ULTRASONIC COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
First Claim
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1. A sensor network comprising:
- a sink coupled to a substrate and configured to transmit a periodic ultrasonic pulse on the substrate; and
a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein a first sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes is coupled to the substrate and is configured to;
receive the periodic ultrasonic pulse from the substrate,synchronize an internal clock of the first sensor node to the sink based on the periodic ultrasonic pulse,selectively detect an event in a region surrounding the first sensor node, andin response to detecting the event, transmit a first ultrasonic pulse toward the sink on the substrate.
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Abstract
A sensor network includes a sink and multiple sensor nodes. The sink is coupled to a substrate and configured to transmit a periodic ultrasonic pulse on the substrate. A first one of the sensor nodes is coupled to the substrate. The first sensor node is configured to (i) receive the periodic ultrasonic pulse from the substrate, (ii) synchronize an internal clock of the first sensor node to the sink based on the periodic ultrasonic pulse, (iii) selectively detect an event in a region surrounding the first sensor node, and (iv) in response to detecting the event, transmit a first ultrasonic pulse toward the sink on the substrate.
12 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A sensor network comprising:
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a sink coupled to a substrate and configured to transmit a periodic ultrasonic pulse on the substrate; and a plurality of sensor nodes, wherein a first sensor node of the plurality of sensor nodes is coupled to the substrate and is configured to; receive the periodic ultrasonic pulse from the substrate, synchronize an internal clock of the first sensor node to the sink based on the periodic ultrasonic pulse, selectively detect an event in a region surrounding the first sensor node, and in response to detecting the event, transmit a first ultrasonic pulse toward the sink on the substrate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus comprising:
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a frame synchronization circuit configured to identify a start of a frame in response to receipt of a global synchronization pulse; and a pulse transmission control circuit configured to, in response to detection of an event by a sensor associated with the apparatus, transmit a first pulse toward a first destination to signal detection of the event, wherein a temporal position of the first pulse transmission within the frame indicates a spatial position of the event, and wherein the temporal position of the first pulse transmission within the frame also indicates a next hop toward the destination to which the first pulse is directed. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26-31. -31. (canceled)
Specification