BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a need for a system that will be able to detect an emergency or life threatening situation of a facility and if required, to conduct an automated systematic evacuation of the facility. This is because between the identification of an emergency and the arrival of the emergency personnel, which is the most crucial moment in any emergency, occupants are ignorant of the situation despite the presence of fire alarm bells. Confusion often reigns and some may even ignore the warning, on the basis that it may be a false alarm. An announcement and systematic evacuation are critical to vacating the facility while minimizing unnecessary injury and loss of life through stampede and suffocation.

The conventional fire alarm system is only meant to detect and control a disaster from deteriorating, but it does not assist or conduct any concerted evacuation plan for the building occupants. The visual and audio notification of this type of system consists of a fire alarm bell and possibly a strobe light. In an emergency this is frequently insufficient to evacuate occupants in a building effectively. It does not provide enough information for the occupants of the type of emergency that has happened and the required action to be taken during emergency e. g. where and when to exit.

It is often presumed that upon hearing the alarm signal or perceiving some smoke, occupants will leave the building immediately by the nearest exit. In practical analysis of behaviour, some situations have revealed this is frequently not the case.

The present public address system has been designed to detect a potentially life threatening emergency and broadcast emergency messages to alert occupants. A combination of the two mentioned systems being the fire alarm system and public address system is considered a better system as they

are able to detect the source of the emergency and to broadcast the emergency messages with information such as the nature of the threat, the exit path and location of the exit portal of the affected areas.

There are a few types of public address system that are able to perform the above function, which is termed a"2-Step evacuation"method. The definition of a 2-Step evacuation is an emergency broadcast to those floors directly affected first and then after a predetermined period of time to all floors simultaneously.

While the first step may be sufficient to evacuate occupants effectively and safely, the second step does not adequately address the problem of the sudden influx of occupants to the same emergency exit path.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an Evacuation System that minimizes injury and the loss of life in a threatened situation by communicating instructions more clearly, and in a more strategic way as compared to the prior art.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a process for evacuating a facility said facility divided into a plurality of facility groups including the steps of: - receiving a threat input; -selecting an appropriate early evacuation strategy, said early evacuation strategy determining the order of evacuation of each group based upon the threat input; - broadcasting an evacuation instruction to an initial evacuation group; -waiting a pre-determined period; - broadcasting an evacuation instruction to a second evacuation group; and -repeating the waiting and broadcasting steps until termination.

The method operates to ensure that upon detection of a life threatening emergency the occupants of the facility are evacuated as fast as possible.

Further, it seeks to provide occupants of the facility with enough information to assist them in their evacuation as well as to keep them calm.

It has been found that during unannounced evacuation drills in an underground station, passengers started their evacuation within one minute when provided with precise voice communication instructions regarding the fire event,

its location and action to be undertaken. With limited information such as the fire alarm bells only, many occupants were still in the station after fifteen minutes.

In defining the difference between facility groups and evacuation groups, a facility group is defined as a group of floors or zones, within this facility, which is irrespective to the early evacuation strategy adopted. An evacuation group is the group to be evacuated at any particular time. For instance, for the (n+x-y) early evacuation strategy the initial evacuation group will be the facility group that is currently experiencing the threat and adjacent groups. However, for the optimal strategy, the initial evacuation group will be sub-group one of each group, being that sub-group as the first sub-group of each group and may be the closest to the exit portal.

The evacuation process may be divided into 2 stages which are: - the period when the emergency is detected and before the arrival of the emergency personnel - the period after the emergency personnel arrives The early evacuation strategies namely (n+x-y) and optimal strategy may be activated before the arrival of the emergency personnel. These strategies are particularly advantageous for the early evacuation of occupants in a facility as soon as the emergency is detected while waiting for the arrival of the emergency personnel. It should be noted, however, that the present invention is not restricted to early evacuation. In fact, the strategies of the present invention may be selected to continue after the arrival of the emergency personnel. Further, in some circumstances, the strategies of the present invention may be commenced after the arrival of the emergency personnel, if so selected by said emergency personnel.

The evacuation strategy may further include the automatic evacuation, which is the continuation of early evacuation strategy, and manual evacuation strategy. When the emergency personnel arrive, they can choose to continue with the early evacuation strategy, which is term now as automatic evacuation strategy or perform their own manual evacuation strategy.

