JP5895208B2 - Fire alarm - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an improvement in a residential fire alarm having a function of continuously notifying a failure until a countermeasure is taken when a failure is detected through periodic self-diagnosis.

  The following patent document 1 is mentioned as a prior art example of the alarm device provided with the above functions. There is an alarm that is operated by a power battery. When a battery voltage drop is detected, a warning message is immediately output, for example, and when the check switch is operated, 12 hours have passed since the operation. There is a disclosure of a configuration that outputs a voice message each time it passes. Also, in preparation for the absence of the user for a long period of time, when a decrease in the battery voltage is detected, the indicator light blinks at a cycle of 10 seconds and continues for one week. It also describes that alarm sound is continuously output at intervals of 50 seconds.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, when a warning device detects a predetermined event such as an alarm based on a detection signal of a sensor unit, it stores at least the fact as an event history and operates within a predetermined time from the alarm stop. There is a disclosure of a configuration having a function of outputting information such as the latest event history. There is also a statement that such a configuration makes it possible to appropriately take measures such as post-confirmation of non-fire and misinformation, confirmation of failure sounds without detected facts, and complaints without alarming facts.

JP 2007-011828 JP 2011-123793 A

  In the configuration of Patent Document 1 or 2, it can be known that a failure has occurred due to a message, an alarm, or the like. However, in any case, because the notification is performed in the same manner regardless of the urgency level of the failure, depending on the volume and frequency of the notification, it is difficult to notice that the urgency level is high, or troublesome even if the urgency level is low May occur.

  Therefore, the present invention is for residential use in which the notification sound is surely noticed when the urgency level of the failure is high, and the discomfort given by the notification sound can be reduced when the urgency level of the failure is low. The purpose is to provide a fire alarm.

The fire alarm device according to the present invention is based on a failure determination unit that determines the degree of urgency according to the type or degree of failure, a time zone determination unit that determines an activity time zone of a dweller, and a determination result of the failure determination unit. And a control unit for notifying a serious failure more seriously than a minor failure, and the time zone discriminating means includes a time measuring unit, and an elapsed time from the time when the fire alarm is operated in a predetermined manner. The control unit determines the activity time zone of the inhabitant, and the control unit reports the serious failure regardless of the time zone based on the determination result of the time zone determination unit, while the minor failure Is characterized by notifying the failure only during the activity hours of the dwellers .

  Here, the serious failure may be a fire detection function malfunction failure, and the minor failure may be a fire detection function malfunction failure.

  The control unit may increase the strength and / or frequency of failure notification to be higher for a serious failure than for a minor failure.

  The fire alarm device of the present invention determines the urgency of a failure, and reports a serious failure more seriously than a minor failure. In other words, a serious failure can be noticed at a higher volume and a higher frequency than a minor failure, making it easier to notice the failure notification, while a minor failure should be at a lower volume and a lower frequency. Therefore, bothering can be suppressed.

It is a basic block diagram of the fire alarm by this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of a fire alarm. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a smoke detection level and the determination result of a fire and a failure. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the voltage level of a power supply battery, and the determination result of a failure. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence regarding this invention.

  The basic configuration of the alarm device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The alarm device illustrated here is a residential fire alarm device installed on the ceiling surface of a living room. However, the present invention is equally applicable to other security sensors such as gas alarms and intrusion alarms.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the alarm device 1 has, as a basic configuration for a fire alarm, a detection unit 11 that detects a fire, an operation unit 12 that receives an alarm stop operation, an amplification circuit 13 (speaker SP), and a status lamp. A control unit 14 and the like for controlling the LED and giving an alarm are provided.

  Moreover, the alarm device 1 has a function of continuously informing the failure from the speaker SP or the like until a countermeasure is taken when a failure is detected through periodic self-diagnosis of the detection unit 11 or the like. Relatedly, it has the following configuration.

