Smart hazard detector providing follow up communications to detection events

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9691258-B2
Application number	US-201514875503-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 5, 2015
Priority date	Oct 7, 2013
Publication date	Jun 27, 2017
Grant date	Jun 27, 2017

Abstract

Ambient amount of a hazardous condition may be monitored. A mode may be set to a state indicative of the hazardous condition being present in the ambient environment. It may then be determined that the amount of the hazard in the ambient environment has dropped below an alarm criterion. A time period may then be tracked during which the amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector has remained below the alarm criterion. It may be determined that the time period has reached at least a threshold duration, during such time period the amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector having remained below the alarm criterion. An indication of the hazardous condition easing may be output in response to the time period being at least the threshold duration.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for detecting that a hazardous condition is easing, the method comprising:
measuring, by a hazard detector, a first amount of the hazardous condition present in an ambient environment of the hazard detector;
setting, by the hazard detector, a mode of the hazard detector to a pre-alarm state based on the measured first amount of the hazardous condition;
measuring, by the hazard detector, a second amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector, wherein the second amount is less than the first amount;
determining, by the hazard detector, based on the second amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment, to set the mode to a non-alarm state; and
in response to determining, at least partially based on the second amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment to set the mode of the hazard detector to the non-alarm state from the pre-alarm state or an alarm state, outputting an indication that the hazardous condition has eased, wherein:
the hazardous condition having eased indicates the hazardous condition in the ambient environment of the hazard detector has decreased in amount.

2. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 1 , wherein the indication output comprises an auditory message that comprises speech being output by a speaker of the hazard detector.

3. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 2 , further comprising:
accessing, by the hazard detector, a stored indication of a location at which the hazard detector is installed, wherein the auditory message comprises speech indicative of the location.

4. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 1 , wherein the indication output comprises a light of the hazard detector outputting a color indicative of the non-alarm state.

5. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 1 , further comprising:
in response to determining, at least partially based on the first amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment to set the mode of the hazard detector to the pre-alarm state, outputting an indication of the pre-alarm state comprising an auditory message.

6. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 5 , wherein outputting the indication of the pre-alarm state comprising outputting pulsing light of a color indicative of the pre-alarm state.

7. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 1 , further comprising:
measuring, by the hazard detector, a third amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector, wherein the third amount is greater than the first amount and the second amount; and
determining, by the hazard detector, at least partially based on the third amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment, to set the mode to an alarm state, wherein the alarm state causes an alarm of the hazard detector to be sounded.

8. The method for detecting that the hazardous condition is easing of claim 1 , further comprising:
determining, by the hazard detector, that a threshold period of time has elapsed while an amount of hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector has remained below a stored hazardous condition value, wherein
determining to set the mode to a non-alarm state is further based on determining the threshold period of time has elapsed while the amount of hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector has remained below the stored hazardous condition value.

9. A hazard detector comprising:
a hazard sensor that measures amounts of a hazardous condition present in an ambient environment of the hazard detector;
an output component that outputs information; and
a processing system that comprises one or more processors, the processing system being in communication with the output component and the hazard sensor, the processing system being configured to:
receive a first measurement of a first amount of the hazardous condition present in an ambient environment of the hazard detector from the hazard sensor;
set a mode of the hazard detector to a pre-alarm or alarm state based on the first measurement;
receive a second measurement of a second amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector from the hazard sensor;
determine, based on the second measurement, to set the mode to a non-alarm state
in response to determining, at least partially based on the second amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment to set the mode of the hazard detector to the non-alarm state from the alarm state or the pre-alarm state, cause an indication that the hazardous condition has eased to be output by the output component, wherein the hazardous condition having eased indicates the hazardous condition in the ambient environment of the hazard detector has dissipated.

10. The hazard detector of claim 9 , wherein the indication output by the output component comprises an auditory message that comprises speech.

11. The hazard detector of claim 10 , wherein the processing system is further configured to access a stored indication of a location at which the hazard detector is installed, wherein the auditory message comprises speech indicative of the location.

12. The hazard detector of claim 9 , wherein the indication output comprises a light of the output component outputting colored light indicative of the non-alarm state.

13. The hazard detector of claim 9 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
in response to determining to set the mode of the hazard detector to the pre-alarm state, cause an indication of the pre-alarm state to be output by the output component, the indication comprising an auditory message.

14. The hazard detector of claim 13 , wherein the output device outputting the indication of the pre-alarm state comprises the output device outputting pulsing light of a color indicative of the pre-alarm state.

15. The hazard detector of claim 9 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
receive a third measurement of a third amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment of the hazard detector from the hazard sensor, wherein the third amount is greater than the first amount and the second amount; and
determine, at least partially based on the third measurement, to set the mode to an alarm state, wherein the alarm state causes an alarm of the hazard detector to be sounded.

16. The hazard detector of claim 9 , wherein the processing system is further configured to:
determine that a threshold period of time has elapsed while an amount of the hazardous condition, as measured by the hazard sensor, present in the ambient environment has remained below a stored hazardous condition value, wherein
the one or more processors being configured to determine to set the mode to a non-alarm state is further based on determining the threshold period of time has elapsed while the amount of the hazardous condition present in the ambient environment has remained below the stored hazardous condition value.

17. A non-transitory processor-readable medium for a hazard detector, comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause one or more processors of the hazard detector to:
receive a first measurement of a first amount of the hazardous condition present in an ambient environ

Assignees

• Google Inc

Inventors

• Sloo David
• Webb Nicholas Unger
• Rogers Matthew Lee
• Fadell Anthony Michael
• Lee Jeffery Theodore
• Le Guen Sophie
• Goldenson Andrew W

Classifications

• H05B47/19

  via wireless transmission · CPC title

• H05B47/11

  by determining the brightness or colour temperature of ambient light · CPC title

• H05B45/20

  Controlling the colour of the light · CPC title

• F24F2120/10

  Occupancy · CPC title

• G08B25/08

  using communication transmission lines {(G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence)} · CPC title