Secure non-contact switch
First Claim
1. A redundant non-contact switch for reporting a status as closed or open for a first member and a second member that move relative to each other between an open state and a closed state, comprising:
- a wireless authentication (WA) pair, including;
a WA responder attached to one of the first member and the second member;
a WA interrogator attached to the other of the first member and the second member;
the WA pair configured to register a WA status of closed or open, depending on a WA authentication between the WA responder and the WA interrogator;
a magnetic pair, including;
a magnet attached to one of the first member and the second member;
a magnet sensor attached to the other of the first member and the second member;
the magnetic pair configured to register a magnetic status of closed or open, depending on whether a magnet distance between the magnet and magnet sensor is beyond a threshold magnet distance; and
the redundant non-contact switch configured to report the status as closed only if both the WA status is registered as closed and the magnetic status is registered as closed.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A redundant non-contact switch reports a status as closed or open for a first member and a second member that move relative to each other between an open state and a closed state. In some embodiments, the redundant non-contact switch includes a wireless authentication (WA) pair and a magnetic pair. The WA pair may include a WA responder attached to one of the first member and the second member, and a WA interrogator attached to the other of the first member and the second member. The WA pair may be configured to register a WA status of closed or open, depending on a WA authentication between the WA responder and the WA interrogator. The magnetic pair may include a magnet attached to one of the first member and the second member, and a magnet sensor attached to the other of the first member and the second member. The magnetic pair may be configured to register a magnetic status of closed or open, depending on whether a magnet distance between the magnet and magnet sensor is beyond a threshold magnet distance. In some instances, the redundant non-contact switch reports the status as closed only if both the WA status is registered as closed and the magnetic status is registered as closed.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A redundant non-contact switch for reporting a status as closed or open for a first member and a second member that move relative to each other between an open state and a closed state, comprising:
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a wireless authentication (WA) pair, including; a WA responder attached to one of the first member and the second member; a WA interrogator attached to the other of the first member and the second member; the WA pair configured to register a WA status of closed or open, depending on a WA authentication between the WA responder and the WA interrogator; a magnetic pair, including; a magnet attached to one of the first member and the second member; a magnet sensor attached to the other of the first member and the second member; the magnetic pair configured to register a magnetic status of closed or open, depending on whether a magnet distance between the magnet and magnet sensor is beyond a threshold magnet distance; and the redundant non-contact switch configured to report the status as closed only if both the WA status is registered as closed and the magnetic status is registered as closed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A secure non-contact switch, comprising:
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a wireless authentication (WA) pair including a WA responder and a WA interrogator, the WA pair configured to register a WA status of closed or open, the WA status depending on a WA authentication between the WA responder and the WA interrogator; and a magnetic pair including a magnet and a magnet sensor, the magnetic pair configured to register a magnetic status of closed or open, the magnetic status depending on a magnet distance between the magnet and magnet sensor; the secure non-contact switch configured to report a closed status only if both the WA status is registered as closed and the magnetic status is registered as closed. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for redundantly assessing an open or closed status of a non-contact switch, the non-contact switch including a wireless authentication (WA) pair that includes a WA responder and a WA interrogator, and a magnetic pair that includes a magnet and a magnet sensor, the method comprising:
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registering a magnetic status of the magnet pair as open or closed; attempting a WA authentication if the magnetic status is closed and preventing the WA authentication if the magnetic status is open, the attempting step including the steps of; broadcasting a interrogation signal from the WA interrogator; receiving the interrogation signal by the WA responder; replying with a response signal by the WA responder after receiving the interrogation signal; receiving the response signal by the WA interrogator; and determining if the response signal matches a known identification code; and reporting the status of the non-contact switch as closed only if the response signal matches the known identification code. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A redundant non-contact interlock switch for reporting an interlock status as closed or open for a first member and second member that move relative to each other between an open state and a closed state, comprising:
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a magnetic switch that is registered as closed when the first member and the second member are in the closed state; a wireless authentication (WA) pair including a WA responder and a WA interrogator, the WA pair registered as closed when; the first member and the second member are in the closed state; and the WA responder and the WA interrogator successfully complete a WA authentication; and the redundant non-contact interlock switch is configured to report the interlock status as closed only if both the WA pair is registered as closed and the magnetic status is registered as closed.
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23. A secure non-contact switch, comprising:
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an inductive power transmission pair including an inductive power transmit coil and an inductive power receive coil, the inductive power receive coil only receiving sufficient operational power from the inductive power transmit coil when the transmit and receive coils are positioned within a threshold distance of each other; and a wireless authentication (WA) pair including a WA interrogator and a WA responder, the WA responder requiring sufficient operational power from the inductive power receive coil to provide an authenticating response to an interrogation from the WA interrogator; the secure non-contact switch reporting a status of closed only if the authenticating response received by the WA interrogator from the WA responder matches an expected authenticating response.
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Specification