초록 ▼

A sensor unit that includes at least one sensor configured to measure an ambient condition is described. The controller can be configured to receive instructions, to report a notice level when the controller determines that data measured by the at least one sensor fails a report threshold test corre

A sensor unit that includes at least one sensor configured to measure an ambient condition is described. The controller can be configured to receive instructions, to report a notice level when the controller determines that data measured by the at least one sensor fails a report threshold test corresponding to a report threshold value. The controller can also be configured to obtain a plurality of calibration measurements from the at least one sensor during a calibration period and to adjust the threshold based on the calibration measurements. The controller can be configured to compute a first threshold level corresponding to background noise and a second threshold level corresponding to sensor noise, and to compute the report threshold value from the second threshold. In one embodiment, the sensor unit adjusts one or more of the thresholds based on ambient temperature.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A wireless device, comprising: a smoke sensor configured to obtain measurement data regarding a level of smoke;a wireless transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving information to and from an electronic device located remotely from the wireless device;a power source for powering

1. A wireless device, comprising: a smoke sensor configured to obtain measurement data regarding a level of smoke;a wireless transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving information to and from an electronic device located remotely from the wireless device;a power source for powering operation of the wireless device; anda controller operatively coupled to the smoke sensor, wireless transceiver, and the power source, and configured to: operate the wireless device in a sleep mode while the smoke sensor obtains the measurement data, wherein power consumption of the wireless device from the power source is lower when the wireless device operates in the sleep mode as compared to when the wireless device operates in an awake mode;determine, from the measurement data, whether the level of smoke has exceeded a reporting threshold; andin response to determining that the level of smoke has exceeded the reporting threshold: determine a notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level based on: the level of smoke, and/ora rate of rise of the level of smoke;determine whether the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded; andcommunicate a signal indicative of the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level being exceeded when it is determined that the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded. 2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the wireless transceiver is configured to communicate the signal while the wireless device is operating in the awake mode. 3. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to: determine whether the level of smoke has exceeded the reporting threshold while operating the wireless device in the sleep mode; andtemporarily switch the wireless device from the sleep mode to the awake mode in response to determining that the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded; andcommunicate the signal indicative of the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level being exceeded while operating the wireless device in the awake mode. 4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to temporarily switch the wireless device from the sleep mode to the awake mode periodically. 5. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to communicate the measurement data obtained by the smoke sensor while the wireless device is operating in the awake mode. 6. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to: determine, prior to communicating the signal, an available wireless frequency channel; andcommunicate the signal on the available wireless frequency channel. 7. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to communicate the signal a plurality of times until the wireless device receives an acknowledgement that the signal has been received. 8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to communicate the signal a plurality of times, based on a priority of the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level. 9. A method of operating a wireless device, comprising: powering the wireless device with a power source;operating the wireless device in a sleep mode, wherein power consumption of the wireless device from the power source is lower when the wireless device operates in the sleep mode as compared to when the wireless device operates in an awake mode;obtaining, while operating the wireless device in the sleep mode and from a smoke sensor of the wireless device, measurement data regarding a level of smoke;determining, from the measurement data, whether the level of smoke has exceeded a reporting threshold; andin response to determining that the level of smoke has exceeded the reporting threshold: determining a notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level based on: the level of smoke, and/ora rate of rise of the level of smoke;determining whether the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded; andcommunicating, to an electronic device located remotely from the wireless device and via a wireless transceiver of the wireless device, a signal indicative of the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level being exceeded when it is determined that the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded. 10. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 9, further comprising communicating the signal using spread-spectrum techniques. 11. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 10, further comprising receiving a unique identifier for the wireless device from another wireless device during a configuration period, the unique identifier distinguishing the wireless device from other wireless device in a network. 12. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 11, further including embedding, in the signal and prior to communicating the signal, the unique identifier of the wireless device. 13. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 9, wherein communicating the signal occurs while the wireless device is in the awake mode, and the method further comprises: after communicating the signal, listening for instructions while in the awake mode and before returning back to the sleep mode. 14. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 9, further comprising: in response to determining that the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded:controlling operation of a fuel and/or power source. 15. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 14, wherein controlling operation of a fuel and/or power source includes controlling a gas shutoff valve to shut off gas supply to a water heater and/or furnace. 16. The method of operating a wireless device of claim 9, further comprising: listening for one or more instructions that are addressed to a unique identifier associated with the wireless device while operating in the awake mode, and, in response to receiving the one or more instructions, perform one or more functions requested by the one or more instructions, the one or more instructions being selected from the group consisting of: an instruction for the wireless device to wake up, an instruction for the wireless device to report its battery status, and an instruction for the wireless device to change its wake-up interval; andignoring any instructions that are not addressed to the unique identifier associated with the wireless device. 17. A wireless device for smoke detection, comprising: means for powering the wireless device;means for operating the wireless device in a sleep mode, wherein power consumption of the wireless device from the means for powering the wireless device is lower when the wireless device operates in the sleep mode as compared to when the wireless device operates in an awake mode;means for obtaining, while operating the wireless device in the sleep mode, measurement data regarding a level of smoke;means for determining, from the measurement data, whether the level of smoke has exceeded a reporting threshold;means for determining a notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level based on: the level of smoke, and/ora rate of rise of the level of smoke;means for determining whether the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded; andmeans for wirelessly communicating, to an electronic device located remotely from the wireless device, a signal indicative of the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level being exceeded when it is determined that the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded. 18. The wireless device for smoke detection of claim 17, wherein: the means for determining a notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level includes means for determining an alarm level for a level of smoke that is relatively high and a rate of rise of the level of smoke is relatively high;the means for determining whether the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded includes means for determining whether a measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively high level of smoke associated with the alarm level and whether a rate of rise of the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively high rate of rise of the level of smoke associated with the alarm level; andthe means for wirelessly communicating the signal includes means for wirelessly communicating the signal indicative of the alarm level being exceeded when it is determined that the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively high level of smoke associated with the alarm level and when it is determined that a rate of rise of the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively high rate of rise of the level of smoke associated with the alarm level. 19. The wireless device for smoke detection of claim 18, wherein: the means for determining a notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level includes means for determining a notice level for a level of smoke that is relatively low as compared to the alarm level and a rate of rise of the level of smoke is relatively low as compared to the alarm level;the means for determining whether the notice level, warning level, and/or alarm level has been exceeded includes means for determining whether the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively low level of smoke associated with the notice level and whether a rate of rise of the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively low rate of rise of the level of smoke associated with the notice level; andthe means for wirelessly communicating the signal includes means for wirelessly communicating the signal indicative of the notice level being exceeded when it is determined that the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively low level of smoke associated with the notice level and when it is determined that a rate of rise of the measured level of smoke exceeds the relatively low rate of rise of the level of smoke associated with the notice level. 20. The wireless device for smoke detection of claim 17, further comprising: means for determining a fault condition of the wireless device after initialization if the wireless device, the fault condition being selected from the group consisting of: activation of a tamper sensor, low battery, and internal fault; andmeans for wirelessly communicating information indicative of the fault condition from the wireless device to the electronic device located remote from the wireless device.