JP5022271B2 - Alarm device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm device, and more particularly to a technique that can be suitably employed in an alarm device that outputs drive sound when an abnormal state is detected when drive power is supplied by a built-in battery.

The conventional alarm device has a detecting means for detecting an abnormal state of a detection target such as methane, carbon monoxide, and smoke, and an abnormal state such as a beep sound or a voice message by a speaker when the abnormal state is detected by the detecting means. And alarm means for outputting an alarm sound according to the above.
In addition, as such an alarm device, for example, a gas leak alarm device that outputs a gas leak alarm sound for notifying the occurrence of gas leak when the methane concentration exceeds a determination threshold value, the CO concentration exceeds the determination threshold value. An incomplete combustion alarm device that outputs an incomplete combustion alarm sound to notify the occurrence of incomplete combustion when a smoke occurs, notifies the occurrence of a fire when smoke occurs or when the room temperature exceeds a judgment threshold There is a fire alarm device that outputs a fire alarm sound. In the present application, the gas leakage, the incomplete combustion, and the fire may be simply referred to as “abnormal”.

In this type of alarm device, the detection process by the detection means is usually started in the start-up period (for example, 1 minute) after the power supply unit is turned on, but the reliability of the detection result is low. In a state where the operation of the alarm means is stopped, various activation processes are performed by the CPU, for example, and the operation of the alarm means is started from the end of the activation period.
Then, at the end of this start-up period, the user is placed in a state where the start-up operation is completed and the abnormal state can be monitored, such as “Ready. Start monitoring.” A predetermined activation completion sound for notifying that the sound has been output is output from the sound output means.

  Moreover, as an alarm device, in addition to an external power supply type that supplies driving power from an external power source such as a commercial power supply, a battery that supplies driving power from an internal battery so as to omit the power cord so as not to be restricted by the installation location. A driving type is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-109656 A

In the alarm device, relatively large power is consumed to drive the audio output means. For this reason, in particular, a battery-driven alarm device may not be able to obtain a sufficiently long battery life in practice, and there is a problem that the replacement cycle of the built-in battery is shortened.
Also, if the output of the start completion sound at the end of the start-up period is omitted for the purpose of power saving, the user cannot know whether the abnormal state can be monitored after turning on the power, You will have anxiety about whether it is working properly.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and its purpose is to achieve a sufficiently long battery life practically when it is configured to be battery-driven, particularly for power saving. Further, the present invention is to provide an alarm device that can surely notify the user that the abnormality can be monitored after the end of the activation period from the time of turning on the power supply unit.

  In order to achieve the above object, an alarm device according to the present invention includes a power supply unit that supplies driving power, a detection unit that detects an abnormal state of a detection target, a voice output unit that can output sound, and the detection unit. The alarm means for outputting a predetermined alarm sound by the voice output means when detecting an abnormal state, and the operation of the alarm means is stopped during the start-up period from when the power supply unit is turned on. And a start-up operation means for starting the operation of the alarm means by outputting a predetermined start-up completion sound by a sound output means, characterized in that the start-up operation means is operated during the start-up period. When an abnormal state is detected by the detection means, the output of the activation completion sound by the sound output means is stopped.

According to the above characteristic configuration, when an abnormal state is detected by the detection means during the start-up period from when the power supply unit is turned on until the operation of the alarm means is started, the sound output at the end of the start-up period is performed. By stopping the output of the activation completion sound by the means, power consumption necessary for outputting the activation completion sound is eliminated. Therefore, power saving can be realized.
In addition, even when the output of the start completion sound at the end of the start-up period is stopped in this way, if an abnormal state is continuously detected by the detection means after the end of the start-up period, the end of the start-up period An alarm sound is output by the alarm means that is operated from. Therefore, the user can surely know that the abnormality can be monitored by the output of the alarm sound by the alarm means after the end of the startup period from the time when the power supply unit is turned on.

