JPH03292596A - Radio alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To measure-display receiving electric field strength by continuous- transmitting a test signal involving address information for more than fixed time able to measure the receiving electric field strength at a master side within a transmitting period at the time of operating a test switch and displaying a slave address and a receiving level on the master device. CONSTITUTION:When a test switch provided at slaves 12-1 to 12-N is actuated at transmission test, a test signal is continuous-transmitted for over more than a fixed period possible to measure receiving electric field strength at a master 14 side within a transmitting period T1. Accordingly, the continuous receiving condition of the test signal can be obtained for over the sufficient period for the measurement of the receiving electric filed strength at the master 14 side. Thus, the measurement of the receiving electric field strength for a transmission test can be executed surely and precisely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a wireless alarm system for monitoring abnormalities such as fire.

[Conventional technology] Conventionally, in order to monitor fires at construction sites such as buildings, a slave unit with a fire detector directly attached externally was installed on the ceiling side of a warning area, and when a fire signal was received from the fire detector, A wireless alarm system has been proposed in which an abnormality detection signal is transmitted to the master device together with the address of the slave device to report an abnormality.

The slave unit has a built-in battery power supply, and can be freely installed in any desired location.

In such a wireless alarm system, one group consists of one parent unit and, for example, eight slave units, and when an abnormality is detected, an abnormality detection signal is sent to the parent unit along with the slave unit address (group address and individual address). Send. The abnormality detection signal from this slave device is transmitted for example 3 times while the fire signal is being obtained.
Continuous transmission is performed, with a transmission period of 2 seconds and a rest period of 2 seconds repeated. Furthermore, in order to avoid collisions due to simultaneous transmission from other slave devices, delay times are randomly set within the transmission period, and the operation of transmitting at least once is repeated every time the set delay time elapses.

On the other hand, the parent domain receives the abnormality detection signal from the child device, displays the abnormal state together with the child device address, and issues an alarm.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, in such conventional wireless alarm systems, during installation or inspection, it is necessary to check whether or not the slave unit can transmit normally to the parent unit. A test signal containing address information is transmitted by operating a test switch on the side, and a transmission test is conducted on the parent domain side to see if the specified received field strength can be obtained.

However, in conventional systems, during testing, the transmission operation of transmitting a test signal for 3 seconds and then pausing for 2 seconds is repeated, just as when detecting an abnormality, and the delay is randomly set within the 3-second transmission period. Because the transmission pauses over time and the transmission operation is repeated every time the delay time elapses, the parent clan can only receive the transmitted radio waves intermittently even during the transmission period, making it difficult to accurately measure the received field strength of the radio waves. There was a problem that I couldn't do it.

The present invention has been made in view of these conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless alarm system that can accurately and reliably measure and display the received electric field strength on the side of the clan during a transmission test.

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve this object, the present invention is configured as follows. In addition, the reference numerals of the drawings of the embodiments are also indicated.

First, the present invention connects a sensor 10 that detects an abnormality such as a fire, and when the sensor 10 issues an alarm, a certain transmission period Tl (=
A plurality of slave devices 12-1 to 12-n that continuously transmit abnormality detection signals including address information by repeating a pause period T2 (=2 seconds) and a pause period T2 (=2 seconds), and slave devices 12-1 to 12-n. n
The parent domain 14 receives the transmission signal from the parent domain and notifies the abnormal state.
The target is a wireless alarm system consisting of.

In the present invention for such a wireless alarm system, each of the slave devices 12-1 to 12-n is provided with the sensor 1.
Random transmitting means 16 that repeats a transmitting operation of randomly setting a delay time Td within the transmission cycle T1 when a zero alarm is issued and transmitting an abnormality detection signal at least once every time the set delay time Td elapses, and a transmitting test. test switch 20
is provided with test transmitting means 18 for continuously transmitting a test signal including address information for a predetermined time period during which the received field strength at the parent domain 14 side can be measured within the transmission period T1; The apparatus is characterized in that it is provided with test display means (22, 24) for displaying the slave device address and reception level when the test signal from the slave device is received.

