Patent Application
20210041273
The present invention relates to wireless sensor devices for installation in locations such as buildings.
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-019160 filed in Japan on Feb. 6, 2018, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
To reduce energy consumption while maintaining comfort in buildings, there are sensor devices that sense environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, and illuminance and provide the results for use in, for example, controlling air conditioners. Such sensor devices can be used in buildings to provide information necessary for optimum control of cooling, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and illumination systems to more efficiently control the amount of energy used in buildings.
Because the installation and wiring costs of conventional sensors are very high, wireless sensor devices have been proposed to reduce the cost involved in wiring, particularly when large numbers of advanced sensors are introduced into existing buildings. Wireless sensor devices are suitable for easy renovation of existing buildings and offer flexibility in that they can be disposed at optimum monitoring sites. Currently marketed wireless sensor devices have a casing composed of a resin case and a printed board are thus made of a hard material with a certain thickness (e.g., 2 cm or more).
PTL 1 discloses a wireless sensor device having a plurality of components disposed on a flexible substrate, including a communications system, at least one sensor device communicatively coupled to the communications system, and at least one antenna electrically coupled to the communications system. PTL 1 also discloses, for example, an example of a wireless sensor device having a solar cell and a secondary battery built thereinto so that the wireless sensor device does not need to have an external power supply connected thereto.
PTL 1: Specification of U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0134327
One possible form of wireless sensor device that does not need to have an external power supply connected thereto is one having a primary battery built thereinto. This form of wireless sensor device, however, requires the replacement of the primary battery and thus has a problem in terms of the effort and cost of the replacement procedure. A form of wireless sensor device that has a solar cell built thereinto and a form of wireless sensor device that has a secondary battery and/or a primary battery built thereinto in addition to a solar cell have a problem in that the mounting of the solar cell and its associated components involves a high cost, and the mounting of the solar cell also degrades the design. Furthermore, a form of wireless sensor device that has only a solar cell built thereinto has a problem with operation in the absence of a light source, such as at nighttime.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless sensor device that allows for a reduced mounting cost of a built-in battery and its associated components, simplified effort in a procedure for replacement of the built-in battery or the wireless sensor device, and a reduced cost of the replacement procedure.
The present invention includes the following aspects:
[1] A wireless sensor device including, on a flexible circuit board, at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, and other sensors that sense various environmental conditions; a controller that processes an output value received from the sensor; an antenna that wirelessly transmits a signal received from the controller; and a primary battery,
wherein a first adhesive layer, the flexible circuit board, and a flexible sheet are stacked together.
[2] The wireless sensor device according to [1] above, wherein the first adhesive layer is removable.
[3] The wireless sensor device according to [1] or [2] above, including a protective layer that protects at least the sensor, the controller, and the antenna.
[4] The wireless sensor device according to [3] above, wherein the protective layer is disposed between the flexible circuit board and the flexible sheet.
[5] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [4] above, wherein the primary battery is a coin-type primary battery.
[6] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [5] above, including a removable second adhesive layer between the flexible circuit board and the flexible sheet, wherein the primary battery is replaceable.
[7] The wireless sensor device according to [6] above, including, between the flexible circuit board and the second adhesive layer, a protective layer that protects at least the sensor, the controller, and the antenna, wherein the protective layer and the second adhesive layer are hollowed to form a space housing the primary battery.
[8] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [7] above, wherein the controller functions to control a sensing timing of the sensor and a transmission timing of the signal.
[9] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [8] above, wherein a pressable region pressable for attachment of the wireless sensor device is provided on an outer periphery of the flexible sheet or an outer periphery of the flexible circuit board, the pressable region being a region where none of the sensor, the controller, the antenna, and the primary battery is mounted, and the first adhesive layer is disposed only on the pressable region.
[10] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [9] above, wherein the sensor is disposed in a floating state with a support member between the sensor and the flexible circuit board.
[11] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [10] above, wherein
the first adhesive layer, the flexible circuit board, and the flexible sheet are stacked together in this order, and
the sensor, the controller, the antenna, and the primary battery are disposed between the flexible circuit board and the flexible sheet.
[12] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [9] above, wherein
the first adhesive layer, the flexible sheet, and the flexible circuit board are stacked together in this order, and
the sensor, the controller, the antenna, and the primary battery are disposed between the flexible circuit board and the flexible sheet.
