Acoustic wave device used as RFID and as sensor

• US 20070139165A1
• Filed: 12/19/2005
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Liu, James
• Application Number:
  US11/311,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20070139165A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.400
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 1/66 by measuring frequency, phase shift or propagation time of electromagnetic or other waves, e.g. using ultrasonic flowmeters
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0215 Mixtures of three or more gases, e.g. air
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0256 Adsorption, desorption, surface mass change, e.g. on biosensors
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/02836 Flow rate, liquid level
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0427 Flexural waves, plate waves, e.g. Lamb waves, tuning fork, cantilever
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/022 Fluid sensors based on microsensors, e.g. quartz crystal-microbalance [QCM], surface acoustic wave [SAW] devices, tuning forks, cantilevers, flexural plate wave [FPW] devices microdevices per se B81B
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2481 Wireless probes, e.g. with transponders or radio links
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/751 wherein the responder or reflector radiates a coded signal
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/25 Constructional features of resonators using surface acoustic waves devices for manipulating acoustic surface waves in general G10K11/36
• CPC Class Codes: H03H 9/6406 Filters characterised by a particular frequency characteristic

Abstract

An acoustic wave device and related systems and methods, with some embodiments comprising a device with both an acoustic wave sensor and a SAW RFID. In some embodiments, the device is powered by capturing energy from the surrounding environment without the need for an interrogating RF signal.

Claims

1. An acoustic wave device comprising:

an antenna;

an acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion;

an acoustic wave sensor portion;

the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion electrically connected to the antenna;

the acoustic wave sensor portion electrically connected to the antenna;

the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion capable of reflecting back a coded acoustic signal when an acoustic wave is generated in the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion;

the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion capable of converting the coded acoustic signal to a coded RF signal;

the acoustic wave sensor portion capable of modifying a characteristic of a sensor acoustic wave, depending on a parameter being sensed;

the acoustic wave sensor portion capable of generating a sensor RF signal containing information about the parameter being sensed.

2. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1,

wherein at least part of the device comprises an interdigital transducer section;

the interdigital transducer section capable of converting an acoustic wave into an RF signal.

3. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1,

wherein at least part of the device comprises an interdigital transducer section;

the interdigital transducer section comprising a plurality of metal electrodes.

4. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1,

wherein the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion comprises a spatial pattern of metal film reflector strips with acoustic wave reflectivity capability;

the spatial pattern of the strips correlates with an identification code of the device.

5. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1,

wherein at least part of the device comprises piezoelectric material;

the piezoelectric material capable of converting vibrations into an electric voltage difference across at least a portion of the device.

6. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic wave sensor portion comprises a plurality of sensors.

7. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1,

the acoustic wave sensor portion comprising an interdigital transducer section;

the acoustic wave sensor portion capable of using different vibration modes of the interdigital transducer section to sense different parameters respectively.

8. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1, wherein the acoustic wave sensor portion is capable of sensing at least one parameter from a group consisting of a physical parameter, an electrical parameter, a chemical parameter, temperature, pressure, torque, acceleration, impedance, distance, orientation, gas concentration, pH, fluid flow, viscosity, density, and magnetic field.

9. The acoustic wave device as in claim 1, further comprising:

an energy capturing element capable;

the energy capturing element capable of converting energy from environment near the device into energy for powering the device.

10. The acoustic wave device as in claim 9, further comprising:

rectification circuitry;

oscillation circuitry;

the rectification circuitry electrically connected to the energy capturing element;

the oscillation circuitry electrically connected to the rectification circuitry;

the oscillation circuitry electrically connected to the acoustic wave radio frequency identification portion;

the oscillation circuitry electrically connected to the acoustic wave sensor portion.

11. The acoustic wave device as in claim 9, wherein the energy capturing element comprises at least one element from a group consisting of a piezoelectric element, a thermal-electric element, a magnetoeleastic element, a piezoelectric-magnetoelastic element, a photo-acoustic element, and an opto-electric element.

12. An acoustic wave system, comprising:

the acoustic wave device as in claim 1;

an information station;

the information station comprising an information station antenna;

the information station comprising a receiver;

the receiver electrically connected to the information station antenna;

the information station comprising circuitry adapted to extract parameter information and identification information, respectively, from the sensor RF signal and the coded RF signal of the acoustic wave device.

13. A method for providing parameter information and identification information from an acoustic wave device, the method comprising:

generating an acoustic wave in at least a portion of the device;

reflecting back a coded acoustic signal when the acoustic wave is generated;

converting the coded acoustic signal to a coded RF signal;

transmitting the coded RF signal from an antenna;

modifying a characteristic of a sensor acoustic wave in at least a portion of the device, the modification depending on a parameter being sensed;

generating a sensor RF signal containing information about the parameter being sensed;

transmitting the sensor RF signal from the antenna.

14. The method as in claim 13, wherein the modifying step comprises separate modifications depending respectively on separate parameters being sensed.

15. The method as in claim 13,

the sensor acoustic wave comprising a plurality of waves corresponding, respectively, with a plurality of vibration modes of at least a portion of the device;

the modifying step comprising separate modifications, respectively, of at least some of the plurality of sensor acoustic waves.

16. The method as in claim 13, further comprising sensing at least one parameter from a group consisting of a physical parameter, an electrical parameter, a chemical parameter, temperature, pressure, torque, acceleration, impedance, distance, orientation, gas concentration, pH, fluid flow, viscosity, density, and magnetic field.

17. The method as in claim 13, further comprising converting energy from environment near the device into energy for powering the device.

18. The method as in claim 13, further comprising:

converting energy available from environment near the device to electrical energy;

rectifying current generated by the electrical energy;

converting the rectified current to a signal with a chosen frequency;

using the converted signal to generate the acoustic wave.

19. The method as in claim 13, further comprising:

receiving the coded RF signal and the sensor RF signal;

extracting the parameter information from the sensor RF signal;

extracting the identification information from the coded RF signal.

20. An acoustic wave device comprising:

means for generating an acoustic wave in at least a portion of the device;

means for reflecting back a coded acoustic signal when the acoustic wave is generated;

means for converting the coded acoustic signal to a coded RF signal;

means for transmitting the coded RF signal;

means for modifying a characteristic of a sensor acoustic wave in at least a portion of the device, the modification depending on a parameter being sensed;

means for generating a sensor RF signal containing information about the parameter being sensed;

means for transmitting the sensor RF signal.

21. The acoustic wave device as in claim 20, further comprising means for converting energy from environment near the device into energy for powering the device.

22. An acoustic wave system, comprising:

the acoustic wave device as in claim 20;

means for receiving the coded RF signal and the sensor RF signal;

means for extracting parameter information from the sensor RF signal and extracting the identification information from the coded RF signal.