  A further characteristic configuration of the alarm device according to the present invention is that, when the start-up operation means detects an abnormal state by the detection means during the start-up period, the sound output means outputs the alarm sound at the end of the start-up period. Is to output.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, when an abnormal state is detected by the detection means during the activation period, the alarm sound is output at the end of the activation period. In this case, it is possible to quickly know that an abnormality can be monitored by outputting the alarm sound. In this case, the reliability of the detection means during the start-up period is improved as it approaches the end of the start-up period. Is desirable.

  A further characteristic configuration of the alarm device according to the present invention is that the detection means executes the detection process of the detection target at a predetermined detection interval shorter than the activation period.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, since the detection unit executes detection processing at a predetermined detection interval, power consumption can be further suppressed as compared with the case where constant detection processing is executed. Furthermore, since the detection interval is shorter than the activation period from the time of introduction of the power supply unit, the detection means performs at least one detection process during the activation period. Therefore, when an abnormal state is detected by at least one detection process, it is possible to stop the output of the start completion sound of the sound output means and to realize power saving.

  A further characteristic configuration of the alarm device according to the present invention is that the power supply unit is configured to supply the driving power from a built-in battery.

  According to the above characteristic configuration, as described above, when an abnormal state is detected by the detection means during the start-up period, the output of the start completion sound by the sound output means is stopped and power saving is realized. In the case of a battery drive type provided with a power supply unit for supplying drive power, the life of the internal battery can be made sufficiently long in practice.

An embodiment of an alarm device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the alarm device 100 notifies a user or the like that an abnormality such as gas leakage, incomplete combustion, or fire has occurred.
Specifically, the alarm device 100 includes a power supply unit 40 that supplies driving power, a detection unit 10 that detects an abnormal state to be detected, and a voice output unit 30 that can output voice, and a startup operation described later. CPU 20 functioning as means 21 and alarm means 22 and a non-volatile memory (hereinafter referred to as EEPROM) 6 as a storage unit are provided.

The power supply unit 40 is configured to supply driving power from the built-in battery 41 via the power switch 42.
That is, the alarm device 100 is configured as a battery-driven type in which the power cord can be omitted so as not to be restricted by the installation location.

  As the detection means 10, a methane sensor 11 that detects the concentration of methane provided in the vent 2 formed in the front surface of the housing 1, and detects the concentration of carbon monoxide provided in the vent 2. A carbon monoxide sensor 12 (described as “CO sensor” in FIG. 2), a thermal sensor 13 provided on the front surface of the housing 1 for detecting a room temperature, and these sensors 11 in response to a signal from the CPU 20. And a detection circuit 14 for driving and controlling the motors 12 and 13.

The methane sensor 11 and the carbon monoxide sensor 12 are configured to have a known semiconductor sensor element, and are controlled by the detection circuit 14 in response to a signal from the CPU 20, An output corresponding to the carbon monoxide concentration is transmitted to the detection circuit 14.
The thermal sensor 13 is a known thermocouple, is controlled by the detection circuit 14 in response to a signal from the CPU 20, and transmits an output corresponding to the ambient room temperature to the detection circuit 14.

  The detection circuit 14 is configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality such as gas leakage, incomplete combustion, or fire. Specifically, the methane concentration detected by the methane sensor 11 is a predetermined delay time. A state in which a predetermined gas leak determination threshold value is continuously exceeded is detected as a gas leak, and the carbon monoxide concentration detected by the carbon monoxide sensor 12 continues for a predetermined delay time to be a predetermined incomplete combustion determination threshold value. Is detected as incomplete combustion, and a state in which the room temperature detected by the thermal sensor 13 continues for a predetermined delay time and exceeds a predetermined fire determination threshold is detected as a fire.

The EEPROM 6 stores monitoring threshold values for the gas leak determination threshold value, the incomplete combustion determination threshold value, and the fire determination threshold value used in the abnormality determination processing by the detection circuit 14. For example, the monitoring threshold for determining gas leakage is set to the output value of the methane sensor 11 when the methane concentration is 5000 ppm, and the monitoring threshold for determining incomplete combustion is the carbon monoxide sensor 12 when the carbon monoxide concentration is 500 ppm. Is set to the output value of the thermal sensor 13 when the room temperature is 65 ° C.
Here, each of the determination threshold values can be arbitrarily set. For example, the determination threshold value may be set in a plurality of stages, and the degree of abnormality may be detected in a plurality of stages.

