Low power analog-to-digital converter for sensing geophone signals
US8970413B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 13, 2013 |
| Grant date | Mar 3, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 13, 2033 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M3/32
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A low power analog-to-digital converter (ADC) may sense current output of a geophone instead of voltage. The output of the geophone may be terminated through a resistor into a virtual ground of an integrator, which may be located inside a current mode delta-sigma analog-to-digital converter. The integrator may have a current mode or a charge mode feedback. Thus, the geophone may experience constant or substantially constant impedance terminated into a virtual ground. This approach may eliminate an instrumentation amplifier from a geophone sensing circuit, while still allowing for accurate sensing of geophone signals. The instrumentation amplifier is a major current consumer from the signal path, so its elimination may significantly reduce power consumption. The instrumentation amplifier may be eliminated, at least in part because of the provision of the resistance into a virtual ground of an integrator of the delta-sigma ADC.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.