This invention relates to an improved alarm system of wireless form and in particular to such a system which permits faster installation a available with existing systems.

Alarm systems are known which allow two-way communication between at least some of the components of the system. In some such systems, two way communication is permitted between all components of the system and the control panel. With an alarm system of this kind it is necessary to ensure that, when installed, the components are positioned relative to each other and to the control panel to ensure that they are able to communicate with each other.

In known systems, to verify that the alarm components are correctly installed and able to communicate with each other, each component is tested on installation to ensure it is able to communicate satisfactorily with other components and the control panel. It will be appreciated that similar tests will need to be carried out for each component of the system being installed and this also represents a time-consuming process.

In order to address the problem identified above of time requirement for installation, the present applicant has recognised that if the system is able to effectively' self test' its installation, this would obviate the need for a manual check of each component of the system separately before the installation process is completed and would clearly speed up the installation of the system.

It is AN object of the present invention to provide an improved alarm system in which installation of the system can be carried out more accurately and much faster than with any previous known alarm system.

Thus, and in accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved alarm system comprising one or more alarm components wirelessly linked to a control device, each component having associated therewith a means for generation of an identification signal identifying the particular component to a control device wherein each said component is provided with a display device which provides an indication when the component is connected correctly to the control device.

With such an arrangement, it will be appreciated that installation times can be considerably reduced and the need for manual intervention is avoided or at least significantly reduced.

Preferably, one or more of said alarm components is in the form of a security detector, for example a Passive Infrared (PIR) form of detector. Preferably the display device is formed integrally with said components. However, in alternative embodiments, it may be possible for the display device to be formed as a separate external display to which said component may be wirelessly linked.

The invention will now be described further by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings, the single figure of which shows a diagrammatic

representation of an embodiment of the improved alarm system in accordance with the present invention.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown a control device 10 to which are linked one or more alarm components 11 (example passive infrared (PIR) detector, a security light, alarm sounder and/or keypad). The components 11 are wirelessly linked to the control device 10, and at least some to each other, to enable two way communication to take place between components 11 and the control device 10.

Conventional installation of such a system is usually carried out by a professional installer and involves choosing a suitable location for the components to be mounted relative to a control panel 10. The communicability of the components 11 is then manually tested, separately for each connection 11 and, if necessary, the chosen mounting location is changed until the test shows that the component is in

communication with other components and the control device 10. The test carried out by the installer to check that a particular component is communicating with other components and the control device, usually involves checking at the control panel whether the signal communicated by a component is being received at the control device. Clearly this involves a lot of moving between the control device and a component being mounted to check that the chosen mounting position allows the component to communicate as required.

Such a necessity as that mentioned above, clearly makes the testing process, and the installation process, considerably longer than is desirable.

The present applicants have realised that in an alarm system that has two-way communication between components and/or the control device, it would make the installation process considerably quicker if it was possible to test the mounting position chosen for a particular component without having to return to the control panel to check the strength of the signal being received and whether a particular component was communicating properly.

To address this problem, the alarm system of the present invention, provides an indication means which is provided with each component and which will provide a suitable display on the indication device of the arrangement to indicate to the installer whether in the position chosen for mounting of a particular component is able to communicate with other components and the control devicelO. With such an

arrangement, it will be appreciated that it is even possible for an installer to move around a site with the component in his hand and be able to gauge where the component must be mounted to be in communication with the control device 10 to the extent required. The indication device can be of any form as desired or as appropriate and the term 'indicator' can include any suitable or appropriate form of bringing the installer information useful to them. Thus for example, the indication device may comprise one or more LED's or any other indicator might be appropriate or desirable.

It will of course be appreciated that providing an indication device as part of each component 11 makes it much more of a simple task for an installer to install the system and ensure that each component is able to communicate in a manner desired without the necessity of checking manually the communication of each component with the control panel. With an easier process of checking allowed by a system in accordance with the present invention it will reduce time of installation.

It is of course to be understood that the invention is not intended to be restricted to the details of the above embodiment which are described by way of example only.