JP5684630B2 - Alarm system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm system that transmits and receives status signals and the like between a plurality of alarm devices.

There is known an alarm system including an alarm device that detects an abnormality such as heat or smoke generated in a room or the like and transmits a signal including abnormality detection information to an alarm device installed in another monitoring area. .

In such an alarm system, “when the fire detection means 14 detects a fire, the wireless communication control means 16 enters a transmission state and sends an interlock control signal including identification information stored in the setting storage means 15. On the other hand, when a fire is not detected, it enters the reception state and receives the interlock control signal transmitted from another fire alarm device 1, the identification information included in the received interlock control signal and the setting storage means 15. A match with the stored identification information is determined, and if they match, the alarm control means 17 starts an interlocking alarm "(see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-009481 A (0017 etc.)

In the alarm system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the master unit receives the interlock signal from the fire-source slave unit that detects the fire, the master unit performs the interlock alarm and interlocks all other slave units at the same time. The signal was being transferred. Furthermore, when all the other slave units received the interlock signal transferred from the master unit, each slave unit issued an interlock alarm.
Therefore, the situation where the slave unit of the link destination cannot receive the link signal transferred from the master unit (hidden terminal)
Even so, the parent device could not be identified.

The present invention was made to solve the above problems, and the master unit can determine that the slave unit to be linked cannot receive the interlock signal transferred from the master unit,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an alarm system capable of reducing power consumption and starting signal transfer at a set timing.

An alarm system according to the present invention includes a plurality of alarm devices including a state detection unit that detects an abnormality in an installation environment, a transmission / reception unit that transmits and receives signals, and a control unit that controls the transmission / reception unit, and the plurality of alarms In the alarm system for transmitting and receiving signals between the plurality of alarm devices, one of the alarm devices as a parent alarm device and the other alarm device as a child alarm device, the control unit of the child alarm device is in the state When the detection unit detects an abnormality, a predetermined transmission pattern including a transmission period for repeatedly transmitting the signal is transmitted to the other alarm devices from the transmission / reception unit to transmit an interlocking signal for notifying the occurrence of the abnormality, The child alarm devices other than the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality transmit a response signal indicating that the interlock signal has been received to the parent alarm device at a timing according to the address, and the parent alarm device The control of Receives the interlock signal transmitted from the child alarm device that detected the abnormality by intermittent receiving operation, after the self is linked alarm, transmitted from the child alarm device other than the child alarm device detects said abnormality the A response signal is received over a predetermined period, and the interlocking signal is transferred to a child alarm device that has not received all the response signals other than the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality. .

In the alarm system according to the present invention, the predetermined period is a transmission suspension period of the child alarm device.

In the alarm system according to the present invention, when the plurality of alarm devices detect an abnormality or receive an interlocking signal from another alarm device , the number of reception activations for each intermittent reception interval of the intermittent reception operation , or The intermittent reception interval of the intermittent reception operation is changed.

The predetermined transmission pattern of the alarm system according to the present invention repeatedly executes the transmission period and a transmission suspension period in which the transmission of the interlocking signal is suspended.

According to the present invention, when the parent alarm device that has received the interlock signal from the child alarm device receives the interlock signal transmitted from the child alarm device by an intermittent reception operation, the parent alarm device itself performs the interlock alarm and then the child alarm device. All other than the child alarm devices that have not received the response signal, have received a response signal that has been transmitted from the other child alarm devices at a timing according to the address, and has received the response signal indicating that the interlock signal has been received. The interlock signal is transmitted to the child alarm device. Therefore, the parent alarm device can discriminate a child alarm device that cannot receive the interlock alarm, can reduce power consumption, and can start the transfer of the interlock signal according to a preset timing.

According to the present invention, the plurality of alarm devices change the intermittent reception operation when the state detection unit detects an abnormality or receives an interlocking signal from another alarm device. For this reason, it is possible to increase the probability that each alarm device in the alarm operation receives the radio signal of the other alarm device.

According to the present invention, the child alarm device transmits the interlocking signal by a transmission pattern in which the transmission period in which the interlocking signal is repeatedly transmitted and the transmission suspension period in which the interlocking signal is suspended are alternately repeated.
For this reason, the probability that another alarm device receives the interlocking signal transmitted by the child alarm device can be increased.

1 is a configuration diagram of an alarm system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a fire alarm device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing a transmission operation of the fire alarm device according to the first embodiment. 3 is a timing chart illustrating an intermittent reception operation of the fire alarm device according to the first embodiment. It is a figure explaining the transmission / reception operation | movement of the interlocking signal when the subunit | mobile_unit which concerns on Embodiment 1 detects a fire.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, in the first embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to an alarm system including a fire alarm device that is driven by a battery and performs wireless communication will be described as an example.

