Portable Sensor Unit With Separate Electronic Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional chemical and fluid analysis equipment are large, costly, and power-intensive, limiting their use in remote or multiple locations, and their wireless capabilities are restricted by power consumption, making them unsuitable for widespread or mobile applications.
Innovation Solution
A portable and compact sensor unit that operates separately from an electronic unit capable of powering, controlling, and processing data from the sensor unit, allowing for remote communication and network connectivity via various interfaces such as USB, RS-232, and wireless connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional chemical and fluid analysis equipment are used, then analysis capability is provided, but size, weight, and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system is divided into two independent parts: a compact sensor unit that performs sensing and a separate electronic unit that provides power, processing, and communication. This segmentation allows the sensor unit to be small and portable while the electronic unit handles the bulky components.
Solution Approach 2:
The power supply, data processing capability, and communication interface are extracted from the sensor unit and placed in a separate electronic unit. This extraction enables the sensor unit to be miniaturized while maintaining full analysis capability through the external electronic unit.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional equipment is equipped with wireless communication capability, then remote communication is enabled, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic unit acts as an intermediary that handles all power-intensive operations including wireless communication. The sensor unit communicates with the electronic unit via low-power wired connection, while the electronic unit manages high-power wireless communication to remote locations.
3Ease of operation
If sensor unit contains all necessary components for power and control, then independence is achieved, but size and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system functionality is segmented between the sensor unit (sensing only) and the electronic unit (power, control, processing, communication). This segmentation reduces the sensor unit to its essential sensing function, minimizing its size and complexity while maintaining operational independence through the paired electronic unit.
Data Source
AI summary
A sensing and analysis system, method, and network that make use of a very portable and compact sensor unit and a physically separate electronic unit that serves to power and control the sensor unit, process and optionally display the output of the sensor unit, and transmit the sensor output to other locations, such as over a network. The sensor unit includes a housing, a sensing element within the housing and responsive to an input, and electronic circuitry within the housing and in communication with the sensing element to produce an electrical output based on an output signal generated by the sensing element. A communication providing device delivers instructions generated by the electronic unit to the sensor unit and delivers the electrical output from the sensor unit to the electronic unit.