Patent ID: 8837876

Claim:
A rotary sensor system, comprising: rotatable system components including rotatable sensor electronics, at least one rotatable RF sensor, and at least one rotatable optical signal communication component; stationary system components including stationary RF sensor electronics for the at least one rotatable RF sensor, and at least one stationary optical signal communication component; and a rotary coupler coupled between the stationary system components and the rotatable system components, the rotary coupler having a stator portion rotatably coupled to a rotor portion, the stator portion being coupled between the stationary system components and the rotor portion, and the rotor portion being coupled between the rotatable system components and the stator portion such that the rotor portion rotates together with the rotatable system components relative to the stator portion and the stationary system components; where the stator portion includes a stationary RF conductor portion of a center RF transmission line; where the rotor portion includes a rotatable RF conductor portion of the center RF transmission line, the rotor portion being configured to rotate about a rotational axis relative to the stator portion; where the stationary RF conductor portion and the rotatable RF conductor portion of the center RF transmission line are disposed in adjacent rotatable relationship to form a first part of a center RF signal channel that extends across a rotational RF signal interface defined between the stationary RF conductor portion and the rotatable RF conductor portion of the center RF transmission line to couple the at least one rotatable RF sensor in RF signal communication with the stationary RF sensor electronics; where the stator portion further comprises a stationary optical conductor portion of an optical transmission line, and where the rotor portion further comprises a rotatable optical conductor portion of the optical transmission line; where the stationary optical conductor portion and the rotatable optical conductor portion are disposed in adjacent rotatable relationship to form an on-axis optical signal channel coincident with the rotational axis of the rotor portion and extending across a rotational optical signal interface defined between the stationary optical conductor portion and the rotatable optical conductor portion to couple the at least one stationary optical signal communication component in optical signal communication with at least one rotatable optical signal communication component; and where the rotational optical signal interface is disposed within the center RF transmission line.