Security system for the vent stack of a structure
OwnerLloyd J. Wanderinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Building vents and the associated vent stacks are an emerging security challenge. The vents may run the entire length of a building, providing a direct and substantially unobstructed path for gases and devices to be introduced into a building's interior. A security apparatus for the vent(s) of a structure may include a housing that may be positioned on a vent opening, such as a vent stack, and a gas monitoring apparatus and a motion detector. The gas monitoring apparatus may be used to detect a volatile gas in the vicinity of the housing and generate an alarm or signal when a gas is detected. The motion detector may sense the removal of the security apparatus from a vent and trigger an alarm.
Claims19
A security apparatus comprising:
- a housing operable to be positioned on a vent stack of structure, the housing having a motion detector operable to detect movement of the housing away from a position on the vent stack;
- and
- a gas monitoring apparatus positioned on the housing, the gas monitoring apparatus being operable to detect a volatile gas in the vicinity of the housing and generate an alarm signal when a volatile gas is detected.
A method of securing vent stack comprising:
- providing structure having a vent stack;
- providing a security apparatus including a housing, a sensor mounted on the housing, and an alarm signal generator;
- positioning the security apparatus on the vent stack so that the sensor is positioned proximate an opening of the stack;
- detecting by the sensor of a hazard condition;
- transmitting an alarm signal by the alarm signal generator following the detection of a hazard condition by the sensor.
A security apparatus for the vent stack of a structure comprising:
- a housing including a bracket and a probe portion, the bracket operating to removably mount the housing to a vent stack of a structure, and the probe portion being configured to extend into an interior of the vent stack when the housing is mounted to the stack;
- a gas monitoring apparatus positioned on the probe portion of the housing and operating to detect a volatile gas in the vicinity of the housing;
- a motion detector positioned on the housing and operating to detect movement of the housing relative to a vent stack;
- and
- a radio frequency transmitter in electronic communication with the gas monitoring apparatus and motion detector and operating to transmit the alarm signal to a remote data collection point.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.