alarm

Abstract

To provide a fire warning unit capable of stably detecting smoke in spite of dispersion of a smoke flow due to a sonic wave to be generated by an output of warning.SOLUTION: A warning unit includes: a smoke detection section 2 having a light receiving element 12 and a light emitting element 13 so as to detect a smoke density value; a processing section 16 for performing fire determination with at least the smoke density value as one of determination factors; and a warning output section 3 constituted to output warning by ringing. The processing section 16 executes processing by defining the smoke density value and / or the fire determination based on the smoke density value as the invalid determination concerning the fire determination during ringing of the warning output section 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an alarm device that detects a fire or the like and issues an alarm or the like. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there are alarm devices that detect smoke generated by a fire, thereby determining that a fire has occurred and outputting an alarm. These alarm devices have a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element as a smoke sensor to detect the smoke, and by utilizing the fact that the light emitted by the light-emitting element is scattered by the smoke, the light-receiving element detects this scattered light to detect the smoke concentration value and detect smoke, and are also equipped with an alarm output unit to output the alarm (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Furthermore, some of these alarm devices are equipped with various sensors in addition to the light-emitting and light-receiving elements, and are designed to output alarm sounds other than fire alarms from the alarm output section. Examples of such sensors include CO sensors, gas leak sensors, and heat sensors. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-21262 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] While the output of an alarm from an alarm device can clearly communicate an abnormality such as a fire to people around the alarm device, the sound waves generated by the alarm output have the problem of disrupting the flow of smoke. As a result, conventional alarm devices are unable to detect normal smoke concentrations during the alarm, which can lead to problems such as false detections and delayed fire detection. In particular, alarm devices equipped with sensors may be unable to correctly detect fires while the alarm sound is being output based on the output of the sensors, which is problematic.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an alarm that is capable of stable smoke detection even if the flow of smoke is disturbed by sound waves generated by the output of an alarm. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention includes a smoke detection unit having a light receiving element and a light emitting element and detecting a smoke density value, a processing unit that performs a fire determination using at least the smoke density value as one of the determination factors, and an alarm output unit that is configured to be able to output an alarm by sounding. 、 The processing unit processes the smoke density value and / or the fire determination based on the smoke density value as invalid during the time the alarm output unit is sounding. An alarm device, wherein the processing unit processes, in the fire determination, the smoke density value at the same time as the alarm output unit starts sounding and / or the fire determination based on the smoke density value as valid. This is an alarm device characterized by the above.

[0008] The present invention may further include a CO sensor for detecting carbon monoxide, and the alarm may include a CO detection alarm, and the processing unit may process the smoke density value and / or a fire determination based on the smoke density value as invalid in the fire determination while the alarm output unit is sounding and outputting the CO detection alarm.

[0009] The present invention allows the processing unit to perform the fire judgment and the failure judgment of the smoke detection unit using at least the smoke density value as one of the judgment factors, and while the alarm output unit is sounding, the processing unit can process the smoke density value and / or the fire judgment based on the smoke density value as invalid in the fire judgment, and process the smoke density value and / or the failure judgment based on the smoke density value as valid in the failure judgment. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] In the present invention, the processing unit processes the smoke density value and / or the fire judgment based on the smoke density value as invalid in the fire judgment while the alarm output unit is sounding the alarm, so that stable smoke detection is possible even if the flow of smoke is disrupted by the sound waves generated by the sounding of the alarm. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the base of the fire alarm according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the middle plate of the fire alarm according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing the flow of smoke when no sound is being emitted. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the middle plate of the fire alarm according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing the flow of smoke when an audio alarm is sounding. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a processing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing how a fire is judged during an alarm output according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. First, the configuration of a fire alarm 1 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, taking as an example a fire alarm 1 equipped with a smoke detection unit 2 and a CO sensor 4. In this embodiment, the front and rear directions are defined based on the state in which the fire alarm 1 is attached to a mounting surface such as a ceiling.

