Low-power wireless device for asset-integrity monitoring

1. A sensor for ultrasonically measuring a portion of a structure, said sensor comprising:

a transducer for converting an analog transmit signal to an ultrasonic transmit signal, and for converting an ultrasonic reflected signal to an analog reflected signal;

a housing integrated with said transducer, and comprising a mechanism for securing the sensor to said structure, said housing containing at least:

a processor;

a transmit and receive circuit for transmitting an analog transmit signal to said transducer in response to a transmit trigger from said processor, and for receiving an analog reflected signal from said transducer;

an A/D converter for digitizing only a portion of said analog reflected signal in response to a sample trigger from said processor;

a wireless data transmitter for transmitting wirelessly a data signal from said processor;

a battery to supply power to said processor, said wireless data transmitter, said transmit and receive circuit, and said A/D converter;

memory operatively connected to said processor and configured to instruct said processor to execute the following steps:

repeatedly triggering said transmit and receive circuit and said A/D converter to obtain a digitized composite signal through time-equivalent sampling;

processing said digitized composite reflected signal to generate an A-scan signal; and

wirelessly transmitting said data signal based on said A-scan signal for transmission to a discrete collection device.

2. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein said A/D converted is integrated with said processor.

3. The sensor of claim 2 , wherein said sensor does not comprise a discrete A/D converter and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

4. The sensor of claim 3 , wherein said A/D converter and said processor are integrated on a common chip.

5. The sensor of claim 3 , wherein said sensor is characterized by a total capacitance, wherein said total capacitance is lower than a sensor having a discrete A/D converter and a FPGA.

6. The sensor of claim 3 , wherein said housing is characterized by a total capacitance and operating voltage, which qualifies as being intrinsically safe.

7. The sensor of claim 1 , wherein said processor is instructed to configure said sensor in a low-power state between readings.

8. The sensor of claim 7 , wherein said processor is instructed to wake up from a low power state to measure said structure on a predetermined interval.

9. The sensor of claim 1 , further comprising a wireless collection device for receiving said data signal.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein said wireless collection device comprises a wireless gateway that is connected to a Local Area Network (LAN) and subsequently forwards said data.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein said gateway transmits said data signal across said LAN to at least one of a local server or a remote data server.

12. The system of claim 9 , wherein said wireless collection device stores said data signal.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein said wireless collection device stores said data signal until said data signal is collected using a handheld data collection device.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein said handheld data collection device is at least one of a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a smart phone.

15. A method of ultrasonically measuring a portion of a structure using a sensor comprising a transducer for converting an analog transmit signal to an ultrasonic transmit signal and for converting an ultrasonic reflected signal to an analog reflected signal, a transmit and receive circuit for transmitting an analog transmit signal to said transducer in response to a transmit trigger from a processor, and for receiving an analog reflected signal from said transducer, and an A/D converter integrated with said processor for digitizing only a sample of said analog reflected signal in response to a sample trigger form said processor, said method comprising:

permanently installing said sensor on said structure such that the position of said sensor relative to said structure is fixed;

repeatedly triggering said transmit circuit and said A/D converter while said sensor's position to said structure remains fixed to obtain a digitized composite signal through time-equivalent sampling;

processing said digitized composite reflected signal to generate an A-scan signal; and

wirelessly transmitting said data signal based on said A-scan signal to said transmitted for transmission to a discrete device.

16. The sensor of claim 15 , wherein said A/D converted is integrated with said processor.

17. The sensor of claim 16 , wherein said sensor does not comprise a discrete A/D converter and a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

18. The sensor of claim 15 , wherein said repeatedly triggering comprises: repeatedly triggering said transmit circuit to transmit a plurality of sequential analog transmit signals to said ultrasonic transducer; repeatedly triggering said A/D converter to digital a sample of a plurality of sequential reflected signals corresponding to said plurality of sequential transmit signals; wherein either the repeated transmit triggers or the repeated converter triggers are delayed a predetermined time.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein each sequential transmit signal is delayed by said predetermined time.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein said A/D converter is configured for X samples per second (SPS), and said composite signal comprises an effective sampling rate of X samples per second, wherein Y is greater than X.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein said analog reflected signal has a frequency of F Hz, and wherein Y is at least 2 times F.

22. A sensor for ultrasonically measuring a portion of a structure, said sensor comprising:

a transducer for converting an analog transmit signal to an ultrasonic transmit signal, and for converting an ultrasonic reflected signal to an analog reflected signal;

a housing connected to said transducer;

a connection mechanism for permanently installing said transductor on said structure;

electrical components contained within said housing, said electrical components comprising at least: a processor having an integrated A/D converter and configured for Equivalent-Time Sampling (ETS) analog reflected signals from said transducer to obtain a digitized composite signal, processing said digitized composite reflected signal to generate an A-scan signal; and transmitting said data signal based on said A-scan signal, wherein said electrical components do not comprise a discrete A/D converter or a field programmable gate array (FPGA).

23. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein said sensor is characterized by a total capacitance, wherein said total capacitance is lower than a sensor having a discrete A/D converter and a FPGA.

24. The sensor of claim 22 , wherein said electrical components have a total capacitance and operating voltage, which qualifies as being intrinsically safe.