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US 8,044,812 B2Granted
Optical wireless sensor network
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorDaniel N. Harres
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wireless sensor network including a receiver including a photodetector, and a sensor node that includes a sensor configured to sense a property, a transmitter configured to emit outgoing optical energy, the outgoing optical energy being indicative of the property, and a photodetector configured to harvest incoming optical energy and convert the incoming optical energy into electrical energy useful by the transmitter, wherein the photodetector of the receiver is positioned to receive the outgoing optical energy.
Claims19
A wireless sensor network comprising:
- a receiver including a photodetector;
- and
- an array of sensor nodes positioned on a target subject, wherein each sensor node includes
- a sensor configured to sense a property of said target subject,
- a transmitter configured to emit outgoing optical energy, said outgoing optical energy being indicative of said property, and
- a photodetector configured to harvest incoming optical energy and convert said incoming optical energy into electrical energy useful to said transmitter,
- wherein said photodetector of said receiver is positioned to receive said outgoing optical energy and said transmitter is configured to emit said outgoing optical energy simultaneously with said photodetector of said sensor node receiving said incoming optical energy.
4 more elements
A wireless sensor network comprising:
- a receiver including a photodetector and a transmitter, said transmitter being configured to transmit a beacon;
- and
- a plurality of sensor nodes positioned on a target subject, each sensor node of said plurality of sensor nodes including:
- a sensor configured to sense a property at a point on said target subject,
- a transmitter configured to emit outgoing optical energy, said outgoing optical energy being indicative of said property, and
- a photodetector positioned to receive said beacon and to harvest incoming optical energy, wherein said incoming optical energy is converted into electrical energy useful to said transmitter of said sensor node,
- wherein said transmitters of said plurality of sensor nodes are configured to emit said outgoing optical energy in response to signals communicated by said beacon, and wherein said photodetector of said receiver is positioned to receive said outgoing optical energy.
4 more elements
A wireless sensor network comprising:
- a receiver including
- a first optical transmitter configured to transmit a series of sequences,
- a first photodetector;
- and
- an array of sensor nodes on a target subject, wherein each sensor node includes
- a sensor configured to sense a property of said target subject,
- a second optical transmitter configured to transmit outgoing optical energy related to said property,
- a second photodetector configured to harvest incoming optical energy and convert said incoming optical energy into electrical energy useful by said transmitter, and
- a controller configured to analyze said incoming optical energy and direct said second optical transmitter to transmit said outgoing optical energy when said sequence corresponds to the sensor node;
- wherein said first photodetector is configured to receive said outgoing optical energy from each of said sensor nodes;
- and
- wherein each of said sequences corresponds to a different one of said sensor nodes.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.