Sensing modules and methods of using

• US 8,677,802 B2
• Filed: 08/24/2010
• Issued: 03/25/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Evigia Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Evigia Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Hower, Robert William, Zhang, Yafan, Yazdi, Navid
• Primary Examiner(s): Caputo, Lisa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hernandez-Prewitt, Roger
• Application Number:
  US12/862,162
• Publication Number:
  US 20110203347A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,309 Days
• Field of Search: 73/120.1, 734/92, 738/625.3
• US Class Current: 73/12.01
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 5/62 the solid body being formed of compounded strips or plates, e.g. bimetallic strip
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/0888 for indicating angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/135 by making use of contacts which are actuated by a movable inertial mass
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/18 in two or more dimensions
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 2015/0828 the mass being of the paddle type being suspended at one of its longitudinal ends
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 1/0036 Switches making use of microelectromechanical systems [MEMS] for electromagnetic relays H01H50/005; for electrostatic relays H01H59/0009
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2001/0063 having electrostatic latches, i.e. the activated position is kept by electrostatic forces other than the activation force
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2037/008 Micromechanical switches operated thermally
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2203/0085 Layered switches integrated into garment, clothes or textile
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 2300/032 using RFID technology in switching devices
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 35/14 Switches operated by change of acceleration, e.g. by shock or vibration, inertia switch wherein the liquid constitutes a contact of the switch H01H29/002
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 35/24 Switches operated by change of fluid pressure, by fluid pressure waves, or by change of fluid flow wherein the change of pressure is caused by change of temperature H01H37/36
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 35/42 Switches operated by change of humidity
• CPC Class Codes: H01H 69/01 for calibrating or setting of devices to function under predetermined conditions
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 90/20 Smart grids as enabling technology in buildings sector smart grids supporting the management or operation of end-user stationary applications in general, or like technologies with no associated climate change mitigation effect Y04S20/00
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 20/14 Protecting elements, switches, relays or circuit breakers

Abstract

A sensing module and method for monitoring various physical parameters, and particularly environmental parameters to which a living body may be subjected, for example, impacts and shock wave pulses. The module at least one energy storage device and at least one set of electromechanical sensing elements contained in a housing. The sensing elements are responsive to an external environmental input, and each sensing element defines an open electrical path when not subjected to the input, is operable to define a closed electrical path that produces an output in response to the input if the input exceeds a threshold of the sensing element. The module generates data corresponding to the outputs of the sensing elements and records the data.

Claims

1. A sensing module for monitoring at least one external environmental input, the sensing module comprising:

a housing;

at least one energy storage device within the housing;

at least one set of electromechanical sensing elements within the housing, the electromechanical sensing elements being individually responsive to an external environmental input, each of the electromechanical sensing elements defining an open electrical path when not subjected to the external environmental input and operable to define a closed electrical path that produces an output in response to the external environmental input only while the electromechanical sensing element is subject to the external environmental input, only if the external environmental input is at a level that exceeds a threshold of the electromechanical sensing element, and only for a duration during which the level of the external environmental input exceeds the threshold of the electromechanical sensing element, then again defining the open electrical path thereof so as not to produce the output when no longer subject to the level of the external environmental input that exceeded the threshold thereof, the output of each of the electromechanical sensing elements indicating the threshold of the external environmental input that produced the output and corresponding to the duration that the level of the external environmental input exceeded the threshold thereof;

means within the housing for generating data corresponding to the outputs of the electromechanical sensing elements, the data comprising an amplitude of the external environmental input and the durations that the level of the external environmental input exceeded the thresholds of the electromechanical sensing elements; and

means within the housing for recording the data;

wherein the electromechanical sensing elements, the generating means, and the recording means are powered only by the energy storage device when, respectively, producing the output, generating the data, and recording the data in response to the external environmental input that exceeded the threshold of one or more of the electromechanical sensing elements.

2. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the housing is attached to skin of a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input.

3. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the housing comprises an adhesive for temporarily attaching the housing to a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input.

4. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the housing is attached to clothing apparel so as to be worn by a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input.

5. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the housing is attached to sporting equipment so as to be worn by a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input.

