Contactless magnetic probe sensing and impedance imaging of liquid and solid excrement in diapers and other underclothing
AssigneeXtrava Inc.
InventorsSameh Sarhan, Lawrence Herbert Zuckerman, Jihad Naja
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system, apparatus, and method for detecting the presence and amount of liquid and/or solid excrement in diapers or other undergarments, using a miniature ultra-low power near-field electromagnetic probe, applicable circuitry, and additional sensor types, that is hand-held or attached to the outside of said garments
Claims3
A method for contactless detection of excrement in diapers and other undergarments by making use of electrical conductance changes therein
- An apparatus attached to the outside of said undergarment or handheld, consisting of a near-field electromagnetic probe that induces currents within contents being detected, which in turn create secondary magnetic fields that alter electromagnetic probe impedance
- Frequency variation of magnetic probe excitation current to vary penetration depth of magnetic probe, to help determine which conductive materials and objects are being detected for a particular measurement
- A magnetic probe consisting of a high Q coil inductor connected within a parallel tuned circuit fed with excitation at a constant level, which is automatically adjusted by a servo loop to its resonant frequency by demanding that its input and output have equal phase.
- Using the output voltage level of said parallel tuned circuit as a measure of electric current or conductance values within nearby conducting objects
A method whereby additional sensors contained within said apparatus—including but not limited to acceleration, sound, electrostatics and temperature—that are used along with said electromagnetic probe to increase the reliability of excrement detection in said diapers and other undergarments
A magnetic probe consisting of a high Q coil inductor connected within a parallel tuned circuit fed with excitation that is automatically adjusted by a servo loop to its resonant frequency by demanding that its input and output have equal phase.
- A second servo loop that adjusts said tuned circuit excitation level to cause its output voltage level to remain constant, regardless of current levels induced in nearby conducting objects, in order to maintain constant magnetic field flux densities within said nearby conducting objects, while said tuned circuit excitation level is a measure of the electric current or conductance values of said nearby objects
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.