Srs Technologies, Inc.

Hilary E Roberts

Robert Pilgrim

Jeffrey S Yalowitz

Charles P DePlachett

Brent E Deason

Harold S Sanford

James M Morrison

Apparatus and method for calibrating an incoherent fiber optic bundle for use in transmitting visual or infrared coherent images. The apparatus includes a computer, a computer video monitor, an objective lens adjacent to the input end of the bundle, a second lens adjacent the output end of the bundle, and a CCD camera. The camera transmits video data to the monitor to produce an illuminated fiber optic image. The coordinates for the center of each fiber is found through an imaging process and the output fibers coordinates are related to the input fiber coordinates and processed in the computer to produce a mapping lookup-table (LUT) unique to the specific fiber bundle. Remapping of the LUT due to changes in the lens focus, CCD camera, or the addition of an infrared filter is accomplished by a software utility in the computer.

Robust incoherent fiber optic bundle decoder

A flame detector unit contains a silicon photodiode that is sensitive to UV light waves and two lead selenide photoresistors that are sensitive to IR light waves. The electromagnetic bandwidth of each sensor element is restricted by an optical wave filter to pass photons of certain wavelengths characteristic of hydrocarbon flames and to discriminate against photons of other wavelengths. Signals generated by the IR sensors are in the form of variations in electrical resistance of the sensor elements, which together with a resistor network comprise a bridge circuit which combines the two IR signals so as to discriminate against blackbody radiation sources and provide a signal which is fed through an amplifier. Amplified UV and IR signals are fed to a common analog to digital converter (ADC). Output from the ADC is fed to a digital processor through a notch filter, a cluster of weighted-moving-average filters, and into a threshold comparator/tester. Output from the comparator/tester is fed to a correlator, then through a series of alarm decision making circuits and finally into a series of alarm activation circuits. Stored wave forms relating to profiles of fire characteristics may be fed to the circuit correlator from an outside source. Data from predetermined external measurements may be fed to the alarm decision making circuits.

Combined UV/IR flame detection system

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Huntsville, AL, United States of America

Hilary E Roberts