High sensitivity apparatus and method with dynamic adjustment for noise

Claim 3

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains a threshold value associated with said detector and wherein said control element includes circuitry for altering said threshold value in response to said zero slope.

Claim 4

An apparatus as in claim 1 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains a reference value associated with said detector and wherein said control element includes circuitry for modifying said reference value in response to said zero slope.

Claim 5

An apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said control element includes circuitry for comparing a selected representation of said sensed ambient condition to a current threshold value and in response thereto is capable of producing an indicium indicative of a selected condition.

Claim 6

An apparatus as in claim 4 which includes an alarm indicating output device, coupled to said control element, for producing an indication of an alarm condition in response to said selected condition indicium.

Claim 7

An apparatus as in claim 1 which includes circuitry for reducing values of said second smoothed representation, in response to said determining circuitry, thereby reducing a sensitivity parameter of said detector.

Claim 10

An apparatus as in claim 7 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains one of an alarm threshold value or a reference value associated with said detector and wherein said control element modifies said one value in response to said zero slope.

Claim 11

An apparatus as in claim 8 which includes circuitry for increasing said one value in response to said zero slope.

Claim 12

An apparatus as in claim 8 wherein said control element includes arithmetic circuitry for forming a difference between said smoothed representations and wherein said one value is altered in accordance with said difference.

Claim 15

A multiple detector, ambient condition detection system which adjusts a sensitivity parameter of one or more detectors comprising: at least one ambient condition detector for generating an indicium of a sensed condition; a communications link coupled to said detector; a control element coupled to said communications link wherein said element communicates with said detector via said link, wherein said detector is capable of returning to said element indicia representative of an ambient condition and wherein said element includes circuitry for filtering said indicia to produce an output signal and circuitry for filtering said output signal to produce a second output signal, wherein said control element includes circuitry for storing at least one of a reference value and a threshold value and circuitry for comparing a representation of said threshold value with at least said second output signal and for generating a comparison output signal responsive thereto with said control element including further circuitry for detecting when said second output signal exhibits a predetermined parameter value and in response thereto, for modifying one of said threshold value, said reference value, said second output signal.

Claim 16

A multiple detector, ambient condition detection system which adjusts a sensitivity parameter of one or more detectors comprising: at least one ambient condition detector for generating an indicium of a sensed condition; a communications link coupled to said detector; a control element coupled to said communications link wherein said element communicates with said detector via said link, wherein said detector is capable of returning to said element indicia representative of an ambient condition and wherein said element includes circuitry for filtering said indicia to produce an output signal and circuitry for filtering said output signal to produce a second output signal, wherein said control element includes circuitry for storing at least one of a reference value and a threshold value and circuitry for comparing a representation of said threshold value with at least said second output signal and for generating a comparison output signal responsive thereto with said control element including further circuitry for detecting when said second output signal exhibits a predetermined parameter value and in response thereto, for modifying one of said threshold value, said reference value, said second output signal.

Claim 17

A system as in claim 12 which includes an audible alarm indicator and wherein said indicator is energized to indicate an alarm condition in response to said comparison output signal.

Claim 18

A system as in claim 12 wherein said predetermined parameter corresponds to a slope of said second output signal and wherein said detecting circuitry determines when said slope has a zero value.

Claim 19

A system as in claim 14 wherein said circuitry increases one of said threshold value or said reference value in response to said slope having said zero value.

Claim 20

A system as in claim 14 wherein said circuitry decreases said second output signal in response to said slope having a zero value.

Claim 21

A system as in claim 14 wherein said detecting circuitry forms a derivative of said second output value and determines that said derivative has a zero value.

Claim 22

A system as in claim 14 wherein said element includes arithmetic circuitry for forming a difference between said representations and wherein said threshold value is modified in accordance therewith.

Claim 23

An apparatus as in claim 12 wherein said element includes arithmetic circuitry for forming a difference between said smoothed representations and for altering a selected one of said representations in accordance with said difference.

Claim 26

An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains a threshold value associated with said detector and wherein said control element includes circuitry for altering said threshold value in response to said difference between said second smoothed representation and said first smoothed representation.

Claim 27

An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains a reference value associated with said detector and wherein said control element includes circuitry for modifying said reference value in response to said difference between said second smoothed representation and said first smoothed representation.

Claim 28

An apparatus as in claim 22 wherein said control element includes circuitry for comparing a selected representation of said sensed ambient condition to a current threshold value for producing, in response thereto, an indicium indicative of a selected condition.

Claim 29

An apparatus as in claim 23 which includes an alarm indicating output device, coupled to said control element, for producing an indication of an alarm condition in response to said selected condition indicium.

Claim 30

An apparatus as in claim 21 wherein said element includes circuitry to either increase or decrease said threshold value in response to either a positive or negative difference between said first smoothed representation and said second smoothed representation.

Claim 31

An apparatus as in claim 22 wherein said element includes circuitry to either increase or decrease said reference value in response to either a positive or negative difference between said first smoothed representation and said second smoothed representation.

Claim 32

An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein said smoothing is accomplished by using filtering circuitry.

Claim 33

An apparatus as in claim 20 wherein said control element includes a storage element which contains a threshold value and circuitry for forming a value to be subtracted or added to said indicia communicated from the detector in response to the difference between said second smoothed representation and said first smoothed representation.

Claim 40

A multiple detector, ambient condition detection system which adjusts a sensitivity parameter of one or more detectors comprising: at least one ambient condition detector for generating an indicium of a sensed condition; a communications link coupled to said detector; a control element coupled to said communications link wherein said element communicates with said detector via said link, wherein said detector is capable of returning to said element indicia representative of an ambient condition and wherein said element includes circuitry for filtering said indicia to produce a first output signal and circuitry for filtering said first output signal to produce a second output signal, wherein said control element includes circuitry for storing at least one of a reference value and a threshold value and circuitry for comparing a representation of said threshold value with at least said second output signal and for generating a comparison output signal responsive thereto with said control element including further circuitry for detecting when said second output signal exhibits a predetermined parameter value and in response thereto, for modifying one of said threshold value, said reference value said second output signal.

Claim 41

A multiple detector, ambient condition detection system which adjusts a sensitivity parameter of one or more detectors comprising: at least one ambient condition detector for generating an indicium of a sensed condition; a communications link coupled to said detector; a control element coupled to said communications link wherein said element communicates with said detector via said link, wherein said detector is capable of returning to said element indicia representative of an ambient condition and wherein said element includes circuitry for filtering said indicia to produce a first output signal and circuitry for filtering said first output signal to produce a second output signal, wherein said control element includes circuitry for storing at least one of a reference value and a threshold value and circuitry for comparing a representation of said threshold value with at least said second output signal and for generating a comparison output signal responsive thereto with said control element including further circuitry for detecting when said second output signal exhibits a predetermined parameter value and in response thereto, for modifying one of said threshold value, said reference value said second output signal.