Sensor and sensing method utilizing symmetrical differential readout
US8056413B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 11, 2008 |
| Grant date | Nov 15, 2011 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 21, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C19/5684
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A sensor and sensing method capable of full-differential symmetry to minimize bias drift and improve stability of the sensor output. The sensor includes a sensing element, sense electrodes capacitively coupled to the sensing element to generate capacitive outputs that vary in response to the motion of the sensing element, and a differential readout device. The sense electrodes are electrically separable into at least two pairs of differential sense electrodes. The readout device performs a sampling sequence of at least two sampling cycles during which the readout device samples the capacitive outputs of the sense electrodes and produces at least two differential outputs based on the difference between the capacitive outputs within each pair of differential sense electrodes. The readout device then calculates an average of the differential outputs of the sampling sequence to produce an output of the differential readout device, and thereafter repeats the sampling sequence and calculation.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.