Bearing in mind that every facility is significantly different and thus requiring very specific evacuation plans, the method of the present invention

provides sufficient flexibility to be programmed, to cater for individual facility's evacuation plan.

Once an emergency is detected, the Evacuation System analyses the threat and responds to it by performing a pre-programmed early evacuation process.

A confirmation signal may be required to activate the process. If within a period of time, the confirmation is not received, the early evacuation process may automatically activate to avoid any further delay. In the case of a false alarm, authorized personnel may cancel the process.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, there may be a total of N different steps where the user can assign any numbers of zones to a group and then assigned the group to a step. After the selected Nth step, the rest of the buildings may be evacuated according to the last step procedure until all the areas of the building have been evacuated. These steps determine the sequence of evacuation starting from the area where the emergency was detected.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there may be three main categories of messages during the evacuation being: (i) evacuation instruction to the affected and adjacent areas, (ii) standby message to the yet to be evacuated areas; and (iii) special messages to the area that requires immediate notification upon emergency, such as, but not limited to staircase and outdoor.

The method of the present invention may be user programmable, as so allow for the user to have a special group where the zones in the group may have immediate evacuation regardless of the location of the emergency detected. This feature is very useful as certain areas, such as where VIPs (that is,"very important persons") and children may be located in the building, can be evacuated as soon as the emergency occurs or at the area outside the building where this message shall advise whoever that may obstruct the exit of victims from the building, to stay clear of the area. In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention each group of zones may be assigned an audio source from where the emergency messages will be broadcast. There shall be a programmable time interval between each step to permit sufficient time for all in

that group currently being evacuated to be able to hear the entire message and evacuate.

When the emergency personnel arrive, they may choose to continue the automatic early evacuation or override the early evacuation process manually. If the emergency personnel decide to override, there will be panels that will indicate the status of the evacuation. Further, there will be two types of panel, one for providing zone selection for the emergency personnel to evacuate the desired areas, and a second panel to provide visual guidance for the emergency personnel to know which zones have already been evacuated and which zones have not been evacuated. These panels are designated the manual zone selection panel and mimic panel interface unit and are useful in increasing the effectiveness of the emergency evacuation manually.

After the manual evacuation, the emergency personnel may choose to resume the automatic announcement by selecting a function on the system. The whole evacuation process may also be terminated if the emergency is placed under control.

The Evacuation System has been designed to address two main categories of hazards; Internal Hazards and External Hazards, which will be explained below.

An external hazard is defined as one that originates from outside the facility, such as, but not limited to a fire threat from neighbouring buildings or a terrorist attack threat.

In a further preferred embodiment there may be a panel where authorized personnel are able to activate locally or remotely an External Hazard Emergency Confirmation. In this case, the system may be programmed to perform"Optimal Early evacuation". The system may be able to evacuate the facility in a group of floors rather than in steps of affected and adjacent floors, to expedite the evacuation process. The building shall be divided into different number of groups with each group having the same amount of subgroups. The number of floors in each group and subgroup can differ. The factors to determine the number of groups and subgroups and also the number of floors in a group and subgroup

shall be, but not limited to the building's size e. g. width, height, human density, evacuation flow rate, staircase dimension, available number of staircase etc.

In a preferred embodiment during evacuation under this condition, the three categories of messages may still apply ; being: Evacuation Message, Standby message and the Special messages. During the early evacuation, while the 1St subgroup of each group of floors is being evacuated, a standby message is to be broadcast to all other subgroups. This is to inform other occupants that currently there is an emergency situation under evaluation and also to pacify them as some may panic when they hear the fire alarm bells ringing. The special message may comprise messages to the area that require immediate notification upon emergency, such as, but not limited to staircases and outdoor.

After a predetermined interval, the 2nd subgroup of each group shall be evacuated. This process shall continue until all the subgroups in all groups are being evacuated.

An internal hazard is defined as life threatening hazards that originate from the building itself, such as, but not limited to fire threats and chemical/gas leakage threats.

For an internal hazard, the system may not be limited to evacuate the facility using the (n+x-y) early evacuation process (where n is the affected floor, x is number of floors above the affected floor and y is number of floors below the affected floor) i. e. evacuate the affected and adjacent floors for each step, only.

This system may also able to perform Optimal Early evacuation, similar to the method used in External Hazard. This feature is to increase the effectiveness of early evacuation process especially when the emergency happens in a high-rise building. The system may be programmed to combine methods by performing (n+x-y) early evacuation process then the Optimal Early evacuation.