6. The sensing module according to claim 5, wherein the sporting equipment is chosen from the group consisting of helmets, earpieces, and mouth guards.

7. The sensing module according to claim 1, further comprising means for wirelessly retrieving the data stored in the recording means.

8. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the recording means comprises nonvolatile digital memory devices.

9. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the set of electromechanical sensing elements comprises a plurality of integrated electromechanical switches, the electromechanical switches are open to define the open electrical paths when not subjected to the external environmental input and close to define the closed electrical paths that produce the outputs while subject to the external environmental input if the external environmental input exceeds the thresholds thereof.

10. The sensing module according to claim 9, wherein the electromechanical switches have different thresholds so as to have different levels of sensitivity to the external environmental input.

11. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the electromechanical sensing elements have different thresholds so as to have different levels of sensitivity to the external environmental input.

12. The sensing module according to claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted to be attached to or worn by a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input, and the electromechanical sensing elements have different thresholds so as to have different levels of sensitivity to the external environmental input.

13. The sensing module according to claim 12, wherein the external environmental input is pressure.

14. The sensing module according to claim 13, wherein the electromechanical sensing elements are responsive to pressures from at least five different directions wherein each of the at least five different directions is orthogonal to another of the at least five different directions.

15. The sensing module according to claim 12, wherein the external environmental input is impact.

16. The sensing module according to claim 15, wherein the electromechanical sensing elements are responsive to impacts from at least five directions wherein each of the at least five directions is orthogonal to another of the at least five directions.

17. The sensing module according to claim 16, further comprising means within the housing for processing the amplitude and duration of the data and predicting the likelihood or risk of injury to the living body resulting from the impacts.

18. The sensing module according to claim 1, further comprising means within the housing for processing the amplitude and duration of the data and predicting the likelihood or risk of injury to the living body resulting from the pressures.

19. A method of monitoring at least one external environmental input to which a body is subjected, the method comprising:

providing a sensing module that comprises a rigid housing containing at least one energy storage device, at least one set of electromechanical sensing elements that are individually responsive to at least one external environmental input, means for generating outputs corresponding to the external environmental input to which the electromechanical sensing elements are subjected, and means for recording data corresponding to the outputs, each of the electromechanical sensing elements being operable to produce an output in response to the external environmental input only while the electromechanical sensing element is subject to the external environmental input, only if the external environmental input is at a level that exceeds a threshold of the electromechanical sensing element, and only for a duration during which the level of the external environmental input exceeds the threshold of the electromechanical sensing element;

attaching the housing to a body;

monitoring the external environmental input to which the body is subjected by monitoring multiple levels of the external environmental input to which the electromechanical sensing elements are subjected while attached to the body;

producing the outputs of the electromechanical sensing elements corresponding to the levels of the external environmental input sensed by the electromechanical sensing elements that exceeded the thresholds thereof;

storing data in the recording means within the housing corresponding to the outputs of the electromechanical sensing elements, the data comprising an amplitude of the external environmental input that produced the outputs of the electromechanical sensing elements and corresponding to the durations that the level of the external environmental input exceeded the thresholds of the electromechanical sensing elements; and

then

retrieving the data stored in the recording means while the housing remains attached to the body.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the body is a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input, and the method further comprises temporarily attaching the housing to skin of the living body with adhesive.

21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the body is a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input, and the method further comprises attaching the housing to clothing apparel worn by the living body.

22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the body is a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input, and the method further comprises attaching the housing to sporting equipment worn by the living body.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein the method further comprising selecting the sporting equipment from the group consisting of helmets, earpieces, and mouth guards.

24. The method according to claim 19, the method further comprising wirelessly retrieving the data stored in the recording means.

25. The method according to claim 19, wherein the storing step comprises storing the data while the recording means is not supplied power external of the housing.

26. The method according to claim 19, wherein the electromechanical sensing elements comprise a plurality of integrated electromechanical switches, the electromechanical switches are open to define open electrical paths when not subjected to the external environmental input, the method further comprising closing at least some of the electromechanical switches to define closed electrical paths that produce the outputs thereof by subjecting the electromechanical switches to the external environmental input that exceeds the thresholds of the at least some electromechanical sensing elements.

