Adt, Inc.

American District Telegraph Company

Kenneth J Leff

Aaron A Galvin

Ralph A Giffone

John N Schide

Douglas L Mason

Hugh D Dyer

Roy L Harvey

A controller including a processor is coupled to a transceiver head pair respectively operative as a transmitter and as a receiver of infrared energy to controllably project a beam of infrared energy therebetween through a projected region. The controller is operative to de-sensitize the beam against potential electrically interferring effects present along the beam path. Plural alarm thresholds are operator selectable to provide enhanced confidence detection, and particularized signal indications are provided to readily and quickly identify possible alarm and trouble conditions.

Electrical interference free projected beam smoke detector

A modular transceiver head including cooperative cover and base members operable as a transmitter or as a receiver of infrared energy. A controller including a processor is coupled to a transceiver head pair respectively operative as a transmitter and as a receiver of infrared energy to controllably project a beam of infrared energy therebetween through a protected region. The controller is periodically operative in a self-test mode to reduce the intensity of the projected-beam to simulate a smoke condition. Plural alarm thresholds are operator selectable to provide enhanced confidence detection, and particularized signal indications are provided to readily and quickly identify possible alarm and trouble conditions.

Self-diagnostic projected-beam smoke detector

A modular transceiver head including cooperative cover and base members operable as a transmitter or as a receiver of infrared energy. The cover member includes a window defining a comparatively wide field of view in azimuth and in elevation. An optical train including a gimbaled specular member that is mounted to the base member readily allows both rough and fine adjustment of the pointing direction of the specular member anywhere within the field of view of the cover member window. A controller including a processor is coupled to a transceiver head pair respectively operative as a transmitter and as a receiver of infrared energy to controllably project a beam of infrared energy therebetween through a protected region. The controller is operative to de-sensitize the beam against potential electrically interfering effects present along the beam path. The controller is periodically operative in a self-test mode to reduce the intensity of the projected-beam to simulate a smoke condition. The controller is periodically operative in a self-compensation mode to compensate for long and short term beam degradation effects such as pollution variation normally encountered along the beam path arising in the normal operation of the protected region and to compensate for film build-up on the elements of the transceiver head optical trains. The controller is cooperative with a watch-dog timer to monitor its own operating state. Plural alarm thresholds are operator selectable to provide enhanced confidence detection, and particularized signal indications are provided to readily and quickly identify possible alarm and trouble conditions.

Modular transceiver with adjustable specular member

Apparatus and technique for providing series electrical connection between a conductor and an electrical component or unit in a rapid and automatic manner without the necessity for manual manipulation or preparation of the conductor. A pair of spaced walls are provided each containing a pair of wire-guiding slots through which a wire can be looped, with the loop end extending outside one of the walls. A pair of insulation displacement connectors is provided between the walls with wire receiving grooves in alignment with the slots in the spaced walls. A knife edge is provided between one of the walls and the connectors. A cover or other element is fitted over the walls and, during closure, causes the wire to be forced into the connector grooves to make electrical connection with the respective connectors, and also causes severing of the loop end of the wire by the knife edge, thereby to provide a series electrical connection. The spaced walls can be the walls of a housing which includes an electrical unit to be connected, or can be provided in a connection apparatus which is part of the utilization circuit, unit or other means.

Electrical interconnection apparatus and technique

An optically-based coded card identification system is provided in which a card having an access code defined by adjacent differently-polarized elements used in a transmissive or reflective mode is interrogated through a deep red or near infrared transmissive filter as the card is pased by a source of illumination. The use of polarization coupled with the adjacency of the differently-polarized elements makes the code nearly invisible to the naked eye, with the code being made more invisible due to the low visible light transmission of the filter on the face of the card. In one embodiment, coding for the cards is provided by overlying layers of material polarized in different directions, with portions of the layers provided with offset apertures so that light through an aperture in one layer is polaried by an unapertured portion of the adjacent layer immediately thereunder. Alternatively, the same coding effect may be achieved by providing two differently stretched overlying layers of specially prepared transparent material, overprinted front and back with offset iodine patterns, with the iodine causing a polarization characteristic to be imparted to the material at the overprinted area to provide the access code. In one embodiment, the coding elements are arranged in two rows defining complementary codes such that areas of complementary polarizations are simultaneously decoded to provide complementary signals for increasing security and the signal-to-noise ratio for the system. In a further embodiment, an unpolarized detector coupled to a pulsed output detector is used to detect the pulses produced by the light and dark areas of a bar code provided by ordinary printing of a bogus card and to inhibit access upon detection of such a bogus card.

Growing community of inventors

Halifax, MA, United States of America

Kenneth J Leff