METHOD AND DEVICE FOR NON-CONTACT DETECTION OF EXTERNAL ELECTRIC OR MAGNETIC FIELDS

Abstract: A device for non-contact detection of an external field is presented. The device comprises an active unit (14) capable of emitting an interrogation signal, and a passive unit (12) to be positioned at a spot where the external field is to be detected. The passive unit comprises a substrate (20), which is capable of transporting therethrough a wave sensitive to the external field, and is formed with a delay line thereon. The delay line forms a wave channel for the wave's propagation, and is capable of converting the interrogation signal into a response signal. The wave channel is exposed contactlessly to action of the external field, and is thereby capable of altering the response signal to become informative of the external field. The active unit is capable of receiving and processing the response signal, using a reference signal, for determining and indicating the external field at the spot.

Description: Method and device for non-contact detection of external electric or magnetic fields FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a device and method for the contactless detection of external electric and magnetic fields. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As widely known, piezoelectric materials possess the special property of becoming electrically polarized under mechanical pressure. The converse effect is known as well. Such properties have given rise to the development of various piezoelectric sensors and detectors. The mentioned converse approach enables piezoelectric elements to be utilized for sensing electric voltage applied thereto. In such sensors, the voltage applied to the element results in respective mechanical deformation which can be registered. US 4,340,872 describes a controllable piezoelectric crystal delay line. An input signal is transmitted through input lines to an input transducer and an output signal is received through output lines from an output transducer. The input signal is converted to a surface acoustic wave (SAW) propagating across the surface of the crystal. Control electrodes are applied to surfaces of the crystal and are connected to control lines. A control signal is applied to the control lines, thus an electric field is applied to the crystal in order to alter its longitudinal dimensional characteristic and, consequently, to control the propagation distance between the input transducer and the output transducer. By varying the propagation distance between the transducers, the control signal continuously varies the propagation delay of a signal. Thus, the time delay between the input and output signals is a function of the control signal applied to the control lines. Another modifications of a delay line, such as a so-called resonator delay line is also known in the art. It comprises a transducer placed on a substrate and two systems of reflectors disposed bilaterally of the transducer. The transducer is capable of inputting an acoustic wave into the delay line in response to an electromagnetic signal; the two reflecting systems form therebetween an acoustic resonator. EP 810724 describes a tunable piezoelectric delay line comprising a SAW conducting piezoelectric substrate, two transducers and an additional electrode. This device is claimed to be used as a voltage sensor. The delay line is tuned by applying electric voltage to the additional electrode manufactured as a capacitive MOS structure (a semiconductor plate) which is superimposed on the piezoelectric substrate between the transducers of the delay line. The conductivity of the semiconductor plate electrode is controlled by the electric field effect. Since the SAW velocity depends on the conductivity of the adjoining electrode, the delay time of the delay line is controlled by applying the voltage to the MOS structure. The structure described in EP 810724 is quite complex and, besides that, has low sensitivity to the applied electrical voltage. Another drawback of the device is its inapplicability to cases where non-contact detection of electric field or voltage is required, since in the device, the voltage of interest has to be applied to the semiconductor plate via electrical contacts. No solution has been found so far in the relevant prior art for non-contact detection of electric fields or voltages, i.e. for safe measurements. This problem prevents performing a quick and safe test to determine whether a required voltage exists between electric wires in a power supply line, or in other hard-to-reach points. On the other hand, there is known U.S. 5,469,170, which describes a system of passive SAW-identification tags to be placed on a plurality of articles, wherein the tags operate with the aid of a chirp transducer. The passive SAW-ID tag device provides a piezoelectric substrate having bus bars, spaced electrode taps between the bus bars and a built-in antenna, with an input SAW chirped transducer having a complementary matched filter response to an input chirp signal generated by a nearby located chirp transmitter (interrogating transmitter). The SAW-LD tags are intended for identifying articles and do not perform any additional function. It is also known that magneto-static and magneto-elastic waves can be created in magnetic materials (such as ferrites) when a micro-strip transducer mounted on a surface thereof is excited by an electromagnetic signal. Delay lines, functionally analogous to those known with respect to piezoelectric substrates, are described also for the magnetic materials. Moreover, the wave propagation characteristics of such magnetic materials depend on an external magnetic field to which the materials are exposed. The above properties are described, for example, in a monograph "Spin waves and magnetic excitations". Edited by A.Borovik-Romanov, S.KSinha North