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EP-4736148-A1 - METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR VISUALLY INSPECTING FIRE ALARMS

EP4736148A1EP 4736148 A1EP4736148 A1EP 4736148A1EP-4736148-A1

Abstract

Method and arrangement for visually inspecting fire alarms that are connected to a central fire alarm system via a detector line, wherein a detector to be inspected on the detector line is put into an inspection mode, wherein a detector in the selected inspection mode is configured to transmit optical signals in a wavelength range that is visible to human beings and to receive optical signals; a visual inspection of the detector is carried out by a service engineer; wherein, after the visual inspection has been carried out by the service engineer, a suitable illuminant (e.g. flashlight) transmits an appropriately coded or modulated optical signal to the detector, the coded or modulated optical signal containing information about the success of the inspection; wherein the detector relays the content of the received signal to the central fire alarm system via the detector line; and wherein the detector outputs a defined optical signal (e.g. flash sequence) as a feedback signal in the wavelength range visible to human beings after it has received the coded or modulated optical signal.

Inventors

  • STAEGER, MATHIAS
  • Müller, Roland
  • ROHRER, THOMAS
  • SIEGRIST, Heinz

Assignees

  • Siemens Schweiz AG

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240620

Claims (14)

  1. 1. Procedure for the visual inspection of fire detectors (Ml - M3) connected to a fire alarm control panel (BMZ) via a detector line (ML), (VS1) wherein a detector (Ml - M3) of the detector line (ML) to be inspected is set to an inspection mode, wherein a detector (Ml - M3) in the set inspection mode is configured to send optical signals (DOS1, DOS2) in a wavelength range visible to humans and to receive optical signals (COS); (VS2) Carrying out a visual inspection of the detector (Ml - M3) by a service technician (B); (VS3) wherein after carrying out the visual inspection, the service technician (B) sends a coded and/or modulated optical signal (COS) to the detector (Ml - M3) via a suitable light source (LM), wherein the coded and/or modulated optical signal (COS) contains information (sig) about the success of the visual inspection; (VS4) whereby the content of the received signal (sig) is forwarded by the detector (Ml - M3) via the detector line (ML) to the fire alarm control panel (BMZ); and (VS5) whereby the detector (Ml - M3) outputs a defined optical signal (DOS2) as a feedback signal in the wavelength range visible to humans after it has received the coded and/or modulated optical signal (COS).
  2. 2. Method according to claim 1, wherein in method step (VS1) an individual detector, the detectors of the detector line, or a logical grouping of detectors are set to the inspection mode.
  3. 3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a detector (M1 - M3), after being set in the inspection mode, outputs a predefined flashing sequence (DOS1) via suitable optical means (LL1).
  4. 4. Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the setting of the inspection mode takes place via an app (APP) of a mobile communication terminal (MG), wherein the app (APP) is data-technically connected to a cloud server (S) and/or to the fire alarm control center (BMZ) via suitable communication connections (KV1, KV2, KV3).
  5. 5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the inspection mode is set via an input at the fire alarm control panel (BMZ).
  6. 6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the content of the received signal (sig) is further forwarded to a cloud server (S).
  7. 7. Method according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the content of the received signal (sig) is further forwarded by the detector (Ml - M3) to an app (APP) of a mobile communication terminal (MG) as confirmation of a visual inspection carried out, wherein the app (APP) is data-technically connected to a cloud server (S) and/or to the fire alarm control center (BMZ) via suitable communication connections (KV1, KV2, KV3).
  8. 8. Method according to one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the optical signal (COS) sent by the illuminant (LM) to the detector a modulation frequency > 16 Hz, in particular > 24 Hz, preferably > 50 Hz.
  9. 9. Method according to one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the optical signal (COS) sent by the lighting means (LM) to the detector has a Manchester coding.
  10. 10. Method according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein current data of the detector (Ml - M3) are output and/or checked via an app (APP) of a communication terminal (MG).
  11. 11. Fire detector (Ml - M3) arranged to operate a method according to one of claims 1 to 10.
  12. 12. Fire detector (Ml - M3) according to claim 11, wherein an alarm indicator LED of the fire detector is arranged to be used as a photo receiver (e.g. photodiode).
  13. 13. Fire detector (M1 - M3) according to claim 11 or claim 12, comprising an optical fiber (LL1 - LL3) arranged to forward received optical signals (COS) and to forward optical signals to be output (DOS1, DOS2).
  14. 14. Arrangement for the operation and/or implementation of a method according to one of claims 1 to 10, the arrangement comprising: a detector line (ML) with fire detectors (Ml - M3), wherein the fire detectors (Ml - M3) are designed to receive optical signals (COS) and to transmit optical signals (DOS1, DOS2) in the range visible to humans Wavelength range, wherein the detector line (ML) is connected to a fire alarm control panel (BMZ) for data purposes; a suitable light source (LM) which is set up to send a correspondingly coded or modulated optical signal (COS) to the respective fire detector (Ml - M3) after a service technician (B) has carried out a visual inspection of a respective fire detector (Ml - M3), wherein the coded and/or modulated optical signal (COS) contains information (sig) about the success of the respective visual inspection; wherein a respective fire detector (Ml - M3) is set up to forward the content (sig) of the received signal (COS) to the fire alarm control panel (BMZ); wherein the respective fire detector (Ml - M3) is set up to output a defined optical signal (DOS2) as a feedback signal in a wavelength range visible to humans after it has received the coded or modulated optical signal (COS).

