Smart sensor module
US6032109A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Oct 21, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 29, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 21, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01D3/022
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A smart sensor module includes a microcontroller and a signal conditioning integrated circuit. In a preferred embodiment, the signal conditioning integrated circuit is a mixed signal application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) incorporating an instrumentation amplifier, offset correction, sensitivity correction, low pass filtering, an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a temperature sensor, digital I/O interface, a crystal oscillator circuit, and power on reset open collector output. The ADC can be multiplexed to the transducer, the temperature sensor or an external input. All features of the ASIC can be dynamically reconfigured at any time by the microcontroller. Offset correction is implemented with a 4-bit coarse adjustment digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and a 7-bit fine adjustment DAC to control the instrumentation amplifier reference voltage. The coarse adjustment allows compensation of sensor-to-sensor offset variations, while the fine adjustment allows dynamic or real-time compensation of temperature-induced variations. The sensitivity correction is accomplished with a programmable system gain configured as a coarse gain adjustment and a fine gain adjustment. The coars…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.