During an emergency, the system may send notification to the authorized personnel via email using a notification interface. All these evacuation activities will be recorded in the systems log for future reference or management post mortem on the emergency, by the Evacuation System.

The Evacuation System may also continually perform real-time self- diagnostics procedures to ensure the integrity of the system. The Evacuation

System may also provide continuous monitoring of the system status. This may ensure the systems integrity is always maintained at operational conditions should it be called upon in times of emergency.

The system may monitor whether the speaker lines to all the zones/floors are in working condition. Further it will monitor for open circuits, short circuits and ground leakage. Other aspects covered under the self-diagnostic program may be the monitoring of the power amplifiers, which power the speaker line.

Upon detection of any fault or failure within the system the user may alert authorized personnel in order that the fault can be rectified. Remote error notification may be done via an Internet connectivity panel where the authorized personnel shall able to monitor and ensure the integrity of the system, possibly through the notification interface.

The Evacuation System may also provide a testing and commissioning mode where the system shall be activated instantaneously to check on the systems integrity such as, but not limited to, the audio path from the input source to the output source.

Current systems are not programmable thus a generous assumption would have to be made that all facilities and structures can be evacuated effectively and safely using the standard 2 steps evacuation plans.

The Evacuation System may utilize a core system which is characterized by simultaneous paging and routing of multiple inputs to multiple outputs, which is required to enable different floors to have different messages during the evacuation process.

The core system may also include a programmable interface for other systems via"dry contacts"or other means of data communication signal. This may allow the present invention to interface with an emergency detection system through its input interface, while its output interface allows for the triggering of strobe lights and other external systems or devices that maybe configured or needed in the Evacuation System of a specific facility.

The core system may also include a Remote Microphone paging feature incorporated into Evacuation System, which may allow emergency personnel to use any of the remote paging consoles placed within the facility to make an

emergency announcement. This may only be needed if it is impossible to enter the main control centre due to unforeseen circumstances.

In another preferred embodiment, the present invention may incorporate a module in the systems hardware that may be able to provide visual guide to exits especially in darkness and for hearing impaired people.

In a still further preferred embodiment the present invention may incorporate a module in the systems configuration software that may be able to provide a diagrammatic entry of the building architecture in order to aid in the configuration of an evacuation plan.

In a second aspect the present invention provides a system for evacuating a facility, said facility divided into a plurality of facility groups, including a receiving means for receiving a threat input, a means for selecting an appropriate early evacuation strategy, said early evacuation strategy determining the order of evacuation of each group based upon the threat input; and a broadcasting means for broadcasting an evacuation instruction to an initial group, wherein the broadcasting means broadcasts an evacuation instruction to a second group after a predetermined period, and repeating the sequential process of waiting a predetermined period and broadcasting the evacuation instruction to subsequent groups.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT It will be convenient to further describe the present invention with respect to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate possible arrangements of the invention. Other arrangements of the invention are possible, and consequently the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not to be understood as superseding the generality of the preceding description of the invention.

Figure 1 is a flow chart of the method according to one aspect of the present invention; Figures 2a to 2c is a sequential diagrammatic representation of an (n+x-y) early evacuation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figures 3a to 3c is a diagrammatic sequential representation of an optimal early evacuation according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a schematic drawing of the monitored lines for the self diagnostic process in a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a schematic drawing of the system according to a second aspect of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a flow chart of the process from the identification of the threat 1, through to the termination 40 of the process. It commences as threat identification 1 whereupon the Evacuation System according to the present invention seeks confirmation 5 of the threat 1. If no confirmation is forthcoming, the system assesses whether it is a false alarm 10, and if so, the process is terminated 40. If instead, no false alarm 10 is registered then the process proceeds as if a confirmation 5 had in fact been made, progressing to the identification of the initial group 15 based on the pre-programmed strategy. An evacuation instruction is then broadcast to the initial group, and at the same time a stand-by message is sent to all other groups.

Further, a special message is broadcast to particular areas including the staircases and areas directly outside the facility that a threat is current. A test 20 is performed as to whether a predetermined time has elapsed in which to allow full or substantial evacuation of the initial group. If the predetermined time has in fact elapsed then the next group 25 is identified whereby an evacuation instruction is broadcast to this group. This instruction is maintained to the initial group to ensure that there are no occupants lagging behind.