27. The method according to claim 19, wherein the providing step further comprises providing the electromechanical sensing elements to have different thresholds so as to have different levels of sensitivity to the external environmental input.

28. The method according to claim 19, wherein the body is a living body and the method further comprises attaching the housing to the living body or wearing the housing by the living body.

29. The method according to claim 28, wherein the external environmental input is pressure and the electromechanical sensing elements are diaphragms, and the method further comprises the diaphragms deflecting in response to pressure.

30. The method according to claim 29, further comprising the electromechanical sensing elements responding to pressures from at least five directions wherein each of the at least five directions is orthogonal to another of the at least five directions.

31. The method according to claim 30, further comprising processing the amplitude and duration of the data and predicting the likelihood or risk of injury to the living body resulting from the pressures.

32. The method according to claim 28, wherein the external environmental input is impact and the electromechanical sensing elements are cantilevered beams, and the method further comprises the cantilevered beams deflecting in response to impact.

33. The method according to claim 32, further comprising the electromechanical sensing elements responding to impacts from at least five directions wherein each of the at least five directions is orthogonal to another of the at least five directions.

34. The method according to claim 33, further comprising processing the amplitude and duration of the data and predicting the likelihood or risk of injury to the living body resulting from the impacts.

35. A sensing module for monitoring at least one external environmental input, the sensing module comprising:

a base comprising at least first, second, third and fourth electromechanical sensing elements that are individually responsive to pressure as an external environmental input received from at least four different directions, each of the first, second, third and fourth electromechanical sensing elements comprising a movable electrode; and

a fixed electrode surrounded by the first, second, third and fourth electromechanical sensing elements and separated from the movable electrodes thereof by an air gap,

wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth electromechanical sensing elements defines an open electrical path when not subjected to the external environmental input and operable to define a closed electrical path with the fixed electrode that produces an output in response to the external environmental input only while the electromechanical sensing element is subject to the external environmental input, only if the external environmental input is at a level that exceeds a threshold of the electromechanical sensing element, and only for a duration during which the level of the external environmental input exceeds the threshold of the electromechanical sensing element, then again defining the open electrical path thereof so as not to produce the output when no longer subject to the level of the external environmental input that exceeded the threshold thereof.

36. The sensing module according to claim 35, wherein each of the first, second, third and fourth electromechanical sensing elements is a diaphragm.

37. The sensing module according to claim 36, further comprising a fifth diaphragm separated from the fixed electrode by an air gap and adapted to sense pressure from a direction perpendicular to each of the four different directions.

38. A sensing module for monitoring at least one external environmental input, the sensing module comprising:

at least a set of electromechanical sensing elements individually responsive to an external environmental input, each electromechanical sensing element of the set of electromechanical sensing elements producing a digital output signal in response to the external environmental input only if the external environmental input is at a level that exceeds a threshold of the electromechanical sensing element and only for a duration during which the level of the external environmental input exceeds the threshold of the electromechanical sensing element;

means for generating data corresponding to the outputs of the set of electromechanical sensing elements, the data comprising an amplitude of the external environmental input and the durations that the level of the external environmental input exceeded the thresholds of the set of the electromechanical sensing elements; and

means for recording the data.

39. The sensing module according to claim 38, wherein the set of electromechanical sensing elements, the generating means, and the recording means are within a housing attached to one of:

skin of a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input;

clothing apparel so as to be worn by a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input;

sporting equipment so as to be worn by a living body that is subjected to the external environmental input.

40. The sensing module according to claim 38, further comprising means for wirelessly retrieving the data stored in the recording means.

41. The sensing module according to claim 38, wherein the recording means comprises nonvolatile digital memory devices.

42. The sensing module according to claim 38, wherein the set of electromechanical sensing elements comprises a plurality of integrated electromechanical switches, each of the electromechanical switches is open to define an open electrical path when not subjected to the external environmental input and closes to define a closed electrical path that produces the output thereof while subject to the external environmental input if the external environmental input exceeds the threshold thereof.

43. The sensing module according to claim 38, wherein the electromechanical switches have different thresholds so as to have different levels of sensitivity to the external environmental input.