[Configuration of alarm system and fire alarm]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an alarm system 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The alarm system 200 includes a plurality of fire alarms 100. Each of these fire alarm devices 100 has a function of detecting a fire and a function of independently alarming.
As will be described later, all of the fire alarm devices 100 are configured in the same manner, and can operate as a parent device or a child device by setting of an operation setting unit (not shown). In addition, in order to distinguish and explain each fire alarm device 100, the fire alarm device A, the fire alarm device B, the fire alarm device C, and the fire alarm device D may be referred to. In the first embodiment, the fire alarm device It is assumed that A is a parent device and fire alarm devices B to D are child devices. Here, the fire alarm A to the fire alarm D belong to one same group. Moreover, in FIG. 1, the solid line connecting the fire alarm devices 100 indicates that they can communicate with each other by wireless communication, and the broken line connecting the fire alarm devices 100 indicates that they cannot communicate with each other by wireless communication. ing.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the main configuration of the fire alarm 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 2, a fire alarm 100 includes a control circuit 1, a battery 2, a power supply circuit 3, a battery voltage detection circuit 4, a transmission / reception circuit 5, an antenna 6, a fire detection circuit 7, an alarm sound control circuit 8, and an indicator lamp circuit 9.
Is provided.

The battery 2 supplies DC power to the power supply circuit 3. The power supply circuit 3 controls the voltage of the battery 2 to a predetermined voltage and supplies it to the control circuit 1, the transmission / reception circuit 5, the fire detection circuit 7, the alarm sound control circuit 8, and the indicator lamp circuit 9.

The battery voltage detection circuit 4 detects the voltage of the battery 2 applied to the power supply circuit 3 and outputs a battery voltage detection signal corresponding to the detected voltage to the control circuit 1. The battery voltage detection circuit 4 outputs a signal to the control circuit 1 when detecting that the remaining battery level has decreased or the battery depletion threshold has been exceeded, and the alarm sound control circuit 8 and the indicator lamp circuit 9 are connected. The transmitter / receiver circuit 5 outputs a state signal including battery state information.

The fire detection circuit 7 corresponds to a state detection unit of the present invention, detects a physical quantity or a physical change of a detection object such as smoke or heat based on a fire phenomenon, and outputs a signal corresponding to the detection content to the control circuit 1 To do. The alarm sound control circuit 8 is a circuit for controlling the sounding operation by a buzzer / speaker or the like. The indicator lamp circuit 9 is a circuit that controls the lighting operation of indicator lamps such as light emitting diodes.

The transmission / reception circuit 5 is connected to an antenna 6 for transmitting / receiving a radio signal, and includes a transmission circuit 51 and a reception circuit 52. The reception circuit 52 is controlled by the control circuit 1 to perform intermittent reception operation at a predetermined cycle to detect a radio signal input from the antenna 6 and perform reception processing in the case of a signal addressed to itself. In the case of a signal other than that addressed to itself, no reception process is performed. The received signal is output to the control circuit 1. The transmission circuit 51 is controlled by the control circuit 1 to perform transmission processing of radio signals such as a status signal and a fire signal described later.

The control circuit 1 has a function of discriminating a fire state or the like based on a signal output from the fire detection circuit 7. Further, when it is determined that the state is a fire state, the alarm sound control circuit 8 and the indicator lamp circuit 9 are controlled to give an alarm by sound and indicator lamp. Moreover, while performing a required process based on the signal which the transmission / reception circuit 5 received, the transmission / reception circuit 5 is controlled as needed and signals, such as a status signal, are transmitted to another fire alarm device.

The storage element 11 is a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and stores programs executed by the control circuit 1 and various data. The control circuit 1 also stores setting data related to a transmission period, a transmission suspension period, an intermittent reception interval, a transfer confirmation period J, a transfer standby period K, an inter-block suspension period M, and a transfer start timing table, which will be described later. The transmission / reception operation of the transmission / reception circuit 5 is controlled according to these data.

[Transmission / reception]
Next, the transmission operation and the reception operation of the fire alarm device 100 will be described. FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the transmission operation of the fire alarm device 100 according to the first embodiment, and FIG.
It is a timing chart which shows the reception operation | movement of the fire alarm device 100 concerning.

