Intelligent sensor platform

• US 6,826,369 B1
• Filed: 04/12/2000
• Issued: 11/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: System to ASIC, Inc.
• Original Assignee: System to ASIC, Inc.
• Inventors: Bondarev, Vadim, Brooks, Eric Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Pascal, Leslie
• Assistant Examiner(s): PAYNE, DAVID C
• Application Number:
  US09/547,446
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 398/107, 342/28, 607/30, 315/295, 315/149, 315/158, 324/96, 356/623, 702/183, 362/466, 374/161, 346/3.71, 346/632, 346/825.69, 250/459.1
• US Class Current: 398/107
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/1143 Bidirectional transmission

Abstract

An intelligent sensor platform is provided with an architecture that takes advantage of a low cost microcontroller for overall sensor control. Outputs are all controlled directly by the microcontroller as are gains of signal processing amplifiers and thresholds for threshold detectors. The sensor can be remotely programmed using a remote control device or simple. push button programming can be implemented.

Claims

1. A sensor circuit which operates under control of a controller circuit, the sensor circuit comprising:

a transmitter;

a receiver receiving signals produced by the transmitter in order to sense an event, the receiver comprising;

a front end circuit which receives an input signal from a sensor element and amplifies the input

signal to produce an amplified signal therefrom;

a demodulator receiving the amplified signal and converting the amplified signal to a digital signal;

an output circuit for producing an output signal in response to commands from the controller;

an interface circuit coupled to the controller, wherein the interface circuit receives an operational parameter from the controller and relays the operational parameter to at least one of the transmitter, the output circuit, the demodulator and the front end circuit, and wherein the operational parameter is received by at least one of the transmitter, the output circuit, the demodulator and the front end circuit, and wherein the operation of at least one of the transmitter, the output circuit, the demodulator and the front end circuit is adjusted in response to receipt of the operational parameter; and

wherein the front end circuit can also receive input signals from an external remote controller via the sensor element that convey operational parameters to the interface circuit.

2. The sensor circuit of claim 1, wherein the front end circuit comprises an amplifier having programmable gain or transconductance that is set by the operational parameter.

3. The sensor circuit of claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a microcontroller and the interface circuit is coupled to the microcontroller by a bidirectional three line digital serial communication bus.

4. The sensor circuit of claim 3, wherein the controller determines when the output of the output block is to change and implements the change by changing a Write/Read line of the three line interface and then writing new output values to latches in the interface circuit.

5. The sensor of claim 1, wherein the transmitter further comprises a driver circuit which drives a signal transducer under control of the controller, the driver circuit having a programmable drive level that is set by the operational parameter.

6. The sensor circuit of claim 5, wherein the transmitter is driven by the controller to transmit data representing status information to the remote controller.

7. The sensor circuit of claim 6, wherein the transmitter comprises an optical transmitter.

8. The sensor circuit of claim 5, wherein the front end circuit, interface circuit, output circuit, driver circuit and demodulator circuit are implemented in a single integrated circuit.

9. The sensor circuit of claim 1, wherein the demodulator comprises a threshold detector having at least one of a hysteresis level or a threshold as an operational parameter set under control of the controller.

10. The sensor circuit of claim 1, wherein the receiver receives controller programming information from the remote controller.

11. The sensor of claim 10, wherein the receiver comprises an optical receiver.

12. The sensor circuit of claim 1, further comprising a short circuit detection circuit for detecting a short circuit condition in a circuit driven by the output signal of the output circuit, and wherein the controller reads the short circuit condition as an operational parameter and makes a determination to take a corrective action.

13. The sensor circuit of claim 1, further comprising a switch coupled to the controller, wherein the operational parameter is controlled by a sequence of operations of the switch.

14. The sensor circuit of claim 13, wherein the operational parameter comprises at least one of a gain of an amplifier in the front end circuit, a transconductance of an amplifier in a front end circuit, a hysteresis magnitude of the demodulator circuit, a drive level of the transmitter circuit, a state of the output circuit and a detection threshold in the demodulator circuit.

15. The sensor circuit of claim 1, wherein the sensor element comprises an optical sensor element coupled to the front end circuit for sensing the event.

