MEMS DEVICES AND REMOTE SENSING SYSTEMS UTILIZING THE SAME

• US 20100156629A1
• Filed: 01/27/2009
• Published: 06/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/19/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Koste, Glen Peter, Knobloch, Aaron Jay, Sexton, Daniel White, Brown, Roderick Gordon, Vernooy, David William
• Application Number:
  US12/360,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20100156629A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/886 using energy harvesting, e.g. solar, wind or mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A remote sensing system comprises a micro-electromechanical sensor (MEMS) device comprising a sensing element, an exciting element to resonate the sensing element at resonant frequency from a remote location by transmitting signals comprising any of acoustic signals, optical signals, radio frequency signals, or magnetic induction signals, and a reader circuitry to read an original frequency of the sensing element from a remote location for determining a condition to which the MEMS device is exposed using signals comprising any of acoustic signals, optical signals, radio frequency signals, or magnetic induction signals.

Claims

1. A remote sensing system, comprising:

a micro-electromechanical sensor (MEMS) device comprising a sensing element;

an exciting element to resonate the sensing element at resonant frequency from a remote location by transmitting signals comprising any of acoustic signals, optical signals, radio frequency signals, or magnetic induction signals; and

a reader circuitry to read an original frequency of the sensing element from a remote location for determining a condition to which the MEMS device is exposed using signals comprising any of acoustic signals, optical signals, radio frequency signals, or magnetic induction signals.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the reader circuitry emits the signals to interrogate the MEMS device and receives and processes signals reflected from the MEMS device to acquire frequency of the sensing element.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the signals reflected from the MEMS device comprise signals re-radiated from the sensing element or signals generated by mixing frequencies of the signals transmitted by the reader circuitry and a motion induced signal from the sensing element.

4. The system of claim 2, wherein the reader circuitry is configured to drive the exciting element.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the system is made into an oscillator by applying gain and phase shifts to the reflected signals before analyzing the signals reflected from the MEMS device.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein oscillations are made to occur at resonant frequency of the sensing element, thereby eliminating the need for the signals transmitted by the exciting element to search for the resonant frequency of the sensing element.

7. The system of claim 2, wherein the signals transmitted by the reader circuitry and the signals transmitted by the exciting element can be of same or different frequencies.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensing element comprises a mechanical resonating sensing element.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the sensing element comprises a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) mass-spring system.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the MEMS device further comprises a frequency mixing element and a signal transmitting/receiving element.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the signals transmitted by the exciting element are swept or caused to vary for searching resonant frequency of the sensing element.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the MEMS device further comprises at least one capacitor and/or an actuator.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprises signal-controlling elements such as a splitter, a mixer, a circulator, an isolator, or combinations thereof.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the condition comprises pressure or temperature.

15. A remote sensing method, comprising:

resonating a sensing element of a micro-electromechanical sensor (MEMS) device at resonant frequency from a remote location by transmitting signals comprising any of acoustic signals, optical signals, radio frequency signal, or magnetic induction signals; and

reading an original frequency of the sensing element from a remote location for determining a condition to which the MEMS device is exposed, comprising;

emitting signal comprising any of acoustic signal, optical signal, radio frequency signal, or magnetic induction signal to interrogate the MEMS device; and

receiving a signal reflected from the sensing element in response to the emitted signal and processing the reflected signal to obtain the original frequency of the sensing element.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprises:

generating the reflected signal by mixing frequencies of the signals emitted to read the original frequency of the sensing element and a motion induced signal from the sensing element.

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

applying gain and phase shifts to the reflected signal before processing the reflected signal.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the signals transmitted to resonate the sensing element and the signals emitted to read the original frequency of the sensing element can be of same or different frequencies.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the sensing element comprises a mechanical resonating sensing element.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the sensing element comprises a micro-electromechanical (MEMS) mass-spring system.

21. The method of claim 15, wherein the signals transmitted to resonate the sensing element are swept or caused to vary for searching resonant frequency of the sensing element.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the MEMS device further comprises at least one capacitor and/or an actuator.

23. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

controlling the signals using signal control elements comprising a splitter, a mixer, a circulator, an isolator, or combinations thereof.

24. The method of claim 15, wherein the condition comprises pressure or temperature.