INTELLIGENT SMOKE SENSOR WITH AUDIO-VIDEO VERIFICATION

• US 20160133108A1
• Filed: 01/05/2016
• Published: 05/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Tyco IP Holdings LLP (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Tyco Safety Products Canada Limited (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Inventors: Bucsa, Andrei, Hill, Greg
• Granted Patent: US 10,803,720 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/10 Actuation by presence of smoke or gases , e.g. automatic alarm devices for analysing flowing fluid materials by the use of optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/11 using an ionisation chamber for detecting smoke or gas
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks

Abstract

A method and system architecture for automation and alarm systems is provided. An intelligent fire detection sensor is provided that provides input data to a gateway device for processing and facilitates two-way communication with users and a third-party monitoring service. The system architecture is hierarchically organized, allowing devices to process system data differently at different levels of the hierarchy. Processing of at least some of the sensor data is overseen by the gateway device, which may determine, based on the processing, to activate one or more secondary sensors at the fire detector (such as an optical camera). The gateway device and fire detection sensor may interact cooperatively to process voice commands and/or gesture data, and to recognize false alarms.

Claims

1. A fire detection apparatus comprising:

a plurality of detectors for generating input data, the plurality of detectors comprising a fire detection sensor for detecting an occurrence of a fire in the monitored area, the fire detection sensor comprising at least one of an infrared sensor, a carbon monoxide sensor, or an ionization sensor;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing;

an identifier of a connected device that is capable of processing at least some of the input data, and

processing logic for processing the input data locally at the fire detection apparatus;

a communication interface communicatively coupled to the connected device; and

a processor configured to;

identify an occurrence of a fire detection event based on input data from the fire detection sensor using the processing logic;

generate a notification of the fire detection event and forward the notification to the connected device;

receive a request from the connected device to present a false alarm prompt at the fire detection apparatus; and

transmit a report of a false alarm to the connected device when the fire detection apparatus receives a confirmation of the false alarm, or transmit the input data to the connected device when the fire detection apparatus does not receive confirmation of the false alarm.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fire detection sensor includes the infrared sensor, and the input data comprises a record of gradient temperature evolution in the monitored area or a thermal map of the monitored area.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium further stores logic for implementing two-way communication between the fire detection apparatus and a remote monitoring facility.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium further stores logic for receiving interactive voice commands or gesture data.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a network interface for communicatively coupling the fire detection apparatus with a network of one or more other fire detection apparatuses located in proximity to the fire detection apparatus.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a broadcast alert that is addressed to the network of fire detection apparatuses, and to generate an alarm in response to receiving the broadcast alert.

7. The fire detection apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fire detection apparatus and the connected device are parts of an architecture arranged into a hierarchy having at least two levels, and the connected device is either:

another device at a same level of the hierarchy as the fire detection apparatus and having specialized processing logic for processing the input data, or is at a higher level of the hierarchy as compared to the fire detection apparatus.

8. A gateway apparatus comprising:

a communication interface communicatively coupled to a fire detection sensor for receiving input data from the fire detection sensor;

a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing;

an identifier of a cloud processing device, and

processing logic implementing a fire detection algorithm, the fire detection algorithm performed locally at the gateway apparatus based on the input data; and

a processor configured to;

execute the fire detection algorithm,

determine, based on output of the fire detection algorithm, to activate an optical camera associated with the fire detection sensor, and

transmit a report of a fire detection event and data from the optical camera to the cloud processing device.

9. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to broadcast a fire alert to a plurality of devices communicatively coupled to the communication interface in response to executing the fire detection algorithm.

10. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to prompt the fire detection sensor as to whether the input data constitutes a false alarm.

11. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to receive thermal gradient information from the fire detection sensor, determine an evolution of the thermal gradient over time, and to transmit information regarding the evolution of the thermal gradient to the cloud processing device.

12. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to receive vital sign data for a person in the monitored area, and to transmit information regarding the vital sign data to a first responder service.

13. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein:

the processing logic stored on the storage medium of the gateway apparatus is different than sensor processing logic stored on the fire detection sensor from which the input data is received.

14. The gateway apparatus of claim 8, wherein the processor is further configured to receive user interaction data from the fire detection sensor and process the user interaction data to identify one or more commands.

15. The gateway device of claim 14, wherein the user interaction data comprises at least one of voice commands or gestures.

16. A method comprising:

receiving, at a gateway entity comprising a processor, input data from a primary sensor of a fire detector communicatively coupled to the gateway entity;

processing, using the processor of the gateway entity, the input data to determine whether the input data is indicative of a fire;

transmitting a request to the fire detector to determine whether the input data is indicative of a false alarm; and

transmitting a request to the fire detector to activate one or more sensors in response to determining that the input data is not indicative of a false alarm.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising requesting supplemental data from a secondary sensor distinct from the primary sensor, wherein processing the input data is performed based, at least in part, on the supplemental data.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising broadcasting a fire detection alert to one or more secondary fire detectors distinct from the fire detector from which the input data was received.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising engaging in two-way communication between the fire detector and a third-party monitoring service.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising processing voice commands or gesture data received from the fire detector.