Passive sensor tag system

• US 10,740,577 B2
• Filed: 07/12/2016
• Issued: 08/11/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Palo Alto Research Center, Inc. (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Paulson, Christopher, Abhishek, Ramkumar, Whiting, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Negron, Daniell L
• Application Number:
  US15/208,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20180018481A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,491 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/00 Measuring temperature based on the use of electric or magnetic elements directly sensitive to heat giving results other than momentary value of temperature G01K3/00 ; Power supply therefor, e.g. using thermoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10316 using at least one antenna particularly designed for interrogating the wireless record carriers antennas in general H01Q1/22
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10336 the antenna being of the near field type, inductive coil

Abstract

A passive sensor tag system including a passive electronic sensor tag and an external readout. The passive electronic sensor tag including a sensor element configured to sense data in a local environment and to cause a shift in a fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of a sensor circuit based on the sensed data. The external readout including an external readout circuit that is configured to generate a signal having a frequency and a voltage and to transmit the signal through an output antenna. The transmitted signal coupling the sensor circuit and the external readout circuit. The external readout determining a fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit based on the impedance of the coupled sensor circuit and external readout circuit. The external readout determining the sensed data based the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit.

Claims

1. A passive sensor tag system, comprising:

a passive electronic sensor tag having a sensor element and a sensor circuit, the sensor element configured to sense a change in a local environmental variable and to alter a fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit as a result of the change in the local environmental variable, wherein the local environmental variable is one of light, temperature, pressure, vibration, stress, and strain;

an external readout including an external readout circuit configured to generate a signal having a frequency and a voltage and to transmit the signal through an output antenna to the passive electronic sensor tag, wherein the external readout circuit includes a first analog-to-digital converter (ADC) sampling the signal before the output antenna and a second ADC sampling the signal after the output antenna, the external readout determining the impedance of the coupled system based on the sampling of the first ADC and the second ADC, the transmitted signal coupling the sensor circuit and the external readout circuit, the external readout determining the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit from a change in an impedance of the coupled sensor circuit and external readout circuit, the external readout determining the change in the local environmental variable from the alteration in the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit, wherein the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic is one of a fundamental electrical resonance frequency of the sensor circuit, a width of a resonance frequency response trough, a width of a resonance frequency response crest, and quality factor of the resonance.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor circuit includes at least one capacitance value and one inductance value and the sensor element is configured to alter a the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit from a change in one or both of the at least one capacitance value and the at least one inductance value.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the sensor circuit further includes a voltage generating sensor element and a voltage-capacitance conversion element, wherein the voltage-capacitance conversion element is configured to generate an output of capacitance change reflecting the converted voltage change.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the voltage generating sensor includes piezoelectric material and the voltage-capacitance conversion element includes at least one varactor diode.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the sensor circuit is a thin film circuit.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor circuit includes an RLC resonant circuit with at least one fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic and the sensor element is configured to alter the fundamental electrical resonance frequency characteristic of the sensor circuit based on a change in one or both of the capacitance and the inductance value.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor element includes one of a microelectromechanical sensor (MEMS) capacitor, a metal coil inductor, and a piezoelectric material.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the passive electronic sensor tag is configured to be attached to an object.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the object is configured to be attached to a physical structure so that the object is then configured to sense one or both of parameters in the local environment and parameters affecting the condition of the physical structure.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the impedance of the coupled system is determined by measuring the voltage drop of the transmitted signal across the output antenna.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the signal is generated by a digital-to-analog converter.