Carbon monoxide detector, system and method for signaling a carbon monoxide sensor end-of-life condition
View Patent ↗A CO detector includes a sensor configured to detect a presence of CO and generate a signal indicative of the presence of CO, and a controller in signal communication with the sensor. The controller is configured to measure a level of detected CO in response to receiving the signal generated by the sensor. The controller is further configured to detect a first trouble condition representative of an end-of-life condition of the sensor, and a second trouble condition different from the first trouble condition.
1. A carbon monoxide detector comprising:
a sensor configured to detect a presence of carbon monoxide, and generate a signal indicative of the presence of carbon monoxide;
a controller in signal communication with the sensor, the controller configured to measure a level of detected carbon monoxide in response to receiving the signal generated by the sensor, the controller further configured to detect a first trouble condition representative of an end-of-life condition of the sensor, and a second trouble condition different from the first trouble condition;
a transmitter operatively coupled to the controller, the transmitter configured to transmit, to a remote agent, a first trouble signal indicative of the first trouble condition, and a second trouble signal indicative of the second trouble condition, the first trouble signal being different from the second trouble signal so that an end-of-life condition of the sensor detected by the controller and indicated by the first trouble signal can be distinguished at the remote agent from a second trouble condition detected by the controller and indicated by the second trouble signal.
2. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises a lack of power to the carbon monoxide detector that is detected by the controller.
3. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises a loss of power to the carbon monoxide detector that is detected by the controller.
4. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises presence of carbon monoxide sensed by the sensor.
5. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the transmitter mechanism is configured to wirelessly transmit the first trouble signal and the second trouble signal to the remote agent.
6. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the first trouble signal comprises a pulsated signal.
7. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , wherein the second trouble signal comprises a constant signal.
8. The carbon monoxide detector of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply.
9. A system comprising:
a remote agent; and
a carbon monoxide detector comprising:
a power supply;
a sensor configured to detect a presence of carbon monoxide, and generate a signal indicative of the presence of carbon monoxide;
a controller in signal communication with the sensor, the controller configured to measure a level of detected carbon monoxide in response to receiving the signal generated by the sensor, the controller further configured to detect a first trouble condition representative of an end-of-life condition of the sensor, and a second trouble condition different from the first trouble condition; and
a first transmitter operatively coupled to the controller, the first transmitter configured to transmit, to the remote agent, a first trouble signal indicative of the first trouble condition, and a second trouble signal indicative of the second trouble condition, wherein one of the first and second trouble signals is a pulsated signal and the other is a constant signal.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises a lack of power to the carbon monoxide detector that is detected by the controller.
11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises a loss of power to the carbon monoxide detector that is detected by the controller.
12. The system of claim 9 , wherein the second trouble condition comprises presence of carbon monoxide sensed by the sensor.
13. The system of claim 9 , wherein the first trouble signal comprises a pulsated signal, and the second trouble signal comprises a constant signal.
14. The system of claim 9 , wherein the remote agent is one of a mobile phone, a PDA, a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a hand held computer, a control panel, and a server.
15. A method of operating a carbon monoxide detector to allow monitoring of the carbon monoxide detector by a remote agent, the method comprising:
sensing a presence of carbon monoxide with a sensor of the carbon monoxide detector;
generating a signal indicative of the presence of carbon monoxide;
detecting an end-of-life condition of the sensor;
generating a signal indicative of a presence of the end-of-life condition of the sensor;
transmitting a first trouble signal indicative of a first trouble condition representative of the detected end-of-life condition of the sensor to a remote agent; and
transmitting a second trouble signal representative of a detected trouble condition other than an end-of-life condition to the remote agent, wherein the second trouble signal is different from the first trouble signal so that presence of the end-of-life condition of the sensor is distinguishable at the remote agent from presence of a detected trouble condition other than the end-of-life condition.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the first trouble signal is a pulsating signal, and the second trouble signal is a constant signal.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the detected trouble condition is the presence of carbon monoxide.
18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the detected trouble condition is loss of power to the carbon monoxide detector.
19. The method of claim 15 , wherein the detected trouble condition is lack of power to the carbon monoxide detector.