Integrated interdependent system for verifying fire alarms

Abstract

A method includes identifying a fire event by analyzing sensor data from at least one sensor of a fire sensing device of a fire alarm subsystem at a facility monitored by the fire alarm subsystem, after identifying the fire event by analyzing the sensor data from the at least one sensor of the fire sensing device, accessing data from at least one secondary subsystem to determine whether the secondary subsystem data indicates that a fire event is occurring, and initiating an alarm to an emergency response center if a fire event has been identified by analyzing sensor data from at least one sensor of the fire sensing device and data from the at least one secondary subsystem indicates that the fire event is occurring.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to systems, methods, and apparatus that provide an integrated interdependent system for verifying fire alarms. Background Art

[0002] Facilities equipped with fire alarm subsystems enable early detection of fire events such as fires within buildings. Typically, such facilities are large and may be complex (e.g., large buildings, multiple floors, facilities with multiple buildings) and such alarm subsystems enable faster arrival of firefighters.

[0003] The system utilizes specialized fire / smoke sensing devices (e.g., fire detectors that detect heat and / or smoke detectors that detect smoke particles to detect fire) dispersed throughout the facility that can detect when a fire may be occurring. These alarm subsystem devices transmit sensor data to a building alarm subsystem control panel that collects and analyzes the data to determine if a fire event is occurring and contacts emergency personnel to come to the facility to address the fire. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Figure 1 A fire alarm subsystem according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0005] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to systems, methods, and apparatus that provide an integrated, interdependent system for verifying fire alarms. Current fire alarm systems offer little protection against false alarms, and therefore initiate in-person visits by emergency personnel even though nine out of ten of these incidents are false alarms. This is a significant waste of financial and human resources. These false alarms may also prevent emergency personnel from arriving or making it difficult to locate them when an actual fire incident occurs.

[0006] Embodiments of the present disclosure integrate data from different subsystems within a facility that are not connected to a fire alarm subsystem to reduce false alarms. For example, a method includes identifying a fire event by analyzing sensor data from at least one sensor of a fire sensing device of a fire alarm subsystem at a facility monitored by the fire alarm subsystem, after identifying the fire event by analyzing the sensor data from the at least one sensor of the fire sensing device, accessing data from at least one secondary subsystem to determine whether the secondary subsystem data indicates that a fire event is occurring, and if a fire event has been identified by analyzing the sensor data from the at least one sensor of the fire sensing device and the data from the at least one secondary subsystem indicates that a fire event is occurring, wherein each of the data indicates that a fire event is occurring, initiating an alarm to an emergency response device such as a portable device of an emergency responder or an emergency response center that receives the alarm indication and forwards it to the emergency responder.

[0007] As another example, the fire alarm subsystem may utilize one or more types of fire sensing devices such as smoke detectors, temperature sensors, and / or hand-pull alarms to sense whether a fire event is occurring in the area of ​​the facility monitored by these fire sensing devices. Such fire sensing data or fire indications (initial fire alarm signals) generated by the fire sensing devices are then confirmed or use data from other subsystems within the facility to improve accuracy and then sent to a fire control panel, which alerts emergency rescue personnel to respond if a fire event is detected.

[0008] If the fire alarm subsystem's smoke detectors indicate the presence of a fire in a particular area of ​​a building within a facility (a facility may have more than one building) and the fire sprinkler subsystem reports a water flow event in the same area, these two fire-related events occurred at nearly the same time in the same area and in different subsystems, which can confirm or increase the certainty that an accurate alarm condition exists and requires a physical response by emergency responders (driving a fire truck to the facility).

[0009] Additionally, in various embodiments of the present disclosure, events detected by the fire alarm subsystem equipment may be confirmed or improved in accuracy by data from a monitoring subsystem having one or more cameras and / or audio sensors installed at the facility. These devices are used to monitor the facility rather than to detect fire events. Likewise, here, when the fire alarm subsystem detects a fire event, the system for verifying the fire alarm may access the camera and / or audio sensor to determine whether the device(s) also indicates that a fire event is occurring.

[0010] Likewise, in some embodiments, air quality and / or air density from a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) subsystem may be used with a fire alarm subsystem to confirm or more accurately determine if a fire event is occurring. This data is collected by the HVAC subsystem for occupant comfort, not for fire detection.

[0011] Furthermore, the HVAC temperature sensor may be used in addition or alternatively with the fire alarm subsystem data to confirm or more accurately determine whether a fire event is occurring. Here, again, the HVAC data is utilized by the HVAC subsystem for the purpose of occupant comfort, not for fire detection.

