Smart-home hazard detector providing context specific features and/or pre-alarm configurations
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hazard detection systems in smart building and home environments lack efficient configuration and adaptation to specific installation locations, leading to potential false alarms and suboptimal performance due to fixed threshold settings.
Innovation Solution
A smart hazard detector that allows users to input their installation location, enabling or disabling features based on the location, adjusting alarm thresholds, and performing self-tests to ensure optimal placement and performance, with the ability to adjust settings over time based on historical data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fixed threshold settings are used in hazard detectors, then device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but false alarms increase and detection reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-configuring multiple location-specific profiles (kitchen, bedroom, basement, garage) that contain pre-determined feature sets and alarm thresholds. When a user selects an installation location, the corresponding profile is automatically applied, enabling the detector to adapt to location-specific conditions without requiring complex real-time adjustments or user expertise in configuring individual parameters.
2Measurement precision
If location-specific feature configuration is implemented, then detection accuracy is improved, but device complexity and configuration time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating distinct configuration profiles tailored to specific installation locations (kitchen, bedroom, basement, garage), where each profile contains location-optimized feature sets and alarm thresholds. For example, a kitchen profile may enable heat detection with higher thresholds to avoid false alarms from cooking, while a bedroom profile may use lower sensitivity thresholds and enable different alarm patterns suitable for sleeping areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent reduces configuration time by pre-configuring all location-specific parameters in advance. Users only need to select their installation location from a predefined list, and the system automatically applies the appropriate profile, eliminating the need for users to manually configure multiple individual parameters and significantly reducing setup time.
3Reliability
If alarm thresholds are adjusted based on installation location, then false alarms are reduced, but the system requires more complex processing and adaptability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by adjusting alarm thresholds based on installation location characteristics. Each location-specific profile contains pre-determined threshold values optimized for that environment. For example, kitchen profiles may have higher CO thresholds to account for cooking activities, while garage profiles may have different sensitivity settings for vehicle exhaust detection, thereby reducing false alarms while maintaining detection reliability.
4Manufacturing precision
If self-test and placement verification features are added, then installation quality is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies periodic action by implementing self-test and placement verification features that operate at specific intervals (e.g., during initial installation setup or at scheduled maintenance intervals) rather than continuously. This approach ensures proper detector placement and functionality while minimizing power consumption by activating sensors and processing only when needed, rather than maintaining constant monitoring of installation conditions.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A particular smart hazard detector may itself function as a guide during a process of installation of the same at an installation location. Additionally, the installation location of the particular smart hazard detector may play a central role in how various settings of the smart hazard detector are defined and adjusted over time.