Wireless Temperature Sensor Without Electrical Connections
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current temperature sensors require electrical connections, making them non-functional if damaged and limiting their application to embedded installations due to the need for a power source and complex system integration.
Innovation Solution
A wireless temperature sensor with an unconnected electrical conductor and a temperature-sensitive material that changes dielectric or magnetic permeability, allowing it to resonate and indicate temperature changes without electrical connections, enabling continued functionality even if damaged.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If electrical connections are used to provide power and data acquisition, then the sensor can function, but the sensor becomes non-functional if the electrical line or connection point is damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the electrical connection requirement from the temperature sensing system. The sensor uses a wireless resonant coupling mechanism where an external reader inductively couples energy to the sensor's resonant circuit, eliminating the need for physical electrical connections for both power and data transmission. This allows the sensor to function without traditional electrical wiring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical/electrical connection system with an electromagnetic field-based wireless communication system. Instead of using physical wires and electrical contacts, the system uses inductive coupling and resonant electromagnetic fields to transmit both power and sensing data, substituting a mechanical connection approach with an electromagnetic field approach.
2Ease of operation
If a power source and complete wireless system are integrated, then the sensor can operate wirelessly, but the number of elements increases and limits applications to those with enough room
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the power source and wireless communication components from the sensor itself and places them in the external reader device. The sensor is reduced to only the essential sensing element (temperature-sensitive material coupled to a resonant circuit), while the reader handles power transmission via inductive coupling and data reception, dramatically simplifying the sensor form factor.
Solution Approach 2:
The external reader performs multiple functions: it provides wireless power transmission to the sensor through inductive coupling, receives the sensor's resonant frequency signals, and processes the temperature data. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate components into a single external device.
3Reliability
If the sensing element is part of an electrically closed circuit, then the circuit can be completed, but if the circuit connection is broken, the sensor system is rendered useless
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the electrical closed circuit requirement with an open resonant circuit that uses electromagnetic resonance. The sensor uses an open circuit configuration where the resonant frequency is determined by the inductance and capacitance of the traces, and temperature changes are detected through shifts in this resonant frequency caused by changes in the dielectric or magnetic properties of the adjacent material, eliminating the need for electrical circuit closure.
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 sensor can operate independently of power sources and electrical connections, maintaining functionality after damage and adapting to various installation configurations, including embedded applications.
Implementation Method 1
In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the conductor so-shaped resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses
Implementation Method 2
the conductor so-shaped resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses, each of which has a frequency associated therewith
Implementation Method 3
The material is selected such that it experiences changes in either dielectric or magnetic permeability attributes in the presence of a temperature change
Implementation Method 4
The material is selected such that it experiences changes in either dielectric or magnetic permeability attributes in the presence of a temperature change
Data Source
AI summary
A wireless temperature sensor includes an electrical conductor and a material spaced apart from the conductor and located within one or more of the responding electric field and responding magnetic field of the conductor. The conductor is electrically unconnected and is shaped for storage of an electric field and a magnetic field. In the presence of a time-varying magnetic field, the conductor resonates to generate harmonic electric and magnetic field responses, each of which has a frequency associated therewith. The material is selected such that it experiences changes in one of dielectric properties and magnetic permeability properties in the presence of a temperature change. Shifts from the sensor's baseline frequency response indicate that the material has experienced a temperature change.