[Function] According to the wireless alarm system of the present invention having such a configuration, when the test switch provided in the slave unit is activated during a transmission test, the delay time is set randomly within the transmission period Tl and the transmission is performed. Unlike during abnormal pressure testing, which repeats the transmission period T
Within 1, the test signal was continuously transmitted over a certain period of time during which the received field strength could be measured on the parent domain 14 side, and the test signal was continuously received for a period sufficient to measure the received field strength on the parent domain side. Thus, it is possible to reliably and accurately measure the received field strength for transmission tests.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, 12-1.12-2. ...12
-n is a slave device, each connected to a fire detector 10, and upon receiving a fire detection signal from the fire detector 10, transmits an abnormality detection signal including address information to the parent clan 14 from the antenna 22.

The wireless alarm system of the present invention provides for one parent clan 14,
For example, eight child devices 12-1 to 12-8 constitute one group.

The transmission operation of slave devices 12-1 to 12-n is performed by fire detector 10.
When an abnormality is detected, an abnormality detection signal including address information is continuously transmitted while a fire detection signal is obtained by repeating a 3-second transmission period T1 and a 2-second pause period T2.

FIG. 2 is an embodiment configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the child device of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, 26 is a control unit, which includes a modem and a CPU.
Consists of. The control unit 26 has 3 signals when the sensor 10 is activated.
Random transmission means 16 that repeats a transmission operation of randomly setting a delay time Td within a transmission period Tl of seconds and transmitting an abnormality detection signal including address information at least once every time the set delay time Td elapses; and a transmission test. When the test switch 20 is activated, the parent domain 14 is transmitted within the 3 second transmission period T1.
The test transmitting means 18 continuously transmits the test signal including the real address information over a predetermined period of time during which the received electric field strength at the side can be measured.

Random setting of the delay time in the random transmission means 16 is performed using a delay time setting section 28 and an information table 30, which are realized as a control function of the CPU shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, an information table 30 provided in the control unit 26 stores a pseudo-randomized numerical value series of delay times as shown. In this example, the delay time numerical series is 0.2 seconds for address 000 and 0.0 seconds for address 001.

...0.8 seconds is stored at address 111.

The delay time setting unit 28 is activated when the power is turned on when the sensor is activated, refers to the information table 30 corresponding to an arbitrarily set initial address, for example, initial address 010, reads out the delay time of 068 seconds, and sets the random delay time. Produces configuration output. Further, the delay time setting section 28 receives a transmission operation end signal every time the set time elapses following the output of the random delay time setting based on power-on, and receives a delay time of 0.4 for the next address 011 following the initial address in the information table 30. The second is read out, and thereafter, the address of the numerical series is sequentially incremented by one every time transmission ends over the transmission period T1, and the process of reading out the delay time is repeated. In addition, the transmission period T that lasts 3 seconds
1 ends, and when the next transmission starts after a 2-second pause period T-2, it starts reading the delay time from the address next to the delay time set at the end of the previous transmission period. It becomes like this.

Referring again to FIG. 2, 34 is a fire reception circuit to which the fire detector 10 is connected, and when the fire detector 10 is activated, it receives the alarm signal via the power supply signal line 36, and receives the fire reception signal. is output to the control section 26 and the starting circuit 38. When the starting circuit 38 receives the fire reception output, it turns on the power supply control circuit 40 , supplies the power supply voltage from the battery power supply 42 to the control section 26 to start the power-on, and starts the random transmission means 16 .
The fire detection signal is transmitted by the fire detection signal.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a periodic notification circuit, which uses a timer to output periodic notifications to the control unit 26 and the startup circuit 38 once every nine hours, for example, and transmits the periodic notification when the power supply control circuit 40 is turned on and the control unit 26 is powered on. Have them do the action. This periodic report transmission operation is an operation of transmitting periodic report information once together with address information.