[0014] The fire alarm 1 comprises a smoke detection section 2 and an alarm output section 3, and in this embodiment further comprises a CO sensor 4 provided for detecting carbon monoxide, and a power supply means 5 (for example, a battery, etc.) provided for ensuring a power source for driving the fire alarm 1. The fire alarm 1 also comprises a housing for accommodating each of these components.

[0015] The housing is composed of a main body 6 and a front cover (not shown) attached to the front side of the main body 6. The main body 6 has a base 7 and a middle plate 8 located on the front side of the base 7, and the front cover is attached to the front side of the middle plate 8.

[0016] The base 7 has a substrate 9 and an alarm output unit 3 mounted thereon, and is provided with a smoke detector 14 of the smoke detector 2, which will be described later. The middle plate 2 is also provided with a smoke inlet 15 of the smoke detector 2, which will be described later, and with a flow path wall 11 that constitutes a smoke flow path 10 for introducing smoke S from the outside of the fire alarm 1 into the smoke inlet 15.

[0017] The substrate 9 is mounted with a light emitting element 12, a light receiving element 13, and a CO sensor 4, which will be described later, as well as various elements such as a microcomputer that constitutes a processing unit 16, which will be described later. The substrate 9 is also connected with an alarm output unit 3 and a power supply means 5.

[0018] The smoke detection unit 2 has a light-emitting element 12 and a light-receiving element 13, and is provided to detect a smoke density value C. The smoke detection unit 2 detects the smoke density value C by having the light-receiving element 13 detect scattered light generated when the light output from the light-emitting element 12 is scattered by the smoke S. For this reason, the light-emitting element 12 and the light-receiving element 13 are arranged so that the light from the light-emitting element 12 is not directly incident on the light-receiving element 13.

[0019] In this embodiment, the smoke detection unit 2 is composed of two stages: a smoke detection unit 14 located on the rear side and a smoke introduction unit 15 located on the front side, with at least the interior of the smoke detection unit 14 serving as a dark box. The light-emitting element 12 and the light-receiving element 13 are provided in the smoke detection unit 14 and are designed to operate intermittently at specified time intervals to conserve power from the power supply means 5. The smoke concentration value C detected by the light-emitting element 12 and the light-receiving element 13 is output to a sampling unit in the processing unit 16, which will be described later.

[0020] The alarm output unit 3 is configured to be able to sound an alarm A, which will be described later, and is provided as, for example, a speaker. Examples of the alarm A include various alarms such as a fire alarm sound and / or a fire alarm voice (fire alarm) that notify the occurrence of a fire, and a CO detection alarm and / or a CO detection alarm voice (CO detection alarm) that notify the detection of CO by the CO sensor 4. The alarm output unit 3 may be capable of outputting both a sound and a sound other than a sound (hereinafter referred to as a non-sound sound), such as a sound of a certain frequency or a sweep sound, or may be capable of outputting only a sound or a non-sound sound.

[0021] In this embodiment, the alarm output unit 3 outputs a voice A V and non-speech sound A S (In the following, in this embodiment, voice A V and non-speech sound A S These are collectively referred to as alarm A. For example, non-speech sound A is generated at predetermined intervals. S After multiple rings, voice A is played. VFurthermore, when the alarm output unit 3 receives a fire signal from the processing unit 16 (in this embodiment, a fire determination unit 20 to be described later) or a CO detection signal from the CO sensor 4, it issues a corresponding sound A. V and non-speech sound A S The device is configured to be able to ring.

[0022] Next, a description will be given of the configuration of the processing unit 16 that performs fire detection using the smoke density value C detected by the smoke detection unit 2 in this embodiment as one of the determination factors. The processing unit 16 has a sampling unit 17, a recording unit 18, a counter circuit 19, a fire detection unit 20, and a failure detection unit 21.

[0023] The sampling unit 17 receives the output from the smoke detection unit 2, compares the smoke density value C based on the output of the smoke detection unit 2 with the fire threshold value Th recorded in the recording unit 18, performs a fire judgment J, and determines whether the smoke density value C is above or below the fire threshold value Th.If the smoke density value C is above the fire threshold value Th, a fire output F is output to the counter circuit 19, and if it is below the fire threshold value Th, a non-fire output N is output as the fire judgment result.