Holland. Amsterdam- New-York-Tokyo, 1988. In the following description and claims, the magneto-static and magneto-elastic waves in magnetic materials will be named "magnetic waves". SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method and a device suitable for non-contact and optionally, also the remote detection of external magnetic and/or electric fields and voltages. Another object of the invention is to provide a sensor with high sensitivity for use in the above device, which is capable of measuring electric and magnetic fields over a wide range of intensities. Still a further object of the invention is to provide a system for remote contactless detection of external fields (for example, electric fields or voltages) in hard-to-reach spots, for example around any selected electric wire or at any string insulator unit of an electric power line, at inaccessible contacts in switchboards, etc. Besides the above, a method of utilizing the inventive system for tracing malfunctions in electric power lines forms yet an additional aspect of the present invention. The term "external field" used herein below with reference to the inventive device and method should be understood as meaning at least one component from the following list: an alternating electric field, an alternating magnetic field, a static electric field and a static magnetic field. According to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for non-contact detection of an external field, comprising: - an active unit capable of emitting an interrogation signal, and - a passive unit to be positioned at a spot where the external field is to be detected and comprising - a substrate capable of transporting therethrough a wave sensitive to said external field, and - a delay line provided on said substrate to form a wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting said interrogation signal into a response signal; wherein said wave channel is exposed contactlessly to action of the external field and thereby capable of altering the response signal to become informative of said external field; the active unit being capable of receiving and processing said response signal using a reference signal, for determuiing and indicating the external field at said spot. In accordance with a first basic embodiment of the device, it is intended for detecting external electric fields. Therefore, in the above definition, said external field to be detected is an electric field; said substrate is a piezoelectric substrate and said wave is an acoustic wave (in our case a surface acoustic wave - SAW). The second basic embodiment of the device is intended for detecting magnetic external fields, and the device comprises the substrate of a magnetic material (such as Yttrium Iron Garnet or other ferrite with low magnetic losses) capable of transporting a magnetic wave, if appropriately excited. The delay line can be formed by a pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween a wave channel, said pair of transducers being capable of launching said wave in the wave channel whenever the electromagnetic interrogation signal is received, and converting the wave into an electromagnetic response signal. The delay line of the above-mentioned type can be formed in both basic embodiments of the device, i.e. on the piezoelectric substrate and on the ferrite substrate; the selection of transducers for these two embodiments are to be provided whilst considering the specific features of the respective substrates. For example, in the piezoelectric embodiment of the device, one transducer of the mentioned pair of the transducers in the passive unit serves to launch SAW in response to the interrogation signal. The acoustic channel, being contactlessly exposed to and directly controllable by the external electric field, changes the velocity of propagation of SAW therethrough with the intensity of said field. The output transducer of the pair derives a delayed signal in response to the launched SAW, and change in the response signal's delay will be informative of the intensity of the external electric field. Analogous processes take place in the second basic embodiment, where a magnetic material is used for the propagation of magnetic waves. In the piezoelectric basic embodiment, however, said delay line may be easily implemented by a so-called resonator delay line which is characterized by relatively small dimensions at a relatively high total delay time. The resonator delay line can be formed by one transducer placed on a surface of the substrate between a pair of reflectors, which define the wave channel being an acoustic resonator. Each of the reflectors may constitute, for example, a system of parallel grooves, lugs, metal strips, etc. provided on the surface of the piezoelectric substrate. Such reflectors cause the SAW, whenever launched by the transducer in the acoustic resonator, to be successively reflected, thereby producing on the transducer a considerable resonance response signal at a specific resonance frequency of the delay line. Since the wave channel is subjected to the direct action of the external field, any change in the external electric field will affect conditions of propagation of the SAW between the reflectors, and will thereby cause a shift of the resonance frequency. The shift of the resonance frequency is thus informative of the intensity of the external electric field. According to a preferred embodiment, said active unit may comprise a signal source capable of transmitting the interrogation signal, a receiver capable of receiving the response signal from said passive unit, and processing means capable of determining the external field by processing the response signal and the reference signal for further indicating the determined field. For the embodiments where the delay line comprises two transducers, the processing means