Chamber-less smoke sensor

1. A method for detecting smoke via a chamber-less smoke sensor, comprising:

applying, one or more filters to eliminate a flooding of ambient light upon the smoke sensor;

emitting, by a source, light, wherein the emitted light comprises a plurality of different wavelengths;

detecting, by at least one detector, at least a portion of the emitted light;

processing, by a processor, the detected light to signal an alarm condition when one or more threshold levels are reached; and

providing an offset adjustment to account for a sensitivity of the at least one detector to light of the different wavelengths via the processor.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a first of the wavelengths comprises a first wavelength in the optical spectrum, and wherein a second of the wavelengths comprises a second wavelength in an optical spectrum.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detected light comprises the emitted light obscured by one or more particles located in the smoke sensor, and wherein the threshold level is based on a difference in the detected light as a function of the plurality of different wavelengths.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the detected light comprises scattered light that is scattered by one or more particles located in the smoke sensor, and wherein the threshold levels are based on a difference or a ratio of scattered light associated with a first of the wavelengths and scattered light associated with a second of the wavelengths.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the processing of the detected light comprises obtaining a distribution of the one or more particles in terms of a size of the one or more particles.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

coupling a first filter to the source to obtain a reference electrical field orientation for at least one field associated with the light emitted by the source; and

coupling a second filter to at least one detector to detect change in a distribution of electrical field orientations of the at least one field relative to the reference electrical field orientation.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

coupling a mechanical baffle to the at least one detector to prevent stray light within the smoke sensor from reaching at least one detector.

8. A chamber-less smoke sensor comprising:

a light source configured to emit light;

at least one detector configured to detect at least a portion of the emitted light;

an electronic filter and/or a processor configured to:

apply one or more filters to eliminate a flooding of ambient light upon the smoke sensor; and

process the detected light to signal an alarm condition when a threshold level is reached; and

a mechanical baffle coupled to the at least one detector to prevent stray light within the smoke sensor from reaching the at least one detector.

9. The smoke sensor of claim 8 , wherein the emitted light comprises a plurality of different wavelengths.

10. The smoke sensor of claim 9 , wherein a first of the wavelengths comprises a first wavelength in the optical spectrum, and wherein a second of the wavelengths comprises a second wavelength in an optical spectrum.

11. The smoke sensor of claim 9 , wherein the detected light comprises the emitted light obscured by one or more particles located in the smoke sensor, and wherein the threshold levels are based on a difference in the detected light as a function of the plurality of different wavelengths.

12. The smoke sensor of claims 9 , wherein the detected light comprises scattered light that is scattered by one or more particles located in the smoke sensor, and wherein the threshold level is based on a difference or a ratio of scattered light associated with a first of the wavelengths and scattered light associated with a second of the wavelengths.

13. The smoke sensor of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to obtain a distribution of the one or more particles in terms of a size of the one or more particles based on the processing of the detected light.

14. The smoke sensor of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to provide an offset adjustment to account for a sensitivity of at least one detector to light of the different wavelengths.

15. The smoke sensor of claim 8 , further comprising:

a first polarizer coupled to the source, wherein the first polarizer is configured to obtain a reference electrical field orientation for at least one field associated with the light emitted by the source; and

a second polarizer coupled to the at least one detector, wherein the second polarizer and the at least one detector are configured to detect a change in a distribution of orientations of the at least one electrical field relative to the reference orientation,

wherein the threshold level is based on the distribution of electrical field orientations.

16. A method for detecting smoke via a chamber-less smoke sensor, comprising:

applying, one or more filters to eliminate a flooding of ambient light upon the smoke sensor;

emitting, by a source, light;

detecting, by at least one detector, at least a portion of the emitted light;

processing, by a processor, the detected light to signal an alarm condition when one or more threshold levels are reached;

coupling a first filter to the source to obtain a reference electrical field orientation for at least one field associated with the light emitted by the source; and

coupling a second filter to at least one detector to detect change in a distribution of electrical field orientations of the at least one field relative to the reference electrical field orientation.