Sensors for electrical connectors

Abstract

In some implementations, a gasket, set forth by way of example and not limitation, includes a housing having a plurality of openings operative to receive a plurality of prongs of a power connector for an appliance. At least one sensor is operative to sense at least one characteristic of an environment. A transmitter is operative to transmit one or more signals derived from the at least one sensed characteristic, where the transmitted signals are capable of being received by a receiving device. A power circuit is operative to provide power from the electric current to the at least one sensor and the transmitter.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A gasket comprising:
 a housing including a plurality of openings operative to receive a plurality of prongs of a power connector for an appliance;   at least one sensor operative to sense at least one characteristic of an environment;   a transmitter operative to transmit one or more signals derived from the at least one sensed characteristic, wherein the transmitted signals are capable of being received by a receiving device; and   a power circuit operative to provide power from electric current received from at least one of the prongs to the at least one sensor and the transmitter.   
     
     
         2 . The gasket of clam  1  wherein the at least one sensor is operative to sense at least one characteristic of an electric current flowing through at least one of the prongs. 
     
     
         3 . The gasket of  claim 1  further comprising a converter circuit operative to convert one or more sensed analog voltages to the one or more signals that are provided as digital data signals. 
     
     
         4 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the power circuit is coupled to at least one conductive terminal operative to conductively contact at least one of the prongs and create an electrical connection between the at least one terminal and the at least one contacted prong, wherein the at least one terminal provides at least a portion of the electric current to the power circuit. 
     
     
         5 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the power circuit is capacitively coupled to at least one of the prongs, wherein the capacitive coupling provides at least a portion of the electric current to the power circuit. 
     
     
         6 . The gasket of  claim 1  further comprising at least one ring of material provided around at least one of the plurality of openings, wherein the ring of material has a magnetic permeability operative to concentrate a magnetic field generated by electric current flowing through the at least one prong, and
 wherein the at least one sensor includes a Hall effect sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is operative to measure an intensity of the generated magnetic field and convert the measured intensity to the electrical signal representative of the intensity. 
 
     
     
         7 . The gasket of  claim 2  wherein the one or more signals include sensor data signals representative of power consumption of the appliance. 
     
     
         8 . The gasket of  claim 1  further comprising at least one processor coupled to the transmitter, and wherein the transmitter transmits the one or more signals via wireless communication. 
     
     
         9 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the gasket is operative to be engaged with the power connector of the appliance while the power connector is connected to an electrical outlet, wherein the electric current is AC current from an electrical outlet, and wherein the power circuit is operative to convert the AC current to DC current for powering the at least one sensor and the transmitter. 
     
     
         10 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the housing includes the power circuitry, and wherein the at least one sensor is included in a removable sensor module physically distinct from the housing, wherein the sensor module is operative to be connected to the housing by one or more connectors provided on the housing. 
     
     
         11 . The gasket of  claim 10  wherein the one or more connectors of the housing are provided for a standardized interface and the sensor module has a connector for the standardized interface. 
     
     
         12 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the housing includes the power circuitry, and further comprising a removable module physically distinct from the housing and operative to be connected to the housing by one or more connectors provided on the housing, wherein the module includes a t  least one of: the at least one sensor, memory for storing sensor data, and memory for storing programming instructions for the gasket. 
     
     
         13 . The gasket of  claim 1  further comprising memory storing instructions governing operation of the gasket, and a standardized interface connector coupled to the memory, the standardized interface connector operative to be connected to an electronic device that is operative to provide configuration and programming of the instructions. 
     
     
         14 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the at least one sensor is a plurality of sensors, and wherein the plurality of sensors include sensors of a plurality of different types, each type for sensing a different characteristic of the environment. 
     
     
         15 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the at least one sensor is a digital sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the at least one sensor is an analog sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein one or more of the at least one sensor is positioned remotely from the housing, and is connected to the transmitter by a wire. 
     
     
         18 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the power circuit includes a surge protection circuit operative to protect at least the power circuit from power surges and spikes in the electric current, wherein the surge protection circuit includes a power rectifier. 
     
     
         19 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the gasket is coupled to memory operative to store the signals over time as data, and wherein the transmitter is operative to transmit the data in response to a communication channel being available. 
     
     
         20 . The gasket of  claim 1  wherein the housing is separate from and physically coupled to an appliance connector housing, wherein the at least one sensor and the power circuit are integrated on a single flex board provided between a top cover of the housing and a bottom cover of the housing, and wherein the gasket further comprises at least one ferrite ring that is coupled to the flex board. 
     
     
         21 . The gasket of  claim 1  further comprising a location circuit operative to receive location signals and provide location information indicative of a physical location of the gasket, the location information to be output by the transmitter. 
     
