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Supreme Court Asks For U.S. Government's View On Mine Spill SuitThe U.S. Supreme Court asked the Justice Department on Monday to weigh in on New Mexico's lawsuit against Colorado over a mine waste spill that polluted rivers in both states and in Utah.
EPA Wants To Keep Treatment Plant Running After Mine SpillThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to keep operating a temporary wastewater treatment plant near the Gold King Mine in southwestern Colorado while it looks for longer-term solutions after a massive spill at the mine last year.
US Declines Prosecution Of Government Worker In Mine SpillFederal investigators say the U.S. Attorney's Office in Colorado has declined to prosecute an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency over a massive mine wastewater spill.
U.S. Clears Way For Cleanup Of Gold King Mine After SpillA Colorado mine that spilled 3 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into rivers in three Western states has been designated a Superfund site.
EPA: Metals Get Into Creek Near Site Of Big Mine Waste SpillThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says some metals escaped into a Colorado creek from a wastewater treatment plant after heavy rains near the site of a big mine waste spill last year.
Hickenlooper May Ask For One-Third Cut In CO2 PollutionGov. John Hickenlooper may ask for a one-third cut in greenhouse gas pollution from power plants.
Navajo Nation Sues Feds Over Massive 2015 Colorado Mine SpillLeaders of one of the nation's largest American Indian tribes blasted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as their attorneys sued Tuesday, claiming negligence in the cleanup of a massive mine waste spill.
EPA Pays $1.2 Million More In Local Costs From Mine SpillThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says it will pay another $1.2 million to tribes, states and local governments affected by a massive mine waste spill in southwestern Colorado.
Silverton Takes A Breather A Year After Huge Mine SpillA year after a mine waste spill turned their river a weird yellow-orange, residents of a Colorado mountain town are taking a break from the aftermath for a party that includes beer the color of the spill.
Water Treatment Plant Worker With Cancer Calls Health Department Letter 'Smoking Gun'Neighbors near the Charles Allen Water Filtration Plant in Englewood are telling city officials they are concerned that three workers there have died of cancer.
Navajo Nation Endorses Superfund Cleanup Of Colorado MinesThe Navajo Nation has formally endorsed a Superfund cleanup of southwestern Colorado mines, including one that released millions of gallons of wastewater into a river on Navajo land.
Work Crews Returning To Site Of Massive Colorado Mine SpillCrews are returning to the scene of a massive mine waste spill in southwestern Colorado to stabilize the mine opening with steel bracing and concrete.


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Office Christmas Party
Another reminder that allowing your cast to madly improvise instead of actually providing a coherent script with a scintilla of inherent logic often leads to…
Another reminder that allowing your cast to madly improvise instead of actually providing a coherent script with a scintilla of inherent logic often leads to…
The filmmakers are themselves too celebrity besotted to comment in a meaningful way on how Benson's career balanced depictions of the rich and famous with…
Roger Ebert on James Ivory's "Howards End".
"The Ballad of Narayama" is a Japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice, telling a story of startling cruelty. What a space it opens…
A recap of the 2016 Whistler Film Festival, which ran from November 30 through December 4.
A table of contents featuring all of Jana Monji's coverage from this year's AFI FEST.
A request for donations from the historic Facets Cinematheque in Chicago.
An article about the weekly Ebert Archive column at the Chicago Sun-Times.
Remember Pearl Harbor and remember how prejudice shaped history.
A review of the new documentary, "Magicians: Life in the Impossible."
A look at how "Arrival" reflects Heidegger's philosophies.
Remember Pearl Harbor and remember how prejudice shaped history.
Barbet Schroeder's "More" is a weird, freaky movie about two hedonisitc kids who destroy themselves with drugs. More precisely, it's about a kinky American girl who destroys her German boyfriend and in the process destroys herself. But why be precise? The boyfriend is played as such a stupid Teutonic slob we're glad to see him die.
"More" is not, however, a lecture. It's more of a celebration. The message seems to be: Sure, speed kills, but what a way to go. After some disorganized scenes in Europe, the two kids leave to spend the summer on a Mediterranean island. They lie nude in the sun (forever, it seems); get involved in a Nazi intrigue that's never made clear; experiment with pot, acid, speed, heroin and banana peels; make a little love; and engage in the most impossible menage a trois since Elsa the lion crawled into the tent.
Alas, such happy times can't possibly last. When autumn comes, the boy has developed a heroin habit and kills himself with an overdose. But please don't blame me, this time, for giving away the ending. We're informed as the movie opens that the boy will die. What's strange is that he narrates his own story, all the same. Even his funeral. I think English professors call that a flawed point of view.
The movie is very heavy on sunsets, sunrises, and sun in general. Schroeder doesn't quite understand that turning on and basking in the sun is one thing, but having to watch it is another. The drug experience is basically internal, and no movie has really succeeded in reproducing it visually. Some, like "The Trip" (1967) and "Easy Rider," try to reproduce acid trips by messing around with the camera. That doesn't work and gets boring after a while. "More," interestingly enough, never pretends to be inside the character's heads. It watches the trips from outside. That's a relief but not a solution.
The movie comes to us provincials, by the way, bearing a heavy weight of praise from New York critics (who are apparently hard to bore). Perhaps Schroeder's reputation preceded him; he's an influential young critic for Cahlers du Cinema, and produced the anthology film "Six in Paris." But he is not yet very sure of himself, especially in the editing. Several passages are destroyed by nervous editing; the love scenes, in particular, seem truncated and uncertain.
That is not the fault, however, of Mimsy Farmer, who doesn't miss a one of them (or allow us to miss much of her). Miss Farmer has previously been seen in cheap motorcycle pictures; it is a surprise to discover how well she can act.
Instead of playing the love scenes in the conventional American voluptuous and gasping style, she remains very freaky, brittle, and almost neurotically repressed during them. Her scenes are the best in the film. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other scenes that go nowhere, and we quickly get bored with the untalented Klaus Grunberg as her German boyfriend. Even in the love scenes, he's only following orders.
A piece on the experience gained from seeing bad movies.
This message came to me from a reader named Peter Svensland. He and a fr...
For the 36th installment in his video essay series about maligned masterworks, Scout Tafoya examines Ken Russell's "L...
Remember Pearl Harbor and remember how prejudice shaped history.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The effect of azimuthal orientation on the electromagnetic coupling of surface plasmons with the incident and diffracted light of a grating-coupled surface-plasmon resonance (GC-SPR) biosensor is investigated, and its practical implications are explored. For this purpose a GC-SPR biosensor model is considered, and well-established rigorous coupled-wave analysis is used. Numerical results indicate significant variations in surface-plasmon resonance characteristics in connection with the interaction between surface-plasmon polaritons associated with multiple-order diffraction. The results are discussed as they relate to applications that require minimal rotation sensitivity.
© 2005 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
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text:
Click to go to Duck Recon's main website
..... dealing with the CHALLENGES of getting to and from the blind with traditional Texas Style rig systems.
The Recon Rig is ADJUSTABLE for varying water depths eliminating the need to spend money and time dealing with multiple rig sets and the additional TRANSPORT LOOP reduces the challenges faced by hunters while on the move. Go to the "Decoy Anchor Systems" page to learn more.
"Out of a need to find ways to get my young boys excited about waterfowling, Duck Recon was born. The mission of Duck Recon is simple …. To Prepare The Next Generation of Waterfowl Hunters. We have been able to do just that, while at the same time making our waterfowl season a family affair.
Thank you for your purchase and support in helping us Prepare The Next Generation of Waterfowl Hunters." - Jim Roche, President


text:
Duewit Recruitment Co., Ltd.
Sales Manager/ Senior Sales Engineer
Our client is a European company founded in 1922 (workforce of 3,100 people worldwide) with core business in availability, control and safety of low voltage electrical networks. The company is looking for an experience Sales Manager/Senior Sales Engineer/Sales Engineer with roles and qualifications as follows:
Key Role:
To develop sales in Thailand for Low Voltage line of products in collaboration with the company's commercial partners – Panelbuilders, System Integrators and OEM
- Support promotional activities of our commercial partners
- Visit Exhibitions and Road Shows in Thailand to report on market and competitors
- Perform solo and joined customer visits (Panelbuilders, Consultants, OEM,...) to present our company, products and solution to ultimately generate request for quotations
- Follow up quotations and customer requests & complaints along projects
- Review of tender specifications for clause to clause compliances
- Identify new projects by his/her own means
- Train and Assist partners on Commissioning and After-sales operations
- Attend technical, Testing and Commissioning clarification to End-users with partners' technical personnel
- Bachelor or Master Degree in Electrical/ Electronic Engineering or IT (e.g. Network)
- Minimum 5-7 years (or lower for junior position) of professional experience in electrical engineering industry, High experience in sales, preferably with Distributors, System Integrators, Panelbuilders or M&E consultants
- Strong network with electrical Panelbuilders/ System Integrators
- Strong presentation and commercial social skills
- Full professional proficiency in English is a must
- Solution Oriented
คีย์เวิร์ด: Low voltage Sales Engineer


text:
1 bd1 ba
apartment540 sqftBlume Alumni Apartment offers seniors, age 55+, secure living wthi 1 and 2 Bedroom units layouts... More
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apartment436 sqftSunrsie Apartments offers families and individuals. Our Low Income Tax Credited apartments are in... More
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Summary for Wapakoneta, OH
Median rental price for rentals in Wapakoneta, OH for November was $975, an increase of 7% compared to the same period last year.
