Object orientation sensor device
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An object orientation sensor device, comprising:
- (a) a first LC tag disposed at a first selected location in said object;
(b) a driver/reader circuit disposed so as to detect the presence of said first LC tag when said object is in a first orientation and to not detect the presence of said first LC tag when said object is not in said first orientation; and
(c) said driver/reader circuit including a tank circuit including an inductor and capacitor joined at a first node and having a second node, an oscillator, a receiver circuit coupled to said tank circuit at said first node, and a synchronization circuit for (1) connecting said oscillator to said second node for energizing said tank circuit with alternating electrical current to produce a magnetic field for energizing said first LC tag, (2) disconnecting said oscillator from said second node, (3) momentarily shorting said inductor to discharge said tank circuit, and (4) enabling said receiver circuit to detect a first resonant frequency echo produced by said first LC tag when said oscillator is disconnected from said second node and said tank circuit is discharged.
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Abstract
In a preferred embodiment, an object orientation sensor device, including: a first LC tag disposed at a first selected location in the object; a driver/reader circuit disposed so as to detect the presence of the first LC tag when the object is in a first orientation and to not detect the presence of the first LC tag when the object is not in the first orientation; and the driver/reader circuit being arranged to energize the first LC tag with a magnetic field and to subsequently detect a first resonant frequency echo produced by the first LC tag when the magnetic field is removed.
55 Citations
7 Claims
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1. An object orientation sensor device, comprising:
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(a) a first LC tag disposed at a first selected location in said object; (b) a driver/reader circuit disposed so as to detect the presence of said first LC tag when said object is in a first orientation and to not detect the presence of said first LC tag when said object is not in said first orientation; and (c) said driver/reader circuit including a tank circuit including an inductor and capacitor joined at a first node and having a second node, an oscillator, a receiver circuit coupled to said tank circuit at said first node, and a synchronization circuit for (1) connecting said oscillator to said second node for energizing said tank circuit with alternating electrical current to produce a magnetic field for energizing said first LC tag, (2) disconnecting said oscillator from said second node, (3) momentarily shorting said inductor to discharge said tank circuit, and (4) enabling said receiver circuit to detect a first resonant frequency echo produced by said first LC tag when said oscillator is disconnected from said second node and said tank circuit is discharged. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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Specification