JP7321644B2 - alarm - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an alarm device that detects and warns of a fire, gas leak, or the like.

Some alarm devices that detect and warn fires, gas leaks, etc., have a built-in wireless communication function for notifying the contents of the alarm to the outside or for various settings, and are capable of wireless communication with the outside. .

For example, Patent Literature 1 describes setting the specifications of the notification operation by wireless communication from an external device such as a smart phone.

JP 2017-45121 A

Alarms are often installed in locations that require effort to operate directly, such as on the ceiling, and in the case of alarms that operate by receiving power supply such as commercial power supply from the outside, power will not be supplied unless they are installed. cannot work. Therefore, it is conceivable to apply the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200011 to set up a connection with an external router or the like for an alarm device that uses wireless communication for externally notifying the content of an alarm.

However, this type of alarm may operate in different modes during normal communication and during connection setup. In order to switch the operation mode, it may be necessary to operate a button on the main body of the alarm.

Therefore, in view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alarm device that can be set for wireless communication without labor.

The invention made to solve the above problems is a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication, a sensor that monitors a physical phenomenon, an alarm unit that issues an alarm based on the monitoring result of the sensor, and a first external power supply. a first power supply circuit that supplies power to the wireless communication unit, the sensor, and the alarm unit; and a second external power supply that is different from the first external power supply and supplies power to at least the wireless communication unit. and a second power supply circuit.

As described above, according to the present invention, since power is supplied to the wireless communication unit from the second power supply circuit, it is possible to set wireless communication at hand even when the device is not installed on the ceiling or the like.

It is a schematic block diagram of the alarm device concerning one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the alarm device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the alarm device shown in FIG. 1; Figure 2 is a flow chart of the operation of the alarm shown in Figure 1;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of an alarm device according to one embodiment of the invention. The alarm device 1 is a device that gives an alarm based on the result of detecting a predetermined physical phenomenon by a sensor circuit 4, such as a fire alarm or a gas leak alarm, which will be described later. The alarm device 1 is installed at a labor-intensive position such as a ceiling or an upper part of a wall, which requires the use of a stepladder or the like for workers to work on.

The alarm device 1 includes an AC power supply circuit 2, a microcomputer 3, a sensor circuit 4, a communication module 5, and a USB power supply circuit 6, as shown in FIG.

The AC power supply circuit 2 is connected to a commercial power supply (AC power supply) when the alarm device 1 is attached to a mounting base provided on the indoor ceiling or the like. The AC power supply circuit 2 converts the commercial power supply into a DC voltage of a predetermined voltage, and supplies it to the microcomputer 3 , the sensor circuit 4 and the communication module 5 . That is, the AC power supply circuit 2 is connected to a commercial power supply (first external power supply) to supply power to the communication module 5 (wireless communication section), the sensor circuit 4 (sensor), and the microcomputer 3 (alarm section). function as a circuit. As described above, the alarm device 1 of the present embodiment does not incorporate a battery and operates by power supply from the outside.

The microcomputer 3 is a microcomputer (microcomputer) having memories such as a CPU (central processing unit), a ROM (read only memory), and a RAM (random write and read memory). Based on the detection result of the sensor circuit 4, the microcomputer 3 drives a speaker, a buzzer, and lamps such as light emitting diodes (not shown) to issue an alarm. In addition, the microcomputer 3 transmits alarm information to an external device via the communication module 5 and performs various settings and other operations based on information received by the communication module 5 . That is, the microcomputer 3 functions as an alarm unit that issues an alarm based on the monitoring result of the sensor circuit 4 (sensor).

The sensor circuit 4 monitors a predetermined monitoring area such as a room, and outputs the detection result of the monitored object. Examples of the sensor that detects the monitored object monitored by the sensor circuit 4 include a gas sensor that detects carbon monoxide and methane, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a smoke sensor, and the like. That is, the sensor circuit 4 functions as a sensor that monitors physical phenomena.

