Fire Detector Test Device Using Intermediary Cup for Multi-Condition Stimuli
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing test devices struggle to effectively conduct field sensitivity and functionality testing of multi-criteria fire detectors, as they often fail to replicate the complex combinations and rates of ambient conditions required to initiate an alarm, and may not be compatible with different manufacturers' algorithms and detectors.
Innovation Solution
A fire detector test device that executes a configuration file to generate specific combinations and levels of ambient conditions such as smoke, heat, and gas, tailored to the type and manufacturer of the detector, using a wired or wireless transceiver and memory device to download and execute the appropriate instructions for testing, ensuring compatibility and proprietary information protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a test device generates multiple ambient conditions for multi-criteria fire detectors, then the testing capability is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the need to replicate complex algorithms and combinations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a cup as an intermediary component that directs and concentrates multiple ambient conditions (smoke, heat, gas) toward the fire detector's sensing chamber. This simple mechanical intermediary allows the test device to deliver complex multi-condition stimuli without requiring the device itself to contain complex algorithms for combining these conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The test device separates the generation of different ambient conditions into independent components (aerosol generating device for smoke, heating element for heat, gas generation for carbon monoxide) rather than attempting to generate all conditions simultaneously through a single complex mechanism. Each component can be controlled independently to achieve the required combinations and rates.
2Ease of operation
If a test device uses a known concentration of a single ambient condition, then the testing process is simplified, but it cannot verify the sensitivity or proper alarm level of multi-criteria fire detectors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameters of the test by introducing multiple ambient conditions (smoke concentration, temperature, gas composition) that can be independently adjusted and combined. This allows the test device to replicate the complex decision-making algorithms of multi-criteria fire detectors by varying these parameters in specific combinations and rates, thereby verifying both sensitivity and alarm levels accurately.
3Reliability
If different manufacturers use different algorithms to combine signals from multiple sensors, then detector functionality is optimized for specific applications, but a single test device cannot effectively test detectors from multiple manufacturers
Solution Approach 1:
The test device achieves universality by providing a standardized set of ambient condition generation capabilities (smoke, heat, gas) that can be combined in various ways to test different detector algorithms. The cup design universally directs these conditions into the detector's sensing chamber regardless of the specific detector type or manufacturer, allowing a single test device to effectively test detectors from multiple manufacturers with different algorithms.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables comprehensive field sensitivity and functionality testing of multi-criteria fire detectors by accurately simulating the conditions needed to trigger an alarm, ensuring compliance with various manufacturers' algorithms and detectors, thereby improving testing efficacy and adaptability.
Implementation Method 1
The generating device can generate a known concentration of an ambient condition, such as smoke
Implementation Method 2
exposing a multi-criteria fire detector to only a single ambient condition, as when testing a single criteria fire detector
Data Source
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AI summary
An improved fire detector test device and methods for conducting field sensitivity and functionality testing of a fire detector in-situ are provided. The test device can include ambient condition or stimulus generating devices, and a programmable processor, wherein the programmable processor can identify information about a detector under test, wherein the programmable processor can obtain a configuration file based on the identified information about the detector under test, wherein the configuration file can identify a combination, level, or rate of a plurality of stimuli that cause an alarm in the detector under test, and wherein the programmable processor can execute the configuration file to cause the ambient condition or stimulus generating devices to generate and emit the plurality of stimuli in the combination and at the level and the rate identified in the configuration file.