System and method for diagnosing the operating state of a microelectromechanical sensor
AssigneeSTMicroelectronics S.r.l.
InventorsEnrico Rosario ALESSI, Fabio PASSANITI, Daniele PRATI
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Abstract
A system for diagnosing the operating state of a MEMS sensor includes a stimulation circuit, external to the MEMS sensor, configured to generate a stimulation signal designed to be detected by the MEMS sensor. The system has control circuitry, operatively coupled to the stimulation circuit and to the MEMS sensor, so as to control the stimulation circuit to generate the stimulation signal and receive a diagnostic signal generated by the MEMS sensor in response to the stimulation signal. The control circuitry determines an operating state of the MEMS sensor based on the diagnostic signal and an expected response to the stimulation signal by the MEMS sensor.
Claims20
A diagnostic system, comprising:
- stimulation circuitry, configured to generate a stimulation signal to be detected by a MEMS sensor external to the stimulation device;
- and
- control circuitry, operatively coupled to the stimulation circuitry and to the MEMS sensor, configured to control the stimulation circuitry to generate the stimulation signal, to receive a diagnostic signal generated by the MEMS sensor in response to the stimulation signal, and to determine an operating state of the MEMS sensor based on the diagnostic signal and an expected response to the stimulation signal by the MEMS sensor.
A method, comprising:
- generating, externally to a MEMS sensor, a stimulation signal to be detected by the MEMS sensor;
- receiving a diagnostic signal generated by the MEMS sensor in response to the stimulation signal;
- and
- determining an operating state of the MEMS sensor based on the diagnostic signal and an expected response to the stimulation signal.
A system, comprising:
- a micro-electro-mechanical-system sensor;
- stimulation circuitry operable to generate a first signal to be detected by the micro-electro-mechanical-system sensor;
- and
- control circuitry operable to control the stimulation circuitry for the generating the first signal, to receive a second signal from the micro-electro-mechanical-system sensor in response to the first signal, and to determine an operating state of the micro-electro-mechanical-system sensor by analysing the second signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.