Fire alarm system

Abstract

To automatically set unique information including an address before exchange to a terminal after exchange.SOLUTION: The present invention relates to a fire alarm system S in which a control panel 1 stores in a storage unit unique information of a terminal which falls into a communication non-response during a terminal exchange mode, recognizes a terminal which communicates through an interruption communication as a newly mounted terminal, and transfers the stored unique information to the terminal which communicates through the interruption communication, and the terminal which communicates through the interruption communication stores the received new unique information in a storage unit and performs normal communication using the received unique information thereafter.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a fire alarm system, as well as a control panel and a terminal used in the fire alarm system.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a method for automatically setting an address for a terminal used in a fire alarm system is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for automatically assigning an address to a terminal connected at the time of power-on.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] A sensor may develop abnormalities due to sensitivity anomalies or dirt caused by aging deterioration or surrounding dust. When an abnormality of the sensor is detected, a failure alarm of the sensor is displayed on the receiver. In the conventional technology, when replacing a failed sensor, when replacing the original sensor with a new sensor, it is necessary to memorize the address information, sensitivity information, etc. of the original sensor in the new sensor and then assign it to the new sensor. This is time-consuming and there is room for operational errors. Due to address duplication, sensitivity data defects, etc., the system may not operate properly after replacement.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to be able to accurately and automatically set an address, sensitivity information, etc. for the replaced terminal when replacing the terminal.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In the fire alarm system according to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of terminals that transmit information related to a fire via a communication line are connected to a control panel that issues a fire alarm, and the terminal corresponding to the control signal transmitted to the terminal designated by the control panel performs a corresponding operation. In the fire alarm system, The control panel has a terminal replacement mode, and during the terminal replacement mode, when it detects that the terminal has been removed from the communication line, it identifies the unique information of the removed terminal stored in the storage area, after detecting that the terminal has been removed, when a new terminal is connected and the control panel is accessed by the new terminal via a communication interrupt, a control signal is transmitted to the new terminal together with the identified unique information so as to store the identified unique information, The terminal when receiving a control signal and unique information so as to store the unique information from the control panel, stores the received unique information in the storage area of the storage device in the terminal, and thereafter operates based on the stored information.

[0007] In the first invention, when the control panel detects non-response of a terminal during the terminal replacement mode, it determines that the non-responsive terminal has been removed for replacement and stores the unique information of the non-responsive terminal. Next, when an interrupt is received from the terminal, the interrupt terminal is determined to be newly attached for replacement, and the identified unique information is transmitted together with a unique information update command using the unique ID of the interrupt terminal. The terminal that has received the unique information update command and the unique information stores the received unique information as its new unique information and thereafter starts operating based on the new unique information.

[0008] In the fire alarm system according to the second aspect of the present invention, the unique information includes address information for identifying the terminal during communication The fire alarm system according to claim 1.

[0009] In the second invention, by using the address for identifying the terminal during the communication of the fire alarm system according to Claim 1 as one of the specific information, the receiver can use the identified address.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present invention, there is an effect that it becomes possible to automatically set the specific information including the address before replacement for the replaced terminal.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Embodiment for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] [Overview of the Fire Alarm System S] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the fire alarm system S. The fire alarm system S includes a control panel 1 and a plurality of terminals 3, 4, and 5. The control panel 1 functions as a fire receiver. The control panel 1 is connected to a plurality of communication lines 2 and is connected to a plurality of terminals 3, 4, and 5 via the communication lines 2. The communication lines 2 propagate communication signals. It may also be used for power supply. The number of terminals 3, 4, and 5 that can be connected to a pair of communication lines 2 is determined by the system, and if necessary, a plurality of communication lines 2 may be used. In FIG. 1, when a plurality of communication lines are used, each communication line is referred to as system 1, system 2, ~ system N.

[0013] The control panel 1 identifies a plurality of terminals 3, 4, and 5 with unique information and communicates with unique information via the communication line 2. The unique information is, for example, an address.

[0014] As an example, the control panel 1 is a receiver of a fire alarm, generates addresses in order from the smaller numbers of the addresses of the terminals 3 to 5 and performs polling, and receives environmental data returned from the terminals 3, 4, and 5 whose addresses match. When it is determined that there is alarm information in the received environmental data, an alarm is issued and the alarm information is provided to the operator.

