Patent Grant
11393326
Embodiments of this disclosure generally relate to communication systems, and, in certain embodiments, to a communication system integration and operation.
Communication systems facilitate communication of status and events within some defined area. Communication systems also allow organizations and facilities to coordinate activities within said facilities. For instance, one particular type of communication system is an intercom system within a school campus. The school intercom system communicates status and events within a school campus to students, teachers, other staff members, visitors, and so on. In this manner, those within the school can maintain a daily schedule for the school and be able to receive specific information via the announcements. Typically, the intercom system allows for audio communication, which can be effective in alerting individuals within the school of status information, but its effectiveness can be beholden to the performance of its user. For example, effectively communicating important information during stages of a practice drill or an emergency is dependent on the specific user using the intercom system.
An embodiment of the disclosure provides a district communication system, including: a district server configured to manage a campus communication system located within a district location managed by the district server; and a district network configured to communicatively couple the campus communication system and the district server; wherein the campus communication system comprises: a network switch configured to integrate communication equipment associated with the campus communication system; and a campus controller configured to: receive an emergency drill configuration from the district server; receive a signal to begin an emergency drill defined by the emergency drill configuration; control the communication equipment to perform one or more actions defined in the emergency drill configuration via signalizing through the network switch to the communication equipment; and record that the emergency drill is performed.
Another embodiment of the disclosure provides a method for performing an emergency drill at a campus communication system communicatively coupled to a district server via a district network, wherein the campus communication system is managed by the district server to perform the method comprising: receiving an emergency drill configuration from a district server; receiving a signal to begin an emergency drill, wherein the emergency drill comprises one or more actions to be performed by the campus communication system, and the one or more actions are defined in the emergency drill configuration; performing the one or more actions in the emergency drill by the campus communication system; and recording that the emergency drill is performed.
Yet another embodiment of the disclosure provides a campus communication system communicatively associated with a campus and coupled to a district sever through a district network, the district server controls operation of the campus communication system via signaling through the district network, the campus communication system comprising: a network switch configured to integrate communication equipment associated with the campus communication system; and a campus controller configured to: receive an emergency drill configuration from the district server; receive a signal to begin an emergency drill defined by the emergency drill configuration; control the communication equipment to perform one or more actions defined in the emergency drill configuration via signalizing through the network switch to the communication equipment; and record that the emergency drill is performed.
The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.
While the disclosure will be described in connection with certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
Embodiments of the disclosure described below are directed to communication systems that facilitate schools to practice emergency situations and report on successes or failures of such practices. Examples of emergencies include earthquakes, tornados, active shooter situations, and so on. For instance, embodiments of the disclosure describe communication systems with critical functionality such as providing detailed steps and procedures to follow during a practice emergency situation.
The embodiments of the communication system described below are directed to improvements on a manual intercom/walky-talky system typically found within a school environment. However, the communication system that is the subject of the disclosure contained herein is not intended to be limited to use within a school environment. Indeed, embodiments of the communication system, may be utilized in any environment that includes multiple rooms, spaces and/or hallways, such as found in office buildings, military bases or other similar structures. As such, the disclosure describing the functionality of the communication system described below are not limited strictly to the school environment. Rather, the description is provided in relation to the school environment for ease of description, and could be extrapolated to other environments, as would be understood by one of skill in the art in view of the disclosure contained herein.
Embodiments of the disclosure provide an emergency drills system that conducts emergency drill practice in a structured organized way. Embodiments of the disclosure provide a repeatable structured way to initiate and conduct a drill, instead of manually alerting a school for emergency drills. Embodiments of the disclosure provide an ability to exclude individual steps from the practice emergency drill that would normally be performed during a real emergency. For example, during the practice drill, reaching out to law enforcement is not necessary since an emergency is not present. Therefore, the emergency drills system can exclude steps such as dialing 911 to reach law enforcement during the practice drill. In some embodiments, the emergency drills system also creates or generates reports for a performed practice drill, providing proof that the drill was performed and providing statistics surrounding the drill, thus allowing a school system to demonstrate compliance.
