Low power, frequency-mode magnetometer
US6512370B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 12, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 28, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 12, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R33/02
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A low power, frequency-mode magnetometer. The magnetometer includes an LC oscillator, a bias resistor and a polarity switch. The LC oscillator produces an output signal having a variable frequency indicative of both a magnitude and a polarity of a magnetic field. The LC oscillator includes an inverting amplifier and a Pi network including an inductor and two capacitors. The inductor is realized as a coil wound about a high permeability, low hysteresis, core material that has been longitudinally cut. The inductor is coupled between an input node and an output node, as is the inverting amplifier. The inverting amplifier has a first trigger voltage and a second trigger voltage, which are symmetrically located with respect to one half of a DC bias voltage. The bias resistor is coupled between the input node of the LC oscillator and a first node and controls the DC bias current to the inductor. The polarity switch switches the first node between ground and the bias DC voltage.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.