Again, the process tests 30 whether a predetermined time has elapsed, and if not, the process continues with the evacuation instruction to the initial group 15 and the next group 25. If the time has elapsed, the process tests 35 whether all groups have been evacuated. If not, the process goes to the next group 25. The sequential process of broadcasting evacuation instructions to each current and previous evacuating group continues until all groups have been evacuated from the facility and the process terminates 40.

This core process does not represent the actions of emergency personnel.

On arrival, the emergency personnel may permit the process to continue on the basis that it is efficiently evacuating the facility in an approved manner.

Alternatively, the emergency personnel may override the system to manually evacuate each group, or suspend the evacuation pending further information.

This can happen at any stage within the process allowing for full intervention by emergency personnel and immediate reinstatement should it be necessary.

In identifying the threat 1 this may be done through a variety of means including the activation of an alarm within the facility, or the automatic detection of a threat, for instance, smoke and fire detection. Alternatively, the threat may be identified and communicated to the system from a centralized point either within the facility or remotely by an operator, for instance, security personnel who may be aware of a terrorist act, fire within an adjacent building, or a chemical/gas leak.

Figure 2 provides a sequential diagrammatic demonstration of the process using what is known as" (n+x-y) early evacuation". In this example, the facility is a multi-storey building having a ground floor 60, and nine upper floors. In this case there is a fire on the fourth floor, being the directly affected floor 45. As pre- programmed into the Evacuation System, the initial group 50 is designated as floors 3 to 5, and the special group as the ground floor 60 and staircase 80.

Within this initial group and special group, an evacuation instruction is broadcast so as to direct all occupants to the exit path. At the same time, all other groups 55 have broadcast a stand-by message informing them of the threat, and holding them in stand-by ready for evacuation and special messages are being broadcast to ground floor 60 and staircase 80 simultaneously. Thus, the initial group 50 are able to escape the current threat as quickly as possible without unnecessary loss of life or injury through clogging of the exit path by all occupants of the facility.

Figure 2b shows the next step in the early evacuation. After a predetermined time the second group, being floors 2 and 6 are then broadcast the evacuation instruction. This second group 65 again will be able to proceed quickly through the exit path as the initial group 50 will at this stage either have already evacuated, or will have substantially evacuated. The reduced number of other groups 70 are maintained in stand-by through the broadcast of the stand-by

message ready for final evacuation and special messages are maintained at ground floor 60 and staircase 80.

Figure 2c indicates the final step for this particular example, whereby the remaining floors 1,7, 8 and 9 are all provided the evacuation instruction and so are free to evacuate in an efficient and unfettered manner. Special messages are maintained at ground floor 60 and staircase 80.

It should be noted that in this example there were only three steps identified, however the system is capable of any number of steps in the early evacuation process.

Further, as the Evacuation System is eminently applicable to a multi-storey facility, it may also be applied to a low-rise but expansive facility, having only very few floors but many zones within these floors, for instance a shopping mall. In this case the groups may be confined to a particular sector on a single floor, or may be multi-floor groups subject to the number and availability of exit paths, the flow rate capacity of the exit portals, the use to which the zones within the facility are put, and the number and type of occupants within these groups.

Figure 2a to 2c being the (n+x-y) early evacuation process is well suited to internal hazards where a particular floor is directly affected and all other floors are in less immediate need of evacuation. Where the threat is external, such as a perceived terrorist attack, or a more general internal threat such as a gas leak or bomb threat whereby no particular floor is directly affected, but all occupants need to be evacuated in an orderly manner, the system will select from the threat identification an optimal early evacuation strategy.

Figures 3a to 3c show an alternative arrangement of the optimal strategy, known as the Optimal Early evacuation strategy. In this embodiment, the fundamental principle of the optimal strategy is maintained, however, greater consideration of the flow capacity of the staircases and other exit means is exploited. This is particularly relevant for larger buildings whereby multiple simultaneous evacuations can occur at the commencement of the early evacuation strategy without the evacuating groups interfering with one another.

As with the optimal strategy, the Optimal Early evacuation strategy divides the building into four groups, with group one 200 being the ground floor to floor

two, group two 205 being floors three to six, group three 210 being floors seven to eleven and group four 280 known as special group being floor twelve 270 and staircase 275. In this variation to the optimal strategy, each of these groups, except special group, is divided into an equal number of sub-groups. In this embodiment the number of sub-groups is four, and hence each group, except special group, has three sub-groups with the intention that the sub-groups act concurrently. In this embodiment sub-group one 225 of group one 200 is the ground floor, sub-group two 240 is floor one, and sub-group three 255 is floor two.

