Sensor-drive and signal-processing method
AssigneeMicro-Epsilon Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG
InventorsRoland Mandl, Heinrich Baumann
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A sensor-drive and signal-processing method, wherein the primary side of the sensor is supplied with a preferably oscillating input signal, and the output signal from the secondary side of the sensor is demodulated, if need be, filtered and amplified, is developed for realizing smaller structural designs for sensors and associated electronics such that both the sensor drive on the primary side and the signal conditioning and processing on the secondary side occur in digital form.
Claims18
A method of driving a sensor and processing a signal, wherein the sensor has a primary side and a secondary side, the method comprising the steps of supplying the primary side of the sensor with an oscillating input signal and detecting a corresponding output signal on the secondary side of the sensor, wherein the output signal includes a periodically varying differential voltage having a substantially identical sequence of differential voltages in a plurality of successive periods, and wherein said detecting step comprises the step of digitizing the differential voltage of the output signal, said digitizing step comprising the step of undersampling the output signal, wherein said undersampling step comprises the steps of sampling the differential voltage within each period and time shifting the sampled differential voltage to corresponding portions of other periods, said digitizing step also comprising the step of reconstructing the undersampled output signal based upon the sampled and time shifted differential voltages such that the output signals of the sensor are processed on the secondary side of the sensor in digital form.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.