1 – 2 of 2 Apts


text:
Australian Names
On place names: | 47 Times Australians Totally Nailed It On Tumblr In 2014
use to have a Australian Shepard named Dusty. He was my Papa's little shadow. Went with him everyday to check and feed the cows and anywhere else my Papa went on the farm. When my Papa died Dusty grieved forever. He died not to long after that. RIP Dusty and Papa. I love and miss yall
Who me???
Had one that looked just like!!!;) his name was buddy he was the best!!
This parrot is a Australian Rosella. I cant see the front markings and colours to see what its other names are. They come in flocks to get a good feed at my house, easily trained they return if you feed them for several days.
Australian Rainbow Lorikeets
Australian animals in a nutshell
Red Australian shepherd - I had on growing up named Buffy. She was the best dog ever!
The Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is an Australian species of frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland, Tasmania and southern New Guinea. The Tawny Frogmouth is often mistaken to be an owl. Many Australians refer to the Tawny Frogmouth by the colloquial names of "Mopoke" or "Morepork", which usually are common alternative names for the Southern Boobook. Frogmouths are not raptorial birds... look closely for this camouflaged wonder


text:
Greater China-focused private equity firm Zoyi Capital has invested in Taiwanese bakery Vigor Kobo, a specialist in traditional pineapple cakes.
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The Last Plea Bargain - Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
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Product Information
|Format: Audio Download
Vendor: Oasis Audio
Publication Date: 2012
Publisher's Description
"You learn early that you don't get to prove your case with Boy Scouts and nuns. Yes, convicted felons will say anything to get out of jail, but they also know a lot." Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as assistant DA, she's never plea-bargained a case and vows she never will. But when an infamous defense attorney is indicted for murder and devises a way to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt, Jamie finds herself at a crossroads. One by one, prisoners begin rejecting deals. Prosecutors are overwhelmed, and felons start walking free on technicalities. To break the logjam and convict her nemesis, Jamie must reevaluate every principle that has guided her young career. But she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to cut a deal with one of his demons.
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text:
Pears Helena
Total Time
Prep 20 mins
Cook 10 mins
A famous dessert of my mom's for many years. Dosn't seem like a special occasion with out it for dessert. The chocolate sauce can be made before dinner and warmed up gently over the double boiler.
Ingredients Nutrition
- 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
- 1⁄4 cup superfine sugar
- 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
- vanilla ice cream
- 6 canned pear halves
- In a double boiler, dissolve the sugar in 2 tablespoons of the cream.
- Remove the double boiler from the burner, but keep melted sugar over the hot water in the bottom pan.
- Add the chopped chocolates to the melted sugar and stir until creamy and melted.
- With a wisk, mix in the remaining cream until smooth and creamy. Keep warm.
- Place 1 or 2 scoops of ice-cream into each dessert bowl. Place 1 pear half on each scoop of ice-cream. Spoon the warm sauce over both. Serve immediately.


text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Nov 3, 1998
|Filing date
|Oct 27, 1997
|Priority date
|Oct 27, 1997
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Douglas H. Marman
|Original Assignee
|Slc Technologies, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (13), Referenced by (18), Classifications (9), Legal Events (8)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This invention relates to fire and smoke detection and control systems and more particularly to a combined smoke and fire detector system that employs electrical current-saving and reliability-improving operating methods.
Remarkable growth has been experienced in the home smoke detector market, particularly among single-station, battery-operated, ionization-mode smoke detectors. This growth, coupled with clear evidence from actual fires and fire statistics of the lifesaving effectiveness of detectors, has made the home smoke detector the fire safety success story of the past two decades.
However, recent studies of the operational status of home smoke detectors revealed an alarming statistic that as many as one-fourth to one-third of smoke detectors are nonoperational at any one time. Over half of the nonoperational smoke detectors are attributable to missing batteries, with the remainder resulting from dead batteries and nonworking smoke detectors. Research revealed the principal cause of missing batteries was homeowner frustration over nuisance alarms caused by controlled fires, such as cooking flames. Nuisance alarms are also caused by nonfire sources, such as shower vapors emanating from a bathroom, dust or debris stirred up during cleaning, or oil vapors escaping from a kitchen.
Centralized fire detection systems are likewise important in protecting the occupants of commercial and industrial buildings. Nuisance alarms are particularly detrimental in the commercial setting because they cause costly inconvenience to building occupants and create a dangerous lack of confidence in the validity of future alarms.
Ionization type smoke detectors are prone to nuisance alarms because they are particularly sensitive to visible and invisible diffused particulate matter, especially when the fire alarm threshold is set very low to meet the mandated response time for ANSI/UL 268 certification for various types of fires. Visible particulate matter ranges in size from 4 to 5 microns in a minimum dimension (although small particles can be seen as a haze when present in high mass density) and is generated copiously in most open fires or flames. However, ionization detectors are most sensitive to invisible particles ranging from 0.01 to 1.0 micron in a minimum dimension. Most household nonfire sources, as described briefly above, generate mostly invisible particulate matters, which explains why most home smoke detectors produce so many nuisance alarms.
The ionization smoke detector nuisance alarm problem, which results in a significant portion of ionization smoke detectors being rendered nonoperational, led to the development and use of the photoelectric smoke detector. Photoelectric smoke detectors are less prone to nuisance alarms because they are most sensitive to visible particulate matter than to invisible particulate matter. Unfortunately, they respond slowly to flaming fires, which initially generate invisible particulate matter. To overcome this drawback, the fire alarm sensitivity of photoelectric smoke detectors is set very high to meet the ANSI/UL 268 certification requirements, which again leads to nuisance alarms. Thus the nuisance alarm problem has been long recognized but remains unsolved. It is equally apparent that a new type of fire detector is urgently needed to resolve the dangerous ineffectiveness of present-day smoke detectors.
Over the past two decades, workers in the fire fighting and prevention industry have been seeking faster response than is available with current smoke detectors. Increasing smoke detector sensitivity by lowering the light obscuration detection threshold speeds up their response, but increases the nuisance alarm rate. From this perspective, it is all the more apparent that a better fire detector is urgently needed.
Recognizing that virtually all fires generate copious amounts of CO2 gas, a new type of CO2 detecting fire detector was disclosed by Jacob Y. Wong in U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,754. The CO2 detecting fire detector rapidly responds to fires by determining the rate of change of CO2 concentration caused by a fire.
The superiority of CO2 detecting fire detectors over smoke detectors, in terms of response speed and reduced nuisance alarms, has been well established. Co-pending U.S. patent application No. 08/077,488, filed Nov. 14, 1994, for FALSE ALARM RESISTANT FIRE DETECTOR WITH IMPROVED PERFORMANCE and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/593,253, filed Jan. 30, 1996, for AN IMPROVED FIRE DETECTOR further disclose the advantage of combining a CO2 detector with a smoke detector to form a rapidly responding, nuisance alarm-resistant fire detector.
A smoke detector typically draws about 200 microamps of operating current, whereas a CO2 detector can draw from 200 microamps to many milliamps depending on the type of CO2 sensor used. Therefore, a combined smoke/CO2 detector draws more than twice the operating current of a smoke detector alone. Clearly, a battery-powered combined smoke/CO2 detector will deplete batteries at an unacceptable rate. In industrial systems in which combined smoke/CO2 detectors draw power from a wire loop, far fewer detectors can be installed on the loop before the loop current limit is reached, making retrofitting of existing systems very expensive.
What is needed, therefore, is a fast responding combined smoke and fire detector having a markedly reduced operating current and nuisance alarm rate.
An object of this invention is, therefore, to provide an apparatus and a method for rapidly detecting fires while reducing the nuisance alarm rate.
Another object of this invention is to provide an operating electrical current-saving method of operating a combined smoke and fire detecting system.
A further object is to provide a reliability improving method of operating a combined smoke and fire detecting system.
A fire detection system of this invention includes a smoke detector that measures smoke particle density indicative of smoldering fires and a CO2 detector that measures CO2 concentration indicative of flaming fires. The invention includes operating methods that reduce nuisance alarms and operating current while increasing the reliability of the fire detection system.
In a first operating current saving method, the smoke detector is operated to acquire smoke samples at a normal pulse repetition frequency ("PRF") while the CO2 detector is operated to acquire gas samples at a very slow, or zero, PRF. Smoke density measurements produced by the smoke detector are compared with a set of tentative fire detection criteria, and if met, the CO2 detector PRF is substantially increased to rapidly produce CO2 concentration measurements that are compared to a set of conclusive fire detection criteria.
In a second operating current-saving method, the CO2 detector is operated to acquire gas samples at a normal PRF while the smoke detector is operated to acquire smoke samples at a zero PRF. CO2 concentration measurements produced by the CO2 detector are compared with a set of tentative fire detection criteria, and if met, the smoke detector PRF is substantially increased to rapidly produce smoke density measurements that are compared to a set of conclusive fire detection criteria.