[0015] The communication line 2 is an electric wire that propagates communication signals between the control panel 1 and the terminals 3, 4, and 5. In addition to communication signals, it may also be used for power supply. The number of terminals 3, 4, and 5 that can be connected to a pair of communication lines 2 is determined by the system.

[0016] The terminals 3 and 4 are, for example, smoke sensors and heat sensors. The smoke sensor and the heat sensor detect smoke and heat generated by a fire as environmental information and generate environmental data. When the call address by polling from the control panel matches its own address, the environmental data generated by the control panel is returned.

[0017] The terminal 5 is a smoke control relay that monitors the state of the smoke control terminal 6 and controls its activation. The smoke control terminal 6 is, for example, a fire door, a fire shutter, a smoke exhaust opening, a smoke curtain, etc. Similar to the terminals 3 and 4, when the call address by polling from the control panel 1 matches its own address, the environmental data generated by the control panel is returned. Also, when receiving a command for activating the smoke control terminal by polling from the control panel, a control signal is sent to the smoke control terminal 6 to activate it. When the activation of the smoke control terminal 6 is completed, a signal indicating the completion of activation is returned from the smoke control terminal 6, so the control panel returns the activation completion signal.

[0018] When terminals 3, 4, and 5 receive the unique information update command sent from the control panel to each terminal, they simultaneously store the accompanying unique information in the terminal's storage device and then operate using the stored unique information. The unique information may be, for example, an address. As an example of an address, hexadecimal numbers 00 to FF are used. The address may be in decimal, binary, or any other arbitrary format. The number of digits of the address can also be any number, and it should be pre-determined between the control panel 1 and terminals 3, 4, and 5.

[0019] As one of the unique information, sensitivity information may be included. It is also possible to set the criteria for the alarm determination unit of the smoke detector of terminal 3 or the heat detector of terminal 4 according to the installation location, and the sensitivity information used for alarm determination may be included in the unique information.

[0020] As an exception operation, terminals 3, 4, and 5 can communicate with the control panel by interrupt using their own unique ID. The unique ID is a numerical value or symbol assigned only once in the world for each terminal, and it may be a serial number assigned during manufacturing.

[0021] When the power of terminals 3, 4, and 5 is turned on, that is, when they are connected to the energized communication line 2, communication by interrupt can be performed using the above-mentioned unique ID during the interruptible period of the control panel 1. When the control panel receives an interrupt communication from terminals 3, 4, and 5, it receives the unique ID and transmits the necessary commands and their parameters using the unique ID.

[0022] [Configuration of Control Panel 1] Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control panel. The control panel 1 has a control unit 101, a communication unit 102, a display unit 103, an operation unit 104, a storage unit 105, and a power supply unit 106, and the control unit 101 has a mode determination unit 107.

[0023] The control unit 101 controls the communication unit 102, the display unit 103, the operation unit 104, the storage unit 105, and the mode determination unit 107, and is in charge of the function as a fire alarm. The control unit 101 may have a storage device (not shown), and may have a system program area and a system data area.

[0024] The communication unit 102 controls the terminals 3, 4, and 5 through communication via the communication line 2 and receives environmental information.

[0025] The display unit 103 has display devices such as display lights and screen displays, and displays environmental information from the terminals 3, 4, and 5, their alarms, and further, failure alarms when an abnormality of the fire alarm system S is detected. The operation unit 104 has operation devices such as switches and touch panels, and can operate the fire alarm system S and the terminals 3, 4, and 5.

[0026] The storage unit 105 is a storage unit provided separately from the storage device (not shown) in the control unit 101, and stores individual information of each terminal. The storage unit 105 may secure an area other than the system program area and system data area of the storage device (not shown) as the storage unit 105. The individual information is transmitted to the communication unit 102 via the control unit 101 and becomes one of the parameters used for communication between the control panel 1 and the terminals 3, 4, and 5.

[0027] The mode determination unit 107 determines the currently operating mode. It discriminates between system startup mode, normal mode, terminal replacement mode, etc. The transition of the mode is controlled by the control unit 101 and is changed according to the status and operations of the fire alarm system S.

[0028] The power supply unit 106 supplies power to all the constituent devices of the control panel 1 and may also supply power to the terminals 3, 4, and 5 via the communication line 2.