Group two 205 has sub-group one 220 for floor three, sub-group two 235 being floor four, and sub-group three 250 being floors five and six.

Group three 210 has sub-group one 215 as floor seven, sub-group two 230 as floors eight and nine, and sub-group three 245 as floors ten and eleven. It will be noted that not only can the size of the groups be independent, but also the size of the sub-groups are independent of the corresponding sub-groups. Thus, whilst the absolute number of sub-groups within each group must be the same, except for special group, the size of each sub-group and the size of the overall group is independent of any other group.

Figure 3a shows the commencement of the optimal strategy whereby an evacuation instruction 260 is broadcast to each of the sub-group ones 225,220 and 215. In the remaining floors a warning and/or stand-by message 265 is broadcast to the other floors with the exception of the top floor 270 and staircase 275, which in this embodiment are receiving special messages 285 which may be other special evacuation instruction.

Figure 3b shows after a predetermined time, in which the flow of evacuees is considered to subside, whereupon each of the sub-group twos 230,235 and 240, begin to receive the evacuation instruction 260. It will be noted that the evacuation instruction 260 remains broadcast to the sub-group ones 215,220 and 225 and special messages 285 remains broadcast to the top floor 270 and staircase 275.

Figure 3c shows after a predetermined time, a third step will be the broadcast of the evacuation instruction 260 to each of the sub-group threes 245, 250 and 255.

The Optimal Early evacuation strategy is therefore an alternative arrangement of identifying the initial group and subsequent groups, and implementing the early evacuation strategy in a manner so as to optimize the evacuation time and minimize the risk to occupants.

Figure 4 shows a schematic diagram of part of the self-diagnostic process within the Evacuation System. The early evacuation unit 110 is connected to a power amplifier 120, which in turn is connected to zone speakers 125. It is through the amplifier and speakers that the various broadcast messages are directed. Within the system is a speaker line monitoring unit 130, which monitors the connection between the amplifier 120 and the speakers 125 to ensure that the integrity of the system is maintained. The speaker lines monitoring unit 130 being connected to the early evacuation unit 110 can therefore report any faults accordingly. The early evacuation unit 110 itself monitors the operating conditions of the amplifier 120 which combined with the speaker line monitoring unit 130 maintains the integrity of the system, for instance monitoring it for open circuits, short circuits and ground leakage.

Upon detection of a fault or failure within the system, the Evacuation System via the Internet/Network Connectivity Panel can be communicated 145 to local area network (LAN) 135, which can then be communicated to all authorized personnel in possession of a work station 140. Alternatively, the Evacuation System via the Internet/Network Connectivity Panel 115 can communicate to a modem 155, wireless communication and other means which shall able to be connected to Wide Area Network (WAN) 160, in sending emails to the authorized personnel 160,165. In any event, error notification within the system can be done remotely through a series of methods, and so assist the maintenance of the integrity of the system.

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the configuration of the Evacuation System according to another aspect of the invention. Again, the early evacuation unit 110 is central to the system to which is connected an internal/external hazard Emergency Panel 170. It is through this panel that the system can be made aware of a hazard either through automated detection units, e. g. , heat and smoke, or through the activation of an alarm. Alternatively the threat input is

provided by remote activation. Also attached are multiple manual zone selection panels 175,180 and a mimic panel interface unit 185. The manual zone selection panels 175,180 reflects the status of the evacuation process and means to interrupt this sequence and insert a new sequence at the discretion of the emergency personnel.

To further assist emergency personnel, the mimic panel interface unit 185 shows those groups, which have already been evacuated, and those, which are yet to be evacuated. The emergency personnel may then make an assessment as to whether to maintain the programmed sequence, or override the system so as to conduct their own evacuation.

Further associated with the system is a remote microphone 190 for the use by emergency personnel to give further information, or different messages and instructions for the evacuating occupants.

The Internet Network Connectivity panel 115 acts as a notification interface for connection to a LAN 135, which can communicate with workstations 140, through modems 155,165 via a WAN 160, so as to maintain notification to authorized personnel as to the progress of the early evacuation.