Passive Environmental Sensing
First Claim
1. A passive sensor for monitoring an environmental condition, comprising:
- an antenna;
a modulating circuit coupled to the antenna by a microstrip transmission line, the modulating circuit capable of modulating a backscattered signal;
a sensing material disposed between the microstrip transmission line and a ground plane of the passive sensor, where an electrical property of at least a portion of the sensing material varies with the environmental condition; and
where the modulated backscattered signal includes at least one of phase and amplitude information corresponding to the electrical property of the portion of the sensing material.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Various sensors, systems, and methods for monitoring environmental conditions are provided. In one embodiment, among others, a passive sensor includes an antenna; a modulating circuit coupled to the antenna by a microstrip transmission line, the modulating circuit capable of modulating a backscattered signal; a sensing material disposed between the microstrip transmission line and a ground plane of the passive sensor, where an electrical property of at least a portion of the sensing material varies with the environmental condition; and where the modulated backscattered signal includes at least one of phase and amplitude information corresponding to the electrical property of the portion of the sensing material.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A passive sensor for monitoring an environmental condition, comprising:
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an antenna; a modulating circuit coupled to the antenna by a microstrip transmission line, the modulating circuit capable of modulating a backscattered signal; a sensing material disposed between the microstrip transmission line and a ground plane of the passive sensor, where an electrical property of at least a portion of the sensing material varies with the environmental condition; and where the modulated backscattered signal includes at least one of phase and amplitude information corresponding to the electrical property of the portion of the sensing material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for monitoring an environmental condition, comprising:
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transmitting a plurality of radio signals to a passive sensor comprising a sensing material affected by the environmental condition, each of the plurality of radio signals transmitted at a predefined frequency within a frequency range; receiving a plurality of backscattered signals from the passive sensor, each of the backscattered signals returned in response to one of the plurality of transmitted radio signals; and determining the environmental condition based on at least one of phase and amplitude information contained in the plurality of backscattered signals. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15)
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Specification