Smart electromagnetic sensor array
First Claim
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1. A system for determining a location and an orientation of a wire, the system comprising:
- a plurality of sensors located at a respective plurality of locations that are fixed within the system, each sensor in the plurality of sensors being located spatially separate from the other sensors, wherein the sensors are configured to sense a strength of a magnetic field induced by a signal in the wire at the plurality of locations;
a processor configured to determine the location and the orientation of the wire relative to the plurality of sensors based upon the sensed strength of the magnetic field at the plurality of locations and provide the determined location and orientation of the wire to a user, wherein the determined location and orientation are indicative of both a position of the wire and an angular orientation of the wire with respect to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors; and
a display configured to graphically display the determined location and orientation of the wire relative to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors.
1 Assignment
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Abstract
An array of induction coil sensors is used to monitor, from multiple locations, the strength of a magnetic field generated by a wire to be traced. The magnetic field strength data is used to determine the location and orientation of the wire. In one embodiment, the sensor array is incorporated into a test instrument. The screen of the test instrument provides a graphical user interface that shows the orientation of the wire and indicates the location of the wire relative to the instrument.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A system for determining a location and an orientation of a wire, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors located at a respective plurality of locations that are fixed within the system, each sensor in the plurality of sensors being located spatially separate from the other sensors, wherein the sensors are configured to sense a strength of a magnetic field induced by a signal in the wire at the plurality of locations; a processor configured to determine the location and the orientation of the wire relative to the plurality of sensors based upon the sensed strength of the magnetic field at the plurality of locations and provide the determined location and orientation of the wire to a user, wherein the determined location and orientation are indicative of both a position of the wire and an angular orientation of the wire with respect to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors; and a display configured to graphically display the determined location and orientation of the wire relative to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 20, 22)
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9. A method of determining a location and an orientation of a wire, the method comprising:
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sensing a strength of a magnetic field induced by a signal in the wire using a plurality of sensors in a system, wherein the sensors are located at a respective plurality of locations that are fixed within the system; determining the location and the orientation of the wire relative to the plurality of sensors based upon the sensed strength of the magnetic field at the plurality of locations, wherein determining the location and orientation of the wire includes comparing the sensed strength of the magnetic field at the plurality of locations with readings previously stored in a memory, the stored readings providing indications of a plurality of locations and orientations of a test wire relative to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors, and determining the location and orientation of the wire based on the comparison with the stored readings, and wherein the determined location and orientation are indicative of both a position of the wire and an angular orientation of the wire with respect to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors; and providing to a user the determined location and orientation of the wire relative to the fixed locations of the plurality of sensors. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 21)
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15. A test instrument for determining a location and an orientation of a wire, comprising:
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a plurality of receivers arranged in an array, wherein the receivers are configured to sense a strength of a magnetic field induced by a signal in the wire at a plurality of locations that are fixed within the array, each receiver in the array being located spatially separate from the other receivers; a processor configured to determine the location and the orientation of the wire relative to the plurality of receivers based upon the sensed strength of the magnetic field at the plurality of locations, wherein the determined location and orientation are indicative of a position of the wire with respect to the plurality of receivers and an angular orientation of the wire with respect to the fixed locations of the plurality of receivers; and a display configured to display the determined location and orientation of the wire relative to the fixed locations of the plurality of receivers, wherein each of the plurality of receivers further includes an amplifier to amplify the filtered electrical signal, and wherein a gain of the amplifier is controlled using automatic gain control circuitry so that the filtered sink are amplified near the middle of an operating range of the processor. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification