Life safety device for the hearing impaired
View Patent ↗The instant invention includes a central security and alarm system that operates to protect a home or business and includes a personal safety device to communicate with a hearing-challenged end-user at the protected home or business. The system includes at least one alarm event detection device, and a central panel in communication with the personal safety device and the at least one alarm event detection device, the central panel comprising a processor for carrying out a method of communicating to the hearing-challenged end-user at the detection of alarm events via the personal safety device. The method includes detecting an alarm event at the home or business and notifying a designated, hearing-challenged end-user that the alarm event has occurred by causing a life safety device in the possession of the hearing challenged end-user to communicate the detected event by a mechanical communication signal.
1. A method for monitoring a secured perimeter, border and/or building (“protected premises”) and for communicating notice of detected alarm events at the protected premises to a hearing-challenged end-user using a life safety device, the method comprising steps of:
detecting an alarm event at the protected premises by an alarm event detection device;
notifying a designated, hearing-challenged end-user that the alarm event has been detected by causing the life safety device in the possession of the hearing challenged end-user to Communicate the detected alarm event by a mechanical communication signal; and
sending a panic message from the life safety device of the hearing-challenged end-user to the alarm event detection device.
2. The method for monitoring as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting the alarm event includes that the alarm event detection device communicates the detection to a central monitoring panel at the protected premises, which controls the personal safety device to notify the hearing-challenged end user of said detected alarm event.
3. The method for monitoring as set forth in claim 2 , wherein the step of notifying the designated, hearing-challenged end-user includes automatically causing the life safety device to vibrate upon receipt of a command from the central monitoring station.
4. The method for monitoring as set forth in claim 2 , further including a step of communicating by the hearing-challenged end-user via the personal safety device to a central monitoring panel in response to the notifying.
5. The method for monitoring as set forth in claim 1 , wherein the step of notifying includes using various sequences, sets or counts of relatively short vibrations to communicate particular alarm event occurrences.
6. The method as set forth in claim 5 , wherein three short vibrations communicate to the hearing-challenged end-user that he/she should call a central monitoring station, and a constant vibration in excess of three (3) seconds indicates that the protected premises should be immediately vacated.
7. A central security and alarm system that operates to protect a home or business and includes a life safety device to physically communicate with a hearing-challenged end-user at the protected home or business, the system comprising:
at least one alarm event detection device located within the protected home or business;
a central panel in communication with the life safety device and the at least one alarm event detection device, the central panel comprising a processor for carrying out a method of communicating to the hearing-challenged end-user at the detection of an alarm event via the life safety device, where the method comprises the steps of:
detecting an alarm event by the at least one alarm event detection device;
notifying the designated, hearing-challenged End-user that the alarm event has occurred by causing the life safety device in the possession of the hearing challenged end-user to communicate the detected event by a mechanical communication signal; and
sending a panic message from the life safety device of the hearing-challenged end-user to the alarm event detection device.
8. A computer program product disposed in a computer readable medium, the computer program product comprising:
a tangible storage medium readable by a processing circuit and storing instructions for execution by the processing circuit for performing a method for monitoring a secured perimeter, border and/or building (“protected premises”) and for communicating notice of detected alarm events at the protected premises to a hearing-challenged end-user using a life safety device, the method comprising steps of:
detecting an alarm event at the protected premises;
notifying a designated, hearing-challenged end-user that the alarm event has been detected by causing the life safety device in the possession of the hearing challenged end-user to communicate the detected alarm event by a mechanical communication signal; and
sending a panic message from the life safety device of the hearing-challenged end-user to the alarm event detection device.