  The detection circuit 14 is configured to execute the gas leak, the incomplete combustion, and the fire detection processing at a predetermined detection interval such as an interval of 30 seconds, and the abnormal state. When the signal is detected, a signal capable of identifying the abnormal state is output to the CPU 20.

  Furthermore, the outputs of the methane sensor 11 and the carbon monoxide sensor 12 may be corrected based on the temperature near the sensors 11 and 12 detected by a temperature thermistor (not shown).

The audio output means 30 includes a speaker 32 and an audio circuit 31 that can output various sounds from the speaker 32.
The voice circuit 31 outputs a beep sound or a voice message from the speaker 32 in response to a signal input from the CPU 20.
In addition, as an output unit other than the audio output unit 30, a display unit (not shown) that outputs a predetermined display to the display unit such as the LED 43 in accordance with a signal input from the CPU 20, or an abnormal condition with respect to the outdoors, etc. Provide an external output means (not shown) that outputs a predetermined external signal to an external device (not shown) such as a centralized monitoring panel or interphone main unit that outputs sound at the entrance etc. to report the occurrence It doesn't matter.

  As will be described in detail later, the alarm unit 22 that the CPU 20 functions is set to a predetermined determination threshold value by continuously detecting the methane concentration, carbon monoxide concentration, or room temperature detected by the detection unit 10 for a predetermined delay time. The exceeding state is judged as gas leakage, incomplete combustion, or fire, and an alarm sound is output from the audio output means 30 to notify the user of the occurrence of gas leakage, incomplete combustion, or fire. Let

  In addition, the startup operation means 21 in which the CPU 20 functions stops the operation of the alarm means 22 during the startup period (for example, 1 minute) from when the power supply unit 40 is turned on, and at the end of the startup period, In order to notify that an abnormality can be monitored, a predetermined activation completion sound is output by the audio output means 30 and the operation of the alarm means 22 is started.

Further, the start-up operation means 21 ensures that the user can monitor the abnormality after the end of the start-up period while improving the battery life by saving power. When an abnormal state is detected by the detection means 10 during the activation period from when the power supply unit 40 is turned on, the output of the activation completion sound by the audio output means 30 is stopped.
Hereinafter, specific configurations of the start-up operation means 21 and the alarm means 22 in which the CPU 20 functions will be described along a processing flow (FIG. 3) of an operation method executed by the CPU 20.

When the power switch 42 is turned on and the power supply unit 40 is turned on (this state is referred to as “power on”), the operation of the startup operation means 21 is started (# 01).
Then, the start-up operation means 21 stops the operation of the alarm means 22 because the reliability of the detection means 10 is low until the start-up time of, for example, 60 seconds is completed (# 05) after the power is turned on. Initialization (# 02) of the internal memory or the like, predetermined reset processing, and internal check processing (# 03) are performed.
Here, in the reset process, the elapsed time from the power-on is set to 0 second, and a gas leak judgment threshold, an incomplete combustion judgment threshold, and a fire judgment threshold described later are stored in the EEPROM 6 in advance. Set to the monitoring threshold.

  Further, in about 10 seconds after the power is turned on, the reset processing and internal check processing (# 03) by the activation processing means 21 are finished, and at that time, the operation of the detection means 10 is started (# 04). The detection means 10 performs an abnormal state detection process at intervals of 30 seconds.

  At the end of the start-up period (# 05), the start-up operation means 21 determines whether or not the detection means 10 has detected an abnormal state during this start-up period (# 06), and detects the abnormal state. If it is determined that there has not been, a start completion sound such as “Ready, start monitoring” is output from the speaker 32 (# 07), and then the operation of the alarm means 22 starts. (# 08).