[0012] It should be noted that any combination of the above additional resources can be combined with the data from the fire alarm subsystem to confirm or more accurately determine whether a fire event is occurring. For example, some embodiments can utilize fire sprinkler subsystem data and HVAC air quality data together with the fire alarm subsystem data to confirm or more accurately determine whether a fire event is occurring.

[0013] In other embodiments, fire sprinkler subsystem data and HVAC air quality data together with fire alarm subsystem data can be used to confirm or more accurately determine whether a fire event is occurring. In addition, in various embodiments, air quality and air density can be used to confirm or more accurately determine whether a fire event is occurring.

[0014] Furthermore, temperature sensing from the HVAC subsystem can be used with the fire alarm subsystem data and with the HVAC air density, air quality and / or sprinkler subsystem data to confirm or more accurately determine if a fire event is occurring. By using more than one data source, the accuracy of determining if a fire event is occurring can be significantly improved.

[0015] In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form part of the present Detailed Description. The drawings show, by way of illustration, the manner in which one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced.

[0016] These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and process, electrical and / or structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0017] It should be understood that the elements shown in the various embodiments herein may be added, exchanged, combined and / or eliminated to provide multiple additional embodiments of the present disclosure. The proportions and relative sizes of the elements provided in the drawings are intended to illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be limiting.

[0018] As used herein, "a" or "a number of" things may refer to one or more such things, and "a number of" things may refer to more than one such thing. For example, "a number of sensors" may refer to one or more sensors, and "a number of sensors" may refer to more than one sensor.

[0019] Figure 1 A fire alarm subsystem according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiments of the present disclosure allow for the use of data from unrelated subsystems within a facility to confirm or improve the accuracy of determining whether a fire event (e.g., smoke or fire) is occurring in an area being monitored by both the fire alarm subsystem and secondary subsystems (e.g., fire sprinkler systems, surveillance subsystems, heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) subsystems).

[0020] In some embodiments, the secondary subsystem may send data to a computing device of the fire alarm subsystem. For example, the fire alarm subsystem may have a fire alarm subsystem computing device such as a subsystem controller (e.g., a fire alarm system control panel) that may be used as a computing resource to review data from various resources to determine whether a fire event is occurring. This may be accomplished by having a secondary subsystem computing device with executable instructions that store sensed data from sensing devices in the secondary subsystem and send the data to the fire alarm subsystem computing device. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the fire alarm subsystem computing device may request that data be sent from a secondary subsystem device.

[0021] In addition, in some embodiments, the facility control computing device can access both the fire alarm subsystem and the secondary subsystem. In this way, the facility control computing device can access any sensory data from any desired subsystem via such access.

[0022] In such embodiments, the devices of the subsystem and the facility control computing device may be connected via a network relationship. Examples of such network relationships may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a personal area network (PAN), a distributed computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment), a storage area network (SAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a cellular communication network, long term evolution (LTE), visible light communication (VLC), Bluetooth, Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), near field communication (NFC), infrared (IR) communication, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), radio waves and / or the Internet, as well as other types of network relationships.

[0023] As used herein, the term "computing device" refers to an electronic system with processing resources (processor), memory resources (memory), and / or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that can process data. Examples of computing devices may include, for example, laptop computers, notebook computers, desktop computers, all-in-one (AIO) computing devices, servers, networking equipment (e.g., routers, switches, etc.), and / or mobile devices, as well as other types of computing devices. As used herein, a mobile device may include a device that a user carries and / or wears (or can carry and / or wear by a user). For example, a mobile device may be a phone (e.g., a smart phone), a tablet computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), smart glasses, and / or a wrist-worn device (e.g., a smart watch), as well as other types of mobile devices.

[0024] The facility control computing device can receive information from Figure 1 For example, the computing device may receive temperature data, camera images, water flow data, air quality data, air density data, and / or data regarding information provided by a user of the facility, such as a voice recording, as further described herein.

[0025] Figure 1 A facility is shown having multiple subsystems operating independently therein. These subsystems are: a fire alarm subsystem 102, a monitoring subsystem 104, an HVAC subsystem 106, and a fire sprinkler subsystem 108. However, since this is an example of an interdependent system for verifying a fire alarm of the present disclosure, the system includes executable instructions to determine whether a fire event is occurring based on data from the fire alarm subsystem and data from at least one secondary subsystem.

