University of Michigan

Everactive, Inc.

University of Virginia

Nathan E Roberts

David D Wentzloff

Benton H Calhoun

Seunghyun Oh

Shadi Hawawini

Kyle Craig

Jim Boley

Yanqing Zhang

Alicia Klinefelter

Nirmalendu Patra

Michael Kines

Yousef Shakhsheer

Sean P Mahnken

Tom O'Brien

Devices, systems, and techniques relating to steam trap monitoring are described. These include battery-less steam trap monitors that run on power harvested from their environments, systems for acquiring steam trap monitor data for the traps in a facility or across multiple facilities, and techniques for processing steam trap monitor data to reliably determine the status of individual steam traps and potentially other system parameters.

Steam trap monitoring devices, systems, and related techniques

Embodiments include methods and apparatus for wireless network communication between a device that operates a radio in compliance with a wireless communication standard and another device that may not be capable of complying with the wireless communication standard. In an embodiment a sender of a wireless standard compliant message modulates backchannel data on a wireless standard compliant message. The wireless standard compliant message may be addressed to an IP address of a compliant device. However the compliant message may have no meaning for the addressee. A noncompliant device within wireless range of the compliant message receives the message and demodulates the backchannel information. The noncompliant device this does not require a wireless standard radio to be on in order to receive messages and can operate at very low power.

Methods and apparatus for networking using a proxy device and backchannel communication

Embodiments include methods and apparatus for wireless network communication between a device that operates a radio in compliance with a wireless communication standard and another device that may not be capable of complying with the wireless communication standard. In an embodiment the non-complaint device is a receiver only. Information is broadcast or advertised or otherwise transmitted by the compliant device according to the protocol and embodiments encode information on top of the protocol for decoding by the receiving device, which does not decode the protocol.

Methods and apparatus for low power wireless communication

An apparatus comprises a system on a chip (SoC). In some embodiments, the SoC includes a power supply circuit, a power management circuit operatively coupled to the power supply circuit, a first wireless communications circuit and a second wireless communications circuit. The first wireless communications circuit is configured to receive an RF signal and is operatively coupled to the power supply circuit and the power management circuit. The first wireless communications circuit has a net radio frequency (RF) power gain no more than unity before at least one of downconversion of the RF signal or detection of the RF signal. The second wireless communications circuit is operatively coupled to the power supply circuit and the power management circuit.

Ultra low power sensing platform with multimodal radios

A low power long range transceiver is presented. The transceiver includes: an antenna configured to receive an RF signal; an analog front-end circuit configured to receive the RF signal from the antenna and pre-condition the RF signal by at least one of amplify the RF signal, shift frequency of the RF signal and filter the RF signal; and a demodulator configured to receive the preconditioned signal from the front-end circuit and an assertion trigger signal signifying an end of a predefined time period, where the demodulator, in response to the assertion trigger signal, outputs a data value for a given data bit in the RF signal. A controller is also configured to receive the assertion trigger signal and, in response to the assertion trigger signal, disables at least one component of the transceiver, thereby reducing power consumption.

Ultra-low power long range transceiver

A low power radio is provided with automatic interference rejection. The radio is comprised generally of: an antenna, a rectifier, a comparator, and a correlator. The comparator receives an input signal from the rectifier, compares the input signal to a reference signal and outputs a digital signal. The correlator in turn receives the digital signal from the comparator, correlates the digital signal to a wake-up code and outputs a wake-up signal having a high value when the digital signal is highly correlated with the wake-up code. The radio further includes an automatic threshold controller which adjusts sensitivity of the comparator. Of note, the rectifier, the comparator, the correlator and the automatic threshold controller are comprised in part by circuits having transistors operating only in subthreshold region.

Wake-up receiver with automatic interference rejection

A wake-up function is provided for a low power radio. The radio includes: an antenna, a rectifier, and a comparator. The rectifier is configured to receive an RF signal from the antenna and generates an output having a magnitude that decreases in the presence of the RF signal. The comparator compares the output from the rectifier to a reference signal and outputs an activation signal for another radio component. In response the activation signal, the radio component will transition from a low power consumption mode to a higher power consumption mode. In this way, the rectifier and comparator cooperatively operate to perform a wake-up function in the presence of an RF signal.

Growing community of inventors

Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America

Nathan E Roberts