Fiber optic sensor
US5359445A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 30, 1987 |
| Grant date | Oct 25, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 30, 2007 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01H9/004
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A fiber optic sensor includes a generally cylindrical housing including a fiber optic transmitter in one end connected to a source of light, a sensor within the housing attached to the cylindrical wall of the housing exposed to the transmitted light and responsive to a sensed condition such as acoustic pressure waves to modulate the light, and a fiber optic receiver for receiving the modulated light and supplying it to an external circuit. The sensor may be a thin film fastened to the wall or it may include a diffraction pattern on a reflective inside surface of the wall which will produce a modulated light output with movement of the wall. The thin film may be fastened to the wall directly or suspended by means of Euler struts. The thin film may include a reflective spot and/or a moire pattern for modulating the light. Another embodiment includes a resiliently mounted mass fastened to a thin film which may have quadrature or other patterns which would alter the light modulation pattern depending upon the direction of a sensed acceleration.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.