Flowmeter Comprising an Electronic Magnetic Sensor with Buffered Power Supply

A flow meter for a home appliance, in particular a dishwasher or a washing machine, the flow meter comprising:

• a control unit having a first power supply terminal, a second power supply terminal and a digital input terminal which is connected to the second power supply terminal via a limiting element, wherein the digital input terminal is configured to receive digital voltage signals;
• a movable element which is moved by a flow of a fluid and which comprises at least one movable magnetic element;
• and
• a two-lead magneto-sensitive unit which is arranged to detect a magnetic field or flux applied by the movable magnetic element, and which comprises a signal terminal configured to be connected to the digital input terminal of the control unit and a reference terminal configured to be connected to the first power supply terminal of the control unit;
• characterized in that the magneto-sensitive unit comprises:
• a magnetic sensor element having two output terminals connected to the signal terminal and the reference terminal, respectively, of the magneto-sensitive unit and a power supply terminal;
• and
• a buffered power supply unit connected to the signal terminal and the reference terminal of the magneto-sensitive unit, and configured to generate a continuous auxiliary voltage from the signal terminal and the reference terminal of the magneto-sensitive unit and to provide the continuous auxiliary voltage at the power supply terminal of the magnetic sensor element.