  That is, the alarm device 1 adjusts the loudness of the notification sound, the test unit 15 that detects the failure by self-diagnosis of the function of the detection unit 11 and the like, the failure determination unit 16 that determines the degree of urgency according to the type or degree of the failure, etc. And an electronic volume 13a, a time zone discriminating means 17 for discriminating an activity time zone of the resident based on the operation or setting.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the alarm device 1 includes an attachment base 1a fixed to the ceiling surface and a main body 1b attached to the attachment base 1a. The main body portion 1b is a disc shape convex downward, and the sensing head 1c protrudes from the center portion thereof. A plurality of air circulation holes 1d are formed on the peripheral wall of the sensing head 1c, and the detection unit 11 is located in the back thereof. A large number of sound holes 1e are formed on the bottom surface of the sensing head 1c, and a speaker SP is disposed on the back side thereof. The operation button 12a and the status lamp LED are exposed beside the sensing head 1c. A drawstring 12b is led out from the side surface of the main body 1b.

  The detector 11 detects smoke concentration or ambient temperature. The smoke density is obtained, for example, by optically detecting smoke particles. At this time, the detection part 11 may be comprised by the light receiving element (not shown) which consists of a light emitting element which consists of a light emitting diode etc., for example, a photodiode. Specifically, a detection chamber (not shown) surrounded by an optical maze that allows light to flow while blocking light is configured, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are appropriately disposed therein, and light emitted from the light emitting element is transmitted. The light reflected by the smoke particles is detected by the light receiving element.

  Moreover, when detecting ambient temperature, the detection part 11 may be comprised with the temperature measurement element which consists of a thermistor etc., for example. In this case, the temperature of the air flowing through the alarm device 1 is measured by the temperature measuring element.

  For example, the operation unit 12 can be configured by a contact switch (not shown) that operates when the operation button 12a or the drawstring 12b is operated.

  The control unit 14 includes, for example, a microcomputer, a ROM, and a RAM (not shown), executes fire monitoring, self-diagnosis, and the like according to a control program, discriminates the results, and issues a fire alarm and a failure notification.

  The test unit 15 and the failure determination unit 16 are implemented as hardware such as a comparison circuit that electrically detects disconnection of the light emitting element, the light receiving element, or the temperature measurement element, and a logic circuit that logically processes the output of the test unit 15. Consists of means. Alternatively, these may be configured by software means for determining a failure based on a measurement value by a light emitting element or a light receiving element, or may be configured by a combination of hardware means and software means. It may be configured to include.

  The failure detected by the test unit 15 and determined by the failure determination unit 16 includes a malfunction due to disconnection of the light emitting element and the light receiving element, and a malfunction due to dust accumulation in the detection chamber. Further, if the alarm device 1 is operated by the power supply battery 18, a decrease in battery voltage is included in the failure.

  The time zone discriminating unit 17 only needs to be able to predict and discriminate the living time zone excluding the activity time of the dweller, that is, the bedtime, by some method.

  For example, the time zone discriminating means 17 is configured to include a timer unit 17a composed of a timer or the like, and based on the elapsed time from the time when the alarm device 1 is operated, the time zone including that time is an active time zone. There is a method to determine. Specifically, if the time measuring unit 17a capable of measuring 24 hours is used and the time measuring unit 17a is reset to 0:00 every time any operation is received, the time period from 0 to 8 o'clock is 8 Up to 24:00 may be determined as an inactive time zone. The operations referred to herein include power-on to the alarm device 1, time setting operation, stop operation for fire alarm and failure notification, and the like. In this way, a discrimination result based on the actual activity of the dweller can be obtained.

  The time zone determination means 17 may be configured to include an illuminance measurement unit 17b made of an optical sensor or the like, and may predict and determine the dweller's activity time zone based on the measured ambient brightness level. That is, the time zone discriminating means 17 discriminates the inactive time zone when the measured brightness level is continuously lower than the preset standard, that is, when the sleep of the dweller is predicted, and otherwise. Determined as an active time zone.

