Patent ID: 6870607
Filing Date: 2005-03-22
Classification: G01D,G01F,G01M

Abstract:
1. A device for obtaining information regarding sensors from light transmitted through plurality of optical waveguides, each of the waveguides having a first end coupled to a light source and a second end, comprising: a. a photodetector positioned such that it is capable of simultaneously receiving light corresponding to a first signal from a first sensor and a second signal from a second sensor provided respectively by first and second optical waveguides, the photodetector having an output providing an analog signal representing an image sensed by the photodetector, wherein the image sensed by the photodetector corresponds to information other than a single visual image; b. an analog-to-digital converter coupled to the output of the photodetector for converting the analog signal to a digital signal representing the image; c. a digital memory coupled to the analog-to-digital converter such that the digital memory is capable of storing the digital image; and d. a processor coupled to the digital memory, wherein the processor is configured to obtain information regarding the state of the first and second sensors by analyzing the image stored in the digital memory.