The communication module 5 performs wireless communication according to standards such as Wi-Fi (registered trademark). The communication module 5 operates in different operation modes depending on whether power is supplied from the AC power supply circuit 2 (normal operation) or power is supplied from the USB power supply circuit 6, which will be described later. That is, the communication module 5 functions as a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication.

The USB power supply circuit 6 is connected to an external USB device via a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal (not shown) and receives power from the USB device. The USB power supply circuit 6 converts the power supply voltage received from the USB device into a voltage at which the communication module 5 operates, and supplies the voltage to the communication module 5 . That is, the USB power supply circuit 6 serves as a second power supply circuit that is connected to a USB device (second external power supply) different from the commercial power supply (first external power supply) and supplies power to at least the communication module 5 (wireless communication unit). Function. As the USB device, for example, a portable (portable) device capable of supplying power (power supply device) such as a smart phone or a mobile battery is preferable.

In the present embodiment, the USB power supply circuit 6 is used as the second power supply circuit, but power is not limited to being supplied from the USB terminal, and other interfaces capable of supplying power, terminals dedicated to power supply, and the like may be used. Also, the power supply device is not limited to a portable device, and may be an outlet or the like that can be accessed without labor, such as on an indoor wall.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the commercial power supply and the USB device are not connected at the same time. This is because the commercial power supply is connected with the alarm device 1 attached to the mounting base described above, whereas the USB device is connected with a USB cable or the like at a position where the operator can easily work. be. Therefore, two power supplies are not connected at the same time. However, if both are connected, measures may be taken to give priority to one of them.

Next, the operation of the alarm device 1 having the configuration described above will be described. First, a case where a commercial power supply is connected will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, when a commercial power supply is connected, an AC power supply circuit 2 converts it into a DC voltage of a predetermined voltage and supplies it to a microcomputer 3, a sensor circuit 4 and a communication module 5. FIG. At this time, the USB power supply circuit 6 does not operate because the USB device is not connected.

In FIG. 2 , the microcomputer 3 is powered by the AC power supply circuit 2 to operate, issues an alarm based on the detection result of the sensor circuit 4 , and transmits and receives various information via the communication module 5 . The communication mode of the communication module 5 at this time operates in a normal mode (a mode in which communication with an external router or the like is possible).

Next, a case where a USB device such as a smart phone or a mobile battery is connected will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3 , when a USB device is connected, the USB power supply circuit 6 converts the power supplied from the USB device into a voltage or the like for operating the communication module 5 and supplies the power to the communication module 5 . At this time, the AC power supply circuit 2 stops operating, but the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 are also supplied with power through the power supply line.

Since the power supply capability of the USB device is lower than that of the commercial power supply, if the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 are also operated, the alarm device 1 may malfunction. Therefore, in this embodiment, the USB power supply circuit 6 outputs a control signal to the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 so as to stop their operation. Alternatively, the microcomputer 3 may stop the operation of the sensor circuit 4 by outputting a control signal only to the microcomputer 3 . Then, the communication module 5 is set. The setting of the communication module 5 is performed by wireless communication using a setting terminal such as a smartphone. The setting contents include, for example, an SSID (Service Set Identifier) for communicating with an external router or the like, an encryption key, and the like. Because of this setting, the communication module 5 becomes an access point mode (an operation mode in which the communication module 5 can be set) which is a mode different from the normal mode.

The setting of the communication module 5 may be performed via USB, but since a circuit for USB communication is additionally required, wireless communication is used in this embodiment. Also, the setting terminal and the USB device may be the same device. In other words, while one smartphone or the like is connected to the alarm device 1 with a USB cable or the like to supply power, the communication module 5 may be set by wireless communication with the same smartphone or the like.

After completing the setting, remove the USB cable and the like from the alarm device 1 and attach it to the mounting base described above. Then, the state shown in FIG. 2 is obtained, and the operation as the alarm device 1 can be performed.

