Patent ID: 9390608
Filing Date: 2016-07-12
CPC Classification: G08B,G08C,H04W

Claim Text:
1. A data sensing and environmental threat detecting network for detecting and reporting environmental threats within a venue, the network comprising a plurality of wireless detector units each having a transmitter and a receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving environmental data information within the venue and each having a data processor, the network further comprising a plurality of wireless sensor devices each having a transmitter and a receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving environmental data information within the venue and each having a data processor, said detector units and said sensor devices being in a multi-hop arrangement whereby said detector unit data processors and said sensor device data processors have programming which allows communication alternately to and from more than one of others of said detector units and said sensor devices in a manner such that transmission of data from said sensor devices to said detector units and communication from said detector units to said sensor devices may be effected over alternate wireless paths whereby the transmission of data from said sensor devices to said detector units and communication from said detector units to said sensor devices may be effected using optimized wireless paths, the network further comprising means for blanketing substantially all of physical space in the venue with low-cost devices for sensing environmental data in a quantity of said low-cost devices so that substantially all of physical space in the venue can be sampled inexpensively, said means for blanketing comprising a plurality of environmental data sub-sensor devices equipped with low power wireless communications technology and each having a transmitter and a receiver for respectively transmitting and receiving information and each having a processor whereby the distance over which said sub-sensor devices are equipped to wirelessly transmit data is limited by the low power wireless communications technology thereof, said sub-sensor processor programmed for communication with an associated one of said sensor devices which is sufficiently nearby to receive data transmitted from said respective low power wireless communications technology sub-sensor device, and wherein said sensor devices are equipped to communicate with said detector units and with others of said sensor devices over distances which are greater than the limited distance over which said sub-sensor devices are equipped to communicate, the network further comprising a central monitoring unit which is programmed to communicate to and from said detector units for management of routing of transmissions of environmental data between said sensor devices and said detector units over optimized paths and for comparing the environmental data received from said sensor devices and said sub-sensor devices within the venue to determine whether an environmental threat exists within the venue, wherein said detector units are equipped to receive and process sensed information from said sensor devices and transmit the processed sensed information to said central monitoring unit, and wherein the network has first programming to provide a plurality of running average baselines of at least one sensed value of at least one of said sensor and sub-sensor devices, and second programming to declare a potential alert when a sensed value of said at least one of said sensor and sub-sensor devices is at a value which is either (i) greater than a corresponding predetermined upper threshold value or a corresponding running average baseline value (whichever is greater) plus a corresponding predetermined upper fluctuation buffer value, or (2) less than a corresponding predetermined lower threshold value or a corresponding running average baseline value (whichever is less) less a corresponding predetermined lower fluctuation buffer value.