Sensor device, and disaster prevention system and electronic equipment each having sensor device incorporated therein
First Claim
1. A sensor device comprising one detection element made of a substrate, a semiconductor layer on said substrate, and spaced-apart electrodes in contact with said semiconductor layer, wherein said semiconductor layer is selected to be of a given conductivity type and has a property of varying a predetermined characteristic value thereof in one direction of polarity in response to exposure of said detection element to electron acceptor gas produced by a flaming type of fire and of varying the predetermined characteristic value thereof in an opposite direction of polarity in response to exposure of said detection element to electron donor gas produced by a smouldering type of fire, and characteristic value discrimination means coupled to the electrodes of said one detection element which discriminates a variation in the predetermined characteristic value thereof in the one polarity direction as being produced by electron acceptor gas indicating a flaming type of fire, and discriminates a variation of the predetermined characteristic value in the other polarity direction as being produced by electron donor gas indicating a smouldering type of fire, so that occurrences of both types of fires which generate the two different kinds of gases may be detected by said one detection element.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A sensor device of the present invention is capable of surely detecting occurrence of a fire and a type of the fire. The sensor device includes a detection element made of an organic semiconductor element or an inorganic semiconductor element which is varied in characteristic value (i.e., resistance) thereof by both gas produced in a flaming-type fire and a smouldering-type fire and of which a variation in resistance by gas produced in a flaming-type fire is different in polarity from that by gas produced in a smouldering-type fire. A resistance of the detection element is extracted by a resistance extractor and then fed to a resistance decrease discriminator and a resistance increase discriminator, wherein a decrease or increase in resistance of the element is discriminated. An information output circuit outputs a predetermined signal depending on discrimination results provided by the discriminators, to thereby detect occurrence of a fire and/or a type of the fire.
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10 Claims
- 1. A sensor device comprising one detection element made of a substrate, a semiconductor layer on said substrate, and spaced-apart electrodes in contact with said semiconductor layer, wherein said semiconductor layer is selected to be of a given conductivity type and has a property of varying a predetermined characteristic value thereof in one direction of polarity in response to exposure of said detection element to electron acceptor gas produced by a flaming type of fire and of varying the predetermined characteristic value thereof in an opposite direction of polarity in response to exposure of said detection element to electron donor gas produced by a smouldering type of fire, and characteristic value discrimination means coupled to the electrodes of said one detection element which discriminates a variation in the predetermined characteristic value thereof in the one polarity direction as being produced by electron acceptor gas indicating a flaming type of fire, and discriminates a variation of the predetermined characteristic value in the other polarity direction as being produced by electron donor gas indicating a smouldering type of fire, so that occurrences of both types of fires which generate the two different kinds of gases may be detected by said one detection element.
Specification