With respect to the school environment, individual schools may be arranged into school districts based on a geographic proximity between each school. Further, each school may include communication equipment that allows for communication of a school schedule and for communication between locations within the school and the district. This communication equipment generally includes devices such as classroom speakers for direct communication between a classroom and a front office of the school. Typically, the communication equipment within each individual school is interconnected district wide. Emergency drills that schools may practice include gas leaks, bomb scare, shelter in place, HAZMAT, tornado, active shooter, earthquakes, and so on.
In a particular embodiment, the user interface may be a web-based user interface, and the user computer system 110 can be any computer system that is capable of communicating with the district network 106 over the web-based user interface. For instance, the computer system 110 may take a variety of forms such as a mobile device, tablet device, laptop computer or any device capable of communicating with the web-based user interface.
Further, access to the web-based user interface from the user computer system 110 is granted based on an administrator's or user's login credentials. Any time a user accesses the web-based user interface, login credentials will be required before any functionality is provided. The login credentials not only provide access to the web-based user interface, but they also provide a level of access to the communication systems at the plurality of school campuses 104. For instance, in certain embodiments, the plurality of school campuses 104 may include individual school campuses 1-N, 108a, 108b and 108c, and the individual user may only be authorized to control the communication system at a single campus such as school campus 1108a. Therefore, upon entering the user login credentials, the district datacenter 102 administrating the web-based user interface will look up the user's level of access and provide control only according to that access via the web-based user interface.
In certain embodiments, the district datacenter 102 further includes an integrated computer terminal that hosts a microphone 112. The microphone 112 is configured to allow a user to provide audio to the microphone 112, which can be streamed to any communication system at any campus 108a, 108b or 108c within the district. As an aside, each individual school communication system (see
Components of the school communication system 200 may include a campus controller 204, a room or classroom controller 206, a zone controller 212, an administrative console 214, status indicator lights 216a and 216b, a message board 218, and an Auxiliary Input/Output (Aux IO) module 220. The campus controller 204 is an embedded interface for all of the campus devices located at the campus 108a to the district datacenter 102 (see
The school communication system 200 further includes the classroom controller 206 associated with each classroom of the school at campus 108a. In certain embodiments, each classroom can be considered a separate zone within the campus 108a. The classroom controller 206 communicates via IP-based signals and interfaces with the campus controller 204 through the switch/router 202 such that it sends/receives data to/from the campus controller 204. In this manner, the classroom controller 206 functions as an IP room module. The classroom controller 206 interfaces with a speaker 208, an in-room strobe or alert light (not illustrated), one or more switches or buttons such as a check-in or call switch 210, and a status indicator light 216a over a digital interface.
In certain embodiments, the speaker 208 interfaces with the classroom controller 206 through a bi-directional amplifier (not illustrated) which allows for the speaker module 208 to function as both a speaker and a microphone for the classroom controller 206. Typically, communication will be between the classroom controller 206 and the administrative console 214 or an external phone system and is controlled by the campus controller 204. The call switch 210 allows for personnel within the classroom containing the classroom controller 206 to call into the administrative console 214 or perform a check-in during an emergency situation. The classroom controller 206 can also trigger a visual indicator such as an in room strobe light or alert light upon receiving a command to do so from the campus controller 204. The classroom controller 206 can further trigger a visual indicator external to the classroom from the status indicator light 216a upon receiving a command to do so from the campus controller 204.
School communication system 200 further includes the zone controller 212, which functions in a similar manner to the classroom controller 206. Typically, a school will include a plurality of zones, other than classrooms, which comprise various locations throughout the school and campus in general. Typically, each non-classroom zone within the school will include at least one zone controller 212. The zone controller 212 decodes IP-based signals from the campus controller 204 into signals for controlling a status light indicator 216b. The zone controller 212 communicates these control signals to the status indicator light 216b over a digital interface. The school communication system 200 further includes the administrative console 214, which, in certain embodiments, provides a single point of access to the school communication system 200. In this regard, the administrative console 214 is equipped with various interfaces, speakers and microphones for communication within the school communication system 200. The administrative console 214 can initiate classroom intercom discussion over the classroom controller 206, perform zone or system-wide pages and receive visual alerts from classroom communications over a display associated with the administrative console 214. In certain embodiments, the administrative console 214 can also perform pre-programmed sequences for the school communication system 200, such as initiating an emergency sequence.