(Transmission operation)
As shown in FIG. 3, when transmitting a signal such as a status signal or an interlocking signal, which will be described later, the control circuit 1 controls the transmission circuit 51 to transmit a signal during a transmission period and stop transmission of the signal. The pause period is alternately repeated. In the first embodiment, the standard RCR STD
In accordance with -30, the transmission processing is performed so that the transmission time is 3 seconds or less and the transmission suspension time is 2 seconds or more. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, three transmission periods and two transmission suspension periods are repeated in the order of transmission period Tx1, transmission suspension period ST1, transmission period Tx2, transmission suspension period ST2, and transmission period Tx3. In the first embodiment, these are collectively referred to as one transmission block, and this one block corresponds to the “predetermined transmission pattern” of the present invention. When a status signal or the like is transmitted by an interlocking signal transmission or regular transmission operation, the transmission operation is performed in units of one block. In the present embodiment, reception processing by the reception circuit 52 is not performed during the transmission periods Tx1, Tx2, and Tx3, and reception processing by the reception circuit 52 is not performed during the transmission suspension periods ST1 and ST2.

The fire alarm device 100 intermittently performs carrier sense for a predetermined time before transmitting various signals. The carrier sense interval is determined by the transmission periods Tx1, Tx2, Tx3,
The time is equal to or shorter than each of the transmission suspension periods ST1 and ST2. By setting the carrier sense interval in this way, when another fire alarm device 100 is transmitting a signal with the transmission pattern shown in FIG. 3, the carrier can be detected by the carrier sense. Can be avoided.

(Reception operation)
As shown in FIG. 4A, the control circuit 1 normally activates the reception circuit 52 once every intermittent reception interval Ts, so that the intermittent reception F1, F2, F3. . . I do. Then, it is checked whether or not a predetermined radio signal can be received. If the radio signal can be detected, reception processing is performed. If the wireless signal cannot be detected, the operation of the receiving circuit 52 is stopped. In this way, by starting the receiving circuit 52 once every intermittent reception interval Ts, and in other cases, the receiving circuit 52 is stopped.
The amount of current consumed by the receiving circuit 52 can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, if the intermittent reception interval is lengthened (for example, 6 seconds or more), the effect of reducing current consumption increases.
As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the control circuit 1 detects, for example, every intermittent reception interval Ts at the time of a fire alarm when it detects a fire or when an interlocking alarm is received from another fire alarm. 2
The probability of receiving wireless signals from other fire alarms is increased. The method for changing the intermittent reception operation is not limited to this.

[Periodic sending operation]
In the alarm system 200 including the fire alarm 100 configured as described above, in order to check the status of each fire alarm 100, periodic transmission for status confirmation is performed during fire monitoring (steady state). Yes.
(Periodic transmission of parent device)
First, periodic transmission performed by the parent device (fire alarm device A) for the child device will be described.
The parent device, for each predetermined time G1, uses the group ID to which it belongs, the self address for identifying the transmission source, and information including its own state as a status signal for all the child devices (fire alarm device B). To D) all at once.

The slave unit performs intermittent reception as described above, and receives a signal addressed to itself in this intermittent reception. In this intermittent reception, if the next periodic transmission cannot be received within the predetermined time G2 after the previous periodic transmission from the parent unit is received in this intermittent reception, the slave unit determines that the radio wave abnormality has been confirmed.
The child unit that has determined that the radio wave abnormality has been confirmed controls the alarm sound control circuit 8 and the indicator lamp circuit 9 to notify the user that a radio wave abnormality has occurred by voice or indicator lamp. On the other hand, if the periodic transmission from the parent device can be received within the predetermined time G2, it is determined that the radio wave abnormality has not occurred and is normal. The predetermined time G2 is longer than the predetermined time G1, which is the periodic transmission cycle of the parent device, and can be, for example, about three times the predetermined time G1.

(Regular transmission of slave unit)
Next, periodic transmission performed by the slave unit to the master unit will be described.
The slave unit transmits, to the master unit (fire alarm device A), as a status signal, a group ID to which the slave unit belongs, a self-address for identifying the transmission source, and its own status at a predetermined time G3. To do. Note that the delay time randomly generated based on the address of the slave unit (fire alarm devices B to D), the serial number, or the like may be increased or decreased to the predetermined time G3 to shift the periodic transmission timing of each slave unit. . In this way, it is possible to reduce the probability of interference caused by simultaneous transmission of slave units simultaneously.

