ADVANCED OBSCURED FEATURE DETECTOR
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Accused Products
Abstract
A surface-conforming obscured feature detector includes a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on the dielectric constant of the materials that compose the surrounding objects and the proximity of those objects. A sensing circuit is coupled to the sensor plates 32 to measure the capacitances of the sensor plates. A controller is coupled to the sensing circuit to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit. One or a plurality of indicators are coupled to the controller, and are selectively activated to identify the location of an obscured feature behind a surface.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. An obscured feature detector comprising:
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a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on;
(a) the proximity of the sensor plate to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);a sensing circuit coupled to the sensor plates, the circuit being configured to measure the capacitances of the sensor plates; a controller coupled to the sensing circuit, the controller being configured to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit; and one or more indicators coupled to the controller, each indicator capable of toggling between a deactivated state and an activated state, wherein, when the controller detects two or more obscured features, the controller is configured to activate two or more indicators simultaneously to identify the locations of the two or more obscured features. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for determining the location of a plurality of obscured features behind a surface, the method comprising:
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placing an obscured feature detector on the surface, the obscured feature detector having a plurality of sensor plates arranged in an array; measuring capacitance readings sensed in a plurality of regions, each region corresponding to an area surrounding one or more of the sensor plates; identifying, based upon the measured capacitance readings, the location of the plurality of obscured features; and activating a plurality of indicators simultaneously to identify the locations of the plurality of obscured features. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. An obscured feature detector comprising:
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a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on;
(a) the proximity of the sensor plate to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);a sensing circuit coupled to the sensor plates, the circuit being configured to measure the capacitances of the sensor plates; a controller coupled to the sensing circuit, the controller being configured to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit; and one or more indicators coupled to the controller, each indicator capable of toggling between a deactivated state and an activated state, wherein the controller is configured to activate one or more of the indicators to identify both a location and a width of an obscured feature. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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34. An obscured feature detector comprising:
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a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on;
(a) the proximity of the sensor plate to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);a sensing circuit coupled to the sensor plates, the circuit being configured to measure the capacitances of the sensor plates; a controller coupled to the sensing circuit, the controller being configured to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit; and one or a plurality of indicators coupled to the controller, each indicator capable of toggling between a deactivated state and an activated state, wherein the controller is configured to activate one or more of the indicators to identify a location of an obscured feature such that indicators that are in front of an obscured feature are activated.
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35. A method for determining the location of more than one obscured features behind a surface, the method comprising:
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placing an obscured feature detector on the surface, the obscured feature detector having a plurality of sensor plates arranged in an array; measuring capacitance readings sensed in a plurality of regions, each region corresponding to an area surrounding one or more of the sensor plates; identifying, based upon the measured capacitance readings, the location of an obscured feature; and activating the indicator(s) in front of the obscured feature to identify both the location and the width of the obscured feature.
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36-239. -239. (canceled)
Specification