can be adapted to process the phase shift between the response signal and the reference signal. In the embodiment with the resonator delay line, the processing means are to be adapted to detect and process the shift of the resonance frequency. Owing to non-contact exposure of the passive unit of the device to the field to be detected, the present invention enables safe measurements to be provided. It goes without saying that the safety of remote measurement as opposed to just non-contact one is higher. According to the most preferred embodiment of the device, said active unit can be positioned remotely from the passive unit; both the active and passive units are provided with respective emitting-receiving antennas, and said signal source of the active unit constitutes a transmitter, thus enabling safe non-contact and remote detection of external fields. To this end, a method of contactless ( and optionally, remote) detection of electric fields (or voltages) includes mounting the passive unit at a spot where the electric field is to be detected, and activating the active unit of said device to obtain indication of the electric field at said spot. Another important aspect of the invention is to provide a highly sensitive sensor suitable for use as the passive unit in the above device, and enabling the measurement of external fields over a wide range of intensities. According to this aspect, the object can be achieved by providing a sensor mountable at a spot where an external field is to be detected, and comprising: - a substrate capable of transporting therethrough a wave sensitive to said external field, - a first delay line provided on said substrate to form a first wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting an input electromagnetic signal into a first output signal, wherein said first wave channel is contactlessly exposed to action of the external field; and - a second delay line provided on said substrate to form a second wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting said input electromagnetic signal into a second output signal; wherein said second wave channel is screened from the external field and has the length differing from that of the first wave channel to ensure a phase shift between the first output signal and the second output signal; the first and the second delay lines of said sensor are connected in parallel to provide a response signal formed by superposition of said first and second output signals and thereby informative of the external field. Preferably, the first (unscreened) wave channel can be designed to change its output signal's amplitude as the external field changes. In one particular case, the amplitude of the output signal decreases with the growth of the external field. Similarly to the device according to the first aspect of the invention, the sensor can also be formed in two basic modifications, i.e. with the piezoelectric substrate and the ferrite substrate being sensitive to electric and magnetic external fields, respectively. A number of embodiments of the piezoelectric modification of the sensor will be described below. According to one embodiment of the sensor, it is intended for detection of external electric fields, and comprises said substrate of piezoelectric material, bearing: - said first delay line comprising a first pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween said first wave channel constituting a first acoustic channel, said transducers being capable of launching a SAW into said first channel in response to an input electromagnetic signal and converting the SAW into a first output electromagnetic signal; - said second delay line comprising a second pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween said second wave channel constituting a second acoustic channel, said second pair of transducers being capable of launching SAW into said second channel in response to said input electromagnetic signal and converting the SAW into a second output electromagnetic signal; thereby, owing to the difference in lengths of said first unscreened and said second screened acoustic channels, the phase of the response signal formed by superposition of said first and said second output signals is indicative of the external electric field. The difference in length between the two acoustic channels is preferably a fraction of the SAW wavelength in the screened channel. The above-described sensor effectively detects the presence of external fields, owing to the fact that in one of the mentioned acoustic channels, the amplitude of the output signal depends on the external field, and in the other (screened) channel - does not. If the amplitude of the output signal of the acoustic channel exposed to external electric field decreases as the electric field increases, the response signal (being a vector sum of the output signals of the screened channel and the unscreened channel): a) will never have its amplitude reduced to zero, and b) will be nearer to the phase of the "unscreened" channel output signal as the field increases. In one specific embodiment of the piezoelectric sensor, any transducer thereof can have a narrow transmission band markedly shiftable with changes of the external electric field. In other words, the bandwidth of these narrow band transducers is preferably no greater than their central frequency shift due to the electric field to be detected. If relatively wide band transducers are used, frequency of the interrogation signal can be selected within the range of the slope of frequency response of the transducers. Analogous embodiments can be constructed on the ferrite substrates, to obtain the sensor capable of detecting external magnetic fields. In the most preferred embodiment of the sensor, preferably applicable to its piezoelectric modification, said first pair of the transducers is identical to said