[13] The wireless sensor device according to any one of [1] to [12] above, further including an adhesive sheet including a third adhesive layer having a larger bonding area than the first adhesive layer and a substrate sheet,
wherein the first adhesive layer is disposed on a back side of the substrate sheet.
[14] A wireless sensor device kit including:
a wireless sensor device including, between a flexible circuit board and a flexible sheet, at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, and other sensors that sense various environmental conditions, a controller that processes an output value received from the sensor, an antenna that wirelessly transmits a signal received from the controller, and a primary battery; and
a first adhesive layer for attaching the wireless sensor device to an adherend.
[15] The wireless sensor device kit according to [14] above, further including an adhesive sheet including a third adhesive layer having a larger bonding area than the first adhesive layer and a substrate sheet.
A casing composed of the flexible circuit board and the flexible sheet of the wireless sensor device according to the present invention can be attached and installed with the first adhesive layer and can also be easily removed. Thus, the wireless sensor device according to the present invention is easier to install and remove than a wireless sensor device having a casing composed of a resin case and a printed board. In addition, because a primary battery is mounted as an internal power supply, the mounting cost of the built-in battery and its associated components can be significantly reduced as compared to a wireless sensor device having a solar cell mounted thereon. Furthermore, because the wireless sensor device is composed of fewer components and therefore its manufacturing costs can be significantly reduced as compared to a wireless sensor device composed of a resin case and a printed board, an increase in cost due to the replacement of the entire wireless sensor device is alleviated. The alleviated cost of the replacement of the entire wireless sensor device and the ease of installation and removal allow for simplified effort in a procedure for replacement of a built-in battery or a wireless sensor device for conventional wireless sensor devices and a reduced cost of the replacement procedure.
Wireless sensor devices according to the present invention will hereinafter be described with reference to the drawings.
For the sake of convenience, the drawings used in the following description may show relevant parts in an enlarged view to facilitate an understanding of the features of the invention, and the dimensional ratios and other details of the individual components are not necessarily the same as those of actual components.
The wireless sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment includes, on a flexible circuit board 20, a temperature sensor 421, a humidity sensor 422, an illuminance sensor 423, a controller 41 that processes output values received from the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, and the illuminance sensor 423, an antenna 43 that wirelessly transmits signals received from the controller 41, and a primary battery 40. An adhesive layer 10, the flexible circuit board 20, and a flexible sheet 50 are stacked together in this order. The temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the illuminance sensor 423, the controller 41, the antenna 43, and the primary battery 40 are disposed between the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50.
In
The wireless sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment is compact and thin. As the thinness required to achieve flexibility, it is possible to achieve the thinness corresponding to the sum of the thicknesses of the adhesive layer 10, the flexible circuit board 20, and the flexible sheet 50 in addition to the thicknesses of the various sensors, the controller, and the built-in primary battery. Because the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50, which correspond to a casing, are both flexible, the wireless sensor device 1 is flexible in its entirety, as shown in
The flexible sheet 50 may be any sheet-shaped material. Examples of materials for the sheet 50 include, but not limited to, polyester-based resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), and polybutylene terephthalate (PBT); vinyl chloride-based resins such as polyvinyl chloride and vinyl chloride copolymers; rubber-based resins; and sponge-like resins.
The flexible circuit board 20 includes a substrate that is composed of an insulating thin, soft base film and a conductive metal such as copper foil attached thereto and that has an electrical circuit formed on the substrate. The flexible circuit board 20 can be fabricated by forming wiring on a base film such as a PET film, a PEN film, or a polyimide film, for example, by printing with a conductive ink.
In addition, the wireless sensor device 1 does not have a solar cell mounted thereon, but has a primary battery mounted thereon as an internal power supply. The primary battery is preferably an inexpensive primary battery distributed in the market, and a coin-type primary battery is suitable for use. Because a flexible casing is selected and the wireless sensor device 1 does not have a solar cell mounted thereon, but has only a primary battery mounted thereon as an internal power supply, the manufacturing costs of the wireless sensor device can be significantly reduced as compared to a wireless sensor device having a casing composed of a resin case and a printed board or a wireless sensor device having a solar cell mounted thereon, and there is no problem with operation in the absence of a light source, such as at nighttime.