Description

Procedure and arrangement for the visual inspection of fire detectors The invention relates to a method for the visual inspection of fire detectors that are connected to a fire alarm control panel via a detector line. The invention also relates to an arrangement for operating and/or carrying out the method. The invention also relates to fire detectors that are set up to operate the method. Fire detectors must be visually inspected once or several times a year in accordance with the local code of practice. A trained person walks through the building and examines each installed fire detector. This involves a visual inspection to see whether the fire detector still looks functional (e.g. not damaged, not heavily soiled, not covered, etc.), whether there have been any structural changes in its immediate vicinity (which could hinder or delay the entry of smoke into the fire detector), or whether the use of the room still fits the detector's parameter set. Each inspected fire detector is checked off on a list (paper or electronic checklist) either continuously or at the end of the tour. However, this does not make it possible to check whether the inspector (e.g. service technician) found the detector, whether he looked at the right detector and/or whether he actually inspected it. There are proposals to replace visual inspection in the future, e.g. by fire detectors, which Monitor the smoke entry opening and its immediate surroundings. There are also suggestions to use drones to inspect fire detectors. There are also suggestions to take photo and video documentation of the inspected fire detectors and to automatically evaluate the images. Such procedures are usually limited to good lighting conditions and short distances to the detector. There are also suggestions to equip fire detectors with NFC, WLAN, Bluetooth beacons. When an inspection is carried out, the fire detector sends out an ID («unique identifying signal») which is received by an app on the inspector's smartphone. However, such proposed systems are still expensive and/or unreliable. The object of the present invention is to provide a cost-effective and easy-to-implement method for the visual inspection of fire detectors. The task is solved by a method for the visual inspection of fire detectors that are connected to a fire alarm control panel via a detector line, (VS1) wherein a detector of the detector line to be inspected is set to an inspection mode, wherein a detector in the set inspection mode is configured to send optical signals in a wavelength range visible to humans and to receive optical signals; (VS2) Conducting a visual inspection of the detector by a service technician; (VS3) whereby after carrying out the visual inspection, the service technician sends a coded or modulated optical signal to the detector using a suitable light source (e.g. flashlight or smartphone), whereby the coded or modulated optical signal contains information about the success of the visual inspection ("pass" / "fail"); (VS4) whereby the detector forwards the content of the received signal via the detector line to the fire alarm control panel; and (VS5) whereby the detector outputs a defined optical signal (e.g. flashing sequence) as a feedback signal in the wavelength range visible to humans after it has received the coded or modulated optical signal. The method enables simple verification of the performance of a visual inspection on fire detectors or other hazard detectors. The method can be automated based on infrastructure that is usually already in place. Another advantage is that the performance of a visual inspection can be monitored automatically. The detector line can be wireless or wired. The light source (e.g. flashlight or smartphone) is advantageous if it has two different transmission modes that can be triggered by buttons or softkeys, for example; e.g. green button = pass; red button = fail. The detector sends a defined optical signal in the form of defined flashing sequences. Alternatively or additionally, the detector can be set up to send a feedback signal via the detector line to the service technician's smartphone via the fire alarm control panel or cloud infrastructure. The detector could also be set up to output the feedback signal directly to the service technician's smartphone via suitable communication means. A first advantageous embodiment of the invention is that in method step (VS1) an individual detector, the detectors of the detector line, or a logical grouping of detectors are set to inspection mode. This makes it possible to specifically select which detectors or which detector groups (e.g. in a specific building zone or in a specific part of the building) are to be inspected. A further advantageous embodiment of the invention is that a detector, after it has been put into inspection mode, emits a predefined flashing sequence via suitable optical means. This means that a service technician who is to carry out the visual inspection