second pair of the transducers, wherein one transducer from each pair is a phase coded transducer capable of processing a phase coded signal, and the other - converts a signal without changing its envelope. The use of the phase coded transducers enhances the dependence of the first (unscreened) channel's output signal on the external field, and improves selectivity of the sensor. Any phase coded (e.g. bi-phase coded) transducer forms its maximal response signal in response to a PC coded signal exciting it only when all code intervals of the input signal are summarized and the phases of the code intervals are exactly the same that in the corresponding transducer's code sections. Due to the dependence of the SAW velocity on the external field, the quality of the mentioned phase matching depends on the external electric field. Therefore, when the external electric field's growth causes a multi-phase coded transducer to produce a progressively smaller output signal, this fact, in turn, will make the total response signal of the sensor progressively closer to the output of the second (screened) acoustic channel. In other words, the high sensitivity and selectivity of the sensor is achieved owing to the use of a) the two channel design and b) the multi-phase coded transducers. The high sensitivity and selectivity enables obtaining the enhanced response signal suitable for sufficiently accurate measurements of external electric fields at a selected spot. The interrogation signal is a high frequency electromagnetic signal, the frequency of which is determined by the required sensitivity of the passive unit to external electric field under test. According to acoustic, geometric and technological considerations, the frequency of the interrogator device for so-called piezoelectric embodiments of the sensor and the device can be selected at about 1 GHz. For the so-called ferrite embodiments, the frequency can be higher, e.g.. up to 10 GHz. - li ¬ lt is understood, that for all embodiments of the device and the sensor (except for that with the phase coded transducers), the interrogation signal is a high frequency pulse with the duration smaller than the delay time of the delay line(s). In the case of one-channel passive unit of the device, sensitivity of the device can also be improved by increasing the delay time. In the case of the two-channel design, the interrogation signal is preferably a multi-phase-coded high frequency signal matched with codes of the transducers in the sensor at the external field equal to zero. As has been mentioned, the multi-phase coded interrogation signal increases the sensitivity of the sensor and, additionally, permits to interrogate only one particularly matching sensor. It should be mentioned, that the sensor's sensitivity can be increased by selecting correct parameters of the phase-coded interrogation signal, such as the length of the code interval, a number of phase gradations in the code, a number of bits in the code and, of course, the frequency of the signal. Electric fields which are detectable by the above-described piezoelectric sensor and device, are preferably those being substantially static with respect to the sensitive element, i.e., those with the period much greater than the delay time of the piezoelectric sensor. The above-described device in its remote modification can be successfully used for detecting strong external fields, for example, for determining whether electric voltage is present between high voltage wires in an electric power line. The device can also be utilized for checking integrity of string insulators in the electric power lines. Yet another application of the sensor is for determining voltages at hard-to-reach places in complex electrical appliances and installations such as switchboards, control panels, electric machines, etc. The sensor and the device can also be used for the detection of low voltages. One way for solving such a task is to convert low voltage to be detected into high voltage by any known way (e.g. by an electric transformer). Applications of the inventive device should not be limited to the mentioned ones. To this end, and in accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a system for remotely detecting the presence of an external field at a plurality of check points to be examined; the system comprising the above-described device comprising one said active unit and a number of said passive units; said passive units of the device being mountable at the respective check points, while the active unit is capable of remotely communicating with said passive units by emitting said number of interrogation signals respectively associated with the number of the passive units, and recognizing the number of respective response signals. In other words, the system for remotely detecting the presence of, say, an electric field or voltage at a plurality of check points (e.g. of an electric circuit), may comprise a number of passive units and one active unit, wherein each of said passive units and said active unit is provided with an emitting-receiving antenna, and wherein: each of said passive units is mountable at one of said check points and being responsive to one particular interrogation signal whenever received from said active unit; all said passive units being responsive to different interrogation signals, respectively; said active unit comprising a transmitter, a receiver and processing means; said transmitter being capable of emitting said different interrogation signals to be received by said respective passive units; said receiver is capable of receiving and recognizing response signals from said passive units, wherein said processing means is adapted to determine the external electric field at each of said check points by comparing a response signal received from the respective passive unit with a corresponding