On the other hand, the master unit performs intermittent reception as described above, and receives a signal addressed to itself in this intermittent reception. In this intermittent reception, if the next periodic transmission cannot be received within the predetermined time G4 since the previous periodic transmission from the child unit was received in this intermittent reception, the parent unit determines that the occurrence of radio wave abnormality has been confirmed. On the other hand, if the periodic transmission from the slave unit can be received within the predetermined time G4, it is determined that the radio wave abnormality has not occurred and is normal. A parent device is a child device registered in its own group (FIG. 1).
In the example, the presence or absence of radio wave abnormality is determined for each of the fire alarm devices B to D). The predetermined time G4 is longer than the predetermined time G3 that is the periodic transmission cycle of the slave unit, and can be, for example, about three times the predetermined time G3.

Since the status signal transmitted in this periodic transmission includes the self-address of the fire alarm device 100 as the transmission source, which fire alarm device the fire alarm device 100 that received the periodic transmission receives from Can be distinguished. Moreover, as an example of the status information regarding the parent device and the child device (fire alarm devices A to D) transmitted in the periodic transmission, the remaining battery level, the sensor status of the fire detection circuit 7 (
Degradation, fouling, etc.), the number of reception processes (the number of processes for radio other than prescribed), and the like. Further, examples of the status information regarding the group include the address and group ID of a slave unit in which an abnormality has occurred, the address and group ID of a slave unit in which wireless communication is not established, and the like.

In this way, the parent device performs periodic transmission to the child device every predetermined time G1, and the child device transmits the next periodic transmission within the predetermined time G2 after receiving the periodic transmission from the parent device last time. Whether or not radio wave abnormality has occurred is determined based on whether or not reception is possible.
In addition, the slave unit performs regular transmission to the master unit every predetermined time G3, and the master unit receives the next regular transmission within the predetermined time G4 after receiving the regular transmission from each slave unit last time. Whether or not radio wave abnormality has occurred is determined based on whether or not it has been completed.

[Operation when a fire is detected]
Next, an outline of operation when a fire occurs in the monitoring area of the alarm system 200 during fire monitoring (steady state) will be described.
When a fire occurs in the environment where the master unit (fire alarm device A) is installed, the master unit (fire alarm device A) detects the fire with the fire detection circuit 7, and the alarm sound control circuit 8 and the indicator light circuit 9 are connected. Control and fire alarm by voice and indicator light. Further, the master unit broadcasts information related to fire detection to the other slave units (fire alarm devices B to D) as interlocking signals by the transmission circuit 51. And the slave unit (fire alarm devices B to D) installed in a place where the radio signal of the master unit (fire alarm device A) can be received and receiving the interlock signal transmitted from the master unit is the alarm sound control circuit 8 or The indicator lamp circuit 9 is controlled to give a linked alarm by voice or indicator lamp. Thereafter, when the master unit (fire alarm device A) no longer detects a fire, it self-recovers and stops the alarm, and stops transmission of the interlock signal to the other slave units (fire alarm devices B to D). And the other slave unit (fire alarm B ~
D) also stops the alarm.

Here, at the normal time, both the master unit (fire alarm device A) and each slave unit (fire alarm devices B to D) have an intermittent reception interval Ts of, for example, once every 6 seconds or more. In addition, both the fire-source master unit (fire alarm device A) during the fire alarm and the slave devices (fire alarm devices B to D) during the interlock alarm have an intermittent reception interval Ts of, for example, 6 seconds or more. 2 times (> transmission suspension period of each fire alarm = 2 seconds)
Therefore, it is easy to receive radio signals from other fire alarms.

In addition, when a fire occurs in the environment where the child alarm device B is installed, the fire alarm device B detects the fire by the fire detection circuit 7 and controls the alarm sound control circuit 8 and the indicator light circuit 9. A fire alarm is given by voice and indicator light, and information on fire detection is used as a interlocking signal for the master unit (
Broadcast to fire alarm A) and other slaves (fire alarms C and D). And fire alarm B
The master unit (fire alarm device A) and the other slave unit (fire alarm device C), which are installed in a place where the wireless signal can be received and received the interlock signal transmitted by the fire alarm device B, are connected to the alarm sound control circuit 8. And the indicator lamp circuit 9 is controlled to issue an interlocking alarm by voice or indicator lamp. In addition, other child devices (fire alarm C
) Transmits a response signal to the parent device (fire alarm device A) at a timing set in advance according to the address.
On the other hand, since the other slave unit (fire alarm device D) is installed in a place where the radio signal of the fire alarm device B cannot be received, the interlock alarm cannot be performed. Therefore, other child devices (fire alarm D
) Cannot send a response signal to the parent device (fire alarm device A) at a timing set in advance according to the address.
In FIG. 5, the fire source fire alarm device B retransmits the interlock signal to the other alarm devices after transmitting one block. In this way, the probability that another alarm device can receive the interlocking signal is increased.