16. The sensor circuit of claim 15, wherein the sensor element comprises one of an optical sensor element, an infrared sensor element, an RF sensor element, a capacitive sensor element, an inductive sensor element and an ultrasonic sensor element.

17. The sensor circuit of claim 12, wherein the sensor circuit operates in a normal sensing mode in accordance with a multiple cycle clock, with at least one clock cycle used for reading a short circuit status from the short circuit detection circuit, and one cycle in which the output of the front end block in comparison to a first threshold is read.

18. A method of controlling a sensor circuit operation to detect an event, comprising:

providing an interface circuit;

receiving a sensor circuit operational parameter from a remote controller via a receiver circuit connected to the interface circuit;

in a controller, driving a sensor transmitter to produce a single transmitted pulse, and acquiring sensor circuit state information including whether an input was received from the sensor transmitter at the interface circuit that exceeds a first threshold and whether an input was received from the sensor transmitter at the interface circuit that exceeds a second threshold, and wherein the driving and acquiring are carried out on a pulse by pulse basis at timed intervals;

conducting an analysis of the sensor circuit state information in the controller to determine if the event has occurred;

calculating a revised sensor circuit operational parameter in the controller and sending a command that changes the sensor circuit operational parameter to the interface circuit for relaying to the sensor circuit; and

if the event is deemed by the controller to have occurred, taking a programmed action.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising transmitting, via the sensor transmitter circuit, sensor circuit state information to the remote controller.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising receiving sensor circuit programming commands from the remote controller via the sensor receiver circuit.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving input signals representing actuations of a switch; and

changing a sensor circuit operational parameter in response to receipt of the input signals representing actuation of the switch.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the receiving of input signals representing actuations of the switch happens during one cycle of a plurality of cycles of a clock, and wherein the sensor circuit operates to detect the event during another of the plurality of cycles of a clock.

23. A method of controlling the operation of a sensor circuit, comprising:

providing an optical transmitter element coupled to an output of the sensor circuit;

providing an optical remote controller;

providing an optical receiver element coupled to an input of the sensor circuit, the optical receiver element receiving signals transmitted by the optical transmitter element in order to sense an event taking place between the optical transmitter element and the optical receiver element;

transmitting status information to a remote controller via the optical transmitter element; and

receiving optical information from the remote controller via the optical receiver element.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the optical information from the remote controller comprises programming information.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising receiving a password from the remote controller and comparing the password with an internal password prior to receiving the programming information.

26. The method of claim 23, further comprising transmitting signals from the optical transmitter element to the optical receiver element in order to detect an event.

27. The method of claim 23, wherein the optical information is transmitted to and received from the remote controller during one cycle of a plurality of cycles of a clock, and wherein the sensor circuit operates to detect the event during another of the plurality of cycles of a clock.

28. A method of adjusting an operational parameter of a sensor circuit, comprising:

providing a sensor circuit having a receiver circuit and a transmitter circuit, the receiver circuit receiving signals produced by the transmitter circuit in order to sense an event taking place between the transmitter circuit and the receiver circuit, wherein the event alters the signal produced by the transmitter circuit before receipt by the receiver circuit, the sensor circuit having an adjustable operational parameter;

detecting a first actuation of a switch for a period of time, said first actuation of the switch enabling an adjustment mode of the sensor circuit;

detecting subsequent actuations of the switch occurring within a time window;

adjusting the operational parameter in accordance with a switch actuation occurring within said time window; and

transmitting operational parameter status data to a remote controller using the transmitter circuit, so that the transmitter circuit is used to both produce signals used for sensing the event and for conveying data to the remote controller.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the operational parameter comprises gain of an amplifier.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising pulsing an indicator light at a rate indicative of a value of the operational parameter.

31. The method of claim 28, wherein the switch actuations are detected during one cycle of a plurality of cycles of a clock, and wherein the sensor circuit operates to detect an event during another of the plurality of cycles of a clock.