reference signal for further indicating the electric field detected at said check point. According to the preferred embodiment, said passive unit is the above-defined piezoelectric sensor with two acoustic paths. It is understood that for determining electric fields at a plurality of check points, such a system must be capable of discriminating between different check points, i.e. must possess a high selectivity. As has been explained, this task can be best resolved if each interrogation signal represents a phase coded signal matched with a code of a particular passive unit; in such a case the passive unit serves as a matched filter. A variety of such interrogation signals can be achieved by phase coding. If the transducers of the passive units are designed according to the respective phase codes, each particular interrogation signal will be received by only one (matching) passive unit. Again, both the sensitivity and the selectivity of the system can be improved by judiciously selecting parameters of the phase coded signal (such as the length of the code interval, number of phase gradations in the code, the code rank, the carrier frequency of the signal). In a particular example, the system for remotely detecting the presence of high voltage between the wires of an electric power line will comprise a required number of the passive units, each mountable on a particular wire of the electric power line; all said passive units being responsive to different interrogation signals, respectively; said active unit being designed in the form of a portable remote apparatus capable of selectively or simultaneously communicating with the respective passive units to allow detection and indication of the presence of high voltage regarding the particular wires bearing the respective passive units. According to another application, the system having a number of sensors (passive units) and one active unit can be used for checking integrity of suspension insulator strings of an electric power line. In this case, the passive units can be mounted on the bodies of respective insulator strings. If a particular insulator is its regular state, the respective passive unit will cause the system to detect the presence of a predetermined nominal voltage applied to the insulator's ends. If the insulator is punctured completely or partially, the detected voltage will differ from the nominal value. Both the system for checking the voltages on the wires, and the system for checking the condition of suspension insulator strings in electric power lines can be used in situ by passing along the power line, where said passive units are preliminarily mounted, with the aid of any vehicle carrying the portable active unit and remotely providing the measurements of interest. Such a method is extremely useful and effective in emergency situations. BRffiF DESCRD?TION OF THE DRAWINGS: In order to understand the invention and to see how it may be carried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described, by way of non-limiting example of the piezoelectric modification only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a basic piezoelectric device according to the invention, having a passive unit and an active unit. Fig. 2 is an exemplary time diagram of operation of the device shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a piezoelectric sensor with improved sensitivity which can act as the passive unit shown in Fig 1. Fig. 4 is a schematic vector diagram illustrating how a response signal is developed in the piezoelectric sensor shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of one system according to the invention comprising a plurality of passive units. DETAILED DESCRD7TION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Fig. 1 illustrates a piezoelectric device 10 for the detection of an external electric field symbolically indicated with arrows marked E. A combined time diagram of its operation is schematically illustrated in Fig. 2. The device comprises a passive unit 12 placed in the external electric field and an active unit 14, which are in high frequency (HF) electromagnetic communication with each other. The device is intended for remote and non-contact detection of electric fields, so the unit 14 is moved away from the unit 12 and both units have high frequency emitting-receiving antennas: HF antenna 16 of the active unit and HF antenna 18 of the passive unit. In this embodiment, the passive unit 12 comprises a piezoelectric substrate 20, which bears on its surface a pair of transducers 22 and 24 spaced from one another so as to form between and under them an acoustic channel 26 which serves as a working wave channel of the device. The two transducers 22 and 24 and the acoustic channel 26 on the piezoelectric substrate constitute a piezoelectric delay line with the delay time controlled by the external electric field E. Antenna 18 and transducers of the passive unit 12 are connected in parallel by common electrical buses 11 and 13; the antenna 18 is capable of working either in the receiving or in the transmitting regime at a time. More particularly, in the receiving regime, the antenna 18 receives from the active unit 14 and feeds to the transducers 22, 24 an interrogation HF electromagnetic signal schematically marked 15 (see also Fig. 2, time axis 2). The interrogation signal 15 is converted by the transducers into two acoustic signals schematically indicated 17 and 19 which propagate along the acoustic path 26 in the form of SAW to be received with a delay by the same transducers and then converted into an electromagnetic response signal 21. Now the antenna 18 works in the transmitting regime and transmits the response signal to the active unit (see time axis 4 in Fig.2). The active unit 14 comprises a transmitter 28 and a receiver 30; the antenna 16 of the active unit is also a