CONFORMAL SENSOR TAPE

• US 20100180701A1
• Filed: 01/19/2009
• Published: 07/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/19/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Sambandan, Sanjiv, Daniel, Jurgen H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,047,049 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/866.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 11/30 Supports specially adapted for an instrument; Supports specially adapted for a set of instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 9/005 Solid-state data loggers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49169 Assembling electrical component directly to terminal or elongated conductor

Abstract

A sensing device has at least two remote units mounted on an attachable tape, the remote units being mounted on separate branches of the attachable tape, a controller mounted on the attachable tape, electrical connections at least between each remote unit and the controller, the electrical connections on the attachable tape, and a surface to which the tape is attached such that the branches are separated from each other. A method of manufacturing a sensing device, including providing an attachable substrate, and fabricating electronic devices on the substrate, the electronic devices including at least two remote units, a controller and electrical connections between the remote units and the controller, and arranging the electronic devices such that at least two remote units are separated from each other.

Claims

1. A sensing device, comprising:

at least two remote units mounted on an attachable tape, the remote units being mounted on separate branches of the attachable tape;

a controller mounted on the attachable tape;

electrical connections at least between each remote unit and the controller, the electrical connections on the attachable tape; and

a surface to which the tape is attached such that the branches are separated from each other.

2. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the attachable tape comprises a flexible substrate and electrical components.

3. The sensing device of claim 2, wherein the flexible substrate comprises one of paper, plastic, metal, or cloth.

4. The sensing device of claim 2, wherein the electrical components comprise the electrical connections and at least one of discrete components placed on the tape or integrated components formed on the tape.

5. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein at least one remote unit comprises a sensor for sensing one of temperature, pressure, radiation, acceleration, acoustic information, magnetic field, moisture, gases, chemical or biological substances.

6. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein at least one remote unit comprises an actuator, the actuator comprising one of an audio speaker, an optical modulator, a light emitter, a radio frequency emitter, an infrared emitter, an ultrasound emitter, a radiation emitter, a pump or an ejector.

7. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the controller includes at least one of a power supply, drive electronics, memory circuits or a user read out device.

8. The sensing device of claim 1, the branches being configured in a tetrahedron layout.

9. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein each branch has multiple electrical connections to multiple remote units and only one of the electrical connections is used.

10. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein each remote unit is a different distance from the controller.

11. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein the remote units are pressure sensors to detect blasts and the surface is a helmet.

12. The sensing device of claim 1, wherein at least one branch has an adjustable length portion between the remote unit and the controller.

13. The sensing device of claim 12, wherein the adjustable length portion comprises one of elastomeric portions of the substrate with associated stretchable conductive regions for electrical connection;

electrically conductive epoxies or polymers embedded with conductive particles;

meandering conductive traces;

carbon nanotubes or conductive nanowires embedded in an elastomeric material;

a bendable portion;

or stretchable fabric with woven conductive fibers.

14. A method of manufacturing a sensing device, comprising:

providing an attachable substrate; and

fabricating electronic devices on the substrate, the electronic devices including at least two remote units, a controller and electrical connections between the remote units and the controller, and arranging the electronic devices such that at least two remote units are separated from each other.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein providing an attachable substrate comprises providing one of a paper substrate, a plastic substrate, or a metal substrate.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein fabricating the electronic devices comprises one of fabricating the devices on the substrate using thin film manufacturing, picking and placing discrete components onto the substrate, a combination of thin film manufacturing and picking and placing, or printing the devices.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein arranging the electronic devices comprises arranging the electronic device in multiple configurations.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the multiple configurations each have a remote unit.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein arranging the electronic devices comprises:

selecting of the remote unit with a desired characteristic; and

disabling of unselected remote units.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the desired characteristic is one of position or type of remote unit.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein disabling the remote unit comprises one of removing the unselected remote units from the attachable substrate, removing a portion of the attachable substrate upon which the unselected remote unit resides, cutting the electrical connections for the unselected remote units, or programming the controller to accept only inputs from the selected remote unit.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein arranging the electronic devices to have multiple configurations comprises one of folding, stretching or bending the attachable substrate between the controller and the remote unit to a desired length.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein arranging the electronic devices comprises arranging the electronic devices in a tetrahedron shape.