As mentioned above, the administrative console 214 includes an associated display. In certain embodiments, during an emergency event, the display can be configured to function as a centralized emergency console or in other words an emergency display console that can display check-in information for each zone or classroom within the school campus 108a (see
In an embodiment, the administrative console 214 can also aggregate call switch 210 signals, received via the campus controller 204, during an emergency drill which can be interpreted as students complying with instructions provided during the drill. The call switch 210 signal interpretation is dependent on the type of drill. For example, in an active shooter drill, the call switch 210 can be used to alert a location of a potential active shooter. In an emergency drill that requires moving students to designated locations, e.g., tornado safe locations, call switch 210 signals can be used to confirm classrooms that are evacuated. That way, the campus controller 204 can keep track of time elapsed between alerting students of the emergency drill and when a classroom is evacuated. The administrative console 214 can display information about the time elapsed determined by the campus controller 204. As an aside, an administrative console 214 is not required to be the centralized emergency drills console.
The campus controller 204 can receive emergency drill configurations from the district level via the district network 106. This setup allows a uniform standard for emergency drills across each campus in the plurality of campuses 104. This setup also allows for uniformity in messaging so that audio messages used during emergency drills can be updated at the district level and propagated to each campus in the plurality of campuses 104. After each emergency drill, the campus controller 204 can generate a report to be stored at the district level via the district network 106.
In an embodiment, an emergency drill configuration is different from an emergency based on steps being omitted. For example, Table 1 provides steps performed during an emergency. The steps performed during an emergency are performed according to the Order number. Steps identified with an “X” under Drill are performed in both emergencies and emergency drills while the other steps are performed only during an emergency.
From Table 1, the district level can modify configurations of emergency drills by adding one or more steps, removing one or more steps, marking a step as being a step performed under Drill, or unmarking a step as being performed under Drill. For each emergency drill, the district datacenter 102 can generate a report whether the drill was successfully performed.
With respect to the emergency situation discussed above, Table 1 below illustrates a particular embodiment showing a relation between events that may take place during a lockdown sequence and their associated lighting and audio actions. In certain embodiments, the following lockdown sequence may be initiated or terminated from a designated pushbutton, computer, administrative console or SIP telephone. A user computer system 110 (see
Table 2 provides examples of actions and parameters for each action that can be set according to some embodiments of the disclosure. Example actions include playing a preconfigured audio message, sending preconfigured email messages, turning relays ON and OFF, toggling swings, including time delays, controlling status lights, displaying messages on message boards, and making prerecorded telephone calls.
In Table 2, drill action configuration can be read from a user computer system 110 (see
In Table 2, for example, the campus controller 204 can direct the speaker 208 to play a preconfigured audio message. In an embodiment, the audio message can be received from the district level via the district network 106. In some embodiments, the audio message is retrieved from storage accessible to the campus controller 204. The campus controller 204 determines where to play the audio based on location parameters within the emergency drill configuration. For each action, since parameters can be set to custom values, a name parameter can be used to identify different actions.
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can send preconfigured email messages to certain email addresses. In an emergency, emails may be sent to parents informing them of the emergency; however, during a drill, a school campus may likely not send email to parents just like they would not alert emergency services. In the practice emergency drill scenario, the campus controller 204 can remove parents from the list and alert administrators, staff members, or district level administrators that a certain drill was performed or is underway.
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can turn relays ON or OFF on aux IO modules, such as aux IO module 220. These relays can be used to control various mechanical switches such as door locks and other such devices. For instance, during a campus lock down, the aux IO 220 may be utilized to actuate a door lock to lock down a portion of the campus 108a (see
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can include delays just like “Delay” shown in Table 1. This allows a smooth transition from one action to another and gives the emergency drill system a way to control when one action follows another. When building a drill event, a user can add a delay to make sure one event occurs before another.
