Monitoring Method and Apparatus Using Asynchronous, One-Way Transmission from Sensor to Base Station
First Claim
1. A monitoring system, comprising:
- a base station;
a first sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station; and
a first vibration-sensitive switch for triggering the first sensor;
wherein the first sensor remains dormant unless triggered by the first vibration-sensitive switch; and
wherein upon being triggered by the first vibration-sensitive switch, the first sensor transmits a first measured quantity and a first time stamp to the base station.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A monitoring system is disclosed, which includes a base station and at least one sensor unit that is separate from the base station. The sensor unit resides in a dormant state that uses no power, until it is awaked by the triggering of vibration-sensitive switch. Once awakened, the sensor may take a measurement, then transmit to the base station the measurement along with a time stamp of when the measurement was made. The sensor may optionally store the measured quantity and the time stamp for a particular length of time in a suitable storage device, such as with compact flash memory. The sensor transmits the measured quantity and the time stamp to the base station in an asynchronous manner. The transmission is initiated by the vibration-sensitive switch, not by the base station. The time stamp is encoded in a suitable manner, such as with an IRIG-B timing module. Once data is transmitted from the sensor to the base station, the sensor may return to its dormant state. Transmission between the sensor and the base station is one-way, so that the sensor does not receive any information from the base station. There may be multiple sensors for each base station, and the various sensors may optionally measure different quantities, such as current, voltage, single-axis and/or three-axis magnetic fields, that may correspond to physical quantities such as torsional strain, linear strain, temperature, ball valve cycles and linear voltage displacement transducer signals. The sensor may optionally include an energy harvester, such as a solar panel, for reducing and/or eliminating the drain on its battery.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A monitoring system, comprising:
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a base station; a first sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station; and a first vibration-sensitive switch for triggering the first sensor; wherein the first sensor remains dormant unless triggered by the first vibration-sensitive switch; and wherein upon being triggered by the first vibration-sensitive switch, the first sensor transmits a first measured quantity and a first time stamp to the base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A monitoring system, comprising:
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a base station; a sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station; and a piezoelectronic laminate vibration-sensitive switch for triggering the sensor; wherein the sensor remains dormant unless triggered by the vibration-sensitive switch; wherein upon being triggered by the vibration-sensitive switch, the sensor transmits a measured quantity and a time stamp to the base station; and wherein the sensor measures at least one of a current signal, a voltage signal, a discrete digital signal, a single-axis magnetic field, and a three-axis magnetic field.
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22. A method of monitoring a valve, comprising:
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measuring a number of cryogenic cycles of the valve; measuring a number of total cycles of the valve; measuring an inlet temperature of the valve; measuring an outlet temperature of the valve; measuring a body temperature of the valve; measuring a torsional strain of the valve; measuring a linear strain of the valve; measuring a preload position of the valve; measuring a total travel of the valve; measuring a total direction change of the valve; and predicting a valve life in response to at least one of the number of cryogenic cycles, the number of total cycles, the inlet temperature, the outlet temperature, the body temperature, the torsional strain, the linear bonnet strain, the preload position, the total travel, and the total direction change of the valve.
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Specification