Security sensor arrangement

• US 5,936,666 A
• Filed: 06/24/1996
• Issued: 08/10/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 06/23/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Garrett Thermal Systems Ltd. (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Vision Systems Ltd. (Danaher Corporation)
• Inventors: Davis, Andrew Lennox
• Primary Examiner(s): Tung, Bryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Diep, Nhon T.
• Application Number:
  US08/669,081
• Time in Patent Office: 1,142 Days
• Field of Search: 348/143, 348/152, 348/218, 348/153, 348/154, 348/155, 348/159, 348/164, 348/157
• US Class Current: 348/143
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19 using infrared-radiation detection systems G08B13/194 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/193 using focusing means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/183 Single detectors using dual technologies G08B13/1672, G08B13/2448, G08B13/2494 take precedence

Abstract

In one embodiment, the present invention provides an apparatus which includes at least two sensors whose overlapping fields of view are matched by sectorization. Sensor signal output processing of a high resolution sensor and a low resolution sensor provide a detection device which achieves a substantially higher performance over devices which only logically combine the outputs of two individual detectors. In a particular embodiment, the high resolution sensor senses a visible wavelength, such as by video camera, and the low resolution is an infrared thermal sensor.

Claims

1. A sensor apparatus comprising:

a signal processor;

a first sensor having a sectored predetermined field of view and a signal output representative of at least one characteristic of at least one sector of said field of view; and

a second sensor having a sectored predetermined field of view and a signal output representative of at least one characteristic of at least one sector of said field of view;

wherein said first sensor is a spatially higher resolution sensor than said second sensor, and said first sensor is sectored such that each of a plurality of sectors lie within or are spatially equal to a respective plurality of sectors of said second sensor, and said processor is adapted to process at least said first and second sensor signal outputs for each of said respective sectors of said first and second sensors to determine whether said signals are representative of common activity in those respective sectors and only if that is so provide an output signal representative of that common activity.

2. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least one of said sensors is a PIR sensor.

3. A sensor apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said PIR sensor comprises a physical means to sectorise said field of view.

4. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least one of maid sensors is a video camera device.

5. A sensor apparatus according to claim 4 wherein said video camera device comprises means to sectorise said field of view.

6. A sensor apparatus according to either of claim 3 or 5 wherein said means to sectorise is a lens means.

7. A sensor apparatus according to either of claim 3 or 5 wherein said means to sectorise is an electronic circuit or software means.

8. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sensors detect different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

9. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means processes said first and second sensor signal outputs for one or more of said common sectors to determine whether a common activity is being detected by said sensors.

10. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means processes said first and second sensor signal outputs using time domain and/or amplitude domain signal analysis to determine whether a common activity is being detected by said sensors.

11. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means for processing said first and second sensor signal outputs is located remote of said sensor apparatus.

12. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means sectorises one or more of said fields of view.

13. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means uses data fusion to determine whether a common activity is being detected by said sensors.

14. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal processing means uses data from the remaining sensor in the event of failure of one of said sensors to determine the activity detected by said sensors.

15. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said signal output of at least one of said sensors is stored for a period of time for use as a record of the past activity detected by said sensor wherein said signal processing means determines whether a common activity is being detected by said sensors.

16. A sensor apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sectorisation may comprise a virtual sectorisation of a portion of the field of view of a said sensor.