Fire Alarm Sounder Voice Broadcasting for Precise Fire Location
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire alarm systems in large facilities lack the ability to accurately broadcast the location of a fire, leading to potential confusion among occupants and increased risk of injury or death.
Innovation Solution
A fire control panel equipped with a controller that receives fire reports from sensing devices, determines the fire's location, and transmits this information to sounder devices for voice-based location broadcasting, using a text-to-speech algorithm to convert the location into intelligible speech.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional alarm systems broadcast only generic warnings, then the system complexity is low, but the information accuracy and occupant guidance effectiveness deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a sounder device as an intermediary component between the fire alarm system and occupants. This sounder device receives location data from the fire alarm system and converts it into voice announcements, serving as a mediator that transforms raw data into actionable information without requiring complex integration throughout the entire system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional visual or generic auditory alarm mechanisms with a text-to-speech conversion system. The controller converts location data into spoken words, substituting mechanical/electronic alarm bell systems with intelligent voice synthesis technology that provides directional guidance.
2Loss of information
If fire location is broadcast visually, then information accuracy improves, but the ease of operation and accessibility for all occupants deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the alarm notification function into multiple channels: traditional alarm signals for general warning and voice announcements for specific location information. This segmentation allows different types of information to be delivered through optimal channels, with voice providing detailed location data that is accessible to all occupants regardless of their ability to read or process visual information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of information delivery from visual to auditory by using text-to-speech conversion. This parameter change makes the system accessible to occupants with visual impairments, those in smoke-filled environments where visibility is reduced, and provides more natural directional guidance through spoken language.
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, methods, and systems for broadcasting a location of a fire are described herein. One 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 that reported the fire, and transmit a message including the location of the fire to a sounder device for broadcast by the sounder device.