GB2360118A

GB2360118A - Remotely controlled smoke detector

Info

Publication number: GB2360118A
Application number: GB0006946A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jamie Oag
Original assignee: Optima Solutions UK Ltd
Current assignee: Optima Solutions UK Ltd
Priority date: 2000-03-23
Filing date: 2000-03-23
Publication date: 2001-09-12
Anticipated expiration: 2020-03-23
Also published as: GB2360118B; NO20024564L; AU2001244305A1; CA2403944A1; WO2001071308A2; NO20024564D0; WO2001071308A3; EP1269139A2; GB0006946D0

Abstract

An infra-red detector 3, intended particularly for use in a smoke detector 5, adapted to be triggered by any conventional infra-red remote control. Allows a ceiling mounted smoke detector to be readily switched off when triggered by a non-serious incident. The detector may be fitted to new alarms or retrofitted to existing devices. The infra-red detector is only powered up and triggerable when smoke detector's alarm is active, thereby reducing battery consumption and ensuring the alarm is not inadvertently switched off when there is a fire.

Description

1

1 INFRA-RED DETECTOR 2 3 The present application relates to the field of infra-red 4 detectors and their use as controllers of electronic 5 devices. In particular, the present application relates 6 to the use of an infra-red detector for controlling hard 7 to reach devices such as ceiling mounted smoke alarms. 8 9 Smoke alarms are in common use in domestic and industrial 10 environments where they provide a loud alarm whenever 11 they sense smoke. Typically, smoke alarms are fixed to 12 ceilings as this is the optimal place for them to detect 13 smoke which naturally rises upwards. As a result of 14 their location on ceilings, smoke alarms are hard to 15 reach. When smoked detectors are accidentally triggered 16 by eg a non-serious incident in a kitchen such as burning 17 toast, the occupant then finds it difficult to switch the 18 smoke alarm off. Often the occupant will have to find 19 something to stand on to enable them to reach the 20 ceiling-mounted alarm and may then have to open the smoke 21 alarm casing and remove the battery in order to stop it 22 ringing. 23

2360118 2 1 It is not uncommon for people to find that their alarm is 2 set off by non-serious events on a regular basis and this 3 is a considerable source of irritation. Therefore, it is 4 desirable to provide smoke alarms which can be readily switched off for a short period of time when a non- 6 serious smoke-creating incidents occur.

7 8 Furthermore, in most contemporary smoke alarms it is necessary to remove the battery in order to stop the 10 alarm once it has been triggered. The owner of the smoke 11 alarm may then forget to replace the battery after a non12 serious event and therefore inadvertently leave the 13 detector off when a serious fire outbreak occurs. This 14 15 16 17 18 one solution to this problem is provided in US Patent 19 4,788,530 to Maurice Bernier. This document discloses a 20 smoke alarm which has nearby a switch mounted at a 21 convenient location within easy reach on a wall near the 22 detector. When the smoke alarm is set off by a false 23 alarm the user presses the switch, temporarily 24 disconnecting the smoke alarm. A timing mechanism 25 switches the smoke alarm on again after a period of time. 26 Furthermore, this device is adapted to be connected to a 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 could be very dangerous and so it is also desirable to find a way of making smoke alarms which can be easily switched off for a temporary period of time.

dry cell battery within a smoke alarm and so may be retrofitted into any alarm using standard batteries.

US Patent 4,600,314 to George Theriault discloses a smoke alarm and mountable remote cut-off timer with an LED for indicating improper connection to the battery and a hook and loop fastening means for attaching the timer to a wall remote from the alarm itself.

3 1 2 All these three disclosures have the problem that they

3 would be reasonably expensive to produce when compared 4 with the low cost of a standard smoke alarm and would require time and effort to fit and produce unsightly 6 wiring around the sides of rooms and buildings.

7 8 The present invention aims to solve the problem by 9 providing a smoke alarm which is cheap, easy to use and install, does not require external wiring and which can 11 be readily switched off for a short period of time by a 12 user when there is a false alarm.

13 14 16 17 18 19 According to a first aspect of the present invention 21 there is provided a sensor or actuator having an infra- 22 red detector, wherein the sensor or actuator alters its 23 function when the infra-red detector is triggered, 24 wherein the infra-red detector is triggered by infrared light from any common infra-red remote control device.

26 27 28 29 31 32 33 The present invention also aims to provide a sensor module which can be retrofitted to existing smoke alarms. Furthermore, the invention finds broad applicability to all manner of sensors and actuators which are hard to reach.

Preferably, the sensor or actuator has an alarm which responds to an event.

More preferably, the sensor or actuator is a smoke detector having an alarm which responds to the detection of smoke.

4 1 Preferably, the infra-red detector is adapted to screen 2 out infra-red frequencies below lKHz.

3 4 6 7 8 9 The infra-red detector may be adapted to be triggered 11 only by repeated pulsed sequences of infra-red light.

12 13 Preferably, the alarm is suppressed for a period of time 14 when the infra-red detector is triggered.

16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 More preferably, the infra-red detector has an omnidirectional lens.

The infra-red detector may be adapted to be triggered only by pulsed infra-red light.

More preferably, the infra-red detector is only operational when the alarm is activated.

Most preferably, the alarm is configured so that the alarm cannot be suppressed before the event.

Typically, the alarm has a cover and is adapted only to function when the cover is closed, wherein the cover is provided only with a screw closure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an infra-red detector for retrofitting to a sensor or actuator, the infrared detector being triggered by infrared light from any common infra-red remote control device and acting to alter the function of the sensor or actuator to which it is retrofitted when the infra-red detector is triggered.

Preferably, the sensor or actuator is a smoke alarm.

1 2 An example embodiment of the present invention will now 3 be illustrated with reference to the following Figures in 4 which:

6 7 8 9 11 12 The present invention comprises a smoke alarm 1 for 13 mounting to a ceiling 2. Smoke alarms are generally 14 mounted onto ceilings as smoke rises and so this is the best location for smoke alarms to be fitted. The smoke 16 alarm 1 has an infra-red detector 3 with an 17 omnidirectional lens 4 thereon.

18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 Figure 1 is a cross-section of a smoke alarm according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a block diagram of electronic circuitry for use in the sensor of the present invention; and Figure 3 is a flow chart of smoke alarm operation.

The key to this invention is that the infra-red detector is adapted to be readily triggered by any household infra-red remote control. Infra-red remote controls are well known in the field of hi-fi, television and other household appliances. These remote controls emit coded signals which can be used to operate these electrical items. Most households have several such devices and so occupants of building fitted with smoke alarms will usually be able to find an infra-red remote control somewhere close to hand.

It would be prohibitively expensive to provide a remote control intended specifically for a ceiling mounted smoke alarm as smoke alarms are lowcost items and users would not want the clutter of owning a remote control just for their smoke alarm. However, by devising a sensor which 1 2 3 4 6 7 In order to allow the infra-red detector to be overridden 8 as easily as possible, the omnidirectional lens 4 is provided, meaning that infra-red light can be shone on the sensor from a wide range of directions.

6 is adapted to be triggered by any household infra-red remote control, the owner of the alarm can simply use any of the remote controls lying around their house and point this at the sensor, overriding it for a predetermined length of time.

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 reliability, may be triggered only when pulses of infra22 red are detected. For yet further reliability it might 23 only be triggered by a repeating pattern of pulsed infra24 red light such as is emitted by standard infra-red remote 25 controls.

26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Furthermore, it is important that the infra-red detector should not be triggered by background noise and the infra-red light permitted ambiently from household lighting. A high pass filter circuit is provided which allows frequencies above one kilohertz to pass through, filtering out background noise.

The infra-red detector may be triggered by any infra-red signal of sufficient intensity or, for additional A further inventive element of the infra-red detector controlled override function is that it is only powered up and operated when the alarm has been triggered. When the alarm has been triggered the override allows the alarm to be silenced for a period of time. However, because the circuitry is not operative whilst the alarm is not triggered, there will not be a problem with the alarm being accidentally and perhaps without the 7 1 knowledge of the occupier, being in the silent mode when 2 smoke is present.

3 4 This approach also has the benefit of conserving battery power. The control circuitry comprises a standard smoke 6 sensor 5 which would typically trigger a siren 6 whenever 7 smoke is present; however, control circuitry 7 overrides 8 the triggering of the siren under certain circumstances.

9 11 12 13 14 Importantly, this override function is only available when the smoke sensor 5 has actually been triggered.

16 This prevents it from being already in override mode when 17 the siren is first triggered if. Furthermore, the infra- 18 red detector and associated circuitry may actually be 19 kept switched off when the smoke sensor is not triggered, conserving battery power.

21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 The infra-red detector 3 has circuitry 8 which determines when the infra- red light is incident upon the sensor and if so overrides the siren for a period of time.

Figure 3 shows an example flow chart for operation of a smoke alarm according to the present invention. Once the smoke alarm has been started and initialised it checks whether smoke is present at 1 1 using a smoke sensor as is well known in the art. If no smoke is present, a timer is deactivated and reset to zero; the battery is then checked at 12 - If the battery is in acceptable condition then control returns to 11 and it is again determined whether or not there is smoke present. If instead it is found that the battery is low, then a quarter second beep is made with the siren or a separate sounding means every minute to warn the user that the battery is low.

8 If, however, it is found at 11 that smoke is present then 2 the infra-red detection circuitry is powered up and the 3 timer is tested at 13 to check that it is active. if it 4 is not active and no infra-red signal is detected at 14 6 7 8 9 once the timer has been started, it will be found at 13 that the timer is active and it will then be tested at 11 whether the timer has run for 30 seconds (for example) 12 If it has been active for less than 30 seconds the siren 13 will remain deactivated; otherwise, the timer will be 14 deactivated and reset meaning that the siren will be activated again if smoke is still detected and no infra 16 red signal is detected.

17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 then the siren is activated. If the timer is not active and an infra-red signal is detected then the timer is activated and the siren is overridden.

