Sensor systems and dongles therefor
In accordance with at least one aspect of this disclosure, a dongle for a sensor system can include a pass-through signal carrier configured to allow signals from a sensor discretely associated with the dongle to pass through the dongle to a data concentrator via a first connection, and a non-volatile memory configured to connect to the data concentrator via a second connection. The nonvolatile memory can include calibration data for the sensor that is associated with the dongle.
1 . A sensor system, comprising:
a passive sensor configured to provide a response to an interrogation signal, the response including a serial number corresponding to the sensor, wherein the serial number is encoded in the passive sensor by modifying a physical characteristic of the sensor; and
a dongle discretely associated with the sensor and configured to connect to the sensor, the dongle comprising:
a pass-through signal carrier configured to allow signals from the sensor to pass through the dongle to a data concentrator via a first connection; and
a non-volatile memory configured to connect to the data concentrator via a second connection, wherein the nonvolatile memory includes the serial number for identifying the sensor and calibration data for the sensor.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first connection is different than the second connection.
3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the first connection is an optical connection and wherein the pass-through signal carrier includes an optical pathway configured to allow optical signals to pass therethrough.
4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the optical pathway is an optical fiber.
5 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the second connection is an electrical connector.
6 . The system of claim 5 , wherein the nonvolatile memory is connected to the electrical connector to provide digital information to the data concentrator.
7 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a cable, wherein the pass-through signal carrier is configured to connect to the cable to connect to the sensor.
8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising the data concentrator, wherein the data concentrator is configured to interrogate the sensor with an optical signal and to receive the digital information from the nonvolatile memory.
9 . The system of claim 8 , further comprising one or more additional sensors and one or more additional dongles associated with each additional sensor.
10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the data concentrator is configured to interface with the plurality of dongles to communicate with the plurality of sensors.