The wireless sensor device 1 can be installed by removing the release sheet 70 and attaching the flexible casing with the adhesive layer 10. Because the entire wireless sensor device 1 can be removed and replaced by a human hand, as shown in
The wireless sensor device includes at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the illuminance sensor 423, and other sensors that sense various environmental conditions. The wireless sensor device may include a temperature and humidity sensor that functions both as a temperature sensor and as a humidity sensor. The temperature and humidity sensor may be in communication with the outside air window 425. The temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the illuminance sensor 423, other sensors that sense various environmental conditions, the controller 41, and the antenna 43 are electrically coupled together to transmit output values received from the sensors to the controller 41 and to transmit information signals received from the controller 41 to the antenna 43 such that they function as a communication system. The controller 41 incorporates control means for the wireless sensor device to form such a communication system. If the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, and the illuminance sensor are of a type that can be mounted on IC chips, commercially available thin sensor chips can be used. The information signals received from the sensor chips preferably comply with LPWA standards, which provide wide area coverage with low power consumption. The communication protocol may be, for example, LoRa chirp spread spectrum modulation.
In the wireless sensor device, the antenna 43 wirelessly transmits signals received from the sensors. The material, shape, and method of manufacture of the antenna 43 are not limited as long as it can be disposed on the flexible circuit board and belongs to thin, flat, compact, or ultracompact antennas.
In the wireless sensor device, the first adhesive layer 10 is preferably removable. As the first adhesive layer 10, it is possible to use a commercially available industrial double-sided adhesive tape, more preferably a removable industrial double-sided adhesive tape. The first adhesive layer may be, for example, of a type that has adhesive layers on both sides of a polyester substrate or of a type that has no substrate, i.e., a non-carrier type. Although the first adhesive layer 10 may have removable adhesive surfaces on both sides, it is particularly preferred to use a single-side removable industrial double-sided adhesive tape having a general-purpose adhesive surface on the flexible circuit board 20 side and a removable adhesive surface on the other side. Because the first adhesive layer 10 of the wireless sensor device 1 has a general-purpose adhesive surface on the flexible circuit board 20 side and a removable adhesive surface on the other side, the main body of the wireless sensor device 1 can be attached to, for example, a wall of a building with the first adhesive layer 10 therebetween, and when the wireless sensor device 1 is removed after the wireless sensor device 1 has been used for a long period of time, the wireless sensor device 1 can be easily and cleanly removed without damaging the adherend, for example, a wall paper of a building.
As commercially available industrial double-sided adhesive tapes, for example, DAITAC (registered trademark) manufactured by DIC Corporation can be used. Examples of single-side removable industrial double-sided adhesive tapes include the product codes “#8800DR”, “#8612DFT”, “#8616DJ-50”, and “#8616DJ” Black(N) in the DAITAC (registered trademark) series manufactured by DIC Corporation.
The wireless sensor device 1 includes a protective layer 30 that protects the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the illuminance sensor 423, the controller 41, the antenna 43, and the primary battery 40. The protective layer 30 is disposed between the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50 and is formed of a rubber or sponge material so that the entire wireless sensor device 1 does not lose its flexibility. The protective layer 30 is preferably formed of a flame-retardant rubber or sponge material.
The primary battery 40 is preferably thin. The primary battery 40 is preferably a coin-type primary battery such as a coin-type manganese dioxide lithium battery because of its availability at low cost.
After the wireless sensor device is installed in a building, temperature information obtained from sensing by the temperature sensor, humidity information obtained from sensing by the humidity sensor, and illuminance information obtained from sensing by the illuminance sensor can be wirelessly transmitted via the antenna 43 to a building facility management system. By providing a cooling and heating system, a ventilation and air conditioning system, and an illumination system with information necessary for optimum control, the information can be used to more efficiently control the amount of energy used in the building.
To alleviate the operating costs of the wireless sensor device according to the present invention, it is important to extend the duration of the primary battery. Accordingly, the controller 41 incorporates control means for adjusting the sensing timing and the transmission timing to reduce power consumption and thereby extend the duration of the built-in primary battery. The control means incorporated in the controller 41 may be set to, for example, (1) reduce the transmission frequency of sensor data (i.e., extend the transmission interval) in a dark environment in a location such as an office, or (2) reduce the measurement frequency of a sensor with high power consumption (e.g., the humidity sensor) as compared to other sensors (e.g., the temperature sensor). Thus, the duration of the primary battery can be extended, thereby alleviating the operating costs.