  Further, the time zone determination means 17 may be configured to include a noise measurement unit 17c including a microphone or the like, and may predict and determine the dweller's activity time zone based on the measured ambient noise level. That is, the time zone discriminating means 17 discriminates the activity time zone when the measured ambient noise level is continuously higher than a preset standard, that is, when the living activity of the dweller is predicted, and otherwise. Determined as inactive time zone. In such a configuration in which the activity time zone is discriminated based on the brightness level and the noise level, the discrimination result is not affected even if there is no operation for a long time.

  The method for determining the activity time zone as described above may be used alone or in combination. Alternatively, a desired combination may be selected by setting a dip switch (not shown) or the like.

  Next, fire and failure discrimination based on the detected smoke density will be described. The alarm device 1 operates the detection unit 11 at a predetermined cycle in order to measure the smoke density. The smoke density is measured a plurality of times, and a fire or failure is determined by applying a predetermined algorithm (simple average, median, etc.) to the obtained results.

  FIG. 3 shows a simplified relationship between the smoke detection level and the fire and failure discrimination results. As shown in the figure, when the smoke detection level is higher than a preset first reference, a fire is determined (area A).

  When the smoke detection level is lower than the first reference but higher than the second reference, a malfunction is determined (area B). A malfunction failure is a phenomenon in which dust accumulates in the detection chamber, which is erroneously detected as smoke particles, and the smoke density level remains high. This type of failure is determined as a category with a low degree of urgency, but it may cause a malfunction such as a fire alarm being given even in a non-fire. As a countermeasure against the failure, the alarm device 1 should be cleaned internally with high-pressure air or the like.

  When the smoke detection level is lower than the second reference but higher than the preset third reference, normal is determined (area C).

  When the smoke detection level is lower than the third reference, an inoperative failure is determined (area D). The malfunction is basically a phenomenon in which the smoke detection level remains abnormally low due to disconnection or extreme deterioration of the light emitting element and the light receiving element. This type of failure is determined as a category with a high degree of urgency, and a malfunction such as a fire alarm not being performed at the time of a fire is predicted. In this case, since the alarm device 1 does not recover by internal cleaning or the like, it should be replaced or repaired as a countermeasure.

  FIG. 4 shows a simplified relationship between the voltage level of the power supply battery and the failure determination result. As shown in the figure, when the voltage level is higher than a preset first reference, normality is determined (area E).

  When the voltage level is lower than the first reference but higher than the second reference, a malfunction failure (unstable failure) is determined (region F). This is a malfunction prediction such as when the fire alarm is sounded, the voltage is slightly insufficient and the alarm sound is distorted. This type of failure is determined as a category with low urgency.

  When the voltage level is lower than the second reference, an inoperative failure is determined (region G). This is a prediction that the operation will soon stop due to insufficient voltage. In this case, the alarm device 1 should be replaced or the battery replaced.

  Next, the basic operation of the alarm device 1 will be described. First, when a fire is determined, the alarm device 1 immediately starts an alarm and continues the alarm until a stop operation is performed. The alarm sound may be a simple buzzer sound such as “bee, bee” or a message such as “peepo, peepo, fire, fire”, but a large volume is desirable. At this time, the status lamp LED is preferably turned on.

  On the other hand, the failure notification operation is a feature of the present invention. Specifically, the control unit 14 holds the determination result of the failure determination unit 16 and notifies a failure of a serious failure in a more brutal manner than a minor failure. In a scrambled aspect, for example, the volume (intensity) and frequency of the notification sound are increased. In either case, the status lamp LED may be blinked if there is a failure.

  To explain with a specific example, in the case of a malfunction that the smoke detection signal is abnormally low, a notification sound (message) such as “Beep, alarm has failed” is output every hour. . On the other hand, in the case of a malfunction that the smoke detection signal continues to be relatively high, a notification sound such as “pick, dust has accumulated in the alarm device” is output every 4 hours.

  Note that the notification sound is common, for example, a beep sound such as “beep”, and the volume of the beep sound may be larger for a serious failure than for a minor failure. Alternatively, a serious failure may sound for longer than a minor failure. In short, a serious failure is more controversial than a minor failure, as long as at least one of the volume, frequency, and length of the notification sound is higher or longer. If it does so, the alarm device 1 will be sure to notice a serious failure with a frightening notification sound, and in the case of a minor failure, discomfort is suppressed by the suppressed notification sound.