Furthermore, for the control unit 26, the group address setting device 4
6. An individual address setter 48 and a non-volatile memory 50 are connected. A group address setter 46 sets a lower address among group addresses indicating a group. Note that the upper address for expanding the group address is stored in the nonvolatile memory 50. The individual address setter 48 is 8
Set one of the two child device addresses. The non-volatile memory 50 uses, for example, an E2FROM, and the first transmitted call code (ID code) approved by the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications.
is stored. That is, specified low-power radio stations under the Radio Law are required to send a calling code (ID code) at the beginning of transmission. Further, the non-volatile memory 50 stores upper group addresses corresponding to lower group addresses provided by the group address setter 46 in order to provide expandability to the group addresses.

A test switch 20 is connected to the fire receiving circuit 34 and the control unit 26, and a reed switch is used as the test switch 20, which closes the switch contacts when a magnet is brought close. That is, a test switch 20 made of a reed switch is built into the child device housing, and during a transmission test, the test switch 20 can be turned on by bringing a magnet close to the child device. Of course, any suitable test switch other than the reed switch operated by a magnet may be used.

When the test switch 20 is activated, the fire receiving circuit 34 is in the same state as when the fire detector 10 has triggered an alarm, and the starting circuit 38 is activated.
A reception output is generated, and the control section 26 is powered on and started by the operation of the power supply control circuit 40. Furthermore, test switch 2
0 outputs a test signal to the control section 26 to cause the test transmitting means 18 to perform a test transmitting operation.

Further, a transmission RF unit 52 is provided for the control unit 26, and transmits a carrier signal of a channel frequency pre-assigned based on the transmission data generated by the control unit 26, for example, to M.
The signal is SK modulated and transmitted from the transmitting antenna 54.

FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the continuous transmission operation when a fire is detected in the slave device embodiment of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 4, when the fire detector 10 issues an alarm, it first transmits a call code. This call code has the format shown in FIG. When the calling code is transmitted after a randomly set delay time Tdl, the first synchronization signal and information code are transmitted, and then the delay time Td2. Ta2
．． Transmission is repeated every Ta2. Here, the synchronization signal is data in which all 1's are continuous, while the information code is composed of, for example, four frames, frames 1 to 4 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the first start bit 0 and the last stop bit 1 of frames 1 to 4 are provided for frame synchronization. An 8-bit data area is provided following start bit 0, and frame 1 contains the group address (
In frame 2, an individual address and a group address (lower) are sent, in frame 3 a fire detection signal is sent, and in frame 4 a horizontal parity bit is sent. The horizontal parity bit of frame 4 is from frame 1 to
The parity bits are set so that the sum of 3 identical bit positions is, for example, an odd number. Following the 8-bit data area, a parity bit is provided for each frame.

Next, the transmission operation in the child device of FIG. 2 will be explained with reference to the operation flow diagram of FIG. 7.

Assuming that the fire detector 10 has triggered an alarm, the activation circuit 38 is activated by the received output of the fire reception circuit 34, turns on the power supply control circuit 40, supplies power to the control unit 26 from the battery power supply 42, and controls the Due to the power-on start of Section 26, the 7th
The operation flow shown in the figure is executed.

In FIG. 7, first, in step SL (hereinafter "step" will be omitted), it is determined whether it is a fire or a test. At this time, since it is a fire, a call code is first transmitted in the next step 82. Next, in S3, the process waits for the random delay time to elapse. As shown in FIG. 3, this random delay time is set based on the initial address of the delay time setting section 28 at the time of power-on start, corresponding to an arbitrary initial address in the numerical series of the information table 30. When the waiting time spanning the random delay time has elapsed in S3, the process proceeds to 84, where at least one transmission operation is performed. That is, a synchronization signal and an information code are transmitted as shown in FIG. 4, and the information code includes an address and a fire detection signal as shown in FIG.

When the transmission operation in S4 is completed, the process advances to 85, where it is checked whether the transmission period of 1123 seconds has elapsed since the start of transmission, and if it has not, the process waits (pauses) for the random delay time of 83.84 and waits for each delay time elapsed. Repeat the sending operation.

When it is determined in S5 that the transmission period of 1123 seconds has elapsed, the process proceeds to 86 and pauses for 2 seconds. After the 2 second pause in S6, S7
Checks whether a fire signal is being received or not, and if so, returns to S2 and repeats the transmission operation based on the setting of the call code and random delay time. If reception of the fire signal is cut off in S7, the process proceeds to S8, where the power supply to the control unit 26 is cut off, thereby ending the series of processes.

