Obscured feature detector housing
AssigneeFranklin Sensors Inc.
InventorDavid M. Dorrough
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A surface-conforming obscured feature detector includes a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on the dielectric constant of the materials that compose the surrounding objects and the proximity of those objects. A sensing circuit is coupled to the sensor plates 32 to measure the capacitances of the sensor plates. A controller is coupled to the sensing circuit to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit. One or a plurality of indicators are coupled to the controller, and are selectively activated to identify the location of an obscured feature behind a surface.
Claims12
1-82. (canceled)
An obscured feature detector comprising:
- an array of a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on:
- (a) the proximity of the sensor plates to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);
- a sensing circuit coupled to the sensor plates, the sensing circuit being configured to measure the capacitance of each of the sensor plates;
- a controller coupled to the sensing circuit, the controller being configured to analyze the capacitances measured by the sensing circuit;
- the array of sensor plates and the sensing circuit being supported by a housing that includes a gripping surface;
- the array of sensor plates being arranged in series;
- the gripping surface being largely parallel to the array of sensor plates such that the array of sensor plates and the gripping surface are largely parallel;
- one or a plurality of indicators coupled to the controller, each indicator capable of toggling between a deactivated state and an activated state;
- and
- wherein the controller is configured to activate one or more of the indicators to identify a location of an obscured feature.
A method for using an obscured object detector with a plurality of sensor plates to detect an object behind an obscuring surface comprising:
- orienting the obscured object detector on the obscuring surface such that the plurality of sensor plates define an array that is substantially horizontal;
- and
- gripping the obscured object detector on a predefined gripping region defined on an exterior surface of the obscured object detector, wherein the gripping regions are substantially parallel to the sensor plate array.
An obscured feature detector comprising:
- a plurality of sensor plates, each having a capacitance that varies based on:
- (a) the proximity of the sensor plates to one or more surrounding objects, and (b) the dielectric constant(s) of the surrounding object(s);
- the detector having a housing comprising a bottom portion that houses the plurality of sensor plates;
- and
- a layer of material attached to the bottom portion of the detector, wherein the material comprises plastic.
93-239. (canceled)
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.