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US Patent 5510772 - Flame detection method and apparatus
US Patent Issued on April 23, 1996
Estimated Patent Expiration Date:
August 5, 2013Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
Estimated Patent Expiration Date:
August 5, 2013Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.AbstractA flame detection apparatus and method includes a camera, preferably operating in the near I.R. which produces a succession of images of a space to be monitored. The image intensity of each pixel in each image is converted to a binary value by comparing it with the average intensity value for that image. For each pixel in an image the average intensity value for all of the images is calculated. The binary intensity value of each pixel in an image is then compared with the binary intensity value of the corresponding pixels in all the other images to produce a crossing frequency value dependent on the number of times those binary values change state. The average intensity values and the crossing frequency values are then processed for each pixel according to a predetermined relationship to produce a constant. If the values of this constant for a cluster of adjacent pixels are found to be the same or nearly so, this is considered to indicate a flame. The crossing frequency values may be processed to eliminate those values lying outside a frequency range corresponding to flames so as to eliminate the corresponding pixels from the final assessment step. | InventorAssigneeApplicationNo. 102388 filed on 08/05/1993US Classes:340/578, By radiant energy250/554, Flame light source348/82, Hazardous or inaccessible382/295To position or translate an imageField of Search340/577, Flame340/578, By radiant energy340/587, False alarm resistant340/588, Time-temperature relationship (e.g., overtemperature exceeds predetermined interval or time-temperature integral)348/82, Hazardous or inaccessible250/554Flame light sourceExaminersPrimary: Mullen, ThomasAttorney, Agent or FirmUS Patent References4520390, Burner monitoring systemIssued on: 05/28/1985 Inventor: Paredes , et al.4533834, Optical fire detection system responsive to spectral content and flicker frequency Issued on: 08/06/1985 Inventor: McCormack4737844, Method for the generation of real-time control parameters for smoke-generating combustion processes by means of a video camera Issued on: 04/12/1988 Inventor: Kohola , et al.4907281, Method of image analysis in pulverized fuel combustion Issued on: 03/06/1990 Inventor: Hirvonen, et al.5153722, Fire detection system Issued on: 10/06/1992 Inventor: Goedeke, et al.5249954, Integrated imaging sensor/neural network controller for combustion systems Issued on: 10/05/1993 Inventor: Allen, et al.5289275Surveillance monitor system using image processing for monitoring fires and thefts Issued on: 02/22/1994 Inventor: Ishii, et al. International ClassG08B 017/12Foreign Application Priority Data1992-08-07 GB |