On the other hand, when the power-on start of the control unit 26 is performed by the operation of the test switch 20, a test is determined in Sl and the process proceeds to S9, in which a call code is first transmitted;
Subsequently, test signals are continuously transmitted at SIO without waiting due to random delay time settings. This continuous transmission of the test signal is performed by using the fire detection signal portion of frame 3 in FIG. 6 as the test signal.

When the test signal is transmitted in S10, it is checked in the next S11 whether a transmission period of 1123 seconds has elapsed since the start of transmission, and when 3 seconds have elapsed, the process advances to 812 and after a 2 second pause, the test switch 20 is turned on in S13. The test signal is continuously transmitted for 3 seconds from 89 to S12 and the test signal is paused for 2 seconds until the test switch 20 is turned off.

Of course, when it is determined in 313 that the test switch is off, S8
Then, the series of processing is completed by powering off the control section 26.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the friendship 14 shown in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 8, a modem 60 is provided in the friendship, and a reception signal received by a reception antenna 62 is inputted to the modem 60 via a reception RF unit 64. modem 60
demodulates the received signal from a particular frequency channel. The modem 60 is also provided with a parent address setter 66, in which group addresses (upper and lower) and individual addresses for each child device are set. The modem 60 compares the received and demodulated address with the address of the parent setter 66, and when the group address matches and the individual address corresponds to one of a plurality of slave addresses, the received data is transferred to the data latch circuit 6.
Output to 8 and latch it.

Furthermore, for the data latch circuit 68, an idle line setting device 70 is provided.
Sets an unused slave address or channel. The idle line set by the idle line setter 70 is excluded from the processing targets of the modem 60 and the control unit 72.

The control unit 72 is composed of a CPU, and includes a data latch circuit 68.
The received data obtained from the modem 60 is decoded, and if it is a fire detection signal, a fire alarm is displayed on the alarm display 22 and identification of the slave device is displayed, and a fire alarm is issued from the audible alarm 74. In addition, when a test signal is determined, the slave device is individually displayed on the alarm display 22, and since the field strength measurement voltage is given from the reception RF unit 64, this field strength measurement voltage is read and the reception level is displayed. Vessel 2
4 to display the received electric field strength.

FIG. 9 is an operational flow diagram of the friendship shown in FIG.

In FIG. 9, when the power of Goodwill is turned on, initial settings are first performed on Sl. In this initial setting, for example, if an idle line is set with the idle line setting device 70, the idle line information is transferred to the modem 6.
0 and the control unit 72 to exclude idle lines from processing targets. Also, the group address and the individual addresses of each child device are read from the parent address setting device 66.

Next, a monitoring operation is started in S2, and when data is received in S3, the process proceeds to 84 to perform address verification, and if an address match is obtained, the received data is decoded in S5.

Next, the process proceeds to 86, where it is determined whether it is a fire or a test based on the result of decoding the received data, and if there is a fire, an indication is displayed on the alarm display 22, an audible alarm is output by the audible alarm 74, and if necessary, a transfer signal is output to the receiver. Do the following. On the other hand, when the test is determined in S6, the electric field strength level obtained from the reception RF unit 64 is inputted in 88, and output and displayed on the reception level display 24 in S9.

FIG. 10 is a time chart showing the transmission operation when a fire is detected according to the present invention, and correspondingly, FIG. 11 shows a time chart during a radio wave transmission test.

When a fire is detected in FIG. 10, a random transmission delay time Td1 is first set by the sensor alarm at time t1, and a calling code is first transmitted after the random transmission delay time Tdl has elapsed. When the transmission of the calling code is completed, data transmission, ie, transmission of an information code including a synchronization signal, a fire detection signal, and address information, is performed. When the transmission is completed, the next random transmission delay time Td2 is set, and the second data transmission is performed after this delay time Td2 has elapsed. Hereinafter, time t when a transmission period T1=3 seconds has elapsed from time tl
2, the transmission operation after a randomly set delay time has elapsed is repeated. From the start of transmission at time t2, T1=
When 3 seconds have elapsed, the transmission stops for T2 = 2 seconds until t3, and from time t3, transmission for T1 = 3 seconds and pause for T2 = 2 seconds are repeated again. Then, when the sensor alarm is cut off at time t4, the transmission operation ends.

