Device for measuring an electric charge in digitized form
US7538710B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 28, 2008 |
| Grant date | May 26, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 28, 2028 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M1/361
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention relates to a device for measuring an electric charge in digitized form. The digitized value is coded on N bits. The device has at least a battery of N capacitors (1, 11) integrating the charge. The capacitors have a common electrode linked to a current source providing the charge. Each capacitor has an individual electrode. The values of the capacitances of the capacitors are in geometric progression. A capacitor corresponds to a bit of the digitized value. Switches (100, 101, 102, 103, 104) are connected to each individual electrode operating according to two phases, connecting the capacitors in parallel in an integration phase so as to integrate the charge in the capacitors (1, 11) and making it possible in a digitization phase to take each of the individual electrodes to two distinct potentials, corresponding to the two logic states of the bit, so as to transfer or not transfer the charge carried by the capacitor to all the other capacitors of the battery. The device has a logic unit (20) making it possible to determine in the second mode the combination of capacitors which, containing the same quantity of charge, is at a defined potential, the combination …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.