Monitoring method and apparatus using asynchronous, one-way transmission from sensor to base station
First Claim
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1. A monitoring system, comprising:
- a base station;
a first sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station, and comprising a microprocessor, a transmitter, and a battery; and
a first vibration-sensitive switch configured to consume no stored power from the battery and to generate a trigger, the trigger being defined as a voltage created by the first vibration-sensitive switch;
wherein the first sensor remains in a dormant state until the first vibration-sensitive switch generates the trigger, the dormant state being defined as the microprocessor drawing no stored power from the battery; and
wherein upon the microprocessor being directly powered by the trigger of the first vibration-sensitive switch, the transmitter of the first sensor transmits a first measured quantity and a first time stamp to the base station.
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Abstract
A monitoring system is disclosed, which includes a base station and at least one sensor unit that is separate from the base station. The at least one sensor unit resides in a dormant state until it is awakened by the triggering of a vibration-sensitive switch. Once awakened, the sensor may take a measurement, and then transmit to the base station the measurement. Once data is transmitted from the sensor to the base station, the sensor may return to its dormant state. There may be various sensors for each base station and the various sensors may optionally measure different quantities, such as current, voltage, single-axis and/or three-axis magnetic fields.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A monitoring system, comprising:
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a base station; a first sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station, and comprising a microprocessor, a transmitter, and a battery; and a first vibration-sensitive switch configured to consume no stored power from the battery and to generate a trigger, the trigger being defined as a voltage created by the first vibration-sensitive switch; wherein the first sensor remains in a dormant state until the first vibration-sensitive switch generates the trigger, the dormant state being defined as the microprocessor drawing no stored power from the battery; and wherein upon the microprocessor being directly powered by the trigger of the first vibration-sensitive switch, the transmitter of the first sensor transmits a first measured quantity and a first time stamp to the base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A monitoring system, comprising:
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a base station; a sensor separated from the base station and in wireless, one-way communication with the base station, and comprising a microprocessor; and a piezoelectronic laminate vibration-sensitive switch configured to generate a trigger, the trigger being defined as a voltage created by the piezoelectronic laminate vibration-sensitive switch; wherein the sensor remains in a dormant state until the piezoelectronic laminate vibration-sensitive switch generates the trigger, the dormant state being defined as the microprocessor drawing no supply current; wherein upon the microprocessor being directly powered by the trigger of the piezoelectronic laminate vibration-sensitive switch, the sensor transmits a measured quantity and a time stamp to the base station; and wherein the sensor measures at least one of a current signal, a voltage signal, a discrete digital signal, a single-axis magnetic field, and a three-axis magnetic field.
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Specification