Six face, multi-event, orientation sensor

• US 7,880,598 B2
• Filed: 12/08/2006
• Issued: 02/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Ciccaglione, Terry Michele, Sanders, Robert Tucker, Maresh, Mark Edmund
• Primary Examiner(s): Wu; Daniel
• Assistant Examiner(s): GIRMA, FEKADESELASS
• Application Number:
  US11/608,636
• Publication Number:
  US 20080140339A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,516 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/440
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 9/10 by using rolling bodies , e.g. spheres, cylinders, mercury droplets
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspecified undesired or abnormal conditions

Abstract

An apparatus and a computer implemented method for monitoring and recording the orientation data for an object. The orientation apparatus comprises an outer casing. Inside the outer casing is an orientation device that comprises six chambers, with a ball sensor in each chamber, and a ball. The orientation apparatus also comprises a data recorder for recording an event history of the orientation device, and a communicator for conveying the event history.

Claims

1. An orientation apparatus comprising:

an outer casing;

an orientation device within the outer casing, wherein the orientation device comprises six chambers, each chamber having a wide end and a chamber tip, twelve chamber connecting tunnels, each chamber connecting tunnel making a connection between two adjacent chambers, each chamber connecting tunnel having an elbow at the midpoint of the chamber connecting tunnel, a ball sensor in each chamber tip, and a ball; and

wherein the wide end of each chamber contains openings in a solid material to four of the twelve chamber connecting tunnels for connecting the wide end of each chamber to four adjacent chambers, and wherein each of the six chambers are conically or pyramid shaped, and the six chambers have a taper of 5 to 15 degrees; and

wherein the ball moves freely through each of the chamber connecting tunnels to the openings of adjacent chambers;

a data recorder for recording an event history; and

a communicator for conveying the event history.

2. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein each chamber tip terminates in a different face of a cubically shaped outer casing;

and wherein the ball must first move through at least one of four adjacent chambers before the ball can move to the chamber on the opposite side of the cube.

3. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data recorder is one of a solid state memory, an optical disk, or a magnetic disk.

4. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data recorder is physically located outside the outer casing.

5. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data recorder is physically located inside the outer casing.

6. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communicator is physically attached to the outer casing.

7. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ball sensor is at least one of a pressure switch, an electrical contact switch, or an optical switch.

8. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the communicator is at least one of a text screen, an audio signal, an indicator light, or any combination of text screen, audio signal, and indicator light.

9. The orientation apparatus of claim 1, wherein the data recorder comprises a processor with instructions to convert raw sensor data into processed sensor data, wherein the processed sensor data does not include bounce or vibration sensor data based on the configuration of the chamber connecting tunnels.

10. A three axis orientation monitoring system comprising:

an object of interest;

an apparatus for monitoring each orientation of the object, wherein the apparatus comprises;

an outer casing;

an orientation apparatus within the outer casing, wherein the orientation apparatus comprises six chambers, each chamber having a wide end and a chamber tip, twelve chamber connecting tunnels, each chamber connecting tunnel making a connection between two adjacent chambers, each chamber connecting tunnel having an elbow at the midpoint of the chamber connecting tunnel, a ball sensor in each chamber tip, and a ball;

and

wherein the wide end of each chamber contains openings in a solid material to four of the twelve chamber connecting tunnels for connecting the wide end of each chamber to four adjacent chambers, and wherein each of the six chambers are conically or pyramid shaped, and the six chambers have a taper of 5 to 15 degrees; and

wherein the ball moves freely through each of the chamber connecting tunnels to the openings of adjacent chambers;

a processor for interpreting each orientation of the object, forming orientation information;

a storage device for storing orientation information; and

a user interface for communicating orientation information to a user.

11. The three axis orientation monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the processor, storage device, and user interface are located within the outer casing.

12. The three axis orientation monitoring system of claim 10, wherein the processor, storage device, and user interface are located outside of the outer casing.

13. A computer implemented method for monitoring an orientation of an object, the computer implemented method comprising:

interpreting three axis orientation sensor data associated with the object, wherein the three axis orientation sensor data is from a device comprising;

an outer casing;

an orientation device within the outer casing, wherein the orientation device comprises six chambers, each chamber having a wide end and a chamber tip, twelve chamber connecting tunnels, each chamber connecting tunnel making a connection between two adjacent chambers, each chamber connecting tunnel having an elbow at the midpoint of the chamber connecting tunnel, a ball sensor in each chamber tip, and a ball; and

wherein the wide end of each chamber contains openings in a solid material to four of the twelve chamber connecting tunnels for connecting the wide end of each chamber to four adjacent chambers, and wherein each of the six chambers are conically or pyramid shaped, and the six chambers have a taper of 5 to 15 degrees; and

wherein the ball moves freely through each of the chamber connecting tunnels to the openings of adjacent chambers;

storing a record of each orientation of the object; and

communicating a history of each orientation of the object to a user.

14. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein interpreting three axis orientation sensor data additionally comprises computer readable instructions for eliminating bounce and vibration data based on the configuration of the chamber connecting tunnels.

15. The computer implemented method of claim 13, wherein interpreting three axis orientation sensor data additionally comprises computer readable instructions for creating an event history.