As an additional feature, the alarm only functions when a cover is closed. In contrast with most contemporary smoke alarms it can only be closed with a screw instead of a clip locating mechanism. This dissuades the user from removing the battery from the device meaning that the user is unlikely to remove the battery and forget to replace it thereby finding that the alarm is off when an emergency occurs.

As a result of this invention a smoke alarm has been provided which can be conveniently switched off using any household infra-red remote control by a user even though they cannot themselves reach the smoke sensor. As a result of this, the occupant of the dwelling protected by a smoke alarm is less likely to switch the alarm off for a long period of time due to a non-serious smoke producing event. Because any infra-red remote control 7 9 1 can be used to switch the sensor off, and because the 2 cost of the components in this sensor is merely pennies, 3 an economically viable device can be produced.

4 Furthermore, it will be clear to one skilled within the 6 art that this infra-red detector can be retrofitted to other devices. For example, an infra-red detector 8 according to the present invention might be fitted to the 9 smoke alarm and wired into its siren. Alternatively, it might be wired into the power supply to the fire alarm.

11 Some fire alarms have a nuisance button on them already 12 in which case the infra-red detector can be retrofitted 13 to trigger the nuisance button and thereby override the 14 siren when the alarm is triggered and when an infrared signal is sent to the sensor.

16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 26 Furthermore, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that this technology can also be applied to any type of actuator which is fitted to a device which is hard to reach, for example, water sprinklers, light fittings, fire alarms, air conditioning units, electric curtain closers etc, a panic button, carbon monoxide detectors etcFurther modifications and improvements may be made within the scope of an invention as herein described.

Claims

1 CLAIMS

2

3 1

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 2. 12 13 14 3. 15 16 17 18 4. 19 20 21 22

5. 23 24 25 26 6. 27 28 29 30 7. 31 32 33 34

A sensor or actuator having an infra-red detector, wherein the sensor or actuator alters its function when the infra-red detector is triggered, wherein the infra-red detector is triggered by infra-red light from any common infra-red remote control device but is not triggered by background infra-red light.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in Claim 1 which is an alarm that responds to an event.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 which is a smoke detector having an alarm which responds to the detection of smoke.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the infrared detector is adapted to screen out infra-red frequencies below lKHz.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the infrared detector has an omnidirectional lens.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the infrared detector is adapted to be triggered only by pulsed infra-red light.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the infra-red detector is adapted to be triggered only by repeated pulsed sequences of infra-red light.

1 8. 2 3 4 5 9.

6

7

8 9 10. A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims to 9 wherein the alarm is conf igured so that the alarm cannot be suppressed before the event.

11 A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 7 wherein the alarm is suppressed for a period of time when the infra-red detector is triggered.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 8 wherein the infrared detector is only operational when the alarm is activated.

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 13. An infra-red detector as claimed in Claim 12 wherein 26 the sensor or actuator is a smoke alarm.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 10 wherein the alarm has a cover and is adapted only to function when the cover is closed, wherein the cover is provided only with a screw closure.

An infra-red detector for retrofitting to a sensor or actuator, the infrared detector being triggered by infra-red light from any common infra-red remote control device and acting to alter the function of the sensor or actuator to which it is retrofitted when the infra-red detector is triggered.

1 CLAIMS 2 3 1.

4 5 6 7 8 2. 9 11 3. A sensor or actuator as claimed Claim 2 which is a smoke detector having an alarm which responds to the detection of smoke.

12 Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1 - A sensor or actuator having an infra-red detector for detecting infra-red light, wherein the function of the sensor or actuator is changed in response to the detection of any pulsed infra-red light.

13 14 15 4. 16 17 A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the infra- red detector is adapted to screen out infra-red frequencies below lKHz.

18 19 5. A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding Claim wherein the infra-red detector has an 21 omnidirectional lens.

22 23 6. A sensor or actuator as claimed in any preceding 24 claim wherein the function of the sensor or actuator is changed only in response to the detection of 26 repeated pulsed sequences of infrared light.

27 28 7. A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 29 to 6 wherein the infra-red detector is only operational when the alarm is activated.

31 32 8. A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 33 to 7 wherein the infra-red detector is only 34 operational when the alarm is activated and which is 1 11 further configured so that the alarm cannot be suppressed before the event.

9.

A sensor or actuator as claimed in any of Claims 2 to 8 wherein the alarm has a cover and is adapted only to function when the cover is closed, wherein the cover is provided only with a screw closure.

9

10. An infra-red detector for retrofitting to a sensor or actuator, the infra-red detector being adapted to 11 change the function of the sensor or actuator in 12 response to the detection by the infra-red detector 13 of any pulsed infra-red light.

14 15 11 16 17 18 12. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 An infra-red detector as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the sensor or actuator is a smoke alarm.

A smoke alarm comprising a smoke detecting means, a sounding means and an infrared detector for detecting infra-red light, wherein the sounding means is adapted to be triggered in response to the detection of smoke by the smoke detecting means, wherein triggering of the sounding means is inhibited by the detection of any pulsed infra-red light by the infra-red detector.