Fire protection for electronics equipment
View Patent ↗A method and apparatus for fire prevention in electronic equipment utilizes infrared imaging technology to monitor a substantial region of an enclosure within the electronic equipment. For example, a shelf within a computer cabinet may have a lens and thermal sensor array placed within to detect changes in temperature. A processor interprets the data from the thermal sensor array to determine whether to send an alert to an operator and/or to shut down a power supply.
1. An apparatus for preventing fires in electronic equipment, comprising:
a radiation-collecting element for collecting infrared radiation within an enclosure of the electronic equipment, the radiation-collecting element including an optical fiber;
a sensor array coupled to the radiation-collecting element for detecting intensity of the infrared radiation within the enclosure, the sensor array being formed of a plurality of pixels, each of the plurality of pixels providing an electrical value that is commensurate with the intensity of the infrared radiation received by the pixel;
a signal processor for detecting changes in the intensity of the infrared radiation received by each of the plurality of pixels through the electrical value of the pixel; and
a controller for interpreting the changes in the intensity of the infrared radiation received by each of the plurality of pixels and for taking an action if a condition occurs based upon the interpreting the changes in the intensity of the infrared radiation received by each of the plurality of pixels.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a filter for passing only infrared radiation to the radiation-collecting element.
3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the radiation-collecting element further includes a wide-angle lens.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the wide-angle lens is a fish eye lens.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the wide-angle lens is a doughnut shaped lens.
6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the wide-angle lens is a panoramic annular lens.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the optical fiber receives the infrared radiation through an end of the optical fiber.
8. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the end of the optical fiber has a filter.
9. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the end of the optical fiber is curved.
10. The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the end of the optical fiber is smooth and flat.
11. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a lens for directing the infrared radiation into the end of the optical fiber.
12. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising multiple lenses for directing the infrared radiation into the end of the optical fiber.
13. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a mirror for directing the infrared radiation into the end of the optical fiber.
14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the signal processor digitizes the electrical value of the pixel before detecting changes in the electrical value.
15. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the signal processor detects changes in the electrical value of the pixel before digitizing.
16. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an analog to digital converter between the signal processor and the controller.
17. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the controller is a microprocessor.
18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the controller receives data from and transmits data to a power supply.
19. A method for preventing fires in electronic equipment, comprising:
collecting infrared radiation from within an enclosure of the electronic equipment, wherein the collecting is performed through optical fibers;
sampling an electrical characteristic from a sensor array upon which the collected infrared radiation falls;
processing the electrical characteristic to determine environmental changes in enclosure of the electronic equipment; and
performing an action as a result of the determination of environmental changes within the enclosure.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising filtering out radiation that is not infrared radiation before collecting.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the collecting is performed through the optical fibers and a lens.
22. The method of claim 20 , wherein the collecting is performed through a wide-angle lens.
23. The method of claim 20 , wherein the sensor array is a two-dimensional thermal sensor array.
24. The method of claim 20 , wherein the electrical characteristic is a voltage.
25. The method of claim 20 , wherein the electrical characteristic is a current.
26. The method of claim 20 , wherein the processing includes comparing a magnitude of the electrical characteristic with a threshold.
27. The method of claim 20 , wherein the processing includes calculating a change in magnitude of the electrical characteristic between samples.
28. The method of claim 27 , wherein the changes in magnitude of the electrical characteristic are stored.
29. The method of claim 28 , further comprising issuing an alert if the stored changes progressively increase.
30. The method of claim 20 , wherein the processing includes analog to digital conversion on a front end of the processing.
31. The method of claim 20 , wherein the processing includes analog to digital conversion on a back end of the processing.
32. The method of claim 20 , wherein collecting infrared radiation is through the optical fiber and an infrared mirror.
33. A method for preventing fires in electronic equipment, comprising:
collecting infrared radiation from within an enclosure of the electronic equipment, wherein the collecting is performed through a concave infrared mirror;
sampling an electrical characteristic from a sensor array upon which the collected infrared radiation falls;
processing the electrical characteristic to determine environmental changes in enclosure of the electronic equipment; and
performing an action as a result of the determination of environmental changes within the enclosure.