In a reliability improving operating method, operating characteristics, preferably electrical current draw and/or signal presence, of the smoke and CO2 detectors are monitored to determine whether either detector has failed. If a failure is detected, fire detection criteria normally employed are changed to criteria optimized for the remaining detector, and a detector failure indication is generated.
Additional objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a logic diagram showing preferred signal processing carried out by a combined smoke and fire detector of this invention.
FIG. 2 is an electrical schematic diagram of the combined smoke and fire detector of FIG. 1 further showing the signal processing circuit elements supporting a photoelectric smoke detector and a nondispersive infrared ("NDIR") CO2 detector.
FIG. 3 is an electrical schematic diagram showing an alternative embodiment of a combined smoke and fire detector of this invention.
FIG. 4 is an electrical schematic diagram showing a variant of the combined smoke and fire detector of FIG. 3.
FIG. 5 is an electrical schematic diagram showing another variant of the combined smoke and fire detector of FIG. 3.
FIG. 1 is a logic diagram of an embodiment of a practical and improved fire detection system 10. As shown in FIG. 1, fire detection system 10 generates an alarm signal 12 when any of four conditions is met.
First, alarm signal 12 is generated whenever an output 14 of a smoke detector 16 exceeds a threshold level 18 of 3.0 percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) for greater than a first preselected time 20 of about two minutes. Smoke concentration is typically measured in units of "percent" light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot). This terminology is derived from the use of projected beam or extinguishment photoelectric smoke detectors in which a beam of light is projected through air, and the attenuation of the light beam by smoke particles is measured. Even when referring to the measurements of a device that uses another mechanism for measuring smoke concentration, such as light reflection or ion flow sampling, the smoke concentration measurement is frequently specified in terms of percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) because these units are familiar to skilled persons.
Second, alarm signal 12 is generated whenever output 14 from smoke detector 16 exceeds a reduced threshold level 22 ranging from about 0.25 to about 0.5 percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) for greater than a second preselected time 24 ranging from about 4 minutes to about 15 minutes.
Third, alarm signal 12 is generated whenever the rate of increase in the measured concentration of CO2 at an output 26 of a CO2 detector 28 exceeds a first predetermined rate 30 of about 100 parts-per-million per minute for a predetermined time period 32 of fewer than about 30 seconds and light obscuration exceeds reduced threshold 22. The output of an AND gate 34 indicates the satisfaction of this condition.
Fourth, alarm signal 12 is generated whenever the rate of increase in the measured concentration of CO2 exceeds a second predetermined rate 36 of about 700 to about 1000 parts-per-million per minute for a predetermined time period 38 of fewer than about 60 seconds.
These four conditions are combined by an OR gate 40, the output of which produces alarm signal 12 that in turn activates an alarm device 42.
FIG. 2 shows a preferred implementation of the logic elements of fire detection system 10. A silicon photodiode 50 of a photoelectric smoke detector 52 (16 of FIG. 1) drives a transimpedance amplifier 54 (14 of FIG. 1). A light-emitting diode ("LED") 56 of photoelectric smoke detector 52 is pulsed on and off by a driver 58, which is driven by a pulse train generator 60 that emits a pulse stream having a PRF of about six pulses per minute ("ppm") at a pulse width of about 300 μsec, thereby causing LED 56 to emit a corresponding pulsed light signal. LED 56 is referred to as being "pulsed on" when emitting light and "pulsed off" when dark.
Photoelectric detector 52 is preferably a light reflection type smoke detector, in which photodiode 50 is located off axis from a straight line path of light travel from LED 4. Consequently, light propagating from LED 56 reaches photodiode 50 only if smoke reflects the light off axis into the path of photodiode 50. Under normal operating conditions, i.e., in the absence of smoke particles, the output of photodiode 50 generates a constant zero ampere electrical current because very little light is scattered into it from LED 56. During a fire in which smoke particles are present in the space between LED 56 and photodiode 50, a pulse stream output signal having a magnitude dependent on the smoke particle density appears at the output of transimpedance amplifier 54.
The logic elements of fire detection system 10 further include comparators 62, 64, 66, and 68 (respectively 18, 22, 30, and 36 of FIG. 1); timer/counters 70 and 72 (respectively 20 and 24 of FIG. 1); an AND gate 74 (34 of FIG. 1); and an OR gate 76 (40 of FIG. 1), each having a discrete logic output signal. The logic output signals assume one of two distinct voltage levels depending on the input signal applied to the respective component. The higher of the two voltage levels is generally referred to as a "high" output, and the lower of the two voltage levels is generally referred to as a "low" output.
A sample and hold circuit 78 is commanded to sample the output of transimpedance amplifier 54 every pulse train cycle by the output of pulse train generator 60. The output of sample and hold circuit 78 is conveyed to a high threshold comparator 62 and a low threshold comparator 64. A reference voltage 80 applied to the inverting input of high threshold comparator 62 corresponds to a signal strength of scattered light at photodiode 50 that indicates a level of smoke concentration sufficient to cause approximately 3.0 percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) of the light emitted by LED 56. Thus, when the smoke concentration at detector 52 exceeds this level, the output of high threshold comparator 62 will be high. Similarly, a reference voltage 82 applied to the inverting input of low threshold comparator 64 corresponds to a signal strength of scattered light at photodiode 50 that indicates a level of smoke concentration sufficient to cause from about 0.25 to about 0.5 percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) of the light emitted by LED 56. Thus, when the smoke concentration at detector 52 exceeds this level, the output of low threshold comparator 64 will be high.
The outputs of comparators 62 and 64 are connected to respective timer/counters 70 and 72. For a relatively rapid detection of relatively high smoke density nonflaming fires, timer/counter 70 generates a high output if the output of high threshold comparator 62 stays high for longer than about 4 to about 15 minutes. For a relatively slow detection of relatively low smoke density nonflaming fires, timer/counter 72 generates high output if the output of low threshold comparator 64 stays high for longer than 15 minutes. Timer/counters 70 and 72 are activated only when the output logic states of the respective comparators 62 and 64 are high. The outputs of timer/counters 70 and 72 constitute two of the four inputs to OR gate 76. A high output generated by OR gate 76 indicates detection of a fire. This signal is amplified by an amplifier 84 (12 of FIG. 1) and is used to sound an auditory alarm 86 (42 of FIG. 1).
An infrared source 88 of an NDIR CO2 detector 90 (28 of FIG. 1) is pulsed by a current driver 92, which is driven by a pulse train generator 94 at a PRF of about 6 ppm. The pulsed infrared light radiates through a thin film, narrow bandpass optical filter 96 and onto an infrared detector 98. Optical filter 96 has a center wavelength of about 4.26 microns and a full width at half maximum (FWHM) bandwidth of approximately 0.2 micron. CO2 has a strong infrared absorption band spectrally located at 4.26 microns. The quantity of 4.26 micron light reaching infrared detector 98 depends inversely on the concentration of CO2 present between infrared source 88 and infrared detector 98.
Infrared detector 98 is preferably a single-channel, micro-machined silicon thermopile with an optional built-in temperature sensor in intimate thermal contact with a reference junction. Infrared detector 98 may alternatively be a pyroelectric sensor. In an additional alternative, the function of infrared detector 98 could be performed by other types of detectors, including metal oxide semiconductor sensors, such as a "Taguchi" sensor, or electrochemical and photochemical (e.g. colorometric) sensors, but as skilled persons will appreciate, the supporting electrical circuitry would have to be different. CO2 detector 90 has a sample chamber 100 with small openings 102 on opposite sides that enable ambient air to diffuse through sample chamber 100 between infrared source 88 and infrared detector 98. Small openings 102 are covered with a fiberglass-supported silicon membrane 104 to transmit CO2 and other gasses while preventing dust and moisture-laden particulate matter from entering sample chamber 100. This type of membrane and its use are described in U.S. No. Pat. No. 5,053,754 for SIMPLE FIRE DETECTOR.
The output of the infrared detector 98 is an electrical pulse stream that is amplified by an amplifier 106 (26 of FIG. 1). A second sample and hold circuit 108 is commanded every pulse cycle by pulse train generator 94 to sample the amplified pulse stream. Likewise, for every pulse cycle, the output of sample and hold circuit 108 is sampled by a third sample and hold circuit 110. A unity gain, differential operational amplifier 112 subtracts the output of second sample and hold circuit 108, which represents the sample immediately preceding the latest sample, from the output of third sample and hold circuit 110, which represents the latest sample. Amplifier 112 is configured to unity gain by four resistors 114, preferably each having a value of about 10,000 ohms. The resultant voltage generated by amplifier 112 is proportional to the rate of change of CO2 concentration and is conveyed to an input of each of a pair of comparators 66 and 68 (respectively 30 and 36 of FIG. 1) each having a different threshold reference voltage.
