US 11,877,837 B2
Apparatus for use in inductive sensing
Mark Peter Paul Kleijnen, Eindhoven (NL); Rick Bezemer, Eindhoven (NL); Wouter Herman Peeters, Eindhoven (NL); Gerardus Johannes Nicolaas Doodeman, Eindhoven (NL); and Tim Patrick Steunebrink, Eindhoven (NL)
Assigned to Koninklijke Philips N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
Appl. No. 17/440,236
Filed by KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V., Eindhoven (NL)
PCT Filed Mar. 17, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/057182
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 17, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/187869, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 24, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 19163368 (EP), filed on Mar. 18, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0183581 A1, Jun. 16, 2022
Int. Cl. G01R 27/28 (2006.01); A61B 5/05 (2021.01); G01R 27/26 (2006.01); H01Q 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 5/05 (2013.01) [G01R 27/2611 (2013.01); H01Q 7/005 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for use in inductive sensing for application to a body to be investigated, the apparatus comprising:
a resonator circuit including a loop antenna and an electronic signal generator coupled to the antenna,
wherein the electronic signal generator is configured to emit a drive signal to drive the loop antenna,
wherein driving the loop antenna causes the loop antenna to generate electromagnetic signals,
wherein the resonator circuit has a resonance frequency, and
wherein the resonator circuit is configurable in a drive state in which the loop antenna is driven at resonance to generate electromagnetic signals for application to the body; and
a switch connected in electrical parallel with the antenna, wherein the switch is configured to inhibit the drive state to permit switching of electromagnetic signal generation by at least one of interrupting and adjusting the electrical characteristics of at least one of the drive signal and the resonator circuit.