the operation switch 5 is operated in less than 3 seconds when no alarm is given, the microcomputer 3 operates the alarm device 1 in the single check mode for performing the single check. In addition, when the alarm device 1 is interlocked with another device, if the operation switch 5 is operated for 3 seconds or more and less than 6 seconds, the microcomputer 3 operates the alarm device 1 in the interlock inspection mode for performing the interlock inspection. . Further, when the operation switch 5 is operated for 6 seconds or more, the microcomputer 3 operates the alarm device 1 in a simple confirmation mode for confirming an alarm history and a visible light communication mode for performing visible light communication.

  A pressing operation unit 11 for a user to perform a pressing operation is provided at a position below the front of the case body 10 that forms the casing of the alarm device 1. An operation switch 5 is provided behind the pressing operation unit 11 in the case body 10. In the pressing operation unit 11, characters such as “alarm stop” are written, for example. The pressing operation unit 11 is configured such that the lower end side is a free end, and can be elastically deformed in the thickness direction of the case body 10. The pressing operation unit 11 can come into contact with the operation switch 5 through elastic deformation. Therefore, when the pressing operation unit 11 is pressed from the front side of the case body 10, the operation switch 5 can be operated in the above-described manner according to the pressing time. That is, the operation switch 5 and the pressing operation unit 11 function as an operation unit operated by a user (including a user of the alarm device 1 and a serviceman).

  The plurality of indicator lamps 6 are composed of, for example, three indicator lamps 6a to 6c made of green, yellow, and red, and perform a lighting alarm, various notifications, and the like. Each indicator lamp 6a-6c is comprised from LED, and light-emits the light (visible light) corresponding to each color (light emission part). Among these indicator lights 6 a to 6 c, the indicator lamp 6 a and the indicator lamp 6 b correspond to a first light emitting unit that emits visible light in order to visually inform the outside of the alarm device 1. On the other hand, the indicator lamp 6c corresponds to a second light emitting unit that emits visible light in order to perform visible light communication.

  The green indicator lamp 6a is controlled to blink when the alarm history is simply displayed in the simple confirmation mode. The yellow indicator lamp 6b is controlled to blink when a lighting warning regarding CO is given. The yellow indicator light 6b is controlled to blink during the inspection operation in the single inspection mode and the interlocked inspection mode. The yellow indicator lamp 6b is controlled to blink when the alarm history is simply displayed in the simple confirmation mode. On the other hand, the red indicator lamp 6c is controlled to blink when information is transmitted in the visible light communication mode.

  In the case body 10, a display unit 12 is formed at a position corresponding to the three indicator lamps 6a to 6c. The display unit 12 includes, for example, an opening obtained by cutting a part of the case body 10 into a vertically long rectangular shape, and a transparent or translucent plate-like plate is disposed in the opening. Thereby, the indicator lights 6a-6c can be visually recognized from the front of the alarm device 1 (case main body 10) via the display part 12. FIG.

  The sound circuit 7 is a circuit that drives a speaker 8 that outputs sound such as an alarm sound and sound.

  The EEPROM 9 is a non-volatile memory and is a storage unit that stores information related to the history of operation of the alarm device 1 as an alarm history.

  The main information of the alarm history is information related to the alarm issued by the alarm device 1. Information about alarms is stored and updated each time an alarm is issued. The information related to the alarm corresponds to, for example, the alarm content, the cumulative energization time at the alarm, the number of alarms, and the like. The alarm content corresponds to each CO concentration related to alarm start, maximum time and average, accumulated alarm time, and the like. For this alarm content, information about the past several times that has been issued most recently is accumulated, for example, up to six times.

  Further, the alarm history includes information related to a failure that occurs in the alarm device 1. Information about a failure is stored each time a failure occurs. The information regarding the failure corresponds to, for example, the type of failure and the cumulative energization time when the failure occurs. For example, the cumulative energization time when a sensor failure occurs, the cumulative energization time when a battery runs out, and so on.

  The visible light receiving device 20 is a mobile terminal owned by a user. The visible light receiving device 20 receives information transmitted from the alarm device 1 by visible light communication. The visible light receiving device 20 transmits the received information to an external device 30 (a commercially available personal computer or a dedicated portable terminal) connected to the visible light receiving device 20. The visible light receiving device 20 is mainly composed of a receiving module 21 and a light receiving lens 23.

