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(11) | EP 0 505 217 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Security device |
| (57) A security device (10) adapted to be located within premises under surveillance and
with a form of access from the exterior of the premises can be actuated by a person
carrying out the surveillance, includes means (13) which can be actuated by such person
and the actuation is stored in the device (10) and can be selectively displayed on
a screen (20) at the interior of the premises. The device (10) may have an infa-red sensor (13) located within a window (12) or the like and the person carrying out the surveillance may have an infa-red transmitter (16) whereby the sensor can be actuated. |
[0001] This invention relates to a security device and more particularly to a device which can be used to ensure that security companies comply with watching or surveillance contracts by security companies.
[0002] Most security companies offer contracts which include calling upon the premises of the client a certain number of times, usually each night, and to indicate that they had in fact called most companies place a card in a door jamb or underneath a door.
[0004] Some operators circumvent this situation by calling upon the premises once and leaving the total number of cards for the particular period.
[0005] This is particularly done at night, and it may well be that the security service does, in fact, visit the premises the required number of times, but tends to do a remote surveillance from a motor vehicle rather than actually calling in to the premises themselves.
[0006] It is an object of the invention to provide means whereby these irregular procedures can be avoided.
[0007] This invention includes, in its broadest sense, a security device adapted to be connected to premises being maintained with the device being within the premises but with access to the exterior of the premises so that access can be gained by a user, means which can be actuated by a user which operation is stored in a memory and means in the device wherein the contents of the memory can selectively be displayed.
[0008] The means whereby the device can be actuated can vary; it could be an infa-red or RF transmitter, a key, a magnetic card or even a key pad, into which a particular code can be inserted.
[0009] It is preferred that the device has a memory for the inputs, the number of which is greater than the maximum number of inputs between periods where the output can be read by the user. For example, there may be twenty or thirty inputs so as to register, say, three visits on each of a Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening and a number of visits during Saturday and Sunday.
[0010] The output may be in the form of an LCD display or the like which can be operated by someone authorised and which may be set up in such a way as to display material obtained from each of the inputs in a sequential manner, and possibly sequential from the most recent to the earliest.
[0011] Alternatively a printer or the like may be provided to enable a hard copy of this information to be obtained.
[0012] The invention is further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Fig.1 is a schematic view of a person actuating a security device according to a preferred embodiment of the invention;
Fig.2 is a perspective rear view of the device; and
Fig.3 is a front view of the device.
[0013] In this embodiment, the device 10 may be adapted to be located inside the user's premises with the input for the device accessible from the exterior.
[0014] As illustrated, the device may be enclosed in a box 11 which has means, not shown, to permit it to be attached to a glass panel 12. On its rear surface there is an infa-red detector transducer 13 and an LED 14. This surface is that which is directed towards the security guard or watchman 15 who has no direct access to the device but does have an infa-red transmitter 16. The front of the device, from the point of view of the occupier of the premises, is illustrated in Fig.3 of the drawings.
[0016] The power of the infa-red transmitter 16 and the sensitivity setting of the transducer 13 are such that the transmitter must be within a short distance of the transducer, preferably between 50mm and 100mm, for operation of the device to be effected. This ensures that the watchman 15 cannot initiate operation of the device from any substantial distance. The LED 14 is arranged to illuminate when the transducer receives an acceptable signal. In this way, the watchman 15 can ascertain that the operation of the transmitter has been successful.
[0017] This specification does not contain a full description of the particular circuitry used in the device of the invention but rather the functional operation. Having this, a person skilled in the particular electronics design art is readily able to replicate the operation. The circuitry of the device includes a processing unit, a memory and a clock circuit. Preferably the device is battery operated and there may be means to indicate a low battery condition.
[0018] The transmitter 16 is coded and the transducer 13 may be arranged to accept one of a number of codes but no other input signal. That is to say, there would be some form of discriminator circuitry associated with the transducer 13 which would pass a signal only if a required code is received.
[0019] The output of the circuitry associated with the transducer 13 is passed by way of the processing unit to a memory and the signal concerned may include the coding, or an indication developed from the coding and, at the same time the clock time of the device is also fed to memory. That is to say, the memory includes an indication of the particular transmitter used to effect operation of the device and the time on which the operation was effected. As is not unusual in such a device, the time may be based on the number of seconds from a particular time, say midnight on 1st January 1900 but any other basis could equally well be selected.
[0020] Associated with the operation of the transducer there may be a delay circuit, which can be set for a particular time, which delay circuit prevents the further actuation of the transducer 13 during the delay time. That is, if a person with an otherwise acceptable transmitter attempted to re-effect operation of the transducer 13 within the delay time no result would be achieved.
[0021] The memory may be sufficient to receive a certain number of signals, say thirty discrete operations, and after thirty operations, then the earlier signal would be dropped off and be replaced by the later signal. The number thirty is selected simply for convenience and would ensure that all visits during, say, a long weekend, would be retained in memory for the first working day after the long weekend.
