Capacitive field sensor with sigma-delta modulator
US8570053B1 · kind B1 · utility
45Cited by
355References
20Claims
0Family size
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Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 23, 2009 |
| Grant date | Oct 29, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 29, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03K2217/960745
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A capacitive sensor includes a switching capacitor circuit, a comparator, and a charge dissipation circuit. The switching capacitor circuit reciprocally couples a sensing capacitor in series with a modulation capacitor during a first switching phase and discharges the sensing capacitor during a second switching phase. The comparator is coupled to compare a voltage potential on the modulation capacitor to a reference and to generate a modulation signal in response. The charge dissipation circuit is coupled to the modulation capacitor to selectively discharge the modulation capacitor in response to the modulation signal.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.