On the other hand, if it is determined in # 06 that an abnormal state is detected during the activation period, the activation operation means 21 stops the output of the activation completion sound by the audio output means 30 as in # 07. (Skip) and the operation of the alarm means 22 is started (# 08).
That is, when the detection means 10 detects an abnormal state such as gas leakage, incomplete combustion, or fire during the start-up period until 60 seconds elapses after the power is turned on, at the end of the start-up period, the start-up completion sound is The output is stopped, wasteful power consumption is prevented, and the operation of the alarm means 22 is started immediately.

  Further, when the operation of the alarm means 22 is started in # 08, the alarm means 22 causes the detection means 10 to malfunction until the power switch 42 is turned off (this state is referred to as “power off”). It is repeatedly determined whether or not a state has been detected (# 09), and if it is determined that an abnormal state has been detected, a so-called warning sound corresponding to the abnormal state is immediately output (# 10). The monitoring state is entered.

  That is, in the monitoring state, when the gas leak occurs, a gas leak alarm sound such as “Are the gas leaking?” Is output from the speaker 32, and when the incomplete combustion occurs, the speaker 32 When the above-mentioned fire is generated and an incomplete combustion alarm sound such as “Pippippipoppi is dirty and dangerous. Open the window and ventilate.” And the above fire occurs, the “Peepy fire alarm device has been activated. "Please check." A fire alarm sound such as "is output."

  Therefore, even when it is determined in # 06 that an abnormal state has been detected during the start-up period and the output of the start-up completion sound is stopped, the abnormal state is detected in # 09 by the operation of the alarm means 22. Since the alarm sound is output in accordance with the determination, the user can surely know that the abnormality can be monitored after the end of the startup period from the power ON. be able to.

[Another embodiment]
(1) In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, when the startup operation means 21 detects an abnormal state during the startup period at # 06, the startup completion sound 21 Although only the # 07 for stopping the output is skipped and the alarm means 22 is activated, separately, when an abnormal state is detected during the activation period at the # 06, the # 07 to # 09 are performed. It may be configured such that the warning sound is quickly output by the audio output means 30.

(2) In the above embodiment, the methane sensor 11 and the carbon monoxide sensor 12 are individually installed, but instead of them, a methane carbon monoxide sensor that can detect both methane and carbon monoxide is installed. I do not care.

(3) In the above embodiment, the alarm device 100 according to the present invention is configured as a battery-driven type including the power supply unit 40 that supplies driving power from the built-in battery 41, but separately from an external power source such as a commercial power source. Even in the case of an external power supply type having a power supply unit for supplying drive power, the effect of power saving can be exhibited.

(4) In the above embodiment, the shape and structure of the alarm device 100 can be modified as appropriate, such as a circular shape, a polygonal shape, an elliptical shape, or a switch used for temporarily stopping the alarm.

  The alarm device according to the present invention realizes power saving and can make the battery life sufficiently long practically, particularly when configured as a battery-driven type. It can be effectively used as an alarm device that can surely notify that an abnormality can be monitored after the end of the startup period from the time of turning on.

Schematic elevation view of an alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention Functional block diagram of an alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention Processing flow diagram of alarm device operating method according to an embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

10: Detection means 21: Start-up operation means 22: Alarm means 30: Audio output means 40: Power supply unit 41: Built-in battery 100: Alarm device

Claims (4)

A power supply unit that supplies driving power, a detection unit that detects an abnormal state to be detected, a sound output unit that can output sound, and a predetermined alarm by the sound output unit when the detection unit detects an abnormal state Alarm means for outputting a sound, and stopping the operation of the alarm means in a start-up period from when the power supply unit is turned on, and outputting a predetermined start-up completion sound by the sound output means at the end of the start-up period. An alarm device comprising start-up operation means for starting the operation of the means,
An alarm device for stopping the output of the activation completion sound by the audio output means when the activation operation means detects an abnormal state by the detection means during the activation period.   2. The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein, when the activation operation unit detects an abnormal state during the activation period, the sound output unit outputs the alarm sound at the end of the activation period.   The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit executes the detection process of the detection target at a predetermined detection interval shorter than the activation period.   The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the power supply unit is configured to supply the driving power from a built-in battery.

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