The wireless sensor device 2 according to the second embodiment includes, on a flexible circuit board 20, a temperature sensor 421, a humidity sensor 422, an illuminance sensor 423, a controller 41 that processes output values received from the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, and the illuminance sensor 423, an antenna 43 that wirelessly transmits signals received from the controller 41, and a coin-type primary battery 44. An adhesive layer 10, the flexible circuit board 20, a removable second adhesive layer 60, and a flexible sheet 50 are stacked together in this order. The temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the controller 41, the antenna 43, and the coin-type primary battery 44 are disposed between the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50. The primary battery 44 can be replaced by removing the flexible sheet 50. In
The wireless sensor device 2 according to the second embodiment is also compact and thin. Because the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50, which correspond to a casing, are both flexible, the wireless sensor device 2 is flexible in its entirety. The wireless sensor device 2 can be easily installed by removing the release sheet 70 and attaching the wireless sensor device 2 with the adhesive layer 10 to an adherend such as a wall or column of a building.
The wireless sensor device 2 does not have a solar cell mounted thereon, but has the coin-type primary battery 44 mounted thereon as an internal power supply. Because a flexible casing is selected and the wireless sensor device 2 does not have a solar cell mounted thereon, but has only a coin-type primary battery mounted thereon as an internal power supply, the manufacturing costs of the wireless sensor device can be significantly reduced as compared to a wireless sensor device having a casing composed of a resin case and a printed board or a wireless sensor device having a solar cell mounted thereon, and there is no problem with operation in the absence of a light source, such as at nighttime.
As the second adhesive layer, a commercially available removable industrial double-sided adhesive tape can be used. Although the second adhesive layer may have removable adhesive surfaces on both sides, it is more preferred to use a single-side removable industrial double-sided adhesive tape, which has a removable adhesive surface on only one side. The second adhesive layer may be, for example, of a type that has adhesive layers on both sides of a polyester substrate or of a type that has no substrate, i.e., a non-carrier type. Although the second adhesive layer may have a removable adhesive surface on either side, the second adhesive layer 60 has a general-purpose adhesive surface on the flexible circuit board 20 side and a removable adhesive surface on the flexible sheet 50 side. Because a single-side removable double-sided adhesive tape is used as the second adhesive layer 60, the primary battery 44 can be easily replaced.
In addition, the wireless sensor device 2 according to the second embodiment includes, between the flexible circuit board 20 and the second adhesive layer 60, a protective layer 30 that protects the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor 422, the illuminance sensor 423, the controller 41, and the antenna 43. As shown in
The controller 41 of the wireless sensor device 2 also incorporates control means for extending the duration of the built-in primary battery. Thus, the duration of the coin-type primary battery 44 can be extended, thereby alleviating the operating costs.
As with the wireless sensor device 2, the wireless sensor device 2 according to the modification of the second embodiment includes, on a flexible circuit board 20, a temperature sensor 421, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a controller 41, an antenna 43, and a coin-type primary battery 44. An adhesive layer 10, the flexible circuit board 20, and a flexible sheet 50 are stacked together in this order.
The wireless sensor device 2′ according to the modification of the second embodiment includes, between the flexible circuit board 20 and the flexible sheet 50, a protective layer 30 that protects the temperature sensor 421, the humidity sensor, the illuminance sensor, the controller 41, and the antenna 43. As shown in
The second adhesive layer 60 is of a type that has adhesive layers on both sides of a polyester substrate and has a general-purpose adhesive surface on the flexible circuit board 20 side and a removable adhesive surface on the flexible sheet 50 and protective layer 30 side. Because a single-side removable double-sided adhesive tape is used as the second adhesive layer 60, the primary battery 44 can be easily replaced by removing the flexible circuit board 20 and the second adhesive layer 60 from the flexible sheet 50 and the protective layer 30 around the coin-type primary battery 44.
The wireless sensor device 3 has an annular pressable region 501 pressable for attachment of the wireless sensor device 3 on the outer periphery of the flexible sheet 50. The pressable region 501 is a region where none of the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the illuminance sensor 423, the controller 41, the antenna 43, and the primary battery 40 is mounted. An annular first adhesive layer 12 is disposed only on the pressable region 501. As shown in the left half of
When the wireless sensor device 3 is installed by removing the release sheet and attaching the wireless sensor device 3 to an adherend such as a wall or column of a building with the adhesive layer 12, the annular pressable region 501 of the flexible sheet 50 may be pressed by a human hand. Because none of the temperature sensor, the humidity sensor, the illuminance sensor 423, the controller 41, the antenna 43, and the primary battery 40 is mounted in the annular pressable region 501, the likelihood of damage to these mounting components can be reduced.
