Sound Alarm Notification, System, Apparatus and Method

Abstract

An electronic device having a sound detection device and wireless transmission capability which detects sound, and in particular sound generated by a sound alarm, and sends a notification message to a remote notification service which alerts or otherwise notifies notification recipients that the sound alarm is sounding and/or has been triggered.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An electronic device, comprising:
 a wireless transmitter, the wireless transmitter configured to transmit data on an antenna;   an electronic sound detection device which generates one or more output signals in response to sound sensed from a sound signal generated by a sound alarm device;   electronic memory which stores an identifier, the identifier associated with the electronic sound detection device and with a registered user of a notification service executing on a remote server;   a controller coupled to the sound detection device, the memory, and the wireless transmitter, wherein, in response to the one or more output signals, the controller encodes the identifier into a notification message and transmits the notification message, via the transmitter, to the notification service, and wherein upon receipt of the notification message by the notification service, the notification message triggers the notification service to send an electronic notification message to an electronic device associated with the identifier, the notification message notifying a user of the electronic device that the sound alarm device is sounding.   
     
     
         2 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the user notification message comprises at least one of an email, an SMS text message, an instant message (IM), an in-app push notification, an automated voicemail, a webpage popup message, an update to a notification service dashboard, an update to a notification service database. 
     
     
         3 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the sound detection device comprises an accelerometer. 
     
     
         4 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the sound detector comprises a microphone. 
     
     
         5 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the sound signal is characterized by a predetermined sound signature, and the electronic device further comprising a signal processor, coupled to the sound detection device and the controller, which processes the detected sound and generates a signature match signal indicative of whether the detected sound is sourced by a sound signal characterized by the predetermined sound signature, wherein the controller is responsive to the one or more output signals and the signature match signal to transmit the notification message only when the signature match signal indicates that the detected sounds are sourced by a sound signal characterized by the predetermined sound signature. 
     
     
         6 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless transmitter is configured to communicate over a low power wide area network (LPWAN). 
     
     
         7 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the notification service executes on a remote server and generates the user notification message and sends the user notification message to the user device via the Internet. 
     
     
         8 . The electronic device of  claim 1 , wherein the user notification message comprises at least one of an email, an SMS text message, an instant message (IM), an in-app push notification, an automated voicemail.