Wireless RFID Sensor Modulator Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional low-power or unpowered sensors face challenges in industrial environments due to factors like temperature variations, blockages, and quantization methods, which affect their performance and require additional subsystems increasing complexity and power consumption.
Innovation Solution
The integration of direct conversion sensors with multi-port structures and modulators in wireless/RFID sensor nodes, which eliminate the need for separate digitizers and utilize pilot sequence generators for calibration and channel estimation, enabling efficient data transmission and sensing without significant power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional low-power or unpowered sensors are used in industrial environments, then power consumption is reduced, but performance is degraded due to temperature variations, blockages, and quantization methods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines sensing circuits with multi-port modulator structures into a single integrated wireless sensor node. The modulator serves dual purposes: it modulates the output signal for transmission and simultaneously functions as the sensing element that detects physical quantities. This merging eliminates the need for separate sensing and modulation subsystems, reducing overall system complexity and power consumption while maintaining reliable sensing performance in industrial environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-port modulator structure performs multiple functions: signal modulation, signal transmission, and physical quantity sensing. By making the modulator universal—capable of both communication and sensing tasks—the system achieves reliable performance without requiring additional dedicated sensing subsystems that would increase power consumption.
2Reliability
If additional subsystems are added to deal with industrial environment factors, then sensor performance is improved, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the sensing function directly into the modulator structure, combining what would traditionally be separate subsystems (sensing circuits, modulation circuits, and transmission circuits) into a unified wireless sensor node. This merging reduces device complexity by eliminating interfaces and coordination requirements between separate subsystems while maintaining the ability to handle industrial environment factors through the integrated design.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-port modulator serves as a universal component that handles both sensing and communication tasks. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for additional dedicated subsystems for sensing, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining performance in challenging industrial environments.
3Reliability
If additional subsystems are added to deal with industrial environment factors, then sensor performance is improved, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the sensing and modulation functions into a single integrated structure. By combining these functions, the system avoids the power overhead of running separate sensing and modulation subsystems, achieving reliable sensor performance without the associated increase in power consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-port modulator acts as a universal component performing both sensing and modulation. This eliminates the need for additional power-hungry subsystems, as the same hardware structure handles multiple tasks efficiently.
4Extent of automation
If separate digitizers are used in wireless sensor nodes, then data processing capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the digitization function from the sensor node by utilizing the multi-port modulator's inherent ability to directly modulate and transmit sensed information. This eliminates the need for separate digitizer circuits, reducing device complexity while maintaining data processing capability through the modulation process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the digitization function with the modulation function in the multi-port modulator structure. The modulator directly converts sensed physical quantities into modulated transmission signals without requiring separate digitization stages, thereby reducing system complexity while preserving data processing capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless sensor is provided for use in near-to-zero or zero-power consumption applications. The sensor includes a sensing circuit, a modulator connected to the sensing circuit and configured to modulate an input signal using variations in input impedance produced by the sensing circuit to produce a modulated output signal, and a transmitting element such as an antenna to transmit the modulated output signal to a receiver. In some implementations, the sensor includes a pilot sequence generator that may be powered by a received signal from a transmitting node. The input signal is thus modulated by both pilot data and the input impedance. The input signal may be received from the transmitting node. Alternatively, a power source may be provided in the wireless sensor for generating the input signal and/or pilot data.