Control panel for fire alarm systems and a method for updating the configuration information

1 . A fire alarm control panel (FACP) for a fire alarm system, the FACP comprising:

a housing;

a communication module configured within the housing for short-range communication with a portable electronic device; and

a data transfer region visibly defined by an opening or markings on a door of the housing of the FACP or on a cover provided between the door and a housing body of the housing of the FACP, wherein the data transfer region is visually identifiable on the housing of the FACP by a user that interacts with the FACP, wherein, from a visual perspective of the user that interacts with the FACP, the communication module is spatially located behind the data transfer region, wherein the communication module is configured to establish the short-range communication with the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is held proximal to the data transfer region by the user that interacts with the FACP.

2 . The FACP of claim 1 , wherein the communication module includes a near field communication (NFC) unit.

3 . The FACP of claim 1 further comprising a processing circuit configured to:

store configuration information pertaining to the fire alarm system;

receive one or more data packets from the portable electronic device via short-range wireless communication; and

update at least a part of the configuration information using the one or more data packets.

4 . The FACP of claim 1 , wherein the door is a metallic door, wherein the data transfer region is visibly defined by a non-metallic portion provided on the metallic door of the housing of the FACP.

5 . The FACP of claim 4 , wherein the non-metallic portion that defines the data transfer region on the metallic door of the housing comprises a transparent glazing that enables the user to view components within the housing without opening the metallic door.

6 . The FACP of claim 1 , wherein the door comprises a metallic material, wherein the cover on which the data transfer region is visibly defined comprises a non-metallic material configured to facilitate radio frequency data transfer therethrough.

7 . A fire alarm control panel (FACP) for a fire alarm system, the FACP comprising:

a housing;

a communication module configured within the housing and configured to establish a short-range wireless communication with a portable electronic device of a user;

a data transfer region visibly defined by an opening or markings on a door of the housing of the FACP or on a cover provided between the door and a housing body of the housing of the FACP, wherein the data transfer region is visually identifiable on the housing of the FACP by the user, wherein, from a visual perspective of the user, the communication module is spatially located behind the data transfer region, wherein the communication module is configured to establish short-range communication with the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is held proximal to the data transfer region by the user; and

a processing circuit configured to:

store configuration information pertaining to the fire alarm system;

receive one or more data packets from the portable electronic device via the short-range wireless communication; and

update at least a part of the configuration information using the one or more data packets.

8 . The FACP of claim 7 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to authenticate the user of the portable electronic device prior to receiving the one or more data packets.

9 . The FACP of claim 8 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to receive one or more user credentials of the user via a user interface of the FACP.

10 . The FACP of claim 7 , wherein the communication module includes a near field communication (NFC) unit configured to establish the short-range wireless communication.

11 . The FACP of claim 7 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to fall back to historical configuration information upon detecting failure in updating the configuration information.

12 . The FACP of claim 7 , wherein the processing circuit is further configured to validate the one or more data packets received from the portable electronic device prior to updating the configuration information.

13 . A method comprising:

establishing, by a communication module configured within a housing of a fire alarm control panel (FACP) of a fire alarm system, a short-range wireless communication with a portable electronic device of a user, wherein the housing of the FACP comprises a data transfer region visibly defined by an opening or markings on a door of the housing of the FACP or on a cover provided between the door and a housing body of the housing of the FACP, wherein the data transfer region is visually identifiable on the housing of the FACP by the user, wherein, from a visual perspective of the user, the communication module is spatially located behind the data transfer region, wherein the communication module is configured to establish short-range communication with the portable electronic device when the portable electronic device is held proximal to the data transfer region by the user;

receiving one or more data packets from the portable electronic device; and

updating at least a part of configuration information using the one or more data packets.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising authenticating the user of the portable electronic device prior to establishing the short-range wireless communication.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising validating the one or more data packets received from the portable electronic device prior to updating the configuration information.

16 . The method of claim 13 , wherein establishing the short-range wireless communication comprises using a near field communication (NFC) unit.

17 . The method of claim 16 , further comprising activating the NFC unit upon authenticating the user of the portable electronic device.