NETWORK ARCHITECTURE FOR WIRELESSLY INTERFACING SENSORS AT ULTRA LOW POWER
First Claim
1. A sensor network having a multiplexing reader and one or more sensor pairs, each sensor pair comprising a transponder and a dedicated reader, dedicated to that transponder, each transponder having at least one sensor, each sensor pair having a wireless interface between the transponder and the dedicated reader, and each of the one or more dedicated readers being coupled to the multiplexing reader, to transmit sensing information from its sensor to the multiplexing reader, the wireless interface being arranged such that the transponder sends the sensing information by modulation with an analog signal representing the information, and the dedicated reader being arranged to receive and recover the sensing information without the need to recognize a digital identifier from its transponder.
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Abstract
A sensing network is described, consisting of a multiplexing reader and one or more sensor pairs, each sensor pair comprising a transponder and a dedicated reader, dedicated to that transponder, each transponder having a sensor. Each sensor pair is able to wirelessly interface and power both capacitive and resistive sensors at a short distance with high efficiency. By providing a dedicated reader for each transponder, each link can be optimized and there is no need for the dedicated reader to distinguish between signals from other transponders. The transponder generates an analog signal directly using a sensor or analog memory value and sends it by modulation to the dedicated reader. So, the dedicated readers do not need to have circuitry to demodulate a digital signal or ID code. The transponder includes the sensors and their electronic circuits and can be optionally remotely powered by the dedicated reader through the wireless link. The expected consumption of the dedicated reader can be lower than 200 μW.
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Citations
23 Claims
- 1. A sensor network having a multiplexing reader and one or more sensor pairs, each sensor pair comprising a transponder and a dedicated reader, dedicated to that transponder, each transponder having at least one sensor, each sensor pair having a wireless interface between the transponder and the dedicated reader, and each of the one or more dedicated readers being coupled to the multiplexing reader, to transmit sensing information from its sensor to the multiplexing reader, the wireless interface being arranged such that the transponder sends the sensing information by modulation with an analog signal representing the information, and the dedicated reader being arranged to receive and recover the sensing information without the need to recognize a digital identifier from its transponder.
Specification