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can control status lights during emergency drills at different locations within the campus. The status light can be set to indicate what type of emergency drill is currently executing.
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can send a preconfigured voice message to private branch exchange (PXB) extensions so that it can reach telephone lines. In this manner, a voice message can be communicated to an outside telephone device. For instance, during an emergency, the drill could function to send a voice message to one or more telephones updating the recipient of the voice message about the emergency.
In an embodiment, the campus controller 204 can control message boards during emergency drills at different locations within the campus. The message boards can be set to indicate a type of emergency drill currently executing. Alternatively, the message board can indicate a status of the emergency or any other relevant type of message useful during execution of the emergency drill.
In general, functionality described can be set up via the web based user interface from the user computer system 110 (see
At step 304, the campus controller 204 receives a signal to begin an emergency drill. In an embodiment, the emergency drill is based on the emergency drill configuration received at step 302. The signal can be received from the district level via the district network 106. For example, the user computer system 110 can send the signal to the campus controller 204 to begin the emergency drill. In another embodiment, the administrative console 214 can send the signal to the campus controller 204 to initiate the emergency drill. In another embodiment, the campus controller 204 receives a signal from an aux IO module 220 to initiated the drill.
At 306, the campus controller 204 performs one or more actions in the emergency drill. In an example, if the action to be performed includes playing an audio file, the administrative console 214 instructs the campus controller 204, room controller 206, and/or the zone controller 212 to play the specific audio file via speakers. The action will include which locations the audio should be played. In an example, the campus controller 204 determines whether an action is included in the emergency drill by checking a drill flag of the action. The campus controller 204 can select which actions to perform based on the drill flag. The campus controller 204 can perform actions based on the order of each action, where actions with lower orders are completed before moving on to an action with a higher order.
At 308, the campus controller 204 confirms and records that the drill was initiated. Once the drill is initiated, the drill will run loop back to step 306 to perform additional steps of the drill until each of the steps is completed or terminated.
For example, during an evacuation drill, such as a fire drill, students at the campus performing the drill must evacuate the various classrooms. During the drill, a teacher or other room supervisor may actuate a call switch 210 once a room is completely evacuated. The campus controller 204 waits for the call switch 210 signals from one or more rooms that indicate that students have evacuated to designated areas based on the action to be performed. As the call switches 210 from the one or more rooms are pushed, the campus controller 204 can use a timeout signal to rank certain rooms within the campus that fail to meet a certain evacuation time limit. As this is happening, the process 300 loops from step 308 back to step 306 to perform each additional step in the drill.
Once each step of the drill is executed, or the drill is terminated, the process 300 proceeds to step 310. At step 310 the drill stops and a report is generated. In an embodiment, the report is generated only when specifically requested by a user using the user computer system 110 (see
Embodiments of the disclosure provide a system for initiating and guiding emergency drills such that organizations and facilities no longer need to manually initiate and guide the emergency drill. Potential avenues for human error are drastically reduced because the amount of human interaction time to coordinate emergency drills in a school is reduced. Furthermore, state regulatory agencies or other oversight agencies can readily access reports or documents for emergency drills. This provides an efficient way to audit emergency drill execution for purposes of compliance.
All references, including publications, patent applications, and patents, cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each reference were individually and specifically indicated to be incorporated by reference and were set forth in its entirety herein.
The use of the terms “a” and “an” and “the” and “at least one” and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The use of the term “at least one” followed by a list of one or more items (for example, “at least one of A and B”) is to be construed to mean one item selected from the listed items (A or B) or any combination of two or more of the listed items (A and B), unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms “comprising,” “having,” “including,” and “containing” are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning “including, but not limited to,”) unless otherwise noted. Recitation of ranges of values herein are merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and each separate value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., “such as”) provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.
Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein, including the best mode known to the inventors for carrying out the invention. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventors expect skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventors intend for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.
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