Sensor array system
US6399939B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 13, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 4, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 13, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S73/04
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A sensor array for nondestructively monitoring a structure to detect a critical event. The sensor array includes a plurality of discrete sensor nodes, each of the discrete sensor nodes producing an electrical signal in response to a structural event. In the preferred embodiment, the sensor nodes include a plurality of piezoceramic fibers arranged in a planar array in which the fibers are aligned substantially parallel to each other, each of the fibers having a plurality of polarized regions that are substantially oriented according to their polarity in either a series, parallel, or combined arrangement of series and parallel orientations, and an electrical interface connecting the plurality of polarized regions of each fiber in series with one another. A signal adder receives and combines the electrical signals from each of the discrete sensor nodes to form a single sensor array output signal. In the preferred embodiment, the electrical interface further includes at least one electrical bus substantially aligned with the fibers and a signal processing module for receiving and processing the single sensor output signal. The signal processing module is linked through the digital data…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.