Cerberus Ag

Dieter Wieser

Michael T Gale

Martin Allemann

Kurt A Muller

Peter Ryser

Rino Ernst Kunz

Rene Lange

Thomas Hessler

Markus Loepfe

Markus Rossi

A passive infrared intrusion detector for the detection of infrared body radiation includes a sabotage detector, in particular for detecting spraying of the entrance window of the intrusion detector. The sabotage detector includes a light source, a corresponding light sensor, and an optical diffraction grating structure on the outside of the entrance window. The light source and the light sensor can be on the same or on opposite sides of the entrance window. By first- or higher-order diffraction, light from the light source is focused onto the sensor, and a resulting electrical signal from the sensor is evaluated by an evaluation circuit. In case of sabotage, the focusing effect of the optical diffraction grating structure vanishes, so that the light intensity at the detector is reduced. The drop in light intensity triggers a sabotage alarm signal.

Passive infrared intrusion detector and its use

In a technique for detecting organic vapors and aerosols, e.g. of amines, hydrazines and nitrogen-containing compounds produced in combustion, molecules condense at a surface of a conductive device. By heating the conductive device in pulsed fashion, e.g. by resistance heating, condensed molecules are thermally ionized and emitted from the conductive device. Emitted ions are collected by a collector electrode, and the resulting ionic current pulse is amplified by a transimpedance circuit. The heat pulse lasts until the ionic current pulse has subsided, by which time the conductive device has become free of residual substances. As a result, the conductive device remains uncontaminated and has a long service life. The time-averaged power consumption of the technique is less than 2 mW. For resistance heating, a meander heater element can be disposed on a silicon nitride membrane across an etched opening in a silicon chip. A separate conductive surface layer can be included in the conductive device, separated from the heater element by an insulating layer.

Method for detecting organic vapors and aerosols

In an infrared intrusion detector, a focusing mirror reflects incident infrared radiation of interest onto a pyroelectric sensor element. To prevent extraneous radiation from reaching the sensor element, the mirror has a reflective layer for reflecting infrared radiation of interest, and an absorptive layer disposed behind the reflective layer for absorbing extraneous radiation which has passed through the reflective layer. Infrared radiation of interest includes human body thermal radiation, and extraneous radiation includes the visible spectrum. Doped indium-tin oxide (ITO) is preferred for the reflective layer.

Infrared intrusion detector with a multi-layer mirror

Device for testing the operation of smoke detectors

Optical smoke detectors such as extinction smoke detectors and scattered-light smoke detectors include a radiation source, a radiation detector or receiver, and a measurement volume which is in communication with ambient atmosphere and which is traversed by a light path from the radiation source to the radiation receiver. For compactness and simplicity, such an optical smoke detector is provided with a planar-optical element in the optical path. Suitable as planar-optical elements are diffractive elements, e.g., holographic-optical elements (HOE), and micro-Fresnel elements (MFE), e.g., micro-Fresnel reflectors (MFR).

Optical smoke detector

Growing community of inventors

Zurich, Switzerland

Dieter Wieser