[0026] exist Figure 1 In the illustrative example of , the computing device 130 has these executable instructions stored in the memory 134, and they are executed by the processor 132. Although shown as a separate computing device, the functions described herein may be accomplished, for example, by a fire alarm subsystem computing device or a control panel computing device of the fire alarm subsystem (e.g., a fire alarm subsystem controller) or other computing devices connected to each subsystem in a communicative manner. Such computing devices may be located at a specific location outside the facility (at a specific remote location).

[0027] The fire alarm subsystem 102 includes an air sampling device 110 such as a smoke detector and a temperature detection device 112 such as a flame detector or fire detector that can determine the temperature of the monitored area. Device data from one or more of these devices can be used to determine whether a fire event is occurring. If data from more than one device is utilized, accuracy can be improved. If data from different types of devices are utilized, accuracy can be even further improved.

[0028] The monitoring subsystem 104 may include a camera 114 and / or an audio sensor 116. For example, a single frame camera or a video camera and a microphone may be utilized. The monitoring subsystem is used to monitor the movement of users in the facility.

[0029] However, in embodiments of the present disclosure, the camera data may be analyzed to determine if there is visible smoke or flames within the field of view. Audio sensors may be used to receive sound data in the monitored area or may be used to receive voice data from a user (e.g., an eyewitness) who may confirm the presence of a fire event or confirm the presence of smoke but not the fire or other useful information.

[0030] The HVAC subsystem 106 includes an air density sensing device 120 and an air quality sensing device 122. The HVAC subsystem is used to condition the air passing through the area to make the occupants more comfortable. This may include heating and cooling the area to change the air temperature and using filters to filter out particles. Sensors are used to determine air quality and / or air density.

[0031] In embodiments of the present disclosure, such air quality sensor data and / or air density sensor data may be used to determine whether a fire event is occurring in a monitored area. For example, a sensor may identify when smoke or ash particles are present in the air in a monitored area.

[0032] The sprinkler subsystem 108 is used to activate and deactivate fire sprinklers during a fire event. The fire sprinkler subsystem 108 includes an activation monitoring component 118 that monitors the activation of the subsystem's sprinklers. One type of monitoring component is a water flow sensor that identifies when water is flowing through the subsystem (out of the sprinkler heads and into the monitored area). Such systems are typically independent of the fire alarm system.

[0033] Employing more than one of the above techniques can ensure that the probability of accurately detecting a fire event is much higher. This can have the beneficial effect of reducing the number of false alarms generated by the fire alarm system, among other things.

[0034] Although specific implementations have been illustrated and described herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same technique may be substituted for the specific implementations shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all modifications or variations of various implementations of the present disclosure.

[0035] It should be understood that the above description is given in an illustrative rather than limiting manner.By reading the above description, combinations of the above embodiments, as well as other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

[0036] The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure includes any other applications using the above-described structures and methods.The scope of the various embodiments of the present disclosure should therefore be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

[0037] In the above detailed description, various features are grouped together in the exemplary embodiments shown in the drawings for the purpose of simplifying the disclosure. This method of disclosure should not be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of the present disclosure require more features than are expressly recited in each claim.

[0038] Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment.Thus the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

Claims

1. A method, comprising: identifying a fire event by analyzing sensor data from at least one sensor of a fire sensing device (110, 112) of a fire alarm subsystem (102) at a facility monitored by the fire alarm subsystem; After identifying the fire event by analyzing the sensor data from the at least one sensor of the fire sensing device (110, 112), accessing data from at least one secondary subsystem to determine whether the secondary subsystem data indicates that the fire event is occurring; as well as If the fire event has been identified by analyzing the sensor data from the at least one sensor of the fire sensing device, and data from at least one secondary subsystem (104, 106, 108) indicates that the fire event is occurring, an alert is initiated to an emergency response computing device (130).

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the fire sensing device (102) is a smoke detector (110) having a mechanism for sensing smoke in a monitored area.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the fire sensing device (102) includes a temperature sensor (112) having a mechanism for sensing a temperature indicative of a fire in the area being monitored.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the fire sensing device (102) is a hand-pull alarm having a mechanism that allows a user to report a fire in the monitored area.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary subsystem is a sprinkler subsystem (108), the sprinkler subsystem including a flow sensor (118) that senses when a sprinkler has been activated.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary subsystem is a HVAC subsystem (106) comprising an air quality sensor (122) for sensing air quality in the area being monitored.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary subsystem is a HVAC subsystem (106), the HVAC subsystem comprising an air density sensor (120) that senses air density in the area being monitored.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the secondary subsystem is a monitoring subsystem (104) comprising a camera (114) that captures images of the area being monitored.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the camera (114) is a video camera.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the camera (114) captures a single frame image.

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