transmitting-receiving antenna. The transmitter 28 comprises a generator 32 of the HF interrogation signal controlled by a synchronizing circuit 34 (time axis 1 in Fig. 2). The interrogation signal is an amplitude modulated HF signal, wherein the duration of its pulse-like envelope is selected to be less than the delay time of the piezoelectric delay line (see time axes 2 and 4 in Fig. 2). The receiver 30 comprises an electronic switch 36 coupled to the antenna 16 and controlled by the synchronizing circuit 34 to receive only the response signal arriving from the passive unit 12 (lock-in signal is shown in Fig. 2, time axis 3). The received response signal is amplified by an amplifier 38 and fed to a phase shift detector 40 which compares the response signal with a reference signal 23. Output signal from the detector 40 reflecting the phase shift between the reference and the response signals is then processed by a data processor 42, and an indicator 44 presents information on the presence (and optionally, on the intensity) of the external electric field. In an alternative embodiment, the units 12 and 14 may be situated in close proximity to each other to form just a non-contact sensor of electric fields or voltages. In such a case, the units are electrically coupled as shown by the dotted line, and the sensor does not need any antennas. The procedure of evaluation of the electric field amplitude by the active unit 14 can be as follows. As the field is quasi-static, (e.g. its frequency is in the range of 50 to 400 Hz, time period 20 -2.5 ms, while the delay time of the delay line having the length 5cm is of about 7 μsec), the phase shift of the response signal with respect to the reference signal will oscillate with the frequency of the electric field. The procedure can consist of the following steps: 1) determining the minimal total phase shift; 2) subtracting it from the total phase shift which gives the relative phase shift; 3) determining the relative shift maximum; 4) calculating the field amplitude using a predetermined built-in ratio between the sought-for amplitude and the observed maximal relative phase shift, taking into account characteristics of the passive unit 12. Fig. 3 illustrates a highly sensitive piezoelectric sensor 50 which can be used as a passive unit in the device or a system according to the invention. The explanation herein below is given for the case of a bi-phase coded interrogation signal, for the sake of simplicity. The sensor comprises a first acoustic channel 52 formed in the substrate between a pair of transducers 51, 53, and being contactlessly exposed to external electric field. An additional acoustic channel 54 is created in the substrate between a pair of additional transducers 55, 57 and is screened (including the transducers 55, 57) from the external field, so that its delay time is independent from with the field intensity. The sensor 50 is provided with a receiving-emitting antenna 56 communicating with both acoustic channels 52 and 54 via their buses. In this embodiment, one transducer (53 or 57) belonging to any acoustic channel is a multi-tapped inter-digital transducer (LDT) for processing an interrogation signal with a particular phase-code predetermined for this sensor and being the same for both acoustic channels. The second transducer is a strictly periodic LDT (51 or 55) with a small number of electrodes, having the central frequency and the bandwidth corresponding to the phase coded signal in use. In this embodiment, both of the acoustic channels are almost identical, though they differ in propagation length, say, by a quarter of wavelength of the SAW and, of course, in that the second acoustic channel 54 is protected from the external electric field. Since all four transducers are connected in parallel to the antenna 56, the interrogation signal excites all the transducers, and the output signal of the two-channel design is a vector sum of two output signals of the two channels, i.e. (in turn) of the four transducers from both acoustic channels. As explained above, the maximal output signal of the channel can be produced when all code intervals of the SAW excite the transducer. At this moment, the output amplitude can be "n" times higher than the amplitude of one code interval of the SAW, where "n" is both the number of the code intervals in SAW and the number of code sections in the transducer. It is understood, that for obtaining the maximal output signal, the phases of the code section of the transducer should match with the signal's code intervals exciting the given code section. Due to dependence of the SAW velocity on external electric field, the degree of the matching will also depend on the electric field, thus the output signal will alter with changes of the external electric field. In the screened channel 54, the PC many-tapped LDT transducer 57 will convert the interrogation signal into a short SAW pulse of a high amplitude, if the codes match. The SAW pulse, when received by the second strictly periodic transducer 55 of the screened channel, will be converted into a strong electromagnetic signal having the same shape as SAW has. In the same channel, the PC interrogation signal, after being converted by the strictly periodic LDT transducer 55, propagates as a PC SAW signal to the PC transducer 57 which, if the codes match, will convert it into a short electromagnetic output pulse of high amplitude. Based on the above, when the external electric field alters the velocity of SAW in the first acoustic channel 52, it leads to a discrepancy between the PC interrogation signal and the PC transducer 53, thus resulting in both a decrease of the output signal outgoing from this channel, and its phase shift. The vector diagram shown in Fig. 4 indicates that the higher the electric field E, the lower the output signal A of the first unscreened channel 