Comparator 66 is a low rate of rise-detecting comparator having a reference voltage 116 that corresponds to a rate of change of CO2 concentration of about 100 parts-per-million per minute. When this CO2 concentration change rate is exceeded in less than a predetermined time period, the output of comparator 66 goes high, a condition that is conveyed to AND gate 74. Because the output of low threshold comparator 64 is connected to another input of AND gate 74, the output of AND gate 74 is high only when the smoke particle concentration is sufficient to cause light obscuration of about 0.25 to about 0.5 percent per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) AND the CO2 concentration is increasing at a rate of at least 100 parts-per-million per minute.
Comparator 68 is the high rate of rise comparator having a reference voltage 118 that corresponds to a CO2 concentration rate of change of approximately 1,000 parts-per-million per minute. When this CO2 rate of change is exceeded in less than a predetermined time period, comparator 68 output goes high, a condition which is conveyed to a fourth input of OR gate 76.
A power supply module 120 receives, preferably from a battery, an external supply voltage VEXT and generates a regulated voltage V+for powering the abovedescribed circuitry.
Alternatively, a projected beam, or extinguishment-type smoke detector, could be used as a substitute for photoelectric smoke detector 52. Extinguishment smoke detectors direct a beam of light through the atmosphere to a light detector that measures light attenuation caused by smoke. This type of detector is useful in a cavernous indoor space, such as an atrium. Additionally, technology improvements are reducing the cost and improving the accuracy of extinguishment detectors that are usable in a small housing. An advantage of extinguishment detectors is their sensitivity to the fine smoke particles produced by flaming fires. Because CO2 detector 90 and smoke detector 52 are combined, the smoke detector accuracy requirements are reduced, allowing a relatively inexpensive extinguishment detector to be used in the present invention.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, all the circuit elements described and shown in FIG. 2, with the exception of smoke detector 52, CO2 detector 90, power supply module 120, and auditory alarm 86, are integrated using well-known techniques into a single ASIC 142. Additionally, ASIC 142 may include circuitry for digitizing and formatting the signals representing CO2 concentration, rate of change of CO2 concentration, smoke concentration, and the presence of an alarm signal. Such circuitry would typically include an analog-to-digital converter ("ADC") and a microprocessor section for formatting the signal into a serial format.
The digitized signals are transmitted typically over a serial bus to a fire alarm control panel 140 unless the detector is a standalone type detector such as the detectors listed under UL 217 standards. Serial communications are a natural choice because the volume of data is typically low enough to be accommodated by this method and reducing power consumption is a consideration.
Fire alarm control panel 140 preferably performs the data analysis to determine the presence of a fire. In this instance, the fire detection system is considered to encompass fire alarm control panel 140.
FIG. 4 shows a variant of this embodiment in which a first ASIC 144 receives, digitizes, and formats the signal received from smoke detector 52. First ASIC 144 conveys the resultant data to fire alarm control panel 140. A second ASIC 146 receives, digitizes, and formats the signal received from CO2 detector 90. Second ASIC 146 conveys the resultant data to fire alarm control panel 140. A second power supply module 148 powers first ASIC 144. In this embodiment, first ASIC 144 and smoke detector 52 may be physically separate and a distance away from second ASIC 146 and CO2 detector 90.
FIG. 5 shows another alternative preferred embodiment in which a microprocessor 150 communicates with ASIC 142 via a data bus. Commercially available microprocessors typically cannot directly drive LED 56 and infrared source 88. Therefore ASIC 142 includes driver circuitry for performing these functions. ASIC 142 also includes an ADC and amplifiers for converting smoke detector 52 and CO2 detector 90 outputs into voltage ranges compatible with the ADC. Microprocessor 150 receives the digitized data from the ADC and is programmed to compute the smoke concentration, the CO2 concentration, the rate of change of CO2 concentration, and to implement the detection logic shown in FIG. 1. ASIC 142 receives the digital results of this process from microprocessor 150 and changes an alarm condition into a form that drives alarm 86.
In a variation of the FIG. 5 embodiment, smoke and CO2 concentration sample values generated by the ADC are processed by a digital filter function implemented in microprocessor 150. The digital filter function output is compared with a threshold to determine whether an alarm condition exists. In this embodiment, smoke concentration samples "A1" (taken at six samples per minute) are processed by an alpha filter of the following form:
A1N '=αA1N +(α-1)A1N-1,
where A1N is the most recent smoke concentration sample, A1N-1 'is the previous alpha-filtered smoke concentration value, and A1N ' is the newly computed, alpha-filtered smoke concentration value. The value of α is preferably 0.3, and a threshold is set equal to a constant light obscuration level of 4.0 percent per 0.3048 meter (1 foot). The CO2 concentration rate samples ("A2N '," computed at a rate of 1 every 10 seconds) are also processed by an alpha filter. The value of the CO2 concentration rate α is preferably 0.2, and an alarm threshold is set equal to a rate of change of 500 parts-per-million per minute. In addition, every 10 second time interval a quantity QN is formed by the following equation:
where A1N ' is normalized so that 1.0 percent light obscuration per 0.3048 meter (1 foot) equals 1.0, and A2N ' is normalized so that a 100 parts-per-million per minute rate equals 1.0. An alarm threshold for QN is set to 1.8. When any one of the alarm thresholds is exceeded, an alarm indication is generated and conveyed to a user or to a recipient device.
In this embodiment, A1N' and A2N ' could be processed by a linear, quadratic, or other polynomial form equation prior to combination. For example, QN could have the following form:
QN =a1 (A1N ')2 +b1 A1 +a2 (A2N ')+b2 A2 N '+c
where a1 =0.1; b1 =1.0; a2 =0.1; b2 =1.0; and c=0. The general purpose of using quadratic terms is to declare an alarm when one quantity becomes large while the other quantity is small.
An alpha filter is one example of a recursive or infinite impulse response ("IIR") filter. A finite impulse response ("FIR") filter may alternatively be used. A suitable FIR filter should be responsive to instantaneous level, rate of change (the first derivative), and the derivative of the rate of change (the second derivative). For example, a three sample FIR filter would have the following form: ##EQU1##
The constant values k1 =4.0; k2 =-2.5; and k3 =0.5 yield a filter that responds to instantaneous level, rate of change, and acceleration over a three sample interval. Multiplication by these constants can readily be implemented on a microcomputer, such as microprocessor 150. Skilled persons will appreciate that a digital filter can also be implemented in hardware with a number of delay or sample and hold circuits and amplifiers set to implement the desired constants.
As pointed out in the background of this invention, to acquire smoke samples, smoke detector 52 typically draws about 200 microamps of operating current and CO2 detector 90 typically draws about 300 microamps and therefore results in a combined smoke and fire detector that draws more than twice the operating current of a smoke detector alone. However, the following operating methods for the combination of smoke detector 52 and CO2 detector 90 decrease the overall operating current and increase the reliability of the resulting smoke and fire detection system.
In a first operating current-saving operating method, one of ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, and microprocessor 150, depending on the detector embodiment, pulses smoke detector 52 at a nominal PRF of about six ppm and pulses CO2 detector 90 at a comparatively low PRF of less than about two ppm, and preferably zero ppm. Referring also to FIG. 1, output 14 of smoke detector 52 is compared with reduced threshold 22 such that when threshold 22 is exceeded, a tentative fire detection criterion has been met. In response, one of ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 140, depending on the detector embodiment, starts pulsing CO2 detector 90 at a relatively high PRF of greater than about 10 ppm, and preferably about 12 ppm. The resulting CO2 concentration rate of change measurements described with reference to FIG. 1 are used to determine whether a conclusive fire detection criterion has been met.
An advantage of this first operating method is the reduced operating current otherwise drawn by the combined dual detector system. Such a reduction makes battery powered operation practical. This operating current savings is particularly advantageous in a large industrial system having hundreds of detector units that draw operating current from a wire loop. The reduced operating current drawn by the combined fire and smoke detector of this invention increases the maximum number of such detectors that may be wired into the loop.
Another advantage of pulsing CO2 detector 90 at a slow or zero rate is increased life of infrared source 88. This is particularly advantageous if infrared source 88 is an incandescent light bulb.
In a second operating current-saving operating method, one of ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 150, depending on the detector embodiment, pulses CO2 detector 90 at a nominal PRF of fewer than about six ppm but does not pulse smoke detector 52. Output 26 of CO2 detector 90 is processed as described with reference to FIG. 1 to determine whether a tentative fire detection criterion has been met, and if it has, one of ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 150, depending on the detector embodiment, starts pulsing smoke detector 52 at the nominal PRF of about six ppm. The resulting smoke measurements are compared against either of smoke thresholds levels 18 and 22 to determine whether a conclusive fire detection criterion has been met.
Although this operating method does not save so much operating current as that saved by the first operating method, it is advantageous because CO2 disperses more rapidly than smoke and, therefore, provides an earlier indication of a fire.
In a reliability improving operating method, ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 150, depending on the embodiment, is adapted to detect a failure of either CO2 detector 90 or smoke detector 52 and respond by altering the fire detection criteria to a set suitable for the remaining operating detector. In this method, detector failure may be determined by monitoring the status of operating current draw or presence of output signals from CO2 detector 90 or smoke detector 52. The operating current draw and output signal status are referred to herein as "performance characteristics" of smoke detector 52 and CO2 detector 90, which performance characteristics should fall within a predetermined range of nominal values. Cessation of either performance characteristic is indicative of a failure of the relevant detector.
