Patents by Inventor Maclain M. Holton

Maclain M. Holton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and apparatus for indicating activation of a smoke detector alarm
    Patent number: 7015807
    Abstract: A method for detecting smoke detector alarms comprises analyzing at least two parameters of ambient sound over a period of time to detect a temporal pattern of the alarm. In one embodiment, a series of samples are taken over a period of time sufficiently long to include at least one full period of a repeating sound pattern, and the two parameters are frequency and amplitude of the loudest sound in each sample. The algorithmic analysis may be triggered by a detection algorithm that utilizes a lower amount of power than the algorithmic analysis. In other embodiments, the detection apparatus is incorporated into a conventional smoke detector that will detect both smoke and an alarm from another detector. In another embodiment, a smoke detector includes a transceiver to transmit an activation signal to neighboring smoke detectors when a fire is detected and to receive an activation signal from neighboring detectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2006
    Assignee: Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard J. Roby, Michael S. Klassen, Christopher F. Schemel, Diwakar Vashishat, Maclain M. Holton, Kelly R. Flint
  • Method and apparatus for indicating activation of a smoke detector alarm
    Publication number: 20040145467
    Abstract: A method for detecting smoke detector alarms comprises analyzing at least two parameters of ambient sound over a period of time to detect a temporal pattern of the alarm. In one embodiment, a series of samples are taken over a period of time sufficiently long to include at least one full period of a repeating sound pattern, and the two parameters are frequency and amplitude of the loudest sound in each sample. The algorithmic analysis may be triggered by a detection algorithm that utilizes a lower amount of power than the algorithmic analysis. In other embodiments, the detection apparatus is incorporated into a conventional smoke detector that will detect both smoke and an alarm from another detector. In another embodiment, a smoke detector includes a transceiver to transmit an activation signal to neighboring smoke detectors when a fire is detected and to receive an activation signal from neighboring detectors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 2, 2003
    Publication date: July 29, 2004
    Inventors: Richard J. Roby, Michael S. Klassen, Christopher F. Schemel, Diwakar Vashishat, MacLain M. Holton, Kelly R. Flint
  • Smoke alarm detector
    Patent number: D545229
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 1, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2007
    Assignee: Combustion Science & Engineering, Inc.
    Inventors: Richard J. Roby, Michael S. Klassen, Leo Eskin, MacLain M. Holton, Albert E. Straus