52 and the greater its phase shift: see three vectors A(Eι), A(E ), and A(E 3 ) of the output signal A, at three different values of the external electric field Eι<E 2 <E3. Vector B of the output signal of the second (screened) channel 54 is shifted by 90° relative to axis A. The three resulting vectors of the response signal are marked R. The stronger an external electric field is applied to the passive unit, the smaller will be the amplitude of the output signal A of the unscreened channel 52, and the nearer to the phase of signal B will be the phase of the resulting response signal R. The illustrated embodiment transforms a small phase shift directly produced by the electric field (any of vectors A) into a significant phase shift in the response signal (the corresponding vector R). It can also be seen, that owing to the two-channel design and the use of the phase coded interrogation signals, the amplitude of the response signal R is less affected by the electric field under test. Fig. 5 illustrates an exemplary system for remote contactless detection of electric voltages in a power line. Three passive units 60, 62 and 64 with HF antennas are mounted on three respective high voltage wires 61, 63, 65 of the power line. The passive units are coded by different phase codes, namely: the passive unit 60 is coded by a phase code PCi, the unit 62 - by phase code PC 2 , and the unit 64 - by phase code PC 3 . The system comprises a combined portable active unit 66 including a transmitter 68, a receiver 70, processing means 72 and indication means 74. Principle of operation of the active unit 66 is similar to that described with reference to Figs 1 and 2. The difference is in that the transmitter 68 is capable of selectively (or simultaneously) emitting three different interrogation signals, being coded by phase codes PCi, PC and PC3, respectively. Also, the indication means 74 are capable of registering readings of the electric field with respect to each particular code. Whenever a particularly coded interrogation signal is emitted by the active unit 66, it is correctly processed only by the passive unit coded by the same phase code. As a result, the operator is able either to provide the total checking of the wires, or to select a particular wire where the voltage is to be checked and to obtain indication concerning the presence (and optionally the intensity) of the electric field around any specific wire. Accurate measurements over a wide range of voltages can be provided if the passive units are designed as the two-channel sensors 50 shown in Fig. 3. While the present invention has been described with reference to the specific examples and drawings, it should be appreciated that other modifications and combinations of the passive and active units can be designed which also form part of the present invention.

Claims: CLAIMS: 1. A device for non-contact detection of an external field, comprising: - an active unit capable of emitting an interrogation signal, and - a passive unit to be positioned at a spot where the external field is to be detected and comprising - a substrate capable of transporting therethrough a wave sensitive to said external field, and - a delay line provided on said substrate to form a wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting said interrogation signal into a response signal; wherein said wave channel is exposed contactlessly to action of the external field and thereby capable of altering the response signal to become informative of said external field; the active unit being capable of receiving and processing said response signal, using a reference signal, for determining and indicating the external field at said spot. 2. The device according to Claim 1, wherein said external field to be detected is a magnetic field, said substrate is made of ferrite, and said wave is a magnetic wave. 3. The device according to Claim 1, wherein said external field to be detected is an electric field, said substrate is a piezoelectric substrate and said wave is a surface acoustic wave (SAW). 4. The device according to Claim 2 or 3, wherein said delay line is formed by a pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween a wave channel, said pair of transducers being capable of launching said wave in the wave channel whenever the interrogation signal is received, and converting the wave into a response signal having a phase shift informative of the external field. 5. The device according to Claim 3, wherein said delay line is a resonator delay line formed by one transducer placed on a surface of the piezoelectric substrate between a pair of reflectors defining the wave channel; said wave channel, while exposed to the external electric field, is capable of causing a shift of resonance frequency of the resonator delay line being informative of the intensity of the external electric field. 6. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said active unit comprises a signal source, a receiver and processing means capable of determining the external field by processing the response signal and the reference signal for further indicating the determined field. 7. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said active unit is adapted to be positioned remotely from the passive unit; both the active and passive units are provided with respective emitting-receiving antennas, and said signal source of the active unit constitutes a transmitter, thus enabling safe non-contact and remote detection of external fields and electric voltages. 