  Further, the control unit 14 of the alarm device 1 reports a serious failure regardless of the time zone based on the discrimination result of the time zone discriminating unit 17, while a minor fault is reported only in the activity time zone of the dweller. You may make it do. In other words, the alarm device 1 outputs a failure notification sound every hour in the case of a serious failure, while in the case of a minor failure, the alarm lamp 1 only blinks in the inactive time zone and 4 in the active time zone. A failure notification sound is output every hour. Such a failure notification mode is also included in the present invention. In addition, if this is done, there will be no problem that annoying sound of a minor failure is troublesome at night.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a basic procedure from self-diagnosis to failure notification. For simplicity, the processing related to fire detection and alarms is omitted.

  Step 100 is standby processing for periodically executing self-diagnosis. The waiting time may be 10 minutes, for example. Self-diagnosis may be performed simultaneously with periodic fire monitoring. If this standby process has passed, self-diagnosis is performed in step 101.

  Step 102 is processing for detecting a failure by self-diagnosis. At this time, if there is no malfunction or malfunction as described above, the process returns to step 100. On the other hand, if there is such a failure, processing for determining the urgency level of the failure is performed in steps 103 and 104.

  Steps 105 and 106 are processes for making the notification sound easy to notice according to the determination result that the urgency level of the failure is high. Here, the volume of the notification sound (electronic volume 13a) is set to “high”, and the standby time until the failure notification is made (timer 17a) is set to “short time”.

  On the other hand, steps 107 to 110 are processes for suppressing the troublesomeness of the notification sound according to the determination result that the urgency level of the failure is low. In particular, Steps 107 and 108 determine the living time zone of the dweller. If it is inactive time, the process returns to Step 104 without outputting the notification sound. On the other hand, in the activity time zone, the volume of the notification sound (electronic volume 13a) is set to “small”, and the standby time until the failure notification is made (timer 17a) is set to “long time”.

  Steps 111 and 112 are processes for waiting while monitoring the reset operation. The waiting time here is set in step 106 or 110. Here, the reset operation means an operation for stopping the failure notification, and the operation unit 12 may be operated during the standby here.

  Step 113 is a process for executing failure notification. The volume of the notification sound at this time is set in step 105 or 109.

  Steps 104 to 113 are in a loop. The condition for exiting the loop is a reset operation. If there is no reset operation, the volume is “high” in the active time zone and in a short time interval, and in the inactive time zone, the volume is “low” and only in the inactive time zone. The notification sound is repeatedly output at long time intervals.

  Step 114 is a step of recording the time when the reset operation was performed. The time recorded here is referred to in the active time zone determination process in step 107. After this processing, the process returns to step 100.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fire alarm device 14 Control part 16 Failure judgment part 17 Time zone discrimination means 17a Timekeeping part

Claims (3)

In a fire alarm for homes that has the function of continuously reporting failure until self-diagnosis is performed and a failure is detected.
A fault discriminating unit that discriminates the degree of urgency according to the type or degree of fault;
A time zone discriminating means for discriminating the activity time zone of dwellers;
Based on the determination result of the failure determination unit, a serious failure is provided with a control unit for notifying a failure more seriously than a minor failure,
The time zone discriminating means includes a time measuring unit, and based on the elapsed time from the time when the fire alarm is operated in a predetermined manner, discriminates the activity time zone of the resident,
The control unit, based on the determination result of the time zone discrimination means, notifies the serious failure regardless of the time zone, while notifying the minor failure only in the activity time zone of the resident. Features a fire alarm. In the fire alarm according to claim 1,
The serious failure is a malfunction of the fire detection function,
The fire alarm is characterized in that the minor failure is a malfunction of a fire detection function. In claim 1 or 2,
The control unit is characterized in that a serious failure increases at least one of the strength and frequency of failure notification more than a minor failure.

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