On the other hand, in the transmission of the test signal, as shown in FIG.
This is performed intermittently until time t2, when =3 seconds have elapsed. When T1=3 seconds is reached at time t2, T2=22 is stopped, and continuous transmission of the call code and test signal starts again from time t3.
When the test switch is turned off at time t4, the series of test signal transmission operations is stopped.

In this way, in contrast to the data transmission at the time of abnormality detection in Figure 10, during the test, the test signal is transmitted continuously over the transmission period T1 = 3 seconds, for example, so the parent domain has sufficient data to measure the received electric field strength. It is possible to obtain a continuous reception state of radio waves, and to know the received electric field strength on the parent domain side reliably and accurately.

Note that the random delay time in the above embodiment may be randomly set using any other appropriate method. Also, in the above embodiment, the case where a fire detector is connected to the slave device is taken as an example, but in addition to this, an appropriate abnormality detector such as a gas leak detector or an intruder detector may be connected. You may also do this.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, when the test switch provided in the slave unit is activated during a radio wave transmission test, an abnormality is detected in which the delay time is randomly set and transmission is repeated within the transmission period T1. Unlike in the past, the test signal will be continuously transmitted within the transmission period and over a certain period during which the received field strength can be measured on the parent side. By being able to continuously receive the transmitted radio waves for a period sufficient to measure the received field strength on the parent domain side, it is possible to reliably and accurately measure the received field strength for the radio wave transmission test.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an embodiment configuration diagram of the slave unit of the present invention; FIG. 3 is an embodiment configuration diagram of the random delay time setting circuit section of the present invention; Transmission timing chart of slave device of invention; 5th
The figure shows the format of the call identification code transmitted from the slave unit of the present invention; Figure 6 is the format diagram of the transmission code transmitted from the slave unit of the present invention; Figure 7 shows the transmission operation of the slave unit of the present invention. Figure 8 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the goodwill of the present invention; Figure 9 is an operation flow diagram showing the reception operation of the goodwill of the present invention; Figure 10 is the transmission when a fire is detected according to the present invention. Timing Chart: FIG. 11 is a transmission timing chart during testing of the present invention. In the figure, 10: Fire detector 12.12-1 to 12-n: Child device 14: Goodwill 16: Random transmission means 18: Test transmission means 20: Test switcher 22: Alarm indicator 24: Reception level indicator 26: Control unit 28: Delay time setting unit 30: Information table 34: Fire reception circuit 36: Power supply signal line 40: Starting circuit 42: Power supply control circuit 44: Regular notification circuit 46: Group address setting device 48: Individual address setting device 50 :Non-volatile memory (E2PROM) 52: Transmission RF
Unit 54: Transmitting antenna 60; Modem 62: Receiving antenna 64: Receiving RF unit 66 Two-parent address setting device 68: Data latch circuit 70: Idle line setting device 72: Control unit (CPU) 74: Audible alarm lid ≧ No. Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A sensor for detecting an abnormality such as a fire is connected, and in response to an alarm from the sensor, an abnormality detection signal including address information is continuously transmitted by repeating a fixed transmission period and a rest period. In a wireless alarm system consisting of a plurality of slave units and a master unit that receives transmission signals from the slave units and notifies an abnormal state, each of the slave units is provided with the alarm when the sensor is activated. Random transmission means that repeats a transmission operation that randomly sets a delay time within a transmission cycle and transmits an abnormality detection signal at least once every time the set delay time elapses, and when a test switch that performs a radio wave transmission test is activated. , test transmitting means for continuously transmitting a test signal including address information for a predetermined time period or longer during which the received electric field strength on the master device side can be measured within the transmission period; 1. A wireless alarm system comprising test display means for displaying a slave device address and reception level when receiving a test signal.