Electrical apparatuses, methods of forming electrical apparatuses, and termite sensing methods

• US 20030128119A1
• Filed: 01/17/2003
• Published: 07/10/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Round Rock Research LLC
• Original Assignee: Rickie C. Lake, TUTTLE, MARK E.
• Inventors: Tuttle, Mark E., Lake, Rickie C.
• Granted Patent: US 6,882,284 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.8
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 1/026 combined with devices for monitoring insect presence, e.g. termites bait stations A01M1/2005; detecting other animals in a given area A01M31/002
• CPC Class Codes: A01M 2200/011 Crawling insects
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing

Abstract

The invention encompasses an electrical apparatus. Such apparatus includes RFID circuitry on a first substrate, and sensor circuitry on a second substrate. A receiving structure is associated with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry, and at least one connecting structure is associated with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry. The at least one connecting structure is removable received within the receiving structure. The invention also encompasses a method of forming an electrical apparatus. A first substrate and a second substrate are provided. The first substrate has RFID circuitry thereon, and the second substrate has sensing circuitry thereon. A receptacle is joined with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry, and has at least one orifice extending therein. At least one prong is joined with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry. The prong is removably inserted within the receptacle to electrically connect the RFID circuitry with the sensing circuitry.

Claims

1. An electrical apparatus comprising:

RFID circuitry on a first substrate;

sensor circuitry on a second substrate;

a receiving structure associated with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry; and

at least one connecting structure associated with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry and removably received within the receiving structure.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sensor circuitry comprises a loop of conductive material removable by termites and is thereby configured to sense the presence of termites.

3. An electrical apparatus comprising:

RFID circuitry on a first substrate;

sensor circuitry on a second substrate;

a receptacle associated with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry, the receptacle having at least one orifice extending therein; and

at least one extension associated with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry and removably inserted within the receptacle.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the receptacle comprises at least two orifices, and wherein said at least one extension comprises at least two extensions removably inserted within the at least two orifices.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the receptacle is a mass having the at least one orifice extending therethrough, said mass being joined to a portion of either the first substrate or the second substrate.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the mass is an electrically insulative material.

7. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the mass is joined to the first substrate.

8. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the mass is joined to the second substrate.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the mass is an electrically insulative material, and wherein the at least one orifice is within a peripheral lining of an electrically conductive material.

10. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the, mass comprises at least two orifices extending therein, and the at least one extension comprises at least two extensions removably inserted within the at least two orifices.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the mass is an electrically insulative material.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein the mass is an electrically insulative material, and wherein the at least two orifices have peripheries lined with an electrically conductive material.

13. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the insulative mass is on a portion of the first substrate.

14. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the receptacle is an insulative mass having the at least one orifice extending therethrough, said insulative mass being joined to a portion of the first substrate.

15. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the receptacle is a mass having at least two orifices extending therethrough and an outer peripheral sidewall, the mass being joined to the first substrate with a cured epoxy that extends along at least a portion of the outer peripheral sidewall and along at least a portion of the first substrate.

16. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the receptacle is a mass having at least two orifices extending therethrough and an outer peripheral sidewall, the mass being joined to the first substrate with a cured epoxy that extends along at least a portion of the outer peripheral sidewall and along at least a portion of the first substrate;

the epoxy, first substrate and mass being received within a vessel that is adhered to mass and first substrate with the epoxy.

17. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the second substrate comprises foam, wherein the circuitry on the second substrate comprises a conductive material which can be removed by termites, and wherein the RFID circuitry is configured to send a different signal to an interrogator if at least some of the conductive material has been removed than if none of the conductive material is removed.

18. A method of forming an electrical apparatus, comprising:

providing a first substrate having RFID circuitry thereon;

providing a second substrate having sensing circuitry thereon;

joining a receiving structure with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry;

joining at least one connecting structure with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry; and

attaching the connecting structure to the receiving structure to removably fasten the RFID circuitry with the sensing circuitry.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the at least one connecting structure is joined with the sensing circuitry and the receiving structure is joined with the RFID circuitry, and further comprising replacing the sensing circuitry by:

detaching the connecting structure from the receiving structure; and

attaching another second substrate to the receiving structure.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein the receiving structure is joined with the sensing circuitry and the at least one connecting structure is joined with the RFID circuitry, and further comprising replacing the sensing circuitry by:

detaching the connecting structure from the receiving structure; and

attaching another second substrate to the connecting structure.

21. A method of forming an electrical apparatus, comprising:

providing a first substrate having RFID circuitry thereon;

providing a second substrate having sensing circuitry thereon;

joining a receptacle with one of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry, the receptacle having at least one orifice extending therein; and

joining at least one prong with the other of the RFID circuitry and the sensor circuitry; and

removably inserting the prong within the receptacle to electrically connect the RFID circuitry with the sensing circuitry.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein the receptacle comprises at least two orifices, and wherein the at least one prong comprises at least two prongs removably inserted within the at least two orifices.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein the receptacle is a mass having the at least one orifice extending therethrough;

and wherein the joining said receptacle comprises adhering the mass to either the first substrate or the second substrate with an epoxy.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the mass is an electrically insulative material.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the mass is joined to the first substrate.

26. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the mass is joined to the second substrate.

27. The method of claim 21 wherein the second substrate comprises foam, wherein the circuitry on the second substrate comprises a conductive material which can be removed by termites, and wherein the RFID circuitry is configured to send a different signal to an interrogator if at least some of the conductive material has been removed than if none of the conductive material is removed.

28. The method of claim 27 wherein the receptacle is joined to the first substrate and the prong is joined to the second substrate;

and if the RFID circuitry is sending a signal indicative of at least some of the conductive material having been removed, further comprising;

removing the RFID circuitry from the sensing circuitry by detaching the prong from the receptacle, and

inserting an other prong into the receptacle, said other prong being joined to an other second substrate having an other sensing circuitry thereon.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein the prong is joined to the first substrate and the receptacle is joined to the second substrate;

and if the RFID circuitry is sending a signal indicative of at least some of the conductive material having been removed, further comprising;

removing the RFID circuitry from the sensing circuitry by detaching the prong from the receptacle, and

inserting the prong into an other receptacle, said other receptacle being joined to an other second substrate having an other sensing circuitry thereon.

30. A method of forming an electrical apparatus, comprising:

providing at least a portion of a first substrate having RFID circuitry thereon in a vessel;

providing a receptacle proximate the first substrate, the receptacle having at least one orifice extending therein, at least a portion of the receptacle being within the vessel;

providing a liquid encapsulant within the vessel; and

curing the encapsulant to adhere the receptacle to the RFID circuitry to form an RFID/receptacle assembly.

31. The method of claim 30 wherein the encapsulant comprises an epoxy.

32. The method of claim 30 further comprising placing at least a portion of an antenna within the vessel and electrically connecting the antenna with the RFID circuitry.

33. The method of claim 30 further comprising:

providing a release layer over an inner periphery of the vessel prior to providing the liquid encapsulant; and

after curing the encapsulant, removing the RFID/receptacle assembly from within the vessel.

34. The method of claim 30 wherein the encapsulant further adheres the vessel to the RFID/receptacle assembly.

35. A method of forming an electrical apparatus, comprising:

providing at least a portion of a first substrate having RFID circuitry thereon in a vessel;

providing an electrical plug construction proximate the first substrate, the plug construction having at least one prong extending therefrom and being provided to have said at least one prong in electrical connection with the RFID circuitry, at least a portion of the plug construction being within the vessel;

providing a liquid encapsulant within the vessel; and

curing the encapsulant to adhere the plug construction to the RFID circuitry to form an RFID/plug assembly.

36. The method of claim 35 wherein the encapsulant comprises an epoxy.

37. The method of claim 35 further comprising placing at least a portion of an antenna within the vessel and electrically connecting the antenna with the RFID circuitry.

38. The method of claim 35 further comprising:

providing a release layer over an inner periphery of the vessel prior to providing the liquid encapsulant; and

after curing the encapsulant, removing the RFID/plug assembly from within the vessel.

39. The method of claim 35 wherein the encapsulant further adheres the vessel to the RFID/plug assembly.

40. A termite sensing method, comprising:

forming a sensing device, the forming comprising;

providing at least two wooden blocks;

providing a loop of conductive material between the wooden block, the conductive material of the loop comprising two ends and being removable from the loop by termites;

providing a circuit board having circuitry supported thereby, the circuitry supported by the circuit board comprising at least a portion of a transponder unit;

providing a receptacle joined to one of the circuit board and the loop of conductive material, the receptacle,having at least one orifice extending therein;

providing at least one electrical plug joined to the other of the circuit board and the loop of conductive material;

removably inserting the plug into the receptacle to electrically connect the conductive material of the loop to the transponder circuit, wherein a break in the loop of conductive material alters a signal transponded by the transponder unit; and

placing the sensing device in the ground; and

monitoring the signal transponded by the transponder unit to determine if the loop is broken.

41. The method of claim 40 wherein the receptacle is joined to the circuit board and the prong is joined to the loop of conductive material;

and if the transponder unit is sending a signal indicative of at least some of the conductive material having been removed, further comprising;

removing the circuit board from the loop of conductive material by detaching the prong from the receptacle, and

inserting an other prong into the receptacle, said other prong being joined to an other loop of conductive material.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein the prong is joined to the circuit board and the receptacle is joined to the loop of conductive material;

and if the transponder unit is sending a signal indicative of at least some of the conductive material having been removed, further comprising;

removing the circuit board from the loop of conductive material by detaching the prong from the receptacle, and

inserting the prong into an other receptacle, said other receptacle being joined to an other loop of conductive material.