Broadcasting location of fire through sounder device

Abstract

Devices, methods, and systems for broadcasting a location of a fire are described herein. In one embodiment, a device includes a controller configured to receive a report of a fire from a fire sensing device, determine a location of the fire based on the fire sensing device reporting the fire, and send a message including the location of the fire to a sounder device for broadcasting through the sounder device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to devices, methods, and systems for broadcasting the location of a fire via a sounder device. Background Art

[0002] Large facilities (e.g., buildings), such as commercial facilities, office buildings, hospitals, etc., may have a fire alarm system that can be triggered during an emergency (e.g., a fire) to warn occupants to evacuate. For example, a fire alarm system may include a fire control panel and a number of fire sensing devices (e.g., smoke detectors) throughout the facility (e.g., on different floors and / or in different rooms of the facility) that can sense a fire occurring in the facility and provide notification of the fire to occupants of the facility via an alarm. For example, an alarm may be broadcast via a sounder device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0003] Figure 1 A block diagram of a fire control panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0004] Figure 2 A block diagram of a fire alarm system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0005] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of broadcasting the location of a fire through a sounder device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] Devices, methods, and systems for broadcasting the location of a fire are described herein. A fire control panel includes a controller. The controller may be configured to receive a report of a fire from a fire sensing device, determine the location of the fire based on the fire sensing device reporting the fire, and send a message including the location of the fire to a sounder device for broadcast via the sounder device.

[0007] Compared to previous sounder devices that broadcast alarms (such as prompt sounds or beeps), the sounder device according to the present disclosure can broadcast the location of a fire. For example, the sounder device can broadcast the location of a fire in response to receiving a message from a fire control panel. Occupants of the building can hear where the fire is located and avoid the location and / or use exits that are not blocked by the fire. Therefore, the sounder device according to the present disclosure can prevent occupants from walking towards the fire location, which may cause physical injury or death.

[0008] 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.

[0009] 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 should be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and mechanical, electrical and / or process changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0010] 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.

[0011] The figures herein follow the following numbering convention: the first digit or digits correspond to the figure number, and the remaining digits identify the element or component in the figure. Similar elements or components between different figures may be identified by using similar numerals. For example, 132 may be in Figure 1 Reference element "32" is made to the reference element, and similar elements may be found at Figure 2 Cited as 232.

[0012] As used herein, "a" or "a plurality of" things may refer to one or more such things, and "a plurality of" things may refer to more than one such things. For example, "a plurality of sounder devices" may refer to one or more sounder devices, and "a plurality of sounder devices" may refer to more than one sounder device.

[0013] Figure 1 A block diagram of a fire control panel 132 is shown, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire control panel 132 includes a controller (eg, a microcontroller) 122 .

[0014] The fire control panel 132 can receive fire sensing devices (e.g. Figure 2 The fire sensing device 200 in the apparatus receives notification that a fire is occurring in the facility and triggers a fire response to provide notification of the fire to the occupants of the facility. The fire response may include, for example, from a sounder (e.g., Figure 2 The fire control panel 132 may also communicate with a plurality of fire sensing devices and a plurality of sounder devices throughout the facility (e.g., on different floors and / or in different rooms of the facility).

[0015] The controller 122 may include a memory 124 and a processor 126. The memory 124 may be any type of storage medium that can be accessed by the processor 126 to perform various examples of the present disclosure. For example, the memory 124 may be a non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-readable instructions (e.g., computer program instructions) stored thereon, which the processor 126 is capable of executing to confirm a fire in accordance with the present disclosure. For example, the processor 126 may execute executable instructions stored in the memory 124 to receive a report of a fire from a fire sensing device, determine a location of the fire based on the fire sensing device reporting the fire, and send a message including the location of the fire to a sounder device for broadcast via the sounder device.

[0016] The controller 122 can convert the location of the fire from text to speech using a text-to-speech algorithm stored in the memory 124. For example, the text-to-speech algorithm can convert the location of the fire sensing device that reported the fire into speech. In multiple embodiments, the text-to-speech algorithm can divide the text into different phrases that can be read with appropriate intonation while following the punctuation and stable structure in the text. The pronunciation of each sentence can be different depending on the meaning and emotional tone. The text-to-speech algorithm can use a built-in dictionary to select the correct pronunciation. If the text-to-speech algorithm determines that a word is missing, the text-to-speech algorithm can use general academic rules to create a transcription. The text-to-speech algorithm can also check the speaker's recording to determine which parts of the word to emphasize. In some examples, it can be calculated how many 25 millisecond segments there are in the compiled transcription. The text-to-speech algorithm describes each segment with different parameters, including, for example, which phoneme it is part of, the pace it occupies in it, and which syllable the phoneme belongs to. The text-to-speech algorithm can then use data from the phrases and sentences to recreate the appropriate intonation.

[0017] The memory 124 may also store cause-and-effect rules. Cause-and-effect rules include commands that may be executed in response to causes. For example, a cause may be reporting a fire to the fire control panel 132, and a result may be sending a message including the location of the fire from the fire control panel 132 to an output device.