[0029] [Configuration of Terminals 3, 4, and 5] Figure 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the terminal. The terminal has a control unit 201, an alarm determination unit 202, a sensor unit 203, a communication unit 204, a unique information storage unit 205, and a power supply unit 206.

[0030] The control unit 201 controls the alarm determination unit 202, the sensor unit 203, the communication unit 204, and the unique information storage unit 205, and realizes the functions of a smoke detector, a heat detector, and a smoke exhaust relay. In the case of a smoke exhaust relay, the sensor unit 203 may be a function of detecting the operating status of the smoke exhaust terminal 6, or may be able to output an activation signal for the smoke exhaust terminal 6.

[0031] The alarm determination unit 202 determines whether an alarm needs to be sent based on the environmental information from the sensor unit 203, and transmits the determination result to the control unit.

[0032] When the terminal is a smoke detector, the sensor unit 203 measures the smoke density at the terminal installation location. When it is a heat detector, it measures the temperature at the terminal installation location. When it is a smoke exhaust relay, it transmits the measurement results of the state of the connected smoke exhaust terminal, such as open / closed, to the control unit 201. Also, when receiving an instruction to perform a function test of the terminal according to the determination of the control unit 201, it performs the function test and transmits the test result to the control unit. In the case of a smoke exhaust relay, according to the instruction of the control unit 201, it performs drive control of the connected smoke exhaust terminal, for example, opening / closing control of a fire shutter.

[0033] The communication unit 204 is connected to the communication unit 102 of the control panel 1 by the communication line 2, and exchanges information with the control panel 1. When polling is performed from the control panel 1 and the address of the terminal itself matches, it receives a command from the control panel 1 and performs necessary operations according to the command. Necessary operations include returning the environmental information and function test information it has, performing its own function test, drive control of the smoke exhaust terminal device, rewriting of unique information, etc.

[0034] The unique information storage unit 205 is a storage device that stores the unique information of the terminal itself. One of the unique information is an address, and address information is used for identifying the terminal in the polling from the control panel 1. The control panel 1 performs polling using the address, and when the addresses of terminals 3, 4, and 5 match their own addresses when receiving the polling signal, they perform necessary operations according to the commands sent together with the address during polling. Also, when receiving a unique information update command from the control panel 1, it rewrites the stored unique information of the terminal itself and then operates with the rewritten unique information.

[0035] The power supply unit 206 is a power supply device for driving each part of terminals 3, 4, and 5. It may be supplied with power from the communication line 2 or may use a power line different from the communication line 2.

[0036] [Flow of processing in the control panel 1 and terminals 3, 4, and 5] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the terminal replacement mode process of the fire alarm system S. Figures 5 and 6 are parts of the flowcharts showing examples of the processing of terminals 3, 4, and 5. Hereinafter, with reference to Figures 4, 5, and 6, the flow of the process in which the control panel 1 sets the addresses when replacing terminals 3, 4, and 5 will be described.

[0037] When the control panel detects no response in the communication with terminals 3, 4, and 5 at S01, it checks for the terminal replacement mode at S03. If there is no terminal replacement mode, it performs no-response failure alarm processing at S04 and ends the terminal replacement mode process.

[0038] When the control panel detects no response in the terminal replacement mode, it recognizes that the terminal is the terminal to be replaced and has been removed from the communication line 2, and stores the unique information of the non-responsive terminal in the storage unit 105. S05

[0039] After S05, it should receive interrupt-based communication from the newly attached terminal, and it checks to confirm receiving the interrupt communication. S06

[0040] When the control panel 1 receives interrupt-based communication from a terminal during the terminal replacement mode, it recognizes the newly replaced terminals 3, 4, and 5. In the case of interrupt communication, the communication parameters from terminals 3, 4, and 5 include a unique ID. The unique ID is a globally unique identification code assigned during factory manufacturing for each of terminals 3, 4, and 5, for example, a manufacturing serial number. When the control panel receives interrupt communication, it identifies the terminals 3, 4, and 5 connected to the communication line 2 using the received unique ID. Until interrupt communication is received, it checks for the presence or absence of interrupt communication. S07

[0041] When it detects interrupt communication and obtains the unique IDs of the terminals 3, 4, and 5 that sent the interrupt communication, it uses the unique IDs to send the unique information stored in the storage unit 105 to the terminals 3, 4, and 5 that sent the interrupt communication, together with a unique information update command. S08

[0042] When the control panel 1 sends the unique information together with the unique information update command, the terminals 3, 4, and 5 store the received unique information and start normal operation based on this. Normal operation means, that is, starting to collect environmental information and preparing for polling from the control panel 1 using an address that is one of the received unique information.

