Apparatus and method for sensing a parameter

• US 10,429,310 B2
• Filed: 07/30/2015
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/01/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Bower, Chris, Cotton, Darryl, Allen, Mark, Astley, Michael, Bottomley, Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Mui, Christine T
• Application Number:
  US15/500,212
• Publication Number:
  US 20170350822A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,524 Days
• Field of Search: 436 2, 422 50, 422 83, 422119
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/78 producing a change of colour
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/04 by investigating resistance
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/125 Composition of the body, e.g. the composition of its sensitive layer
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/044 by capacitive means

Abstract

An apparatus and method comprising: a plurality of sensor elements wherein the sensor elements are configured to be actuated in response to exposure to a parameter and the apparatus is configured to record when each of the sensor elements are actuated wherein: the plurality of sensor elements comprises at least a first subset of sensor elements and at least a second subset of sensor elements where the first subset of sensor elements are actuated in response to a first level of exposure to a parameter and the second subset of sensor elements are actuated in response to a second level of exposure to a parameter.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a plurality of sensor elements wherein the sensor elements are configured to be actuated in response to exposure to a parameter and the apparatus is configured to record when each of the sensor elements are actuated wherein;

the plurality of sensor elements comprises at least a first subset of one or more sensor elements and at least a second subset of one or more sensor elements where the first subset of one or more sensor elements is actuated in response to a first level of exposure to a parameter and the second subset of one or more sensor elements is actuated in response to a second level of exposure to a parameter,

wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements comprise a portion of sensing material and an irreversible memory portion, wherein the portion of sensing material and the irreversible memory portion are connected in a circuit;

wherein the plurality of sensor elements are arranged such that when the exposure to the parameter sensed by the sensing material exceeds a threshold value, a reversible change in conductivity of the sensing material caused by the exposure to the parameter causes an irreversible change in an electrical characteristic of the irreversible memory portion, thereby causing an irreversible change in an electrical characteristic in the circuit.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensor elements are configured so that the sensing material within the first subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a first level of exposure to a parameter and the sensing material within the second subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a second level of exposure to a parameter.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensing material comprises graphene oxide wherein the graphene oxide is configured to be reduced in response to exposure to a parameter.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a first width and the second subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a second width.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first subset of sensing elements comprise a first barrier layer with a first level of permeability to the parameter and the second subset of sensing elements comprise a second barrier layer with a second level of permeability to the parameter.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensing elements comprise a getter material configured to control the sensitivity of the sensor elements to the parameter.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each of the portions of sensing material are identical but each of the irreversible memory portions are different.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the plurality of sensor elements comprise electrodes to enable the data obtained by the sensor elements to be read out from the apparatus using a capacitive device.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 comprising at least one reference electrode configured to enable relative positions of sensor elements to be determined, wherein the sensor elements have differing levels of sensitivity such that the relative position of an activated sensor element indicates a relative level of exposure to a parameter.

10. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8 wherein the apparatus is configured to enable data read out from the apparatus to be displayed on the capacitive device.

11. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the sensor elements are configured to be activated in response to exposure to at least one of increased temperature, light, humidity.

12. An identification tag comprising an apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a plurality of sensor elements wherein the sensor elements are configured to be actuated in response to exposure to a parameter and the apparatus is configured to record when each of the sensor elements are actuated wherein;

the plurality of sensor elements comprises at least a first subset of one or more sensor elements and at least a second subset of one or more sensor elements where the first subset of one or more sensor elements is actuated in response to a first level of exposure to a parameter and the second subset of one or more sensor elements is actuated in response to a second level of exposure to a parameter,

wherein at least one of the plurality of sensor elements comprise a portion of sensing material and an irreversible memory portion, wherein the portion of sensing material and the irreversible memory portion are connected in a circuit,

wherein the plurality of sensor elements are arranged such that when the exposure to the parameter sensed by the sensing material exceeds a threshold value, a reversible change in conductivity of the sensing material caused by the exposure to the parameter causes an irreversible change in an electrical characteristic of the irreversible memory portion, thereby causing an irreversible change in an electrical characteristic in the circuit.

13. An identification tag as claimed in claim 12 wherein the plurality of sensor elements are configured so that the sensing material within the first subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a first level of exposure to a parameter and the sensing material within the second subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a second level of exposure to a parameter.

14. An identification tag as claimed in claim 12 wherein the sensing material comprises graphene oxide wherein the graphene oxide is configured to be reduced in response to exposure to a parameter.

15. An identification tag as claimed in claim 12 wherein the first subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a first width and the second subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a second width.

16. An identification tag as claimed in claim 12 wherein the first subset of sensing elements comprise a first barrier layer with a first level of permeability to the parameter and the second subset of sensing elements comprise a second barrier layer with a second level of permeability to the parameter.

17. A method comprising:

with at least a processor of an electronic device, causing detection of at least one electrical characteristic in a respective circuit of a plurality of circuits, each circuit comprising a respective portion of sensing material coupled to a respective irreversible memory portion;

wherein each respective portion of sensing material is comprised by a respective sensor element of a plurality of sensor elements, wherein a reversible change to conductivity of a respective portion of sensing material occurs in response to an exposure to at least a threshold of a parameter, thereby causing a respective irreversible change in the electrical characteristic in the respective circuit.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the plurality of sensor elements are configured so that the sensing material within a first subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a first level of exposure to the parameter and the sensing material within a second subset of one or more sensor elements is configured to detect a second level of exposure to the parameter.

19. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein the sensing material comprises graphene oxide, wherein the graphene oxide is configured to be reduced in response to exposure to the parameter.

20. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein a first subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a first width and a second subset of sensing elements comprise the sensing material having a second width.