Photoelectric smoke sensor including a photosensing data correction ratio correction circuit

• US 4,695,734 A
• Filed: 02/20/1985
• Issued: 09/22/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/1984
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Original Assignee: Hochiki Corporation
• Inventors: Narumiya, Junichi, Honma, Hiroshi
• Primary Examiner(s): NOT, DEFINED
• Assistant Examiner(s): Oen, William L.
• Application Number:
  US06/703,385
• Time in Patent Office: 944 Days
• Field of Search: 250/573, 250/574, 250/575, 340/630, 356/438, 356/439, 356/436, 356/437
• US Class Current: 250/573
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/274 Calibration, base line adjustment, drift correction
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/534 by measuring transmission alone, i.e. determining opacity
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2201/0696 Pulsed
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 17/103 using a light emitting and receiving device
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/24 Self-calibration, e.g. compensating for environmental drift or ageing of components

Abstract

A light emitting unit and a photo sensing unit are separately arranged to face with each other, and a pulse light is emitted from the light emitting unit at every constant period, and the photo sensing unit receives the pulse light attenuated by a smoke, thereby detecting a fire. When a power source is turned on, a microcomputer in the photo sensing unit stores the first photo sensing data as an initial photo sensing data in a memory. The initial photo sensing data is fixedly stored and held and is not erased due to a temporary cut off of the power source. The photo sensing data is converted to correction photo sensing data using a correction ratio to perform the fouling correction and the fire is discriminated on the basis of the correction photo sensing data. The correction ratio is corrected when the correction period reaches 50 minutes. A correction amount of a single correction ratio is suppressed to a microvalue. In correction of the correction ratio, it is increased or decreased by only a microvalue at every correction period until the photo sensing data coincides with the initial photo sensing data.

Claims

1. A photoelectric smoke sensor in which a light emitting unit and a photo sensing unit are arranged to face each other a predetermined distance away from each other, wherein a pulse light emitted from said light emitting unit, which has been attenuated due to smoke, is received by said photo sensing unit, thereby detecting a fire, comprising:

a storage means for storing photo sensing data when a power source is turned on as initial photo sensing data;

a correction ratio correcting means for comparing at every predetermined fouling correction period the photo sensing data at that time with said initial photo sensing data and, when a difference is noted between said data, for correcting a correction ratio in accordance with said difference;

a correction operating means for inputting the photo sensing data that is derived at every predetermined period shorter than said correction period as is and for obtaining correction photo sensing data due to a multiplication with the correction ratio at that time used as a multiplier; and

a smoke discriminating means for discriminating a fire on the basis of said correction photo sensing data

2. A photoelectric smoke sensor according to claim 1, wherein said correction ratio correcting means has means for correcting the correction ratio by only a predetermined microvalue at the time of a single fouling correcting process.

3. A photoelectric smoke sensor according to claim 1, wherein said storage means has means for storing and holding said initial photo sensing data for a constant time interval even if the power source is turned off after the initial photo sensing data was stored.

4. A photoelectric smoke sensor according to claim 1, wherein said storage means has a data check means for determining whether or not said initial photo sensing data lies within a predetermined range and for storing said initial photo sensing data when it lies within said range and for generating an alarm when said initial photo sensing data is out of said range.

5. A photoelectric smoke sensor according to claim 1, wherein said fire discriminating means has a means for discriminating a fire by comparing a moving mean data of a plurality of correction photo sensing data outputted from said correction operating means with a threshold value.