When the wireless sensor device 3 is removed from an adherend such as a wall or column of a building, the wireless sensor device 3 can be easily removed because the annular first adhesive layer 12 is disposed only on the back side of the pressable region 501 on the outer periphery of the flexible sheet 50 and thus has a bonding area smaller than the entire lower surface of the wireless sensor device. The wireless sensor device 3 also has an illuminance sensor small window 428 for proper illuminance measurement at the position of the flexible sheet 50 corresponding to the illuminance sensor 423.
A wireless sensor device according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention further includes an adhesive sheet including a third adhesive layer having a larger bonding area than the first adhesive layer and a substrate sheet. The first adhesive layer is disposed on the back side of the substrate sheet.
As the third adhesive layer, it is possible to use a commercially available industrial double-sided adhesive tape, more preferably a removable industrial double-sided adhesive tape. The third adhesive layer may be, for example, of a type that has adhesive layers on both sides of a polyester substrate or of a type that has no substrate, i.e., a non-carrier type. Although the third adhesive layer may have removable adhesive surfaces on both sides, it is particularly preferred that the third adhesive layer have a general-purpose adhesive surface on the flexible circuit board 20 side and a removable adhesive surface on the other side. Thus, when the wireless sensor device 8 is removed from, for example, a wall of a building after the wireless sensor device 8 has been attached for a long period of time, the wireless sensor device 8 can be easily and cleanly removed without damaging the adherend, for example, a wall paper of a building.
A wireless sensor device kit according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention includes a wireless sensor device including, between a flexible circuit board and a flexible sheet, at least one sensor selected from the group consisting of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, and other sensors that sense various environmental conditions, a controller that processes an output value received from the sensor, an antenna that wirelessly transmits a signal received from the controller, and a primary battery; and a first adhesive layer for attaching the wireless sensor device to an adherend.
The adhesive layer 10 of the wireless sensor device kit 80 is provided, for example, in a form in which the adhesive layer 10 is formed on a heavy release separator and a light release separator is then attached thereto. After the light release separator is removed and the adhesive layer 10 is attached to the wireless sensor device 90, the wireless sensor device 90 is similar to the wireless sensor device 1 according to the first embodiment, the wireless sensor device 2 according to the second embodiment, the wireless sensor device 6 according to the fourth embodiment, or the wireless sensor device 8 according to the sixth embodiment. After the heavy release separator is removed, the wireless sensor device 90 can be attached to the adherend.
The first adhesive layer 12 of the wireless sensor device kit 82 is provided, for example, in a form in which the first adhesive layer 12 is formed on a heavy release separator and a light release separator is then attached thereto. After the light release separator is removed and the first adhesive layer 12 is attached to the wireless sensor device 92, the wireless sensor device 92 is similar to the wireless sensor device 3, the wireless sensor device 4, or the wireless sensor device 5 according to the third embodiment. After the heavy release separator is removed, the wireless sensor device 92 can be attached to the adherend.
The adhesive sheet 66 of the wireless sensor device kit 82 is provided, for example, in a form in which the third adhesive layer 62 is formed on a heavy release separator and is then attached to the substrate sheet 64. After the heavy release separator is removed from the wireless sensor device 3 according to the third embodiment that has the first adhesive layer 12 attached to the wireless sensor device 92, and the first adhesive layer 12 is attached to the substrate sheet 64 on the back side of the adhesive sheet 66, the wireless sensor device 92 is similar to the wireless sensor device 9 according to the modification of the sixth embodiment. After the heavy release separator (i.e., the release sheet 71) is removed, the wireless sensor device 92 can be attached to the adherend. The wireless sensor device 92 can be easily installed by attaching it with the third adhesive layer 62, which has a larger bonding area, even if the adherend, such as a wall or column of a building, is unsuitable for bonding, for example, because of antifouling coating. The adhesive sheet 66 may be attached to an adherend such as a wall or column of a building in advance, and the wireless sensor device 92 may then be attached to the substrate sheet 64 on the back side of the adhesive sheet 66 with the first adhesive layer 12 therebetween.
The individual configurations, combinations thereof, and other details of the individual embodiments described above are merely illustrative, and additions, omissions, substitutions, and other modifications can be made to the configurations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In addition, the present invention is not limited by the individual embodiments, but is limited only by the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-019160 | Feb 2018 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/043521 | 11/27/2018 | WO | 00 |
