Fire Safe MicrowaveReid Allen - Red B

The Idea and Motivation

Microwaves caused ~7,400 fires in 2005 87 injuries and $18 million property damage.

Prevent fires caused by sparks and flame inside the microwave

Reduce Fire Department false alarms associated with microwave oven use

Customer, Market and Benchmarking

Customer: Original Equipment Manufacturer Major microwave producers

GE and Sharp have >40% market share

End-User: households 13.5 million microwaves sold last year in US $3.8 billion sales

SafeT Sensor – Patent Pending

Customer Contract

Customer Need Product Attribute(s)

Alarm when detect spark Visual/Auditory Signal

Able to sense spark in whole microwave space

Detection Area

Price Low Cost

Reliable spark detection Needs to be consistent

Not affect conventional microwave functions

Minimally intrusive

MEAN 11.4% ($34.23 on $300)

Standard Deviation 13.7% ($41.14 on $300)

Mock-Up Goals Power off microwave if sparks or flames occur Find a permanent location for our sensor

Faraday Cage test Microwave tear down, research

Understand physics of microwave sparks and flames Ignition testing Effect of microwaves on flame

Identify situations causing false positives

Future Work

Reduce manufacturing costs Eliminate false positives Develop user interface

Auditory, visual warning Reset switch

Thank you