Fire Alarm Algorithm Using Smoke and Gas Sensors

U. S. Patent No. 7,142,105, issued November 28, 2006

Quickly detecting the presence of a fire is critical in many situations. While the ordinary smoke detector is adequate for many situations, it is susceptible to false alarms. This situation is unacceptable on board aircraft or spacecraft or in high-value facilities where the cost of evacuation is prohibitive. An improved fire detection algorithm is obtained by combining measurments of smoke, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is produced from smoldering fires, which are typically small and release little heat. A rate-of-rise criterion can be used to determine if either of the gases is increasing. When the rate exceeds a threshold and smoke is detected, the alarm sounds. Tests showed that this algorithm could respond more quickly to smoldering fires than a smoke detector alone, while drastically reducing false alarms.

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