Foreign object detector for vehicles and other machinery
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A detector assembly for sensing the placement of a foreign body on an object:
- an exciter unit attached to the object for vibrating the object;
an exciter driver attached to said exciter unit for energizing said exciter unit to cause vibrations of the object;
an exciter controller attached to said exciter driver for selectively actuating said exciter driver so as to cause repetitive energizations of said exciter unit;
a detector attached to the object for monitoring the vibrations of the object in response to the repetitive energizations of said excitor unit, said detector configured to produce vibration signals representative of the vibrations of the object;
a detector signal analyzer coupled to said detector for receiving said vibration signals, said detector signal analyzer circuit being configured to;
establish normal vibration data for the object based on initial vibration signals received in response to an initial set of object vibrations;
compare later-received vibration signals received in response to later object vibrations that occur after the initial set of object vibrations to said normal vibration data; and
, if said comparison indicates that said later-received vibration signals vary beyond a first select limit from said normal vibration data, to generate an alarm signal; and
an alarm connected to receive said alarm signal, said alarm being configured to generate a warning message when said alarm signal is generated.
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Abstract
The panel is set in vibration by an excitor (22) and changes in the pattern of vibration due to the loading or damping of the panel by an attached device are detected. The input from piezoelectric detectors is passed by amplifier (12) and analog-to-digital converter (13) to a microprocessor (14). Under control of programs held by EPROM (16) the inputs from successive test cycles are analyzed and compared to determine whether a significant change in the condition of the panel has recurred, in which case an alarm is given by an indicator (25).
23 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A detector assembly for sensing the placement of a foreign body on an object:
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an exciter unit attached to the object for vibrating the object; an exciter driver attached to said exciter unit for energizing said exciter unit to cause vibrations of the object; an exciter controller attached to said exciter driver for selectively actuating said exciter driver so as to cause repetitive energizations of said exciter unit; a detector attached to the object for monitoring the vibrations of the object in response to the repetitive energizations of said excitor unit, said detector configured to produce vibration signals representative of the vibrations of the object; a detector signal analyzer coupled to said detector for receiving said vibration signals, said detector signal analyzer circuit being configured to;
establish normal vibration data for the object based on initial vibration signals received in response to an initial set of object vibrations;
compare later-received vibration signals received in response to later object vibrations that occur after the initial set of object vibrations to said normal vibration data; and
, if said comparison indicates that said later-received vibration signals vary beyond a first select limit from said normal vibration data, to generate an alarm signal; andan alarm connected to receive said alarm signal, said alarm being configured to generate a warning message when said alarm signal is generated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A detector assembly for determining whether a foreign object has been placed on a vehicle, the vehicle including an ignition system for controlling the actuation of the vehicle and doors through which occupants enter and egress the vehicle, said detector assembly including:
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an occupancy sensor mounted to the vehicle for determining whether the vehicle is occupied, said occupancy sensor being configured to generate a vehicle-vacant signal when the vehicle is unoccupied; at least one exciter unit mounted to the vehicle for selectively vibrating a portion of the vehicle to which said exciter unit is attached so as to cause exciter unit-induced vibrations of the vehicle; at least one motion detector mounted to the vehicle at a location where the exciter unit-induced vibrations of the vehicle can be detected, said at least one motion detector being configured to generate motion detector signals representative of the exciter unit-induced vibrations of the vehicle; an exciter unit controller connected to said occupancy sensor and to said exciter unit, said exciter unit controller being configured to repetitively actuate said at least one exciter unit when said occupancy sensor generates said vehicle-vacant signal; a detector signal processor connected to said at least one motion detector for receiving said motion detector signals, said detector signal processor being configured to establish normal vibration data based on initial motion detector signals received in response to at least one initial exciter unit-induced vibration of the vehicle, to compare later-received motion detector signals received after said at least one initial exciter unit-induced vibration of the vehicle in response to later exciter-unit induced vibrations of the vehicle that occur after the at least one initial exciter unit-induced vibration of the vehicle to said normal vibration data and, if said later-received motion detector signals deviate from said normal vibration data by a first selected limit, to generate an alarm signal; and an indicator connected to said detector signal processor for receiving said alarm signal, said indicator being configured to produce a warning message when said alarm signal is generated. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification