# US 12,771,371 B2 · Discrete time amplified charge or voltage sampler with adjustable gain

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- Number: US 12,771,371 B2
- Document ID: US12771371B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/605,751
- Filed: 2024-03-14
- Published: 2024-10-03
- Granted: 2026-10-20
- Earliest claimed: 2023-03-29
- Assignees: Aistorm Inc.
- Applicants: AIStorm Inc.
- Inventors: David Jamie Haas; David Schie
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12771371B2

## CPC

- H03M 1/183: {the feedback signal controlling the gain of an amplifier or attenuator preceding the analogue/digital converter}
- H03M 1/0626: {by filtering}
- H03M 1/125: {Asynchronous, i.e. free-running operation within each conversion cycle}
- H03M: CODING; DECODING; CODE CONVERSION IN GENERAL (using fluidic means F15C4/00; optical analogue/digital converters G02F7/00; coding, decoding or code conversion, specially adapted for particular applications, see the relevant subclasses, e.g. G01D, G01R, G06F, G06T, G09G, G10L, G11B, G11C, H04B, H04L, H04M, H04N; ciphering or deciphering for cryptography or other purposes involving the need for secrecy G09C)

## Abstract

An interface output for a capacitive sensor has a circuit to sample an input signal from the capacitive sensor. The circuit converts the sampled input signal to a digital signal and has an adjustable gain. An analog to digital converter (ADC) of the circuit receives the sampled input signal. An output of the circuit is coupled to the ADC and applies a gain correction to generate an amplified digital output signal.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An interface output for a capacitive sensor comprising:
a circuit to sample an input signal from the capacitive sensor, convert the sampled input signal to a digital signal and having an adjustable gain, wherein circuit comprises:
an analog to digital converter (ADC) receiving the sampled input signal;
an output coupled to the ADC applying a gain correction to generate an amplified digital output signal; and
an observer coupled to the capacitive sensor determining a magnitude of amplified sample of the input signal.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, wherein the capacitive sensor is a MEMs sensor.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, wherein the circuit comprises a sampling circuit coupled to the capacitive sensor taking a sample of the input signal and amplifying the sample of the input signal.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, wherein the observer coupled to the capacitive sensor determining an instantaneous magnitude of the amplified sample of the input signal and comparing the instantaneous magnitude of the amplified sample of the input signal to threshold window values.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, comprising a controller coupled to the observer and generating an output to control and adjusting a gain of the amplified sample.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, wherein the output device comprises a digital range scaling and reconstruction block, the controller sending the output to the digital range scaling and reconstruction block to adjust the gain of the amplified sample.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The circuit of claim 1, wherein the ADC is a nyquist rate ADC.

### Claim 8

A circuit to convert one of a charge or voltage information input from a Micro Electro Mechanical (MEM) capacitive sensor comprising:
a sampling circuit sampling an input signal from the MEM capacitive sensor and converting the sampled input signal to one of amplified charge or voltage information;
an analog to digital converter (ADC) receiving the one of amplified charge or voltage information;
an output device coupled to the ADC applying a gain correction to generate an amplified digital output signal;
an observer coupled to the sampling circuit determining a magnitude of the one of amplified charge or voltage information and comparing the magnitude of the one of amplified charge or voltage information to threshold window values; and
a controller coupled to the observer generating a gain control output signal to control and adjust a gain of the one of amplified charge or voltage information.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The circuit of claim 8, wherein the output device comprises a digital range scaling and reconstruction block, the controller sending the gain control output signal to the digital range scaling and reconstruction block.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The circuit of claim 8, wherein the ADC is a nyquist rate ADC.

### Claim 11

A circuit to convert charge information input from a Micro Electro Mechanical (MEM) capacitive sensor comprising:
a sampling circuit sampling an input signal from the MEM capacitive sensor and converting the sampled input signal to amplified charge information;
an analog to digital converter (ADC) receiving the amplified charge information;
an output coupled to the ADC applying a gain correction to generate an amplified digital output signal; and
an observer coupled to the sampling circuit determining a magnitude of the amplified charge information.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The circuit of claim 11, wherein circuit comprises an observer coupled to the MEM capacitive sensor determining an instantaneous magnitude of the amplified charge information and comparing the instantaneous magnitude of the amplified charge information to threshold window values.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The circuit of claim 12, comprising a controller coupled to the observer generating an output to control and adjusting a gain of the amplified sample.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The circuit of claim 13, wherein the output device comprises a digital range scaling and reconstruction block, the controller sending the output to the digital range scaling and reconstruction block to adjust the gain.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The circuit of claim 11, wherein the ADC is a nyquist rate ADC.