  The receiving module 21 is mainly composed of a photosensor 21a and a microcomputer 21b. The photosensor 21 a is a photodetector that receives visible light from the indicator lamp 6 c of the alarm device 1. Visible light received by the photosensor 21a is amplified and AD converted, and then input to the microcomputer 21b. The microcomputer 21b demodulates the information transmitted from the alarm device via the photosensor 21a and receives the data (alarm history). Further, the microcomputer 21 b transmits meter information to the external device 30 via the cable 24.

  The light receiving lens 23 is an optical element that focuses visible light from the indicator lamp 6 c of the alarm device 1 onto the photosensor 21 a of the receiving module 21. The entire light receiving lens 23 is formed of, for example, an acrylic member.

  The cable 24 is a transmission member that connects the visible light receiving device 20 and the external device 30 and transmits information converted into data by the receiving module 21 to the external device 30. For example, a USB (Universal Serial Bus) cable can be used as the cable 24, and the cable 24 inputs operating power from the external device 30 and supplies it to the receiving module 21. However, after the battery is mounted on the visible light receiving device 20, communication between the visible light receiving device 20 and the external device 30 may be performed wirelessly or by wire.

  Hereinafter, operation | movement of the alarm device 1 applied to the alarm device system 100 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. Here, FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the alarm device 1 according to the present embodiment. The process shown in this flowchart is executed with the operation of the operation switch 5 as a trigger.

  First, in step (S1), the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the pressing time of the pressing operation unit 11, that is, the operating time of the operation switch 5 is less than 3 seconds. If the operation time of the operation switch 5 is less than 3 seconds, an affirmative determination is made in step 1, and the process proceeds to step 2 (S 2). On the other hand, if the operation time of the operation switch 5 is 3 seconds or more, a negative determination is made in step 1, and the process proceeds to step 3 (S 3).

  In step 2, the microcomputer 3 performs an independent inspection (independent inspection mode). Specifically, the microcomputer 3 causes the yellow indicator lamp 6b to blink at a constant cycle over a predetermined period. The microcomputer 3 controls the audio circuit 7 and outputs predetermined sound and audio from the speaker 8.

  In step 3, the microcomputer 3 determines whether or not the operation time of the operation switch 5 is 3 seconds or more and less than 6 seconds. If the operation time of the operation switch 5 is not less than 3 seconds and less than 6 seconds, an affirmative determination is made in step 3, and the process proceeds to step 4 (S4). On the other hand, if the operation time of the operation switch 5 is 6 seconds or more, a negative determination is made in step 3, so the process proceeds to step 5 (S5).

  In step 4, the microcomputer 3 performs a linked inspection (linked inspection mode). Specifically, the microcomputer 3 causes the yellow indicator lamp 6b to blink at a constant cycle over a predetermined period. The microcomputer 3 controls the audio circuit 7 and outputs predetermined sound and audio from the speaker 8. In addition, the microcomputer 3 outputs a predetermined signal to another device with which the alarm device 1 is linked via the communication unit 4.

  In step 5, the microcomputer 3 performs alarm history confirmation for simply confirming the alarm history outside the alarm device 1 (simple confirmation mode). In this alarm history confirmation, control (first control) is performed in which the indicator lamp 6a or the indicator lamp 6b blinks in a blinking state corresponding to the alarm history. Specifically, the microcomputer 3 causes the indicator lamp 6a or the indicator lamp 6b to blink at a predetermined number of times based on the number of times that the alarm device 1 has issued an alarm. For example, the microcomputer 3 blinks the green indicator lamp 6a three times when the number of alarms in the most recent year is 1 to 5 times. On the other hand, the microcomputer 3 blinks the yellow indicator lamp 6b three times when the number of alarms in the most recent year is six times or more.

  In step 6 (S6), the microcomputer 3 performs visible light communication (visible light communication mode). In this visible light communication, control (second control) is performed to control the red display lamp 6c to blink in a blinking state corresponding to information output to the visible light receiving device 20. Specifically, the microcomputer 3 blinks the second light emitting unit based on the alarm history in order to output the alarm history stored in the EEPROM 9 to the visible light receiving device 20. The information to be subjected to visible light communication may be all information of the alarm history stored in the EEPROM 9 or may be a part of information selected from all the information of the alarm history.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, by performing a pressing operation for 6 seconds or more on the operation switch 5, the alarm history confirmation for visually informing the alarm history using the indicator lamps 6a and 6b is executed. . Moreover, the alarm device 1 includes a display light 6c used for visible light communication, in addition to the display lights 6a and 6b that visually notify information to the outside of the alarm device 1. For this reason, in response to a long press operation of 6 seconds or more assigned for alarm history confirmation accompanied by blinking of the indicator lamps 6a and 6b, the indicator lamps 6c and 6b are controlled to blink while being controlled. Flashing can be controlled. That is, the alarm history confirmation using the indicator lamps 6a and 6b and the visible light communication using the indicator lamp 6c can be performed in parallel by a pressing operation for 6 seconds or more. Thereby, it is possible to shift to the visible light communication mode without increasing the operation types of the operation switch 5.