If CO2 detector 90 or smoke detector 52 fails, the detection logic resident in ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 150 switches to an alternative set of fire detection criteria adapted to detecting fires using the remaining operating detector. In particular, if CO2 detector 90 fails, first preselected time 20 is preferably reduced from two minutes to 15 seconds, and if smoke detector 52 fails, rate of change of CO2 concentration rate threshold 36 is preferably reduced to 350 parts-per-million per minute.
This operating method may further include a step in which one of ASIC 142, fire alarm control panel 140, and microprocessor 140, depending on the detector embodiment, generates a failure indication or generates a message that notifies maintenance personnel of a detector failure. Moreover, this method of adapting to the failure of one detector by using the remaining functional detector provides a smoke and fire detection system having a markedly improved failure rate, which is highly advantageous should a fire occur while one of the detectors has failed.
Skilled workers will recognize that portions of this invention may be implemented differently from the implementations described above for a preferred embodiment. For example, the above-described logic may be implemented as a program in ASIC 142, 144, or 146, fire alarm control panel 140, or microprocessor 150. Alternatively, the above-described logic may implemented as a circuit employing discrete components. It is also possible to enclose the two detectors in a single housing or to operate them in a network that distributes particular detector types at strategically selected placed fire- and smoke-detecting locations in a building. In such a network, a fire alarm control panel receives data from the network of detectors and reports their status on a map showing the locations. Each detector is logically identifiable to distinguish its location from the locations of the other detectors. Such a status map is invaluable to the safety and effectiveness of fire fighters arriving at the scene of a fire.
It will be further obvious to those having skill in the art that many changes may be made to the details of the above-described embodiments of this invention without departing from the underlying principles thereof. The scope of this invention should, therefore, be determined only by the following claims.
|Cited Patent
|Filing date
|Publication date
|Oct 26, 1972
|Apr 2, 1974
|Ambac Ind
|Gas analyzer circuitry
|Jun 18, 1976
|Feb 14, 1978
|Erdco Engineering Corporation
|Anticipatory flammable gas detection system
|Jun 20, 1977
|Aug 7, 1979
|American District Telegraph Company
|Variable frequency light pulser for smoke detectors
|Jun 9, 1980
|Mar 9, 1982
|Firecom, Inc.
|Alarm system having plural diverse detection means
|Dec 12, 1984
|Jan 20, 1987
|Nittan Co., Ltd.
|Environmental abnormality detecting apparatus
|Mar 11, 1986
|Aug 18, 1987
|Bdc Electronics
|Combined smoke and gas detection apparatus
|Apr 2, 1990
|Oct 1, 1991
|Gaztech Corporation
|Simple fire detector
|Sep 13, 1990
|Jan 7, 1992
|Gaztech Corporation
|Fire detection system using spatially cooperative multi-sensor input technique
|Sep 24, 1992
|Dec 27, 1994
|Hochiki Corporation
|Fire sensor
|Mar 30, 1992
|Jun 6, 1995
|Brk Brands, Inc.
|Alarm silencing circuitry for photoelectric smoke detectors
|Mar 29, 1994
|Jun 25, 1996
|Nohmi Bosai, Ltd.
|Smoke detector including ambient temperature compensation
|Aug 19, 1993
|Aug 13, 1996
|Sentrol, Inc.
|Smoke detector system with self-diagnostic capabilities and replaceable smoke intake canopy
|Jan 29, 1996
|Nov 25, 1997
|Engelhard Sensor Technologies, Inc.
|Practical and improved fire detector
|Citing Patent
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|Publication date
|May 6, 1997
|Apr 18, 2000
|Vision Products Pty. Ltd.
|Filter integrity monitoring system
|Jan 14, 1999
|Jul 25, 2000
|Hochiki Corporation
|Light obstruction type smoke sensor
|Jan 18, 2000
|Dec 26, 2000
|Jaesent Inc.
|Fire detector
|Feb 5, 2002
|Feb 15, 2005
|Robert Bosch Gmbh
|Method for detecting fires
|Dec 22, 2004
|Oct 21, 2008
|Wagner Alarm Sicherungssysteme Gmbh
|Method for evaluation of a scattered light signal and scattered light detector used for carrying out said method
|Mar 2, 2007
|Jan 5, 2010
|Walter Kidde Portable Equipment, Inc.
|Alarm with CO and smoke sensors
|Jul 15, 2011
|Jun 4, 2013
|Master Lock Company Llc
|Nov 9, 2012
|Aug 19, 2014
|Master Lock Company Llc
|Battery access and power supply arrangements
|Mar 12, 2013
|Oct 7, 2014
|Master Lock Company Llc
|Lock subassembly
|Feb 5, 2002
|May 13, 2004
|Anton Pfefferseder
|Method for recognition of fire
|Dec 22, 2004
|Jun 21, 2007
|Andreas Siemens
|Method for evaluation of a scattered light signal and scattered light detector used for carrying out said method
|Mar 2, 2007
|Sep 4, 2008
|Walter Kidde Portable Equipment Inc.
|Alarm with CO and smoke sensors
|May 6, 2014
|Aug 20, 2014
|Alarm-device system and detection method thereof
|Jun 7, 2013
|Feb 11, 2015
|Multi-mode detection
|Nov 6, 2012
|May 15, 2013
|Honeywell International Inc.
|Photoelectric detector combined with MOS gas sensor
|Dec 22, 2004
|Aug 4, 2005
|Wagner Alarm- Und Sicherungssysteme Gmbh
|Method for evaluation of a scattered light signal and scattered light detector used for carrying out said method
|Jun 7, 2013
|Dec 12, 2013
|Xtralis Technologies Ltd
|Multi-mode detection
|Jul 15, 2015
|Mar 10, 2016
|Google Inc.
|Systems and methods for intelligent alarming
|U.S. Classification
|340/628, 340/630, 340/632
|International Classification
|Cooperative Classification
|European Classification
|Oct 27, 1997
Owner name: SLC TECHNOLOGIES, INC., OREGON
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:MARMAN, DOUGLAS H.;REEL/FRAME:008862/0809
Effective date: 19971022
|Apr 29, 2002
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|May 21, 2002
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Jan 6, 2006
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Jul 15, 2009
Owner name: GE INTERLOGIX, INC., TEXAS
Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:INTERLOGIX, INC.;REEL/FRAME:022951/0613
Effective date: 20020521
Owner name: GE SECURITY, INC., TEXAS
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:GE INTERLOGIX, INC.;REEL/FRAME:022960/0020
Effective date: 20040120
Owner name: INTERLOGIX, INC., TEXAS
Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:SLC TECHNOLOGIES, INC.;REEL/FRAME:022951/0597
Effective date: 20000502
|Jun 7, 2010
|Maintenance fee reminder mailed
|Nov 3, 2010
|Lapse for failure to pay maintenance fees
|Dec 21, 2010
|Expired due to failure to pay maintenance fee
Effective date: 20101103


text:
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A look at NYC's annual UN Week, and the hobby of plane spotting in general, through the eyes of a student journalist.
The New York City plane spotting extravaganza known as UN Week is back for another promising year starting this weekend.
What is it like going from being a lifelong #avgeek to actually making it your profession? Gordon Gebert takes us through his transition.
My friends are in awe when I'm usually correct and then I'll verify by asking "So, what do you fly?" They'll ask how I knew they were a pilot, but I don't like to reveal my secrets.
There are just a few out there, but we have another exclusive American 787 photo! But what makes this one so special? We explain.
Watching airplanes is a hobby that can bridge generations and foster a love of aviation in children. One plane spotter shares a recent experience.
No matter how good a camera body you buy, a successful day of photography at your local airport or a summer airshow greatly depends on which lens you use. Photography columnist Manny Gonzalez explains what you should look for in a lens and why.
Airline pilot and columnist Justin Schlechter goes back to his aviation enthusiast roots to share the experience of his first trip to St. Maarten.
Miami International Airport has a large and active planespotting community and has become the latest airport to employ spotters as an added layer of security.
Many people have a preconceived notion that taking photos of airliners is illegal, harmful, or dangerous. They couldn't be any more wrong.
NYCAviation is a worldwide aerospace news and resource organization for aviation enthusiasts and industry professionals alike. We specialize in publishing breaking news, insightful commentary and stellar photography covering all that happens not only in the world of commercial aviation, but the entire aerospace sector, including general aviation, military aviation and space. Read more…
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Through your continued use of this site, you agree that NYCAviation.com assumes no liability nor responsibility for any individual's actions or conduct.


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More people than ever are looking for jobs, creating a target rich environment for criminals who have dusted off the "job placement scam."
In Ohio, where unemployment remains stubbornly high, Attorney General Richard Cordray says his office has received a number of reports of the scam.
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The scammers often charge high fees for job information, training sessions or promotional materials, all of which turn out to be useless, Cordray says. Instead of helping consumers make money, the scam artists actually take money from them. Some job seekers end up losing hundreds, even thousands, of dollars.