The master unit (fire alarm A) identifies the frame number of the received interlock signal of the fire source slave unit (fire alarm unit B), so that the fire source slave unit (fire alarm unit B) Response signals from all other slave units that have received the interlock signal of the fire source slave unit (fire alarm device B) over the transmission suspension period of the fire source slave unit (fire alarm unit B) after transmission is completed. Receive.
Since the master unit (fire alarm device A) has received the response signal from the other slave unit (fire alarm device C) that has received the interlock signal of the fire source slave unit (fire alarm unit B), All other slave units that did not receive a response signal (fire alarm) because no response signal was received from another slave unit (fire alarm unit D) that could not receive the interlock signal of the fire detector (fire alarm unit B) Transfer the interlock signal to the device D).
Therefore, even if the slave unit (for example, the fire alarms B, C and D) are separated from each other, even if the interlock signal transmitted by the fire alarm B is not received by the fire alarm D, the master unit (fire The interlock signal transferred by the alarm device A) is received by the fire alarm device D. After that, when the fire alarm B no longer detects a fire, it self-recovers and stops the alarm, and also broadcasts the interlock signal to the master unit (fire alarm device A) and the other slave units (fire alarm devices C and D). Stop sending. Then, the parent device (fire alarm device A) and the child device (fire alarm device C) that have stopped receiving the interlock signal also stop the alarm. On the other hand, other child devices (fire alarm device D) installed in a place where the radio signal of the fire unit child (fire alarm device B) cannot be received are detected by the recovery signal received from the parent device (fire alarm device). Stop the linked alarm.
As described above, the parent device (fire alarm device A) and the child devices (fire alarm devices B to D) perform alarm operations in conjunction with each other, thereby more reliably transmitting an alarm to the user.

Here, at the normal time, both the master unit (fire alarm device A) and each slave unit (fire alarm devices B to D) have an intermittent reception interval Ts of, for example, once every 6 seconds or more.
In addition, the intermittent receiving interval Ts of the fire slave unit (fire alarm device B) during the fire alarm and the master device and slave units (fire alarm devices A, C, D) during the interlock alarm are, for example, Since it is set to twice in 6 seconds or more (> transmission suspension period of each fire alarm = 2 seconds), it is easy to receive radio signals from other fire alarms.

In the above description, the case where the present invention is applied to a fire alarm device that is driven by a battery and performs wireless communication is described as an example, but the power supply method and communication method of the fire alarm device are not limited. In addition to fire alarms, it can also be applied to alarms for detecting abnormalities. Also,
You may use for the receiver and the detector of an automatic fire alarm system.

1 control circuit, 2 battery, 3 power supply circuit, 4 battery voltage detection circuit, 5 transmission / reception circuit, 6
Antenna, 7 Fire detection circuit, 8 Alarm sound control circuit, 9 Indicator light circuit, 11 Memory element, 51 Transmission circuit, 52 Reception circuit, 100 Fire alarm, 200 Alarm system, Ts
Intermittent reception interval.

Claims (4)

A plurality of alarm devices having a state detection unit for detecting an abnormality in the installation environment, a transmission / reception unit for transmitting / receiving signals, and a control unit for controlling the transmission / reception unit,
In the alarm system for transmitting and receiving signals between the plurality of alarm devices, one of the plurality of alarm devices as a parent alarm device, the other alarm device as a child alarm device,
When the state detection unit detects an abnormality, the control unit of the child alarm device transmits an interlock signal that notifies the occurrence of the abnormality from the transmission / reception unit according to a predetermined transmission pattern including a transmission period in which the signal is repeatedly transmitted. Send to all the alarms in the
A child alarm device other than the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality transmits a response signal indicating that the interlock signal has been received to the parent alarm device at a timing according to the address,
When the control unit of the parent alarm device receives the interlock signal transmitted from the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality by an intermittent reception operation, the control unit other than the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality after the self alarm has been performed. The response signal transmitted from the child alarm device is received over a predetermined period, and the interlock signal is transferred to the child alarm devices that have not received all the response signals other than the child alarm device that has detected the abnormality. An alarm system characterized by that.   The alarm system according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined period is a transmission suspension period of the child alarm device. When the state detection unit detects an abnormality or receives an interlocking signal from another alarm device, the plurality of alarm devices, the number of reception activation for each intermittent reception interval of the intermittent reception operation, or the intermittent reception interval of the intermittent reception operation The alarm system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the alarm system is changed. The predetermined transmission pattern is one in which the transmission period and a transmission suspension period in which the transmission of the interlocking signal is suspended are alternately and repeatedly executed. The alarm system described in the section.

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