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  Method of obtaining measurement data using a sensor application interfaceRelated Patent Categories: Data Processing: Measuring, Calibrating, Or Testing, Measurement System In A Specific Environment, Earth Science, SeismologyThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070219726. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119 [0001] The present Application for patent claims priority to Provisional Patent Application No. 60/784,608 entitled "Sensor Application Interface" filed Mar. 20, 2006, assigned to the assignee hereof and hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. BACKGROUND [0002] There are many sensors on the market today. These sensors are designed to convert a physical phenomenon into an electrical signal. For example, [0003] Barometric Pressure Sensor [0004] Measures atmospheric pressure [0005] Altitude [0006] Weather [0007] Accelerometer [0008] Measures direction of gravity [0009] Linear movement [0010] Tilt (Roll, Pitch) [0011] Shock sensing [0012] Free-fall [0013] Gyroscope [0014] Measures Coriolis effect [0015] Heading Changes [0016] Rotation [0017] Magnetic Field Sensor [0018] Measures direction of magnetic field [0019] Compass [0020] Absolute Heading [0021] Accelerometers are the most widely used MEMS sensors with millions integrated into cars by the automotive industry. As said above, the linear accelerometers can sense the linear motion and can provide a measure of tilt. With a 3D accelerometer, motion in (x,y,z) can be sensed. In addition, the direction of the gravity can be used to estimate the roll (.theta.) and pitch (.phi.) (see FIG. 1). BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0022] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a single-sensor accelerometer configuration; [0023] FIG. 2 is an illustration of a two-sensor accelerometer configuration; [0024] FIG. 3 is an illustration of linear movement of the two sensors shown in FIG. 2; and [0025] FIG. 4 is an illustration of angular movement of the two sensors shown in FIG. 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0026] Unfortunately, in wide number of cases it is difficult to differentiate between a linear motion (acceleration in x,y,z) and the change in the orientation of the device and the corresponding change in roll and pitch. Furthermore, a change in the heading (aka yaw or azimuth, .psi.) can not be sensed by the linear accelerometers at all. For sensing the change in the heading, gyroscopes are commonly used. However, gyroscopes are expensive, large and complex structures and therefore more expensive than accelerometers. [0027] What is needed is a solution which can reliably deliver a measure of linear motion and orientation. This invention discloses a method of integrating two 3D linear accelerometers in order to measure and provide 6D information (x,y,z,.theta.,.phi.,.psi.), see FIG. 2. Since, accelerometers deliver second momentum the measurements need to be integrated once to get the rate of change and second time to get the absolute measures. [0028] Two 3D accelerometers deployed at opposite corners of the board can sense the linear movement--sensors produce similar outputs (see FIG. 3), and sense orientation changes--sensors produce opposing outputs (see FIG. 4). [0029] One key requirement is near simultaneous read-out of the measurements from both accelerometers. [0030] In order to be able to efficiently use sensors in various applications, a sensor must provide several functions: control capability, measurement output and quality control. [0031] An application programming interface (API) is defined which in addition to the control and common measurement output interface adds a quality control. The quality control has a bi-directional purpose. For example, on the input quality-of-service (QoS) control allows the sensor user (application developer) to prioritize the time per measurement vs. accuracy of the sensor measurement, it can specify how often the measurement is performed (periodic) and the duration of measurement period, define the event triggering the sensor measurement, threshold level for sensor output to trigger the measurement processing, length of measurement filtering (time constant), etc. The sensor QoS will add the accuracy measures to the raw measurement values: directional information accuracy, tilt accuracy, acceleration accuracy, rate of rotation accuracy, pressure accuracy, temperature accuracy, etc. It can also add specific event outputs such as "shock detected", (e.g., acceleration magnitude above 1000 g was detected), etc. [0032] The availability of sensor QoS control functionality facilitates sensor integration and allows successful integration of the measurements from multiple sensors for various applications utilizing sensor measurements. TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Example Sensor Measurement Specification Measurement Data type Unit (resolution) Data range Geomagnetic Compass Direction 16-bit 0.1.degree. 0 to 3599 angle signed (0.degree. to 359.9.degree.) integer Direction 4-bit 0 to 15.degree. angle unsigned accuracy integer Magnetic 16-bit 0.1 .mu.T -15000 to 15000 vector, signed (-1500 .mu.T to 1500 .mu.T) magnitude integer Magnetic 16-bit 0.1 .mu.T -15000 to 15000 vector, x signed (-1500 .mu.T to 1500 .mu.T) integer Magnetic 16-bit 0.1 .mu.T -15000 to 15000 vector, y signed (-1500 .mu.T to 1500 .mu.T) integer Magnetic 16-bit 0.1 .mu.T -15000 to 15000 vector, z signed (-1500 .mu.T to 1500 .mu.T) integer Orientation angle Pitch 16-bit 0.1.degree. -900 to 900 signed (-90.0.degree. to 90.0.degree.) integer Roll 16-bit 0.1.degree. -1800 to 1800 signed (-180.0.degree. to 180.0.degree.) integer Orientation 4-bit 0 to 15.degree. angle unsigned accuracy integer Linear Acceleration Acceleration 16-bit 0.1 mg -30000 to 30000 vector, signed (-3000 mg to 3000 mg) magnitude integer Acceleration 4-bit 0 to 10 mg accuracy unsigned integer Acceleration 16-bit 0.1 mg -30000 to 30000 vector, x signed (-3000 mg to 3000 mg) integer Acceleration 16-bit 0.1 mg -30000 to 30000 vector, y signed (-3 g to +3 g) integer Acceleration 16-bit 0.1 mg -30000 to 30000 vector, z signed (-3 g to +3 g) integer [0033] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. Continue reading... Full patent description for Method of obtaining measurement data using a sensor application interface Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Method of obtaining measurement data using a sensor application interface patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. 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