Accumulation Mode UV Sensor With Periodic Wake-Up
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current UV exposure monitoring devices are limited by their high cost, limited battery life, susceptibility to environmental conditions, and inability to provide accurate, continuous, and wavelength-specific measurements, leading to inadequate protection against skin cancer and sunburn.
Innovation Solution
A miniaturized electronic system with an accumulation detection module that uses photodiodes, capacitors, and a system-on-a-chip to continuously measure UV exposure across multiple wavelengths, featuring a low-power comparator and wireless communication module for autonomous operation and long-term battery life, allowing for accurate and continuous monitoring without user intervention.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional battery-powered electronics are used for UV monitoring, then wireless operation and digital data collection are enabled, but device cost increases and battery life is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs periodic wake-up cycles where the microcontroller remains in low-power sleep mode and periodically activates to read sensor data, process measurements, and communicate results. This periodic operation dramatically reduces average power consumption compared to continuous operation, enabling extended battery life while maintaining wireless functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional continuous-power electronic systems with an accumulation-mode sensing architecture where photodetectors continuously integrate UV exposure signals into capacitor charges without requiring continuous power to the sensing elements. This substitution of continuous electronic readout with passive accumulation physics enables ultra-low power operation.
2Measurement precision
If continuous monitoring with multiple photo detectors is implemented, then measurement precision across wavelengths is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic sampling where the microcontroller wakes up at intervals to read the accumulated charges from multiple photodetector-capacitor channels. During sleep mode, all sensing continues passively without power consumption. This periodic readout approach enables multi-wavelength monitoring while minimizing active power usage to only when data transfer is needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The accumulation-mode photodetectors continuously perform the measurement function autonomously by integrating incident UV photons into capacitor charges without requiring continuous external power or active electronics. The sensors serve themselves by converting optical energy directly into stored electrical charge, eliminating the need for continuous power supply to the sensing elements.
3Volume of moving object
If miniaturization is achieved, then device portability is improved, but protection against environmental conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a thin-film encapsulation architecture where the photodetectors and electronics are deposited or bonded onto flexible substrates with protective coating layers. This thin-film approach provides environmental protection while maintaining miniaturization, as the protective layers are sufficiently thin to keep the overall device small but sufficient to provide water and contaminant resistance for wearable applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses a nested layer structure where sensitive photodetector elements are embedded within protective encapsulation layers, which are themselves embedded within the overall device housing. This nested architecture protects vulnerable components from environmental conditions while maintaining a compact form factor, as each protective layer is optimized to be thin yet effective.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system provides accurate, continuous, and cost-effective UV exposure monitoring across multiple wavelengths, enabling informed sun protection and reducing the risk of skin cancer and sunburn with extended battery life and robust environmental resistance.
Implementation Method 1
at least one photodiode (PD) for continuously generating photocurrent with a magnitude that is proportional to an intensity of electromagnetic radiation in response to exposure to the electromagnetic radiation (EMR)
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic system for monitoring a physical parameter includes an ADM comprising an accumulation mode sensor for measuring the physical parameter by generating electrical energy associated with the physical parameter in response to a surrounding condition, and an energy storing device coupled to the accumulation mode sensor for accumulatively storing the generated electrical energy; a power source; and an SoC coupling with the ADM and the power source, configured such that the stored electrical energy is monitored, and when the stored electrical energy is equal to or greater than a pre-defined threshold, a wake-up event is generated to trigger the SoC to operates in a run mode in which the physical parameter is wirelessly transmitted to a receiver and the stored electrical energy in the energy storing device is discharged, and then the SoC returns to a sleep mode in which a minimal power is consumed.