[0018] The fire control panel 132 may also include a receiver 102 and a transmitter 104. The receiver 102 may be a wireless receiver configured to receive reports of a fire from a fire sensing device. The transmitter 104 may be a wireless transmitter configured to send a message including the location of the fire to a sounder device.

[0019] In various embodiments, the controller 122 may receive reports of fires from fire sensing devices via a wired connection between the fire sensing devices and the fire control panel 132. The controller 122 may send a message including the location of the fire to the sounder device via a wired connection between the fire control panel 132 and the sounder device.

[0020] Figure 2 FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a fire alarm system 230 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire alarm system 230 may include a fire sensing device 200-1, a fire sensing device 200-2, a fire control panel 232, a sounder device 218-1, and a sounder device 218-2. The fire control panel 232 may be, for example, a fire alarm system 230 previously described in conjunction with a fire sensing device 200-1. Figure 1 A fire control panel 132 is depicted.

[0021] For example, the fire sensing device 200-1 may measure the amount of particles within the optical scattering chamber of the fire sensing device 200-1, measure the gas level within the fire sensing device 200-1, and / or measure the temperature within the fire sensing device 200-1. A report of a fire based on the amount of particles, gas level, and / or temperature may be sent from the fire sensing device 200-1 to the fire control panel 232.

[0022] The fire sensing device 200-2 may measure the amount of particles within the optical scattering chamber of the fire sensing device 200-2, measure the gas level within the fire sensing device 200-2, and / or measure the temperature within the fire sensing device 200-2. A report of a fire based on the amount of particles, gas level, and / or temperature may be sent from the fire sensing device 200-2 to the fire control panel 232.

[0023] The fire control panel 232 may be a cloud computing device of the monitoring device, the fire detection control system, and / or the fire alarm system 230. The fire control panel 232 may be configured to send commands to the fire sensing device 200-1 and / or the fire sensing device 200-2 and / or receive reports from the fire sensing device via a wired network or a wireless network. For example, the fire control panel 232 may receive a report of a fire from the fire sensing device 200-1, determine the location of the fire based on the location of the fire sensing device 200-1 that reported the fire, send a message including the location of the fire to the sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2; and the sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may broadcast the location of the fire in response to receiving the message from the fire control panel 232. The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may include a speaker configured to broadcast the location of the fire in a voice format.

[0024] In some examples, the fire control panel 232 may receive a report of another fire from the fire sensing device 200-2. The fire control panel 232 may determine the location of the other fire based on the location of the fire sensing device 200-2 that reported the other fire, and send an additional message including the location of the other fire to the sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2. The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may broadcast the location of the other fire in response to receiving the additional message from the fire control panel 232.

[0025] The fire control panel 232 may receive the particle count, gas level, and / or temperature measured by the fire sensing device 200-1, and / or the particle count, gas level, and / or temperature measured by the fire sensing device 200-2. In various embodiments, the fire control panel 232 may determine the severity of the fire based on the particle count, gas level, and / or temperature measured by the fire sensing device 200-1, and determine the severity of another fire based on the particle count, gas level, and / or temperature measured by the fire sensing device 200-2. The fire control panel 232 may compare the severity of the fire with the severity of another fire to determine which one is more severe. For example, the fire may be more severe than the other fire because the fire produces more gas than the other fire.

[0026] The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may broadcast the location of the fire before broadcasting the location of the other fire in response to the severity of the fire being greater than the severity of the other fire. In some examples, the sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may broadcast the location of the other fire before broadcasting the location of the fire in response to the severity of the other fire being greater than the severity of the fire. The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may also broadcast the severity of the fire and / or the severity of the other fire.

[0027] The fire control panel 232 may determine whether the location of the sounder device 218-1 or the location of the sounder device 218-2 is closer to the location of the fire. The fire control panel 232 may send a message including the location of the fire to the sounder device 218-1 in response to the location of the sounder device 218-1 being closer to the location of the fire, or send a message including the location of the fire to the sounder device 218-2 in response to the location of the sounder device 218-2 being closer to the location of the fire.

[0028] In various embodiments, the fire control panel 232 may determine that the sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 is located within a specific distance from the location of the fire. For example, the fire control panel 232 may send a message including the location of the fire to the sounder device 218-1 in response to the sounder device 218-1 being located within a specific distance from the location of the fire.

[0029] The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may send a notification to the fire control panel 232 in response to broadcasting the location of the fire. The sounder device 218-1 and / or the sounder device 218-2 may emit a sound before broadcasting the location of the fire. For example, the sounder device 218-1 may emit an alarm, such as a chime or beep.

[0030] The network described herein may be a network relationship through which the fire sensing device 200-1, the fire sensing device 200-2, the sounder device 218-1, the sounder device 218-2, and / or the fire control panel 232 can communicate with each other. Examples of such network relationships may include a distributed computing environment (e.g., a cloud computing environment), a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a personal area network (PAN), a campus area network (CAN), or a metropolitan area network (MAN), as well as other types of network relationships. For example, the network may include multiple servers that receive information from the fire sensing device 200-1, the fire sensing device 200-2, the sounder device 218-1, the sounder device 218-2, and / or the fire control panel 232 and send information to them via a wired network or a wireless network.

[0031] As used herein, a "network" may provide a communication system that directly or indirectly links two or more computers and / or peripheral devices and allows, for example, the fire control panel 232 to access data and / or resources on the fire sensing device 200-1 and vice versa. A network may allow a user to share resources on their own system with other network users and access information on a system located in a central location or a system located in a remote location. For example, a network may connect multiple computing devices together to form a distributed control network (e.g., a cloud).

[0032] The network may provide connectivity to the Internet and / or to the networks of other entities (e.g., organizations, institutions, etc.). Users may interact with network-enabled software applications to make network requests, such as to obtain data. Applications may also communicate with network management software, which may interact with network hardware to transfer information between devices on the network.

[0033] Figure 3is a schematic diagram of broadcasting the location of a fire 346 through a sounder device 318 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A building 340 may include a fire sensing device 300, a fire control panel 332, and a sounder device 318.

[0034] The fire sensing device 300 may include an optical scattering chamber, a gas sensor, and / or a temperature sensor. The fire sensing device 300 may be configured to measure the amount of particles within the optical scattering chamber of the fire sensing device 300, the gas level within the fire sensing device 300, and / or the temperature within the fire sensing device 300. In various embodiments, the optical scattering chamber may include a transmitter light emitting diode (LED) and a receiver photodiode to measure the amount of particles within the optical scattering chamber. The fire sensing device 300 may detect a fire 346 and report it to the fire control panel 332 in response to the amount of particles being greater than a baseline amount, the gas level being greater than a baseline gas level, and / or the temperature being greater than a baseline temperature.

[0035] The fire control panel 332 may determine the location of the fire 346 based on the location of the fire sensing device 300 that reported the fire 346. The fire control panel 332 may send the location of the fire 346 to the sounder device 318.

[0036] In some examples, sounder device 318 may be one of a plurality of output devices activated by fire control panel 332 in response to detecting fire 346. Other output devices may include, for example, a speaker, a vent, a relay, a door, or an elevator.

[0037] The sounder device 318 may receive the location of the fire 346 from the fire control panel 332 and broadcast the location of the fire 346. For example, the sounder device 318 may broadcast the exit that the fire 346 is near, the room number where the fire 346 is located, and / or the floor where the fire 346 is located. The occupant 348 may hear the location of the fire 346. If the occupant 348 knows that the fire 346 is located near the exit 344-1 and / or is located in the room next to the occupant 348, the occupant 348 may determine to take the path 342-2 to the exit 344-2 instead of taking the path 342-1 to the exit 344-1. In some examples, the sounder device 318 may send a notification that the sounder device 318 broadcasts the location of the fire 346 to the fire control panel 332 in response to broadcasting the location of the fire 346.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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 fire control panel (132, 232, 332), comprising: A controller (122), the controller being configured to: receiving a report of a fire from a fire sensing device (200, 300); determining a location of the fire (346) based on the fire sensing device (200, 300) reporting the fire (346); as well as A message including the location of the fire (346) is sent to a sounder device (218, 318) for broadcast via the sounder device (218, 318).

2. The fire control panel of claim 1, wherein the controller (122) is configured to convert the location of the fire (346) from text to speech.

3. The fire control panel of claim 2, wherein the message includes the location of the fire (346) after conversion.

4. The fire control panel of claim 1, further comprising a wireless receiver (102) configured to receive the report of the fire (346) from the fire sensing device (200, 300).

5. The fire control panel of claim 1, further comprising a wireless transmitter (104) configured to send the message including the location of the fire (346) to the sounder device (218, 318).

6. The fire control panel of claim 1, wherein the controller (122) is configured to receive the report of the fire (346) from the fire sensing device (200, 300) via a wired connection between the fire sensing device (200, 300) and the fire control panel (132, 232, 332).

7. The fire control panel of claim 1, wherein the controller (122) is configured to send the message including the location of the fire (346) to the sounder device (218, 318) via a wired connection between the fire control panel (132, 232, 332) and the sounder device (218, 318).

8. The fire control panel according to claim 1, wherein the controller (122) is configured to: A determination is made as to whether the location of the sounder device (218, 318) or the location of an additional sounder device is closer to the location of the fire (346).

9. The fire control panel according to claim 8, wherein the controller (122) is configured to: In response to the location of the sounder device (218, 318) being closer to the location of the fire (346), sending the message including the location of the fire (346) to the sounder device (218, 318); and In response to the location of the additional sounder device being closer to the location of the fire (346), the message including the location of the fire (346) is sent to the additional sounder device.

10. The fire control panel according to claim 1, wherein the controller (122) is configured to: determining that the sounder device (218, 318) is within a specified distance from the location of the fire (346); and In response to the sounder device (218, 318) being located within the particular distance from the location of the fire (346), the message including the location of the fire (346) is sent to the sounder device (218, 318).

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