8. A sensor for sensitive detection of external fields, mountable at a spot where an external field is to be detected, and comprising: - a substrate capable of transporting therethrough a wave sensitive to said external field, - a first delay line provided on said substrate to form a first wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting an input electromagnetic signal into a first output signal, wherein said first wave channel is contactlessly exposed to action of the external field; and - a second delay line provided on said substrate to form a second wave channel for said wave's propagation and capable of converting said input electromagnetic signal into a second output signal; wherein said second wave channel is screened from the external field and has the length differing from that of the first wave channel to ensure a phase shift between the first output signal and the second output signal; the first and the second delay lines of said sensor are connected in parallel to provide a response signal formed by superposition of said first and second output signals and thereby informative of the external field. 9. The sensor according to Claim 8, wherein said first wave channel is designed to change its output signal's amplitude as the external field changes. 10. The sensor according to Claim 8 or 9, designed for detecting external magnetic fields and utilizing the substrate made of a ferrite. 11. The sensor according to Claim 8 or 9, designed for detecting external electric fields and voltages and utilizing the substrate made of a piezoelectric material. 12. The sensor according to Claim 11, wherein said piezoelectric substrate bears: - said first delay line comprising a first pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween said first wave channel constituting a first acoustic channel, said transducers being capable of launching a SAW into said first channel in response to an input electromagnetic signal and converting the SAW into a first output electromagnetic signal; - said second delay line comprising a second pair of transducers placed on a surface of said substrate and forming therebetween said second wave channel constituting a second acoustic channel, said second pair of transducers being capable of launching SAW into said second channel in response to said input electromagnetic signal and converting the SAW into a second output electromagnetic signal; thereby, owing to the difference in lengths of said first and said second acoustic channels, the phase of the response signal formed by superposition of said first and said second output signals is indicative of the external electric field. 13. The sensor according to Claim 12, wherein the difference in length between the two acoustic channels is equal to a quarter of the SAW wavelength in the second channel. 14. The sensor according to any one of claims 8 to 13, wherein all said transducers are narrow band transducers. 15. The sensor according to Claims 12 or 13, wherein said first pair of the transducers is identical to said second pair of the transducers, and wherein one transducer from each pair is capable of processing a phase coded signal and the other transducer converts a signal without changing its envelope. 16. The sensor according to any one of claims 8 to 15, for the use as a passive unit in the device according to Claim 1. 17. The device according to any one of Claims 3 to 7, wherein said passive unit is the sensor according to Claim 8. 18. A system for remotely detecting the presence of an external field at a plurality of check points to be examined, utilizing the device according to any one of claims 1 to 7 comprising one said active unit and a number of said passive units; said passive units of the device being mountable at the respective check points, while the active unit is capable of remotely communicating with said passive units by emitting said number of interrogation signals respectively associated with the number of the passive units and recognizing the number of respective response signals. 19. The system according to Claim 18, wherein each of said passive units comprises a pair of piezoelectric delay lines each including a phase-coded transducer, and wherein each of said interrogation signals represents a phase-coded signal matched with the phase-coded transducer's code of a particular passive unit, thereby each of the passive units serving as a matched filter. 20. The system according to Claim 19, designed for remotely detecting the presence of high voltage between wires of an electric power line and 5 comprising a required said number of the passive units, each mountable on a particular wire of the electric power line; all said passive units being responsive to different interrogation signals, respectively; said active unit being designed in the form of a portable remote apparatus capable of selectively or simultaneously communicating with the 10 respective passive units to allow detection and indication of the presence of high voltage regarding the particular wires bearing the respective passive units. 21. A method of contactless detection of electromagnetic fields or electric voltages, including: providing a system according to any one of Claims 18 to 15 20, mounting each of said passive units at a spot where the electric field is to be detected and activating the active unit of said device to obtain indication of the electric field at each of said spots. 22. The method according to Claim 21, for tracing malfunctions in an electric power line, including mounting a number of said passive units at a 0 corresponding number of check points at the electric power line, passing along the electric power line using a vehicle with the portable active unit, and remotely providing measurements of the external electric field or voltage at the number of said check points.

Inventors: LEVIN MARIK, SHLIMAK ISSAI, SONDOMIRSKY VLADIMIR, LEVIN, MARIK, SHLIMAK, ISSAI, SONDOMIRSKY, VLADIMIR
Applicants: BAR DOV AHARON, LEVIN MARIK, SHLIMAK ISSAI, SONDOMIRSKY VLADIMIR, STEINER ANDREW, BAR-DOV, AHARON, LEVIN, MARIK, SHLIMAK, ISSAI, SONDOMIRSKY, VLADIMIR, STEINER, ANDREW
Application year: 1999
Main classification: G01R15
IPC codes: G01R29, G06K19