32. A method of communication with a sensor circuit using an optical remote controller, comprising:

providing a sensor circuit having a receiver and a transmitter, the receiver receiving signals produced by the transmitter in order to detect an event taking place between the transmitter and the receiver, wherein the event alters the signal produced by the transmitter circuit before receipt by the receiver circuit;

at the receiver, receiving a sequence of light pulses from the optical remote controller representing a password;

comparing the password with a stored reference password; and

if the password equals the stored reference password, receiving a sequence of light pulses from the optical remote controller representing a first data word, wherein the first data word represents at least a portion of a command to the sensor circuit;

whereby, the receiver is used to both receive signals used for sensing the event and for receiving command information from the remote controller.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising if the first data word comprises a query code, then transmitting a sequence of pulses of light representing sensor status information from the transmitter to the optical remote controller.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein the sensor status information is transmitted using an optical element which is also used for transmission of optical signals to a sensor optical detector.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein if the first data word does not comprise a query code, then receiving a second binary word representing a set of sensor operational parameters to be loaded into the sensor circuit.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the light pulses are received during one cycle of a plurality of cycles of a clock, and wherein the sensor circuit operates to detect an event during another of the plurality of cycles of a clock.

37. A method of programming a transceiver circuit, comprising:

interfacing a controller circuit to the transceiver circuit, the transceiver circuit having a receiver and a transmitter, wherein the transceiver circuit operates as a sensor circuit by the receiver receiving signals produced by the transmitter in order to sense an event between the transmitter and the receiver that alters the transmitted signal, the transceiver having an adjustable operational parameter;

the receiver having a front end circuit;

connecting a sensor element to the front end circuit; and

transmitting programming information from an external transmitter through the sensor element and to the transceiver to establish operational characteristics of the transceiver.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the sensor element comprises an optical sensor element and wherein the programming information is transmitted optically to the optical sensor element.

39. The method of claim 37, wherein the programming information comprises at least one of an algorithm for detection of the event, detection thresholds and a front end circuit amplifier gain.

40. A sensor circuit, comprising:

a controller;

a transmitter, wherein, the transmitter comprises a driver circuit which drives a signal transducer under control of the controller, and wherein the transmitter is further driven by the controller to transmit data representing status information to a remote controller;

an output circuit;

a receiver that receives signals produced by the transmitter, and wherein changes in the signals received from the transmitter can be used to detect an event, the receiver comprising;

a front end circuit having an amplifier which receives an input signal from a sensor element and

amplifies the input signal to produce an amplified signal therefrom, and

a demodulator receiving the amplified signal and converting the amplified signal to a digital signal;

an interface circuit coupled to the controller using a bi-directional digital serial communication bus, wherein the interface circuit receives an operational parameter from the controller and relays the operational parameter to at least one of the demodulator, the driver circuit, the output circuit and the front end circuit, and wherein the operational parameter is received by at least one of the demodulator and the front end circuit, and wherein the operation of at least one of the demodulator and the front end circuit is adjusted in response to receipt of the operational parameter;

wherein the operational parameter comprises either a gain of the amplifier, a transconductance of the amplifier, a hysteresis magnitude of the of the demodulator circuit, a detection threshold in the demodulator circuit, a drive level of the driver circuit or a state of the output circuit, and wherein the output circuit produces an output signal in response to commands from the controller; and

wherein the front end circuit can also receive input signals from an external remote controller via the sensor element that convey operational parameters to either the controller or the interface circuit or both.

41. A sensor circuit which operates under control of a controller circuit, the sensor circuit comprising:

a receiver receiving signals in order to sense an event, the receiver comprising;

a front end circuit which receives an input signal from a sensor element and amplifies the input

signal to produce an amplified signal therefrom, and

a demodulator receiving the amplified signal and converting the amplified signal to a digital signal;

an output circuit for producing an output signal in response to commands from the controller;

an interface circuit coupled to the controller, wherein the interface circuit receives an operational parameter from the controller and relays the operational parameter to the sensor circuit, wherein the operation of at least one of the output circuit, the demodulator and the front end circuit is adjusted in response to receipt of the operational parameter; and

wherein the front end circuit can also receive input signals from an external remote controller via the sensor element that convey operational parameters to either the controller or the interface circuit or both.

42. The sensor circuit of claim 41, wherein the operational parameter comprises at least one of a gain of an amplifier in the front end circuit, a transconductance of an amplifier in a front end circuit, a hysteresis magnitude of the demodulator circuit, a state of the output circuit and a detection threshold in the demodulator circuit.