[0024] On the other hand, the smoke S that has reached the fire alarm 1 is normally introduced into the smoke introduction section 15 via the smoke flow path 10 (see FIG. 2A), but the alarm output section 3 outputs an alarm A (in this embodiment, an audio A V or non-speech sound A S ) is being output, the sound waves of alarm A may cause a portion of the smoke S1 to go around the edge of the housing and not enter the housing, which may result in the normal smoke concentration value C not being detected (see Figure 2B).

[0025] Furthermore, depending on the relative positions of the alarm output unit 3 and the smoke detection unit 2, the sound waves of alarm A may act to push out smoke that has entered the smoke detection unit 2, which will also result in the failure to detect the correct smoke concentration value C. In reality, it takes a certain amount of time for smoke S that has entered the alarm 1 to reach the smoke detection unit 2, so it is possible to detect the correct smoke concentration value C immediately after alarm A starts sounding.

[0026] Therefore, while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding alarm A, the sampling unit 17 processes the smoke density value C as invalid and does not output it to the counter circuit 19. That is, in this embodiment, while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding alarm A, the processing unit 16 processes the smoke density value C as invalid in the fire judgment.

[0027] The counter circuit 19 is configured to operate when the smoke concentration value C based on the output of the smoke detection unit 2 is equal to or greater than the fire threshold value Th, based on the fire output F from the sampling unit 17. The fire determination unit 20 determines that a fire has occurred when the counter circuit 19 operates a predetermined number of times while the sampling unit 17 outputs a predetermined number of times, and outputs a fire signal to at least the alarm output unit 3.

[0028] The failure determination unit 21 is provided to determine whether the smoke detection unit 2 has failed, based on the smoke density value C that is based on the output of the smoke detection unit 2. The failure determination unit 21 outputs a failure signal when it determines that the smoke detection unit 2 has failed. The fire alarm 1 notifies the outside of the failure based on the failure signal. The means for notifying the outside can be selected as appropriate, and for example, a failure alarm voice and / or a failure alarm sound may be output from the alarm output unit 3, or a separate indicator light (not shown) may be provided and turned on.

[0029] In this case, the failure determination unit 21 may receive the smoke density value C directly from the smoke detection unit 2, or, as in this embodiment, may receive it via the sampling unit 17. In either case, the failure determination unit 21 processes the smoke density value C as valid even while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding the alarm A.

[0030] That is, in this embodiment, the processing unit 16 processes the smoke density value C as valid in the failure determination while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding alarm A. Therefore, in the fire alarm 1, it is possible to perform a failure determination of the smoke detection unit 2 even while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding alarm A. Note that when alarm A based on the fire determination is sounding, the smoke density value C is equal to or greater than the fire threshold value Th, so a failure determination of the smoke detection unit 2 is not performed.

[0031] Next, the fire determination in the fire alarm 1 of this embodiment will be explained with reference to Fig. 4, taking as an example a fire determination while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding alarm A based on CO detection by the CO sensor. In Fig. 4, the dashed line indicates a case where the smoke density value C is invalid, the fire determination J is not made, and the fire determination result is not output from the sampling unit 17 to the counter circuit 19.

[0032] The conditions for fire detection can be set as appropriate, but in the fire alarm 1 of this embodiment, when the alarm output unit 3 is not sounding, the condition for fire detection is that the counter circuit 19 has operated six times while the fire detection result is output from the sampling unit 17 to the counter circuit 19 eight times.

[0033] On the other hand, once the alarm output unit 3 sounds and starts outputting alarm A, the fire determination result is not output to the counter circuit 19 until the alarm output unit 3 stops sounding, so during this time, the sampling unit 17 outputs the fire determination result four times to the counter circuit 19, and the counter circuit 19 must have operated three times to determine whether or not a fire has occurred. This makes it possible to make the time required for the fire alarm 1 to make a fire determination the same whether or not the alarm output unit 3 is sounding.

[0034] When smoke S is introduced into the fire alarm 1 while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding, the light from the light-emitting element 12 is scattered by the smoke S, and the scattered light is detected by the light-receiving element 13, converted into a smoke concentration value C corresponding to the amount of light received, and output to the sampling unit 17.

[0035] The sampling unit 17 compares the smoke density value C with the fire threshold value Th recorded in the recording unit 18, and outputs either a fire output F or a non-fire output N to the counter circuit 19. For example, in Fig. 4, at time point i, the smoke density value C is less than the fire threshold value Th, so the non-fire output N is output to the counter circuit 19, and from time point ii to time point xi, the smoke density value C is equal to or greater than the fire threshold value Th, so the fire output F is output to the counter circuit 19. The counter circuit 19 operates in response to the input of the fire output F from the sampling unit 17, and turns on a counter.

[0036] At this time, the sampling unit 17 invalidates the smoke density value C while the alarm output unit 3 sounds and outputs the CO detection alarm A. In Fig. 4, at time h while alarm A is being output, the smoke density value C falls below the fire threshold value Th due to the influence of alarm A. However, since this value is treated as invalid, it is not output to the sampling unit 19 as a non-fire output N.

[0037] When the fire determination unit 20 confirms that the result counter circuit 19 has operated three times out of the four previous fire determinations J made by the sampling unit 17, i.e., that the fire output F has been output three times, it determines that a fire has occurred and outputs a fire signal. In Fig. 4, for example, at time iv, between time i and time iv, a total of three fire outputs F are output at time ii, time iii, and time iv, and at time iv, the counter circuit 19 has operated three times, resulting in a determination that a fire has occurred.

[0038] If the alarm output unit 3 did not invalidate the smoke density value C while sounding, and instead performed a fire detection under the same conditions as when the alarm output unit 3 is not sounding, as with conventional alarms, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 4, at times e and f, if the smoke density value C falls below the fire threshold value Th due to the influence of the sound waves from alarm A, just as at time h, it would not be detected as a fire until time vi, and the fire detection would be delayed compared to the above.

[0039] In this embodiment, just before the alarm output unit 3 starts sounding, that is, sound AV and non-speech sound A S The timing at which the smoke detection unit 1 detects the smoke density value C and the timing at which the alarm output unit 3 starts to sound are adjusted so that a fire determination is made by the sampling unit 17 immediately before each of the above is output. In this way, in this embodiment, the number of invalid smoke density values ​​C is reduced, enabling faster fire determination.

[0040] As described above, in the alarm 1 of this embodiment, by processing the smoke concentration value C while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding as invalid during fire judgment, it is possible to provide an alarm 1 that is capable of stable smoke detection even if the flow of smoke S is disrupted by the sound waves generated by the output of alarm A.

[0041] Furthermore, a secondary effect of the fire alarm 1 of this embodiment is that, since the smoke density value C continues to be detected even while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding, stable smoke detection can be performed without interrupting judgments other than fire judgments, such as failure judgments of the smoke detection unit 2, when the smoke density value C is used for such judgments. In this case, the failure judgment is performed, for example, as follows.

[0042] As mentioned above, the smoke detection unit 2 is arranged so that the light from the light-emitting element 12 does not normally enter the light-receiving element 13 directly. However, a small amount of light is incident on the light-receiving element 13 due to reflection within the smoke detection unit 14, and a small and constant detection value is measured by the light-receiving element 13.

[0043] If foreign matter such as dust enters the smoke detection unit 14 or if the wall surface of the smoke detection unit becomes soiled, the detection value may become higher than the initial value without exceeding the fire threshold value Th. Also, if the light-emitting element 12 or the light-receiving element 13 becomes soiled or the amount of light emitted by the light-emitting element 12 decreases, the detection value may become lower than the initial value.

[0044] In this way, if the detection value of the light receiving element 13 remains higher or lower than the initial value for a predetermined period of time, the failure determination section 21 will determine that there is a failure in the smoke detection section 2. If the sampling section 17 stops the fire determination itself while the alarm output section 3 is sounding, failure determination will also no longer be made, but in the case of the alarm device 1 of this embodiment, detection of the smoke concentration value C is still carried out, so failure determination of the smoke detection section 2 can continue.

[0045] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the invention.

[0046] (1) The fire alarm 1 of the above embodiment is one example of an alarm to which the present invention can be applied, and the present invention can be applied to various fire alarms, not just the fire alarm 1, as long as they are alarms that make a fire judgment using at least a smoke concentration value as one of the judgment factors (for example, well-known smoke-type fire alarms). In particular, the presence or absence of a CO sensor 4 can be selected as appropriate.

[0047] (2) The conditions for determining a fire in the above embodiment are merely examples, and can be set appropriately as needed.

[0048] (3) In the above embodiment, while the alarm output unit 3 sounds and outputs the alarm A, the smoke density value C detected by the smoke detection unit 2 is treated as invalid. However, the processing unit 16 may be configured to treat as invalid the fire determination made by the fire determination unit 20 based on the smoke density value C while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding. It is also possible to treat both the smoke density value C and the fire determination based on the smoke density value C as invalid.

[0049] (4) In the above embodiment, while the alarm output unit 3 is sounding, the fire determination based on the smoke density value C and / or the smoke density value C is treated as invalid, but it is also possible to treat the fire determination based on the smoke density value C and / or the smoke density value C at the same time as the alarm output unit 3 starts sounding as valid. This is because at the start of the sounding and immediately afterwards, the smoke density value C of the smoke S that has been introduced into the alarm device 1 is considered to have been detected before the alarm output unit 3 started sounding, and therefore the effect of the sounding of the alarm output unit 3 is either non-existent or can be ignored.

[0050] (5) The alarm A that can be output by sounding the alarm output unit 3 is not limited to the fire alarm or the CO detection alarm, but can be various alarms such as a gas detection alarm, a fire alarm determined by a factor other than the smoke concentration value C, for example, a fire alarm based on heat (temperature), an alarm that notifies that the power supply means 5 has run out, etc. Also, sensors for detecting these alarms can be provided separately. [Explanation of symbols]

[0051] 1 Fire alarm 2 Smoke detector 3 Alarm output unit 4 CO sensor 5 power supply means 6 main body 7 base part 8 middle plate 9 substrate 10 smoke flow path 11 flow path wall 12 light emitting element 13 light receiving element 14 smoke detection section 15 smoke introduction section 16 Processing section 17 Sampling section 18 Recording section 19 Counter circuit 20 Fire detection unit 21 Failure detection unit A Alarm C Smoke density value F Fire output J Fire judgment N Non-fire output S Smoke Th fire threshold

Claims

1. a smoke detection unit having a light receiving element and a light emitting element and configured to detect a smoke density value; a processing unit that performs a fire determination using at least the smoke density value as one of the determination factors; an alarm output unit configured to be able to output an alarm by sounding, the processing unit is an alarm device that processes the smoke density value and / or a fire determination based on the smoke density value as invalid in the fire determination while the alarm output unit is sounding, An alarm device characterized in that, in the fire judgment, the processing unit processes the smoke density value and / or a fire judgment based on the smoke density value at the same time as the alarm output unit starts to sound as valid.

2. further comprising a CO sensor for detecting carbon monoxide; the alarm includes a CO detection alarm; An alarm device according to claim 1, characterized in that, while the alarm output section is sounding and the CO detection alarm is being output, the processing section processes the smoke density value and / or a fire judgment based on the smoke density value in the fire judgment as invalid.

3. An alarm device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the processing unit performs the fire judgment and the failure judgment of the smoke detection unit using at least the smoke density value as one of the judgment factors, and while the alarm output unit is sounding, in the fire judgment, the smoke density value and / or a fire judgment based on the smoke density value is processed as invalid, and in the failure judgment, the smoke density value and / or a failure judgment based on the smoke density value is processed as valid.

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