OBSCURED FEATURE DETECTOR HOUSING
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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
93 Claims
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1-82. -82. (canceled)
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83. An obscured feature detector comprising:
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an array of a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on;
(a) the proximity of the sensor plates 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 sensing circuit being configured to measure the capacitance of each of the sensor plates; a controller coupled to the sensing circuit, the controller being configured to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit; the array of sensor plates and the sensing circuit being supported by a housing that includes a gripping surface; the array of sensor plates being arranged in series; the gripping surface being largely parallel to the array of sensor plates such that the array of sensor plates and the gripping surface are largely parallel; one or a plurality of indicators coupled to the controller, each indicator capable of toggling between a deactivated state and an activated state; and wherein the controller is configured to activate one or more of the indicators to identify a location of an obscured feature. - View Dependent Claims (84, 85, 86, 87, 88)
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89. A method for using an obscured object detector with a plurality of sensor plates to detect an object behind an obscuring surface comprising:
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orienting the obscured object detector on the obscuring surface such that the plurality of sensor plates define an array that is substantially horizontal; and gripping the obscured object detector on a predefined gripping region defined on an exterior surface of the obscured object detector, wherein the gripping regions are substantially parallel to the sensor plate array.
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90. 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 plates to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);the detector having a housing comprising a bottom portion that houses the plurality of sensor plates; and a layer of material attached to the bottom portion of the detector, wherein the material comprises plastic. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92)
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93-239. -239. (canceled)
Specification