     
         22 . A method for sensing using a gasket, comprising:
 providing a housing including a plurality of openings operative to receive a plurality of prongs of a power connector of an appliance;   sensing at least one characteristic of an environment using at least one sensor coupled to the housing;   transmitting one or more signals using a transmitter included in the housing, wherein the one or more signals are derived from the at least one sensed characteristic, and wherein the transmitted signals are received by a receiving device; and   converting power from electric current received from at least one of the prongs to a form usable by the at least one sensor and the transmitter using power circuitry included in the housing.   
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the sensing at least one characteristic includes sensing at least one characteristic of electric current flowing through at least one of the plurality of prongs, and wherein the one or more transmitted signals include information indicative of a power consumption of the appliance. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  wherein the sensing includes measuring an intensity of a magnetic field generated by electric current passing through the at least one prong. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising providing at least one ring of material around the at least one opening to concentrate the magnetic field. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the gasket is operative to be engaged with the plurality of prongs of the power connector of the appliance while the power connector is connected to an electrical outlet, and wherein converting power includes generating DC power from the electric current, the DC power provided to drive at least the sensor and the transmitter. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the one or more transmitted signals include information indicative of a power consumption of the appliance, and wherein the one or more signals are transmitted periodically to the receiving device that includes a remote server. 
     
     
         28 . A sensing apparatus for an appliance connector, the sensing apparatus comprising:
 at least one circuit board including one or more openings operative to receive a corresponding number of prongs of the appliance connector;   at least one sensor coupled to the circuit board and operative to sense at least one characteristic of an environment;   a transmitter coupled to the circuit board and operative to transmit one or more signals derived from the at least one sensed characteristic, wherein the transmitted signals are capable of being received by a receiving device; and   a power circuit coupled to the circuit board and operative to provide power to the at least one sensor and to the transmitter, wherein the power circuit is operative to receive electric current from at least one of the prongs of the appliance connector to drive the transmitter and the at least one sensor.   
     
     
         29 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  further comprising a gasket housing separate from and physically engaged with a housing of the appliance connector, wherein the gasket housing houses the transmitter and the power circuit, and wherein the gasket housing including a plurality of openings operative to receive a plurality of prongs of the appliance connector. 
     
     
         30 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  further comprising at least one circuit board included within a housing of the appliance connector, and wherein the transmitter and power circuit are coupled to the at least one circuit board and are housed within the housing of the appliance connector. 
     
     
         31 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein the at least one sensor senses at least one characteristic of the electric current flowing through the at least one prong, and wherein the one or more transmitted signals include information indicative of a power consumption of the appliance. 
     
     
         32 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein the sensor measures an intensity of a magnetic field generated by the electric current passing through the at least one prong of the appliance connector. 
     
     
         33 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein the power circuit is coupled to the at least one prong of the appliance connector by a conductive contact or by a capacitive coupling. 
     
     
         34 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 29  wherein the gasket housing is operative to be engaged with the plurality of prongs of the appliance connector while the appliance connector is connected to an electrical outlet, and wherein the power circuit generates DC power from the electric current flowing through the at least one prong, the DC power provided to drive at least the sensor and the transmitter. 
     
     
         35 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein the one or more transmitted signals include information indicative of a power consumption of the appliance, and wherein the one or more signals are transmitted periodically to the receiving device that includes a remote server. 
     
     
         36 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  further comprising at least one processor coupled to the at least one sensor and to the transmitter, and wherein the transmitter transmits the one or more signals via wireless communication. 
     
     
         37 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein a housing houses the power circuitry, and wherein the at least one sensor is included in a removable sensor module physically distinct from the housing, wherein the sensor module is operative to be connected to the housing by one or more connectors provided on the housing. 
     
     
         38 . The sensing apparatus of  claim 28  wherein a housing houses the power circuitry, the at least one sensor, and the transmitter, wherein the at least one sensor and the power circuit are integrated on the circuit board that is a single flex board provided between a top cover of the housing and a bottom cover of the housing, and wherein the sensing apparatus further comprises at least one ferrite ring that is coupled to the flex board. 
     
     
         39 . A system comprising:
 a sensing apparatus coupled to an appliance connector of an appliance, the appliance connector being coupled to a power supply, wherein the sensing apparatus includes:
 at least one circuit board including one or more openings operative to receive a corresponding number of prongs of the appliance connector; 
 at least one sensor coupled to the circuit board and operative to sense at least one characteristic of an environment; 
 a transmitter coupled to the circuit board and operative to transmit one or more signals derived from the at least one sensed characteristic; and 
 a power circuit coupled to the circuit board and operative to provide power to the at least one sensor and to the transmitter, wherein the power circuit is operative to receive electric current from at least one of the prongs of the appliance connector to drive the transmitter and the at least one sensor; and 
 a receiving device located remotely from the sensing apparatus and operative to receive the one or more signals from the transmitter, wherein the receiving device is operative to provide the one or more signals for use as data describing the at least one sensed environmental characteristic.