Rfmicron, Inc.

Hughes Aircraft Company

Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

Motorola Corporation

Texas Instruments Corporation

Hughes Electronics Corporation

Brian David Young

Shahriar Rokhsaz

Marwan M Hassoun

Ahmed Younis

John James Paulos

Abhay Misra

Benjamin Cooke

Clifton Quan

Steven A Atherton

Everitt W Mace

Daniel M Battista

Mona A Chopra

James C Golab

Stanley A Cejka

Keith Whaley

William J Downey

Bruce F Wolfe

A wireless sensor includes a radio frequency (RF) front end and a sensing integrated circuit (IC). The RF front end includes an antenna that is operable to transceive RF signals and a tuning circuit. The sensing IC includes a power supply. The sensing IC is operable to detect an impedance change of the power supply. The sensing IC is further operable to convert the impedance change into a digital value. The sensing IC is further operable to output, via the antenna, the digital value.

Wireless sensor with multiple sensing options

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes a power harvesting circuit that operates generate power for the RFID tag from a continuous wave of a radio frequency (RF) signal. The RFID tag further includes a tuning circuit that is tuned based on a capacitance setting, where the capacitance setting is indicative of a power level of the power. The RFID tag further includes a processing module operably coupled to the tuning circuit, where the processing module operates to generate the capacitance setting to obtain a desired power level for the power.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) moisture tag(s) and sensors with extended sensing via capillaries

A method includes sending, by a reader, a radio frequency (RF) signal to a wireless sensor that includes an antenna having a tail section and a head section. The tail section is for placement in an RF limited area for sensing moisture in a first location of a vehicle under test and wherein the head section is for placement in a non-RF limited area. The method further includes receiving, by the reader, an RF response to the RF signal from the wireless sensor. The first RF response includes an indication of adjustment of one or more RF characteristics of the wireless sensor, which corresponds to a variance of the one or more RF characteristics from a desired value, which, in turn, corresponds to a level of moisture at the first location. The method further includes outputting, by the reader, a message regarding the level of moisture at the first location.

Sensor with tail or transmission line for vehicle leak testing

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes an antenna, an analog front end, a processing circuit, and memory. The analog front end includes a power circuit, a tuning circuit, a transmitter, and a receiver. The power circuit is operably coupled to convert a radio frequency (RF) signal into a power supply voltage. The tuning circuit, when enabled, adjusts an RF characteristic of the analog front end to tune power harvesting from the RF signal. The transmitter is operably coupled to transmit a response signal to the RFID reader via the antenna. The receiver is operably coupled to receive a command signal from the RFID reader, wherein the command signal is contained within a portion of the RF signal. The processing circuit is operable to interpret the command signal and generate the response signal.

Pressure based wireless sensor and applications thereof

A wireless sensor includes a radio frequency (RF) front end, a sensing element, and a processing module. The RF front end sends a coded digital value to a sensing computing device via an RF signal. The sensing element senses an environmental condition of an item. The processing module determines an effect on an operational parameter of an RF front end of the wireless sensor as a result of the sensing element sensing the environmental condition. The processing module also adjusts tuning of the RF front end to mitigate the effect on the operational parameter and equates an amount of adjusting of the tuning of the RF front end to the coded digital value.

Wireless sensor with oppositely positioned antenna and sensing circuitry

A wireless sensor includes a radio frequency (RF) front end, a sensing element, and a processing module. The RF front end receives a request for sensed data from a sensing computing device and sends a coded digital value to the sensing computing device via the RF signal. The sensing element senses an environmental condition of an item. The processing module determines an effect on an operational parameter of an RF front end of the wireless sensor as a result of the sensing element sensing the environmental condition and while receiving the RF signal. The processing module also adjusts tuning of the RF front end to mitigate the effect on the operational parameter and equates an amount of adjusting of the tuning of the RF front end to a coded digital value.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes an antenna, a power circuit, a tuning circuit, a receiver, and a backscatter transmitter. The power circuit is operably coupled to convert a radio frequency (RF) signal received via the antenna from an RFID reader into one or more power supply voltages. The tuning circuit is operably coupled to the antenna and to adjust an RF characteristic of the antenna and/or the tuning circuit based on a difference between a resonant frequency of the RFID tag and a carrier frequency of the RF signal. The receiver is operably coupled to receive a command signal from the RFID reader. The backscatter transmitter is operably coupled to transmit a response signal to the RFID reader via the antenna.

Method and apparatus for sensing environment using a wireless passive sensor

A wireless sensor includes an antenna, a sensing integrated circuit (IC), and a power supply impedance altering element. The antenna is operable to receive an inbound radio frequency (RF) signal and to transmit an outbound RF signal. The sensing IC includes a power supply, a first power supply connection, and a second power supply connection. The power supply impedance altering element is coupled to the first and second power supply connections and is coupled to sense a condition of an item. The sensing IC is operable to detect an impedance change of the power supply based on an effect of the power supply impedance altering element. The sensing IC is further operable to convert the impedance change into a digital value that represents the condition of the item. The sensing IC is further operable to output, via the antenna, the digital value or a representation of the condition.

A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag includes a power harvesting circuit, an RF front-end, and a processing module. The power harvesting circuit generates power for the RFID tag from a continuous wave of an inbound radio frequency (RF) signal. The RF front-end receives the inbound RF signal and transmits an outbound RF signal. The RF front-end includes a tuning circuit that is tuned based on a capacitance setting. The tuning of the tuning circuit effects a characteristic of the RF front-end. The processing module generate the capacitance setting to adjust the characteristic of the RF front-end to a desired characteristic.

A method includes varying, by a tuning module of a passive radio RFID sensor, a reactive component impedance coupled to the tuning module and an antenna of the passive RFID sensor in order to change a system impedance. The method further includes producing an impedance value representative of the reactive component's impedance. The method further includes storing, by a memory module of the passive RFID sensor, the impedance value, identification information corresponding to the antenna, and a timestamp corresponding to the impedance value. The method further includes communicating, by a wireless communication module of the passive RFID sensor, the impedance value, the identification information, and the timestamp to an RFID reader. When the impedance value, the identification information, and the timestamp indicate an unfavorable environmental condition, the method further includes generating, by the RFID reader, an alarm signal.

Method and apparatus for sensing environmental parameters using wireless sensor(s)

A wireless sensor includes a substrate, an antenna, a sensing element, a transmission line, and a sensing integrated circuit (IC). The sensing element is positioned on one end of the substrate and the antenna is positioned on an opposite end of the substrate. The sensing IC is coupled to the sensing element and to the antenna via the transmission line. The sensing IC is operable to receive a sensed condition of the item from the sensing element. The sensing IC is further operable to determine an input impedance of the wireless sensor based on the sensed condition and convert it into a digital value that is representative of the condition of the item. The sensing IC is further operable to output, via the antenna, the digital value or a representation of the condition of the item.

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Austin, TX, United States of America

Brian David Young