[0043] Here, the terminals 3, 4, and 5 are not aware of whether the control panel 1 is in the sensor replacement mode. If the terminals 3, 4, and 5 are removed from the communication line 2 by an operator, the communication with the control panel 1 is interrupted as described above, and the control panel 1 determines that the removed terminals 3, 4, and 5 are unresponsive.

[0044] The terminals 3, 4, and 5 obtain power from the communication line 2 and start operating by being attached to the communication line 2. S20 After the power is turned on, the terminals 3, 4, and 5 enter the power-on startup mode and attempt interrupt communication. The control panel prepares an interruptable time during the intervals of polling. The terminals 3, 4, and 5 during the power-on startup mode monitor the start of the interrupt communication possible time. S21, S22 When the terminals 3, 4, and 5 detect the interrupt communication possible time, they start interrupt communication. S23

[0045] The terminals 3, 4, and 5 that have started interrupt communication send their unique IDs, which are their own identification information, in the interrupt communication to the control panel 1. The unique ID is a numerical value or symbol assigned only once in the world for each terminal, and it may be a serial number assigned during manufacturing.

[0046] When interrupt communication is carried out, the control panel that has received the interrupt communication sends the unique information together with the unique information update command. The receiving terminals 3, 4, and 5 overwrite and store the received unique information in the unique information storage unit 205 as new unique information based on the received unique information update command and unique information. S26

[0047] The terminals 3, 4, and 5 that have stored the new unique information start the normal communication mode, that is, polling reception, using one of the unique information, the address, as their own address. When detecting that the polling received from the control panel 1 matches the polling address and its own address, it operates according to the command sent by the polling. S43 After that, the terminals 3, 4, and 5 operate in the normal communication mode. S44, S41

[0048] As described above, the terminals 3, 4, and 5 start to operate in the normal communication mode. However, when the terminal replacement mode continues and a new unresponsive terminal is detected, the terminal is recognized as a replacement terminal, and a series of operations similar to the above description may be repeated until the terminal replacement mode is released.

[0049] [Effect by the fire alarm system S] As described above, in the fire alarm system S, when replacing the terminals 3, 4, and 5, by setting the control panel 1 to the terminal replacement mode, the unique information of the terminal before replacement can be automatically copied as that of the terminal after replacement. Therefore, it is possible to operate the system normally in exactly the same way as before the terminal replacement even after the terminal replacement.

[0050] As described above, the present invention has been explained using embodiments. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist. For example, all or part of the device can be configured by functionally or physically dispersing and integrating it in any unit. Also, new embodiments resulting from any combination of multiple embodiments are included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiments resulting from the combination have the effects of the original embodiments combined.

Explanation of Signs

[0051] 1 Control panel 2 Communication line 3 Terminal (smoke detector) 4 Terminal (heat detector) 5 Terminal (smoke and exhaust relay) 6 Smoke and exhaust terminal unit 101 Control unit 102 Communication unit 103 Display unit 104 Operation unit 105 Storage unit 106 Power supply unit 107 Mode determination unit 201 Control unit 202 Alarm determination unit 203 Sensor unit 204 Communication unit 205 Unique information storage unit 206 Power supply unit

Claims

1. In a fire notification system in which a plurality of terminals that transmit information related to a fire are connected to a control panel that issues a fire alarm via a communication line for communication, and the terminal performs a corresponding operation in response to a control signal transmitted to the terminal designated by the control panel, The control panel has a terminal replacement mode, and during the terminal replacement mode, when it is detected that the terminal has been removed from the communication line, the unique information of the removed terminal stored in the storage area is specified, after it is detected that the terminal has been removed, when a new terminal is connected and there is an access to the control panel by a communication interrupt from the new terminal, a control signal is transmitted to the new terminal together with the specified unique information so as to store the specified unique information, The terminal When receiving a control signal and unique information so as to store the unique information, the received unique information is stored in the storage area of the storage device in the terminal, and thereafter, the operation is performed based on the stored information. A fire notification system characterized by this.

2. The unique information includes address information for specifying the terminal during communication The fire notification system according to Claim 1.

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