  Moreover, since the display lamp 6c provided for visible light communication is provided exclusively, the structure of the display lamp 6c and the display unit 12 related to the display lamp 6c can be set to specifications suitable for visible light communication. Thereby, the light receiving lens 23 of the visible light receiving device 20 can be reliably brought into contact with the indicator lamp 6c. As a result, it becomes difficult to be affected by noise such as sunlight and other visible light, so that communication reliability can be ensured.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the indicator lamp 6c used for visible light communication is set to a different color from the indicator lamps 6a and 6b that visually inform the outside of the alarm device 1.

  According to this configuration, since the indicator light 6c for visible light communication can be identified through the difference in color, confusion between the indicator lights 6a and 6b and the indicator lamp 6c can be suppressed. But if it is the structure which provides the indicator lamp 6c provided only for visible light communication exclusively, the indicator lamp 6c is good also as the same color as the indicator lamps 6a and 6b.

  As mentioned above, although the alarm device system and alarm device which concern on this embodiment were demonstrated, it cannot be overemphasized that this invention can be variously changed in the range of the invention, without being limited to this embodiment.

  For example, the alarm device may alarm not only about a high concentration state of carbon monoxide but also about an abnormal state such as gas leakage, fire, or the like.

  In this embodiment, visible light communication is performed together with alarm history confirmation associated with a pressing operation of 6 seconds or more. However, the alarm device of the present invention sets the first light emitting unit in response to a predetermined operation. When operating, what can operate a 2nd light emission part for visible light communication can be included widely.

1 Alarm 2 Gas sensor 3 Microcomputer (control unit)
4 Communication section 5 Operation switch (operation section)
6 Indicator light 6a Indicator light (1st light emission part)
6b Indicator lamp (1st light emission part)
6c Indicator lamp (second light emitting part)
7 Audio circuit 8 Speaker 9 EEPROM (storage unit)
10 Case body 11 Press operation part (operation part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Display part 20 Visible light receiver 21 Reception module 21a Photo sensor 21b Microcomputer 23 Light reception lens 24 Cable 30 External apparatus 100 Alarm system

Claims (6)

In an alarm device that issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in the monitoring area based on the signal from the monitoring sensor,
A first light emitting unit that emits visible light;
A second light emitting unit that emits visible light;
An operation unit operated by a user;
A control unit for controlling the alarm device,
The controller is
When it is determined that a predetermined operation has been performed on the operation unit,
While performing the first control to blink control the first light emitting unit,
An alarm device that performs a second control for controlling the second light emitting unit to blink in a blinking state according to information output to a visible light receiving device that performs visible light communication. The predetermined operation is an operation assigned to visually notify the outside of the alarm device by the blinking state of the first light emitting unit,
2. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the first control is control for blinking the first light emitting unit in a blinking state according to information notified to the outside of the alarm device. A storage unit that stores information on the history of operation of the alarm as an alarm history;
The first control is a control for blinking the first light emitting unit a predetermined number of times based on the number of times the alarm has issued an alarm,
3. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the second control is control for blinking the second light emitting unit based on information stored in the storage unit. 4. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the second light emitting unit is set to a light emission color different from that of the first light emitting unit. 5. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the second light emitting unit is used only for visible light communication. An alarm device that issues an alarm when it is determined that an abnormal state has occurred in the monitoring area based on a signal from the monitoring sensor;
A visible light receiving device that communicates with visible light and receives information from the alarm device;
The alarm is
A first light emitting unit that emits visible light;
A second light emitting unit that emits visible light;
An operation unit operated by a user;
A control unit for controlling the alarm device,
The controller is
When it is determined that a predetermined operation has been performed on the operation unit,
While performing the first control to blink control the first light emitting unit,
An alarm system that performs second control for controlling blinking of the second light emitting unit in a blinking state according to information output to a visible light receiving device that performs visible light communication.

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