Capacitive apparatus to monitor the integrity of a wall

• US 4,884,061 A
• Filed: 05/26/1988
• Issued: 11/28/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 05/27/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Axytel Societe Anonyme ZI Nord
• Original Assignee: Axytel SA
• Inventors: Genevois, Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): Swann, III, Glen R.
• Application Number:
  US07/199,174
• Time in Patent Office: 551 Days
• Field of Search: 340/550, 340/562
• US Class Current: 340/550
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/26 by proximity of an intruder causing variation in capacitance or inductance of a circuit

Abstract

An apparatus for verifying the integrity of a wall automatically sets off an intervention in the case of an act committed against the wall. A capacitive sensor is formed on the external or internal surface of the wall and consists of a thin planar condenser matching the shape of the wall. An oscillator having variable frequency has its control input connected to a plate of the condenser, the other plate being connected to ground, and a circuit detects the variation of frequency of the output signal of the oscillator resulting from a variation of condenser capacitance.

Claims

1. An apparatus for verifying the integrity of a wall having internal and external surfaces and adapted to cause an intervention when an aggressive act is committed against the wall, said apparatus comprising,

(a) a sensor mounted on one of the external or internal surfaces of the wall, said sensor being a condenser having a surface area substantially matching the shape of the wall and having a first plate connected to the wall and a second plate connected to ground;

(b) an electronic surveillance circuit on the internal side of the wall comprising a variable frequency oscillator having a control input connected to said first plate;

(c) means for detecting variation of frequency of an output signal of the variable frequency oscillator resulting from a variation in capacitance of the condenser, and for emitting a signal when an aggressive act on the wall causes a variation in surface area of the condenser which causes a variation in capacitance of the condenser.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second plate is connected to ground so that it serves as a Faraday cage to protect the electronic surveillance circuit from external forces.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said means for detecting the variation of frequency comprises a frequency demodulator electrically connected to said variable frequency oscillator, and a level detector having two thresholds connected to the output of said frequency demodulator for emitting said signal.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for detecting the variation of frequency comprises a frequency meter connected to a microcomputer to analyze the variation in frequency.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, and further comprising a temperature detection probe located adjacent to the internal surface of the wall, said probe being connected to a temperature correction circuit, said temperature correction circuit being connected to said means for detecting the variation of frequency of an output signal of the oscillator.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first plate is formed by a first layer of metal, an insulating varnish layer forming an intermediate dielectric layer, said second plate being formed by a second layer of metal, and said second plate being covered by a layer of an exterior protective varnish.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said layers of metal are applied by vacuum metallization.

8. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said layers of metal are applied by galvanoplasty.

9. An apparatus for verifying the integrity of a wall having internal and external surfaces and to determine when an aggressive act is committed against the wall, said apparatus comprising:

(a) a sensor mounted on one of the external or internal surfaces of the wall, said sensor being a condenser having a surface area substantially matching the shape of the wall and having a first plate connected to the wall and a second plate connected to ground;

(b) an electronic surveillance circuit comprising means for generating a variable frequency connected to said first plate;

(c) means for detecting variation of frequency of an output signal of said means for generating a variable frequency resulting from a variation in capacitance of the condenser when an aggressive act on the wall causes a variation in surface area of the condenser which causes a variation in capacitance of the condenser.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said second plate is connected to ground so that it serves as a Faraday cage to protect the electronic surveillance circuit from external forces.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, and further comprising a temperature detection probe located adjacent to the wall, said probe being connected to a temperature correction circuit being connected to said means for detecting the variation of frequency of an output signal.