People searching for jobs should follow these tips:
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• Be suspicious of companies that make you pay for "exclusive information," mandatory training sessions, starter kits or other materials, especially
• if they ask you to wire transfer money to a foreign country.
• Check a company's reputation with the Better Business Bureau and search complaints filed with the Ohio Attorney General's Office.
• Don't trust unrealistic salaries or vague job descriptions. Demand a detailed description of the work involved before you commit to a job.
• Beware of lengthy contracts. Don't sign a contract without reading the fine print. Scam artists may try to slip in certain clauses, hoping you wont read them. Written contracts generally are binding, so take the contract to an attorney or trusted friend to review, and dont sign until you fully understand the agreement.
• Take your time. Dont give in to high-pressure tactics. If a company doesn't give you enough time to review a contract or make a decision, don't do business with it.
• Be wary of suspicious interviews. Interviews that take place at unusual locations (such as hotel lobbies, restaurants or other locations outside a normal place of business) are fishy. Be skeptical of group interviews and representatives that seem to be selling the company to you. If you feel pressured, walk away; you probably have good reason to be suspicious.


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Guide to Health PlansFor Federal Employees and Annuitants 2016
|Explanations & Advice
The most important reason for buying health insurance is to protect you against financial catastrophe. You may, therefore, wish to approach plan selection by comparing plans on the basis of potential financial risk, rather than average cost. To facilitate this, our cost comparisons include a "Limit to you" column. Our "Limit" calculation includes both the annual premium and the claimed guarantee provided by each plan for hospital, medical, and prescription drug expenses. We combine these two types of expenses because you are sure to incur premium costs and there is little point in picking a plan with $1,000 less in claimed limit if its premium is $2,000 higher. However, no plan includes dental expenses in its guarantee. The "Limits" column, therefore, cannot include these costs. Our figures use a 33 percent premium reduction for tax savings for employees under Premium Conversion (but not for retirees or those paying full premiums, who are ineligible). We also take account of the ability of enrollees in High Deductible plans to reduce costs by using their HSA or HRA accounts. We have not, however, included estimates for additional tax savings from funding high expenses through additional contributions to HSA accounts (see Cost and Taxes). Therefore, these are conservative estimates for High Deductible plans.
Because some plans present catastrophic limits in confusing ways, we attempt to make our limit calculations comparable among plans. For example, we take account of deductibles if these are not included in the claimed limit. A few plans put prescription drug payments under separate limits and we adjust for this difference. Plans calculate limits differently and the dollar numbers published in a plan's "Summary of Benefits" do not reflect the loopholes and exclusions listed under "Your cost for covered services"). The adjustments we make are necessary to make comparisons that are not inaccurate "apples to oranges." For plans that do not include certain hospital, doctor, or drug copayments in the limit we have assumed three hospital stays and 50 (single) or 100 (family) prescriptions or doctor visits, and presented the limit on this basis.
Although we included dental costs in most columns, we had to leave dental costs out of the "Limits" column because no plan includes dental costs in its guarantee. Most HMOs have a limit and cover nearly all hospital, medical, and prescription drug expenses. To compare HMOs, our estimates are based on the same number of hospital stays, doctor visits, and prescriptions as for national plans to make the figures comparable. However, the figures we present are not necessarily an actual guarantee by the plan.
The cost tables can be used to find those plans with the lowest limits. From this group, you can select plans with lower average costs. Or you might wish to select one of the plans with the best catastrophic coverage and accept somewhat higher out-of-pocket costs as the price of that guarantee.
If You Have Other Insurance
You cannot use our cost rankings directly if you have health insurance coverage from another source. The best FEHBP plan for you depends on the cost and benefit structure of the other plan, though your best choice will almost always be a low premium plan to minimize unnecessary premium payments. But do not assume that you should not enroll in the FEHBP just because you have other coverage.
If your spouse has a low-cost health plan through a private employer, or you have a health plan from prior employment, check to be sure that it covers you and your children, and has a benefit package as good as the Federal plans. Even if your spouse's plan is every bit as good as any of the Federal plans, consider the cost of this coverage compared to some of the lower-premium Federal plans. Remember that you must be covered under the FEHBP continuously for the five years preceding retirement to be eligible for enrollment after retirement (there are some very rare exceptions, such as certain agency downsizing situations). You don't have to be in the same plan in each year, but you must be covered continuously by some FEHBP plan or, in the special case of military dependents, TRICARE.
Most importantly, if you should die while you are not enrolled in the FEHBP in a family plan, your spouse will lose eligibility for the program. Since most employers do not continue coverage past retirement, or cannot be counted on to do so, your only guarantee that your spouse can keep this entitlement is to be continuously enrolled. There is an excellent strategy for doing so at minimum cost. All of the plans showing a very low or negative number in the "No Costs" column are Consumer-Driven or High Deductible plans that give you a savings account as large or larger than the premium. With double coverage you will probably not ever reach the high deductible and will realize this saving in most circumstances. In other words, these plans really are almost "free" if they supplement other coverage from your spouse.
Chapter 3
|Disputed Claims Per 10,000
Federal Enrollees Filed With the
Office of Personnel Management
(National Plans With at Least 10,000 Enrollees)
October 1, 2014—September 30, 2015
|Plan name
|Disputed claims
|Disputed claims in which plan's initial decision was changed or reversed
|Blue Cross/Blue Shield
|Rural Carrier†
|Foreign Service†
|Compass Rose†
|Aetna HealthFund CDHP/HDHP
|† These plans are not open to all.
Even among HMO and POS plans, you should be aware that the ratings given by non-Federal members may have been given by members who were in a different variant of the plan than the variant offered to Federal employees and retirees. We have found, for example, that among members of the same plan, POS users are about two to three percentage points less likely than basic HMO users to give high ratings to the overall plan.
It should also be noted that differences in the way the survey was administered might explain small differences in plan scores. All of the plans are required to use an independent firm to conduct their surveys under the supervision of the nonprofit National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) using standardized survey procedures. But there is some room for variation in procedures. For example, some plans allow members to respond by the Internet in addition to mail and phone calls, and Internet responders tend to give somewhat lower ratings. Also, some plans get a relatively high percentage of their responses by phone (as opposed to mail), and phone responders tend to give higher ratings than mail responders.
Along with the customer satisfaction survey results, we have another indicator of service quality for the fee-for-service plans. We checked "disputed claims" on file at OPM. A "disputed claim" is a case in which a plan member has been denied benefits and has followed the required procedure to appeal the denial to OPM.
The Disputed Claims table shows disputed claims per 10,000 Federal enrollees for the period from October 2014 through September 2015. The table also shows in how many cases per 10,000 enrollees a plan's initial decision in a disputed claim was changed or reversed. The disputed claim information is shown for national plans.
There are several possible explanations for differences in incidence of disputed claims. For example, some plans may have an unusually large share of hypercritical members, be more aggressive than others in enforcing their policy limitations to prevent benefit abuses, or have benefit limits that enrollees tend not to notice or not to understand. Most of the disputed claims are resolved in favor of the plans on the grounds that they involve matters that are not within the plans' coverage. But do you want to be in a plan where you will feel the need to file a disputed claim? Everything else equal, it seems preferable to join a plan where the coverage limits are easily understood, communication is good, benefit limitations are interpreted broadly—and disputed claims are rare.
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is the largest organization that accredits health plans. The table at the end of the print Guide, and under the quality tab online, shows whether or not plans are accredited by NCQA or by URAC or AAAHC, two smaller accrediting organizations. These organizations have procedures to determine whether plans meet the organization's accreditation standards. The standards cover many areas of performance, such as whether the plan takes appropriate steps to check the credentials of its physicians, whether the plan has appropriate health promotion and disease prevention programs, and whether the plan has appropriate protections of patients' rights. NCQA includes in its accreditation process assessments of plan performance on member satisfaction survey measures and effectiveness of care measures, such as the percentage of two-year-olds who have had all recommended immunizations and the percentage of heart attack patients who are given a specific type of recommended medication.
All accredited plans are not of equal quality, and there are many aspects of quality that accreditation reviews can't measure. But accreditation is a plus, and absence of accreditation should raise concerns about quality.
There are major tax advantages for health insurance. The "employer share" of health insurance—paid by agencies for employees and by OPM for annuitants—is part of employee compensation but by law is exempted from being counted as taxable income. For Federal employees and annuitants, the non-taxable premium share paid by employing agencies and OPM averages about $5,500 for self-only enrollments, about $12,000 for self plus one, and about $12,700 for families in 2016. The tax laws also allow employers to make the "employee share" of the premium tax-free to employees, and to set up tax advantaged Flexible Spending Accounts for employees. The average tax-sheltered employee share of premium for Federal self-only enrollees is about $2,000 and for families about $4,900. In total, employees in family plans shelter about $17,600 in employee compensation for health insurance from Federal, State, and local income taxes, as well as from OASDI taxes. This saves employees a tidy sum, about $6,000 per family on average. By law, only the tax benefits for the employer share, but not the annuitant share, are available to retirees in either the public or private sectors. But annuitants in Medicare Parts A and B also get over $9,000 per person of untaxed insurance benefits on top of their FEHBP savings, for a total tax shelter of about $22,000 for a retired couple.
