Ultra-wideband detector systems for detecting moisture in building walls
First Claim
1. A non-destructive detection system for detecting moisture inside of a building structure which is not visible from outside of the structure, said system comprising:
- a transmitter for generating a series of ultra-wideband pulses;
an ultra-wideband antenna unit for directing the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and for receiving the reflected pulses;
a receiver for processing the reflected pulses received by said antenna unit and for producing a corresponding output; and
a controller for controlling said transmitter, said receiver and said antenna unit and for analyzing said output of said receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building structure,said ultra-wideband antenna unit comprising means for providing a plurality of different antenna locations relative to the building structure and means for receiving reflected pulses from the different antenna locations relative to the building structure.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A non-destructive detection method and system enables detecting a moisture patch located inside a building wall or the like. A transmitter generates a series of ultra-wideband pulses while an ultra-wideband antenna unit, preferably in the form of an antenna array including a plurality of switchable antenna pairs, directs the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and receives the reflected pulses. A receiver processes the reflected pulses received by the antenna unit and produces a corresponding output. A controller controls the operation of the transmitter, receiver and antenna unit, and analyzes the output of the receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building wall.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A non-destructive detection system for detecting moisture inside of a building structure which is not visible from outside of the structure, said system comprising:
-
a transmitter for generating a series of ultra-wideband pulses; an ultra-wideband antenna unit for directing the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and for receiving the reflected pulses; a receiver for processing the reflected pulses received by said antenna unit and for producing a corresponding output; and a controller for controlling said transmitter, said receiver and said antenna unit and for analyzing said output of said receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building structure, said ultra-wideband antenna unit comprising means for providing a plurality of different antenna locations relative to the building structure and means for receiving reflected pulses from the different antenna locations relative to the building structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9)
-
-
8. A system as claimed in 7 wherein the structure comprises a building wall, and said controller generates a three-dimensional representation of the moisture state of the wall.
-
10. A method for non-destructive detection of moisture inside of a building structure, said method comprising:
-
generating a series of ultra-wideband pulses; using an ultra-wideband antenna unit to direct the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and to receive the reflected pulses, said ultra-wideband antenna unit receiving reflected pulses from different antenna locations relative to the building structure; processing the reflected pulses received by the antenna unit and producing a corresponding output; and analyzing said output of said receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building structure, the ultra-wideband antenna unit comprising an ultra-wideband antenna array positioned at a fixed location on one side of the building structure and comprising a plurality of antennas individually switchable between operation as a transmitting antenna and operation as a receiving antenna, and at least some of said antennas of the antenna array being switched to create of a plurality of different antenna locations relative to the building structure. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
18. A non-destructive detection system for detecting moisture inside of a building structure which is not visible from outside of the structure, said system comprising:
-
a transmitter for generating a series of ultra-wideband pulses; an ultra-wideband antenna unit for directing the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and for receiving the reflected pulses; a receiver for processing the reflected pulses received by said antenna unit and for producing a corresponding output; and a controller for controlling said transmitter, said receiver and said antenna unit and for analyzing said output of said receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building structure, said ultra-wideband antenna unit comprises a fixed ultra-wideband antenna array comprising a plurality of antennas individually switchable between operation as a transmitting antenna and operation as a receiving antenna so as to enable creation of said plurality of different antenna locations relative to the building structure.
-
-
19. A non-destructive detection system for detecting moisture inside of a building structure which is not visible from outside of the structure, said system comprising:
-
a transmitter for generating a series of ultra-wideband pulses; an ultra-wideband antenna unit for directing the pulses toward the building structure so that the pulses are reflected therefrom, and for receiving the reflected pulses; a receiver for processing the reflected pulses received by said antenna unit and for producing a corresponding output; and a controller for controlling said transmitter, said receiver and said antenna unit and for analyzing said output of said receiver for the presence of moisture inside of the building structure, said antenna unit including a plurality of antennas positioned at a plurality of different antenna locations and said controller generating a synthetic aperture image based on the output of said receiver for said plurality of antenna locations.
-
Specification