Patent · US Expired

Optical sensor apparatus and signal processing circuit used therein including initialization and measuring modes

US6057678A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
4References
7Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 24, 1998
Grant dateMay 2, 2000
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 24, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01D5/34723
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

An optical sensor apparatus capable of accurate measurement without using a filter circuit, and therefore being further capable of pulse driving an LED and thus reducing power consumption, is provided. To achieve such an optical sensor apparatus, when an optical current sensor 10 is not sensing the current to be measured, an optical current sensor signal processing circuit 11 first supplies dc light of a specific intensity to the optical current sensor 10, and then adjusts the intensity of the light so that the intensity of light returned from the optical current sensor 10 to the signal processing circuit 11 is a specific predetermined value. When the optical current sensor 10 is sensing the current, the signal processing circuit 11 electrically processes the optical signal from the optical current sensor 10 to measure the current.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.