Next, the operation described above is shown in the flow chart of FIG. First, when the connected power supply is an AC power supply (commercial power supply) (step S1: AC power supply), the USB power supply circuit 6 is stopped (step S2). Then, the communication module 5 operates in the normal mode (step S3) to transmit and receive various information such as alarm information. Also, the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 operate. The route of steps S2 to S3 is the operation when the alarm device 1 is attached to the ceiling or the like.

On the other hand, if the connected power supply is a USB device such as a smartphone (smartphone) or mobile battery in step S1 (step S1: smartphone/mobile battery), the AC power supply circuit 2 stops (step S4), and the microcomputer 3 and sensor circuit 4 is stopped (step S5). In step S5, power supply to the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 may be continued as long as the operation is stopped.

Next, when the operator or the like sets the special mode by operating the button of the alarm device 1 (step S6: YES), the communication module 5 is set to the access point mode (step S7), and wireless communication is performed by the setting terminal described above. settings. The setting to the special mode in step S6 may be omitted, and the communication module 5 may be automatically set to the access point mode when the USB power supply circuit 6 operates. This route of steps S4 to S7 is the operation when wireless communication of the alarm device 1 is set.

According to this embodiment, the alarm device 1 includes a communication module 5 that performs wireless communication, a sensor circuit 4 that monitors and detects physical phenomena, a microcomputer 3 that issues an alarm based on the detection result of the sensor circuit 4, and a commercial It has an AC power supply circuit 2 connected to a power supply to supply power to the communication module 5 , the sensor circuit 4 and the microcomputer 3 , and a USB power supply circuit 6 connected to a USB device to supply power to at least the communication module 5 .

By configuring the alarm device 1 as described above, power is supplied to the communication module 5 by the USB power supply circuit 6. Therefore, even when the alarm device 1 is not installed on the ceiling or the like, power can be supplied at hand to enable wireless communication settings, etc. can do

In addition, since the communication module 5 is in a different operation mode depending on whether power is supplied from the AC power circuit 2 or from the USB power circuit 6, power is supplied from the USB power circuit 6. If supplied, the access point mode is set, and wireless communication can be set up by the setting terminal. In addition, it is possible to prevent wireless communication from being erroneously set while power is being supplied from the AC power supply circuit 2 .

In addition, the USB power supply circuit 6 stops the operation of the microcomputer 3 and the sensor circuit 4 when the connection of a USB device is detected. can.

In addition, as the first external power supply, a commercial power supply is supplied from the ceiling in the room, and as the second external power supply, a USB device that is a portable power supply device is used, so that the alarm installed on the ceiling 1, wireless communication can be set even in places where there is no electrical outlet, such as inside a car or outdoors.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. That is, those skilled in the art can carry out various modifications according to conventionally known knowledge without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still have the configuration of the alarm device of the present invention, they are, of course, included in the scope of the present invention.

1 alarm 2 AC power supply circuit (first power supply circuit)
3 Microcomputer (alarm part)
4 Sensor circuit (sensor)
5 Communication module (wireless communication unit)
6 USB power supply circuit (second power supply circuit)

Claims (4)

a wireless communication unit that performs wireless communication;
a sensor that monitors a physical phenomenon;
an alarm unit that issues an alarm based on the monitoring result of the sensor;
a first power supply circuit connected to a first external power supply to supply power to the wireless communication unit, the sensor, and the alarm unit;
a second power supply circuit connected to a second external power supply different from the first external power supply and supplying power to at least the wireless communication unit;
An alarm characterized by having 2. The wireless communication unit is in different operation modes depending on whether power is supplied from the first power supply circuit or from the second power supply circuit. The alarm device described in . 3. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the second power supply circuit stops the operation of the alarm section and the sensor when the second external power supply is connected. 4. Any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first external power source supplies commercial power from a ceiling in the room, and the second external power source is a portable power supply device. an alarm device as described in paragraph 1.

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