Federal employees shelter their share of the FEHBP plan premium from income taxes through what is called "Premium Conversion." Employees have the right to opt out of this program. This increases very slightly future Social Security benefits. However, in what economists call "present value" terms, that offsetting amount is a very small fraction—a few pennies on the dollar—of the gains from the Premium Conversion program. We strongly advise all employees NOT to opt out of Premium Conversion tax savings.
How much employees gain from this tax subsidy varies depending on employee salary, spousal salary, other income, state income tax rate, number of dependents, amount of deductions, whether or not they file jointly, and whether or not they are in FERS (and hence paying Social Security taxes). We present two tables that show the likely percent of premiums that will be offset by tax savings under several typical scenarios. The tables show the marginal tax rate, which represents the rate that applies to dollars earned or premium dollars tax sheltered slightly above or slightly below current total income levels. When Social Security, Medicare, and state taxes are added, the overall marginal tax rate can reach 41 percent, or even more in some high tax states. Our tables on marginal tax rates for single and family earners present marginal tax rates at various income levels. For each income level, they also present equivalent General Schedule salary ranges using pay rates for the DC area.
At income ranges typical of Federal employees, whether in single- or dual-earner families, and whether in the FERS or CSRS retirement systems, these tables show that almost everyone will save at least 25 percent, and very few will save much more than 40 percent, from tax-sheltered health care premiums or other expenses.
We provide a table showing how this tax shelter affects your total costs. This table present our estimates of the likely average premium cost to GS enrollees under some of the plans available in the Washington metropolitan area, including both local plans and national plans. As the table shows, the effects of Premium Conversion are substantial.
Because the effects of different marginal tax rates are relatively small in comparing plans, and never change our relative rankings or the general magnitude of plan-to-plan differences, we use a 33 percent premium savings estimate in all Guide tables for persons who are eligible for Premium Conversion. This simplifies presentation and gives you the essential information you need to compare plans. You can, of course, make your own calculation of marginal tax rate, but this is complicated and will not affect most plan comparisons substantially.
Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) provide a way to shelter even more health care spending from taxes. FSAs allow you to shelter the out-of-pocket costs that you incur for copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, charges above customary and reasonable, and uncovered health care expenses. Under health reform, you can no longer use an FSA account to pay for over-the-counter drugs without a physician prescription (insulin is an exception) but all other categories of expense are unchanged. For most people, the favored categories for using FSAs are dental expenses, vision expenses, and your share of costs for services covered by the plan—for example, the coinsurance you pay for mental health services, or the annual deductible.
Under IRS rules, you have to set up your FSA account and amount in advance. OPM allows you to use the regular Open Season period for setting up your account. For health care, you can elect to choose any amount from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,550. (You can also elect to set aside additional amounts for "Dependent Care.") You establish the account by enrolling online at www.fsafeds.com or by calling 1-877-372-3337. Unlike Premium Conversion, you have to elect this benefit and will NOT be enrolled automatically. Until recently, enrollees in Consumer-Driven and High Deductible plans were not allowed to create FSAs. However, they may now set up "Limited Expense" FSAs that cover only dental and vision expenses that are not reimbursed by insurance.
You can carry up to $500 in unused FSA accounts into the next year. But any amount over $500 that you elect to set aside for an FSA must be spent by the end of the year, or it will be forfeited (a "grace period" of 2 1/2 months is no longer allowed). You should plan carefully based on your best "guesstimate" as to health care expenses that you are virtually certain to incur, such as maintenance prescription drugs, routine dental care, and routine eye care or any services for which you make multiple and foreseeable provider visits.
Only about one in ten Federal employees are signing up each year for FSA accounts. This means that about nine out of ten employees are leaving money on the table each year. Almost everyone has at least a few hundred dollars in foreseeable out-of-pocket health care expenses. Those who don't sign up are throwing away a one-third discount on these costs. We recommend that ALL employees who are not in High Deductible plans establish an FSA if they have foreseeable expenses. For some, the $2,550 maximum will be the right amount to establish.
Both Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) provide significant tax advantages, beyond those available through Premium Conversion and FSAs. The simpler case involves HRAs, where your savings account can grow as long as you stay with the same plan (if you change plans the entire amount is lost), and you can also use an FSA to supplement the HRA amount set aside by the plan. For example, if you expect out of pocket drug and dental expenses of five hundred dollars next year, you could place that amount in an FSA in the expectation that the HRA amount paid through your premiums would remain available for unforeseen expenses next year or in future years. Unfortunately, retirees cannot use the FSA method of supplementing HRAs.
HSAs convey far larger advantages. First, you can add to your HSA account by advance planning, just as if it were an FSA. Second, while you can only establish an FSA account in advance, you can add to your HSA account at any time during the year. Thus, if you have unanticipated expenses late in the year of an extra thousand dollars, in most High Deductible plans you can have a thousand dollars transferred from your pay to your HSA, lower your taxable income by a thousand dollars, pay the bill through the HSA, and obtain what amounts to a one-third discount on your unplanned expenses. Or you can transfer the extra thousand dollars even if you don't have any unexpected expenses, saving one third in taxes, and build up your account for future years. Since you retain the HSA account for life, regardless of Open Season plan changes or retirement, and it can accumulate tax-free earnings, it can become a very substantial lifelong protection against health care expense.
This account augmentation advantage is dramatic if you consider the catastrophic guarantee provided by most FEHBP plans. Consider a traditional plan, national or local, that holds self-only total out-of-pocket cost to $6,000, without significant loopholes. Compare that to a High Deductible plan, with a guarantee of $7,000 for a self-only enrollment, also without significant loopholes. The traditional plan seems better. However, under the High Deductible plan your plan-paid HSA account of $1,000 (a typical amount) can be used to defray large expenses, thereby reducing your potential loss to $6,000. Beyond that, you are allowed to make tax advantaged voluntary contributions of over $2,000 and pay your bills through your augmented account. This lets you save approximately $700 through lower tax payments if you face catastrophic expense. Hence, your total cost exposure is only about $5,300, lower than that claimed by the traditional plan, and reversing the conclusion as to which plan has a better guarantee. Most HDHP plans, evaluated this way, offer catastrophic expense protection as good as or better than most traditional plans.
While retirees over the age of 65 cannot establish HSAs, those nearing retirement not only can take advantage of HSAs, but also are eligible for "catch up" contributions after age 55, until enrolled in Medicare. These contributions can reduce after-tax expenses by hundreds of dollars a year more, or simply be added to the growing HSA balance. Upon retirement, the HSA balance remains available for the rest of your life, and continues to earn tax-free returns.
The data we have presented should help you to quickly and easily narrow your choice to two or three of the plans, out of the dozens you are offered. At this point, compare the brochures of these carefully. Underline key points, or parts of the plans that confuse you, and compare these points among the plans. It is very easy to use our online Web site, or OPMs, to find copies of plan brochures for your area. Then you can search on a word such as "maternity" or "surgery" "chiropractor" in the brochure for each plan and find the benefit details in seconds. Probably the plans will be similar on most things, so concentrate on differences that are important to you.
When you have figured out the major differences among the best plans, you are ready to make your final decision. One way to do this is to write out the most important ways in which the plans differ. These differences may not be strictly financial. For example, suppose it turns out that your choice is between a national plan and an HMO. Let's say that our ratings show that the HMO costs $1,000 dollars a year less on average, and has slightly better coverage for a benefit you need. But you are unwilling to give up a particular doctor you have been using for years. This seems to be an impasse, but there are several possible ways to resolve it. Perhaps your doctor is affiliated with the HMO—why not ask? Or consider using part of the money you will save by joining the HMO to continue going to your doctor and paying out-of-pocket (using an Flexible Spending Account will cut this cost by a third). Or you may have more than one doctor you want to keep and conclude that the national plan is well worth the higher cost.
Throughout this Guide we have argued that your best strategy is to make the primary factor in your plan selection the overall predicted cost of the plan, taking especially into account that none of us can predict whether or not we may have a heart attack, a stroke, a cancer, or other costly condition that strikes unexpectedly. You should use your known, predictable routine expenses to calculate how much to put in a Flexible Spending Account, not to choose an insurance plan whose main purpose is to protect you against unexpected and high expenses. There is an important exception to this general strategy. If you know that you will need some particular service next year, and it is very expensive (for example, hip surgery or maternity) and likely to cost you tens of thousands of dollar, it makes sense to talk select the physician you would like to use (or several you are considering) and ask two simple questions: "What plan networks are you in?" and "In your experience, which Federal employee health plan or plans pay best for the care I need?" Sometimes the answer will be that all of them pay well. But sometimes the answer will be that only a few plans pay well. In that case, look first at these plans and choose one of them after you complete your detective work by reading the brochure section on your procedure, calling the plan, or checking with other people who have been in your situation. But do not forget that some other disease may strike, so factor in both known problems and overall ratings in choosing among these few plans.
Whatever your personal decision turns on, you may be overwhelmed by details and confused by the choices you face. So here are some concluding thoughts based on some of the most common questions we have heard. Try to focus your decision on several key questions. Are you willing to join an HMO or a High Deductible plan? Do you expect big bills for a particular event such as surgery? Do you really want to have a particular benefit, such as chiropractic or hearing aid? Do you really "have to have" doctor sawbones in the plan network? (Hint: in the DC metro area we have a "doc find" feature that tells you which plan networks include doctor sawbones.) Perhaps you can afford a higher premium to get the benefits you want, or perhaps you cannot and must pick a plan that at least gives you good catastrophic protection.
Throughout the Guide we have provided vital tips. We repeat some here:
Here is a short list of frequent questions and their answers:
We compare plans in terms of their likely dollar cost to you, including both the "for sure" expense of the premium and the out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses you face for costs the plan does not pay. We estimate OOP expenses using actuarial methods to evaluate the cost-sharing details of each plan for various categories of costs. All FEHBP plans cover 80 percent or more of most types of expenses whenever your costs are high, and provide a reasonably solid catastrophic limit guarantee. Therefore, the premium covers not only true insurance for rare, high-cost situations, but also pre-payment of routine expenses. When your medical costs are zero the premium is the only expense, but when your medical costs run into the tens of thousands the catastrophic limit (which in most plans is between $6,000 and $12,000 a year) comes into play. Most of the analysis underlying the Guide is aimed at quantifying, and expressing in terms of annual costs, the various risks you face and the reimbursement provided by each plan at each level of risk. We calculate costs assuming that you use only preferred providers, or providers who will agree to network fees, both because sensible consumers will avoid leaving the network if they can, and also because there is no realistic way to estimate the many unknown rates that individual providers may charge.
We calculate likely out-of-pocket costs, taking into account the probabilities of families of various sizes and ages incurring relatively low, medium, or high levels of expense (we actually use eight different expense levels, but do not present detailed results for all of these). The low cost situations are most common but, when weighted for dollar amounts, accounts for a relatively small portion of likely spending. In statistical terms, health care expenses are a highly "skewed" distribution, and the average (or "mean") is far higher than the typical (or "median") spending level.
Although most persons do not know whether they will incur large expenses or not—heart attacks, serious accidents, and most other costly scenarios are relatively unpredictable—some persons do have a pretty good idea of some future costs. For example, they may be planning major surgery for a congenital problem. We present data for both groups: persons with and without good information on next year's expenses and, for those with good prior information, estimated out-of-pocket expenses at several expense levels for each plan. We caution users, however, to beware of attempting to estimate the costs of "known usage" expenses for anything much beyond maintenance drugs. The problem is few are likely to know, and few to have access to, information on such simple questions as the number of visits involved in dealing with a pinched nerve, or with the mix among hospital, surgical, and rehabilitation costs for a condition such as a knee or hip replacement. No one is likely to know if he or she will have a heart attack, a stroke, or a case of Lyme disease next year. Our methods do not force you to make guesses over such matters, or to pretend that the worst will not happen.
Most of the data used in the Guide come from the plan brochures themselves. Plans have several different benefit levels: one for most enrollees when using preferred providers, one for enrollees with Medicare, and one for enrollees when using out-of-plan providers (for most HMOs, reimbursement is zero in this last case, except in emergencies). When analyzed carefully, taking into account the exact wording of benefit descriptions, the brochures tell a clear story. The premiums tell another clear story. However, more is needed to compare the plans usefully and completely.
The estimates of annual expenses we use in the cost tables are based on information taken from a number of sources. The most important of these is the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. This survey produces information on what proportions of the population incur expenses of what kinds and at what dollar levels. We adjust MEPS data slightly to "smooth" the estimates and to cover persons most likely to approximate current FEHBP spending levels. Our cost tables also use rounded estimates to make them easier to read, and the cost headings represent ranges. For example, the entries for expenses of $3,000 represent a range from about $2,000 to $4,500.
Because some plans impose different deductibles and coinsurance for different services, the distribution of costs between hospital and other expenses can affect significantly the amount that a plan will require you to pay for a particular expense total. We model our comparisons closely to average experience. Though few persons or families will have exactly the same cost profile as used in our tables, most situations will be at least close. Our profile, when weighted for probability, corresponds closely to projected expenses of the employed and retired American population as a whole, both in total and in category of expense. Some of the details are shown in the table "Profile of Expenses Used for Cost Tables."
Our cost comparisons make several other simplifications. First, in analyzing most plans we have to make assumptions about the number of doctor visits and prescriptions to calculate the patient's share of expenses.
Second, we assume that all bills are for amounts negotiated between plans and preferred providers. Many doctors who are not in the plan network charge more than the plan allows, and all plans do not have the same "profiles" for calculating their maximums. Absent any basis for adjustment, we simply assume what is generally true: all preferred doctors have agreed to limit their charges to plan allowances, and some others will agree to meet that level (or will do so if you tell them what plan you have and explain your cost concerns). There are instances in which some plans' schedules for some procedures are well below those used by other plans. Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust for this in our tables, though you can protect yourself in the real world by using preferred providers or by getting your provider to promise to stay within your plan's payment level before getting any expensive service.
Third, we assume that you take advantage of the best cost-sharing rate in each plan. Specifically, we assume that you get network rates by using network providers rather than providers who are not preferred with that plan. For drugs, we assume you use those in the plan formulary.
Fourth, we make assumptions about how many family members incur expenses at each total cost level in a year to calculate deductibles. For example, we assume that in a year with $1,000 in expenses, a family of five will have expenses for three members, and in a year with $130,000 in expenses, for all family members. In the real world, no one's actual set of yearly expenses will exactly match our assumptions. For plans whose coinsurance rates and deductibles are low or the same for most services, a different mix of expenses would have little or no effect on the cost estimates we present. For other plans, such as those with 100 percent coverage of hospitalization and limited coverage of prescription drugs, a different mix of expenses could change the estimates considerably. However, a different mix would not likely change any cost entry at $3,000 by more than two or three hundred dollars, or any entry for the $30,000 column by more than one or two thousand dollars. (Highly expensive specialty prescription drugs, such as some AIDS, hemophilia, growth hormone, chemotherapy drugs, and osteo-arthritis drugs are the most important potential exceptions.)
We apply our methodology consistently across plans, so that any estimating problem is likely to be small in its effects on the comparative information in the tables.
|Profile of Expenses Used for Cost Tables (approximate)
|Level of expense
|Components of total expense:
|Surgical & Outpatient Facility
|Primary & Specialist Physician
|Prescription Drugs & Other
|Risk of Expense of Each Level:
|Self under age 55
|Family of two under age 55
|Self age 55 to 64
|Family of two age 55 to 64
|Self age 65 and older
|Family of two age 65 and older


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Crown Thug
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The subject of this article or section is part of Love is in the Air, a seasonal event that lasts two weeks. Once the event has run its course, this will no longer be available until next year, but there are no guarantees.
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Crown Thugs are part of the Crown Chemical Company found in Silverpine Forest. They are guarding the Chemical Wagons nearby.
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A great deal of effort has gone into getting the sizing, waist-belt shape and rise (crotch to waist distance) configured specifically to suit the female anatomy. This is because quite often the rise between women's leg loops and the waist belt is longer. We've had the ladies at DMM, local female climbers and sponsored women climbers involved throughout the design process.
The Puma is a dedicated female equivalent of our top-of-the-range Renegade, it is an all-round harness which excels for bolt clipping, trad routes, and winter days out.
Since most climbers do a bit of everything, there's a lot to be said for a harness that does too. Over spring and summer 2016 the... Read more
Martin McKenna puts this ultralight sport-oriented harness to good use on the sun-drenched sport crags of Spain and, err,... Read more
There may be room for improvement, but Dan Bailey still likes this versatile four-season all-rounder Read more
Innovative and inspired, the radical new design of this all-new harness range offers a precision fit previously unattainable. Read more


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- Product Details
Every man loves a pint while he watches this footy and our Personalised Pint Glass - Football Badge gives every footie fan the perfect excuse to sit back and watch the game in style.
The glass itself is decorated with our highly popular football motif but still has room for a 12 character name, a year and a message over 2 lines of 15 characters each.
You could give this to your Dad on Fathers Day and use the year you were born. Or give it to your Brother on his Birthday and choose the year his favourite team won the league.
This is a gift which footie lovers simply cannot do without.
Measures approx. 15.2cm x 8.9cm
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We are aware of how important it is for you to receive your gifts in time. Therefore, once you place your order we will process straight away and dispatch as soon as they are ready to go. We usually dispatch all items within 1-3 days however, this may be a little longer during special occasions such as Christmas. If multiple items ordered, we may dispatch items separately or all together, depending on the process.
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This property has a nice little lounge/eating area in the front of the foyer. Has a solid breakfast option for 10.95 (includes juice, coffee, etc) and an omllete bar. IN the evening its a full service menu with really affordable pricing. After a long day working its a nice option to stay in the hotel and not get carved on pricing. Even a nice happy hour 5-7 where special priced foods and bevvie available. Wish it ran a little later, as I get back normally no ealrier then after 6 and then its gym/running time. Either way a nice add-on. Rooms comfy and they have those dial beds where you chose the firmness. Great sleep each night.
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