Sensor device and method

• US 10,228,740 B2
• Filed: 06/24/2015
• Issued: 03/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/24/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Kelly, Mark, Nolan, Keith, Carr, Hugh M., O'Byrne, Sean
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsai, Henry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Daley, Christopher A
• Application Number:
  US14/749,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20160378153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,357 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/266 Arrangements to supply power to external peripherals either directly from the computer or under computer control, e.g. supply of power through the communication port, computer controlled power-strips
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4022 using switching circuits, e.g. switching matrix, connection or expansion network G06F13/4009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 13/4282 on a serial bus, e.g. I2C bus, SPI bus on daisy chain buses G06F13/4247
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

In embodiments, apparatuses, methods and storage media (transitory and non-transitory) are described that include a plurality of sensor connectors to removably receive a corresponding plurality of sensors and a power management module to selectively provide power to sensor connector power terminals in response to power management signals from a sensor control module. Other embodiments may be described and/or claimed.

Claims

1. A device for sensing, comprising:

a processor;

a sensor control module operated by the processor;

a plurality of sensor connectors to removably receive a corresponding plurality of sensors, wherein each sensor connector includes a power terminal and a communication terminal; and

a power management module coupled with the processor and the power terminals,

wherein the power management module is to selectively provide power to the sensor connector power terminals in response to power management signals from the sensor control module based at least in part on individual profiles corresponding to individual sensors connected to the sensor connector power terminals, and

wherein a sensor address is associated with each sensor connector of the plurality of sensor connectors.

2. The device for sensing of claim 1, further comprising an interrupt handling module, wherein:

each sensor connector further includes an interrupt terminal;

the interrupt handling module is coupled with the interrupt terminals;

the interrupt handling module is to detect interrupt signals from the interrupt terminals; and

the interrupt handling module is to determine which sensor connector is associated with a detected interrupt signal.

3. The device for sensing of claim 2, further comprising a multiplexer coupled with the processor and the communication terminals.

4. The device for sensing of claim 3, wherein the multiplexer is configured to selectively allow inter-integrated circuit (I2C) communication between the processor and each communication terminal.

5. The device for sensing of claim 4, further comprising:

a serial peripheral interface (SPI) sensor connector that includes a power terminal and an SPI communication terminal, wherein the power terminal is coupled with the power management module; and

an SPI to I2C conversion module coupled with the SPI communication terminal and the multiplexer.

6. The device for sensing of claim 2, wherein each sensor connector of the plurality of sensor connectors has a common form factor with a common physical dimension as the other sensor connectors.

7. The device for sensing of claim 1, wherein the sensor address is a four bit address that corresponds with four upper bits of an I2C address.

8. A computer implemented sensing method comprising:

detecting, by a sensor device, whether a connection status of a first sensor connector of the sensor device, having a first sensor connector power terminal, has changed from uncoupled with a sensor to coupled with a sensor in response to a sensor connecting to the first sensor connector;

receiving, by the sensor device, a sensor identifier from the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector in response to the first sensor connector detected to be changed from uncoupled with a sensor to coupled with a sensor; and

performing, by the sensor device, one or more of a redundancy check or an accuracy check for the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector, wherein in response to an accuracy check is performed, the method further includes cycling, by the sensor device, power to the first sensor connector power terminal by ceasing to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal for a first time period followed by providing power to the first sensor connector power terminal, in response to the sensor device determines that the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector is not providing accurate results.

9. The computer implemented sensing method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the sensor device, that the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector is redundant with another sensor coupled with a second sensor connector of the sensor device;

ceasing, by the sensor device, to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal;

detecting, by the sensor device, whether a connection status of the second sensor connector has changed from coupled with a sensor to uncoupled with a sensor in response to a sensor disconnecting from the second sensor connector; and

providing, by the sensing device, power to the first sensor connector power terminal in response to the second sensor connector detected to be changed from coupled with a sensor to uncoupled with a sensor.

10. The computer implemented sensing method of claim 8, further comprising:

receiving, by the sensor device, an interrupt signal in response to the interrupt signal sent by a sensor coupled with one of a plurality of sensor connectors; and

determining, by the sensor device, which sensor connector of the plurality of sensor connectors is associated with the interrupt signal.

11. The computer implemented sensing method of claim 10, further comprising reading, by the sensor device, data from the sensor coupled with the sensor connector determined to be associated with the interrupt signal in response to receiving the interrupt signal.

12. The computer implemented sensing method of claim 8, further comprising:

determining, by the sensor device, that a first sensor coupled with the first sensor connector and a second sensor coupled with a second sensor connector having a second sensor connector power terminal are redundant sensors in response to the first sensor and the second sensor being the same type of sensor; and

ceasing, by the sensor device, to provide power to the second sensor connector power terminal.

13. The computer implemented sensing method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining, by the sensor device, that the first sensor is not providing accurate results;

ceasing, by the sensor device, to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal; and

providing, by the sensor device, power to the second sensor connector power terminal.

14. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution of the instructions by one or more processors of a sensor device, cause the sensor device to:

detect whether a connection status of a first sensor connector having a first sensor connector power terminal has changed from uncoupled with a sensor to coupled with a sensor in response to a sensor connects to the first sensor connector;

receive a sensor identifier from the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector in response to the first sensor connector detected to be changed from uncoupled with a sensor to coupled with a sensor; and

cease to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal for a first time period followed by providing power to the first sensor connector power terminal when the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector is determined to be redundant with another sensor based on performance of a redundancy check for the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector.

15. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to:

determine that the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector is redundant with another sensor coupled with a second sensor connector of the sensor device;

cease to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal;

detect whether a connection status of the second sensor connector has changed from coupled with a sensor to uncoupled with a sensor in response to a sensor disconnects from the second sensor connector; and

provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal in response to the second sensor connector detected to be changed from coupled with a sensor to uncoupled with a sensor.

16. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to:

receive an interrupt signal in response to the interrupt signal sent by a sensor coupled with one of a plurality of sensor connectors; and

determine which sensor connector of the plurality of sensor connectors is associated with the interrupt signal.

17. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the sensor device is further caused to read data from the sensor coupled with the sensor connector determined to be associated with the interrupt signal in response to receipt of the interrupt signal.

18. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to:

determine that a first sensor coupled with the first sensor connector and a second sensor coupled with a second sensor connector having a second sensor connector power terminal are redundant sensors in response to the first sensor and the second sensor are the same type of sensor; and

cease to provide power to the second sensor connector power terminal.

19. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the sensor device is further caused to:

determine that the first sensor is not providing accurate results in response to receipt of results outside a predetermined range from the first sensor;

cease to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal; and

provide power to the second sensor connector power terminal.

20. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal based at least in part on the sensor identifier, a duty cycle profile, or a power management profile.

21. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to:

determine a sensor reading time period associated with the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector;

cease to provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal at times outside the sensor reading time period; and

provide power to the first sensor connector power terminal during the sensor reading time period.

22. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor device is further caused to determine a type of the sensor coupled with the first sensor connector based at least in part on the sensor identifier.

23. The at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein the sensor is a first sensor and the sensor device is further caused to:

detect whether a connection status of a second sensor connector having a second sensor connector power terminal has changed in response to a second sensor connects to the second sensor connector or disconnects from the second sensor connector; and

maintain operation of the first sensor connector coupled with the first sensor while the second sensor connects and/or disconnects from the second sensor connector.