Electric fence security system

An electric fence monitoring system comprising:

• (a) a plurality of remote units positioned at separate remote points of an electric fence, each said remote unit comprising:
• a sensor coupled to said electric fence and operable to detect a particular electrical condition of said electric fence at a particular remote point;
• a remote unit wireless receiver for receiving signaling messages, one of said signaling messages including an information request related to said particular electrical condition;
• a remote unit wireless transmitter for transmitting signaling messages, in response to receiving said information request, said signaling messages including an information response related to said particular electrical condition;
• and
• a remote unit processor operable to obtain said detected particular electrical condition from said sensor in response to receiving said information request at said remote unit wireless receiver and to provide said detected particular electrical condition to said remote unit wireless transmitter for said information response;
• and
• (b) a monitor unit, in communication with each of said remote units, comprising:
• a monitor unit wireless transmitter for transmitting signaling messages to said plurality of remote units, said signaling messages including said information request;
• a monitor unit wireless receiver for receiving signaling messages from a plurality of remote units, said signaling messages including said information responses;
• and
• a monitor processor for processing said information responses.

A method of detecting the occurrence of particular electrical conditions in an electric fence system, wherein the electric fence system includes a central monitoring unit with a transmitter and a receiver and a plurality of remote units positioned at various points along the electric fence, each of the plurality of remote units including a remote unit transmitter, a remote unit receiver and a sensor coupled to said electric fence, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) causing one of said sensors to sense said particular electrical conditions of said electric fence;
• (b) transmitting an information response including said particular electrical conditions to a next-stop remote unit, said information response identifying said central monitoring unit as a destination for said information response and a first remote unit as said next-stop remote unit;
• (c) in response to receiving said information response at said next-stop remote unit, modifying said information response to identify a next remote unit as said next-stop remote unit and transmitting said modified information response;
• and
• (d) repeating step (c) until said next-stop remote unit receiving said information response is said central monitoring unit.

A method detecting the occurrence of particular electrical conditions in an electric fence system, wherein the electric fence system includes a central monitoring unit with a transmitter and a receiver and a plurality of remote units positioned at various points along the electric fence, each of the plurality of remote units including a remote unit transmitter, a remote unit receiver and a sensor coupled to said electric fence, said method comprising the steps of:

• (a) transmitting to a destination remote unit, an information request to obtain particular electrical conditions at a destination point of said electric fence;
• (b) in response to receiving said information request at said destination remote unit, causing said sensor at said destination remote unit to sense said particular electrical conditions of said electric fence;
• (c) transmitting an information response including said particular electrical conditions to said central monitoring unit;
• (d) receiving said information response at said central monitoring unit;
• and
• (e) processing said particular electrical conditions in said information response.

A monitoring unit, operable within an electric fence monitoring system, said monitoring unit comprising:

• a radio frequency receiver, operable to receive radio frequency signals representative of information concerning particular electrical conditions of various remote points of an electric fence;
• a processor, operable to interpret said information concerning particular electrical conditions and trigger an alarm condition based on predetermined parameters for said particular electrical conditions;
• and
• an alerting means for indicating said alarm condition.

An electric fence monitoring system comprising:

• at least two remote units positioned at separate remote points of an electric fence, each said remote unit comprising:
• a sensor coupled to a particular point of said electric fence;
• a remote unit wireless receiver;
• and
• a remote unit wireless transmitter;
• and
• a monitoring unit, comprising:
• a monitoring unit wireless transmitter;
• a monitoring unit wireless receiver;
• a monitoring processor;
• and
• a paging means;
• said monitoring unit being operable to transmit by means of said monitoring unit wireless transmitter, an information request to a destination remote unit, said information request identifying said destination remote unit and a next-stop remote unit;
• a first remote unit, corresponding with said next-stop remote unit, being operable to receive said information request by means of said wireless receiver of said next-stop remote unit, and if said next-stop remote unit is not said destination remote unit, modifying said information request to identify a new next-stop remote unit and transmitting said modified information request by means of said wireless transmitter of said next-stop remote unit;
• said destination remote unit being operable to receive said information request by means of said wireless receiver of said destination remote unit, detect a particular electrical condition of said electric fence by means of said sensor, and transmit an information response to said monitoring unit by means of said wireless transmitter of said destination remote unit, said information response signaling message identifying said monitoring unit as a destination and said next-stop remote unit;
• and
• said remote unit being further operative to receive said information response by means of said monitoring unit receiver, process said information response signaling message by means of said monitoring unit processor, and cause said paging means to issue a page if said monitoring unit processor detects the existence of an alarm condition.