A modular acoustic sensor device and associated method of use

Abstract

A modular device (10; 210) for detecting wood boring insect activity or other noises within a specimen (100) comprises: a housing (20; 220) defining a hollow interior chamber (26) and including an opening (27) connecting the interior chamber to the exterior; an acoustic sensor (40) mounted within the interior chamber (26) whereby a sensing surface (40a) of the acoustic sensor faces the exterior through the opening (27); and a probe (30) comprising a base portion (34) and a tip portion (32). The probe (30) is removably coupled to the acoustic sensor (40) such that when coupled the base portion (34) is in direct contact with the sensing surface (40a) and the tip portion projects through the opening (27) for insertion into the specimen. The removable coupling is in the form of a magnetic coupling. When in use the tip portion (32) is inserted into the specimen, sounds within the specimen are transmitted as vibrations along the probe (30) to the acoustic sensor (40), which converts those vibrations to an output signal, which may be indicative of the health of the specimen, such as through detection of the presence of wood boring insect activity within.

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