US 5,832,187 AGranted

Fire detection systems and methods

AssigneeLemelson Medical, Education & Research Foundation, L.P.

InventorsRobert D. Pedersen, Jerome H. Lemelson

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A system and method for automatically detecting fires in select areas, and reacting thereto to put out the fires. A stationary, earth orbit satellite, pilotless drone aircrafts or piloted aircraft contains one or more infrared detectors and optical means for detecting small fires when they first occur in fields and wooded areas, preferably where man made campfires and trash dumping are prohibited. A computer in the satellite, drone or piloted aircraft and/or on the ground receives and analyzes image signals of the earth area or areas being monitored and, upon detecting infrared radiation of varying intensity and variable shape, indicative that a fire has started, generates coded signals which are (a) indicative of the coordinate locations of the fire, (b) the extent of the fire, (c) the shape of the area(s) burning, (d) the direction of movement of the fires (e) the speed(s) of the flame fronts, (f) smoke condition, (g) intensity of the fire, (h) fire ball location(s), etc. In one form, a conventional and/or infrared television camera(s) generates image or video signals which are digitized and recorded in memory and/or on tape or disc. Expert system logic, such as fuzzy logic, is used to prioritize dangerous areas to assist in directing fire fighting. Such information, or select portions thereof, is automatically transmitted to one or more earth bound and/or aircraft contained receivers where fire fighting equipment such as helicopter and aircraft containing drainable water or other fire fighting agents is available for immediate dispatch to the fire zone.

Claims52

Dependent claims

A fire fighting control system comprising:

a. a surveillance craft including:
(i) an imaging device, (ii) a controller coupled to the imaging device, and (iii) a communication circuit coupled to the controller;
b. a fire control headquarters having:
(i) a computer control system including a display system, a control program memory that stores a control program, and a database memory that stores data characterizing predefined fire control parameters for selected geographic regions of the earth, (ii) a first communication link between the computer control system and the communication circuit of the surveillance craft, and (iii) a second communication link between the computer control system and at least one fire fighting resource;
and
c. wherein the control program includes:
(i) image acquisition commands that are executed by the computer control system to direct the surveillance craft to obtain and transmit to the computer control system image data defining images of selected geographic regions of the earth, (ii) image analysis commands that are executed by the command control system to analyze the communicated image data to determine whether a fire exists in a selected geographic region, and if a fire is determined to exist, to characterize selected features of the fire, (iii) database acquisition commands that are executed by the computer control system to locate and acquire from the database data defining fire control parameters characterizing the selected geographic region in which a fire exists, (iv) fuzzy logic analysis commands that are executed by the computer control system to analyze the data defining the selected features of the fire and the fire control parameters characterizing the selected geographic region in which the fire exists, and to render recommended fire fighting decisions, and (v) communication commands executed by the computer control system to control the display terminal to indicate recommended fire fighting decisions, and to communicate selected of the decisions to at least one fire fighting resource.

4 more elements

An automated method for optimizing fire fighting decisions comprising the acts of:

a. generating and storing in a computer database geographic control data characterizing preselected parameters of a plurality of geographic regions of the earth;
b. controlling an imaging system to periodically acquire images of a selected geographic region;
c. generating computer-readable image data defining characteristics of the acquired image of the selected geographic region, and storing the image data in an image memory;
d. accessing the image data stored in the image memory and routing the data to an image processing computer;
e. computer analyzing the image data with the image processing computer and determining whether a fire exists in the selected geographic region;
f. further computer processing the image data of the selected geographic region and generating fire control data defining preselected characteristics of the fire;
g. accessing the geographic control data stored in the database that defines the preselected parameters of the selected geographic region in which the fire is burning;
h. routing the fire control data and the geographic control data to an expert system computer;
i. executing a fuzzy logic program in the expert system computer that employs prestored fuzzy logic rules and analyzing the fire control data and the geographic control data to determine optimum fire fighting actions;
and
j. indicating the optimum fire fighting actions determined by the expert system computer.

8 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 08/552,810Filed 3 Nov 1995
Granted: 3 Nov 1998
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification8 codes

G06Q 10/06
Administration; Management: resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation…
G08B 17/005
Fire alarms; Alarms responsive to explosion: for forest fires, e.g. detecting fires spread over a large or outdoors area
G08B 17/125
Actuation by presence of radiation or particles, e.g. of infrared radiation or of ions: by using a video camera to detect fire or smoke
Y10S 706/90
Data processing: artificial intelligence: fuzzy logic