[0022] Referring now to Fig.3, the face of the device has an LCD display 20 and three press buttons, which can be of any required form.
[0023] The first button 21 can be a set up button and can be used to initially set the date, with the actual digits for the date possibly being set by use of the buttons 22 and 23 and the time. The set up button can also have a function whereby the delay period during which the device will not operate can be set. If required, the actual set up of this time can be effected by operating buttons 22 and 23 and, if required, a built-in read-only memory (ROM) can provide instructions for the display 20 so that set-up can be effected correctly.
[0024] Button 22 enables the previous call to be checked and, as illustrated in Fig.3, the call displayed includes a guard number, which is effectively the number corresponding to the transmitter having a particular code, and the time and the date. The particular set up of the time and date can be relatively easily varied, if this is held in the number of seconds since a particular date, it is only necessary to provide a calculation which turns this into days and takes into account such things as leap years to give particular information.
[0025] On pressing the button 22 the display circuit, which can normally be quiescent to avoid power use, can be initiated and the most recent input can be detected, using normal computer techniques and a file allocation table or the like. Repeated operation of the button causes the device to go backwards through the visits so that these can be checked. The arrangement can be provided with a timing circuit so that, if the button, or one of the other buttons, is not pressed within a particular time, then the screen will be blanked.
[0026] The third button operates in a manner similar to the second button except that it can be used to bring forward from the earliest to the latest display.
[0027] If, during the night, a watchman regularly, or irregularly, visits the premises and uses the IR transmitter 16 and provided that the space between the visits is more than the minimum time acceptable, then details relating to the time of the visit will be held in memory and the LED 14 will illuminate to show that the visit has been logged. The owner of the premises, when required, can simply manipulate the buttons 22 and 23 to show the series of visits by the watchman. Provided the watchman does not have access to the unit itself, and thus the capability of resetting the time and date, there is little that can be done by the watchman to modify the display available to the occupier of the premises.
[0028] Whilst the embodiment illustrated and described is one which makes use of computer techniques, this is only preferable as a similar result can be achieved in other ways.
[0029] For example, the input could be in the form of a lock barrel which passes through, say, a door with the device connected behind the door, or the input device could, in fact, operate a switch which provides a signal for the device itself which could be located at a remote position. It could be an RF detector, a card reader or even a touch pad.
[0031] In the first of these it could be a key, it could be an RF transmitter or a magnetic card, it could be provided through a key pad, in the simplest possible form it could be a push button switch. The device itself may have electronic circuitry to provide an output which indicates certain information about the input similar to that described with reference to the first embodiment.
[0032] Alternatively, and if required, the memory could have a re-set so that it could be set back to clear after having been read.
[0033] In an alternative form of output, the output could be supplied to a printer which would list the times and dates held in memory, together with any other required information, such as the operator code.
[0034] As mentioned previously, the device is preferably operated by an internal power source and this can be in the form of a rechargeable battery and a charging circuit could, if required, be built into the device so that the battery is maintained charged.
[0035] The security device of the invention is very simple, it can readily be fitted rapidly and cheaply and will instil confidence into the subscriber to the service. At the same time, it enables the security operator to ascertain that the operatives are in fact doing what they are employed to do, and further it can save very substantial expense in cards. Indeed, the device itself may cost an amount which is such that over a relatively short period, say twelve months to two years, the cost of the device would in fact be paid for by the savings in cards. At the same time the user has confidence in the system.
1. A security device adapted to be installed at premises to be placed under surveillance
by a user with the device (10) being within the premises but with means of access
(13) from the exterior of the premises so that access to the device can be gained
by the user, means which can be operated by the user, which operation is stored in
a memory, and means (20) in the device whereby the contents of the memory can selectively
be displayed.
2. A device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the means which can be actuated by the user
is an infrared detector (13), an RF detector, a card reader, a key operated device
or a touch pad.
3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the means which can be actuated by the user
is an infrared detector (13) and an infra-red transmitter (16) which can actuate the
detector (13) is provided for the user.
4. A device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmitter (16) is coded so that the
user can be identified.
5. A device as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the device is located within the premises
and abuts a glass surface (12), the infra-red receiver (13) being on the side of the
device (10) which abuts the surface.
6. A security device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the memory can be accessed
by someone within the premises to ascertain the operation which is stored in the memory.
7. A device as claimed in claim 6, wherein there is a visual display (20) on the device
and this can selectively display a number of operations.
8. A device as claimed in claim 6 or 7, wherein there is a printer associated with the
device, whereby details relating to the operations held in memory can be printed.
9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the device has a time delay which
prevents the recording of an operation by a user within a predetermined time of a
previous operation.
10. A device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the predetermined time can be pre-set from
the device.