Circuit arrangement with a resistor voltage divider chain

A circuit arrangement comprising:

• a resistor voltage divider chain including at least two two-terminal resistors connected in series between a number of connection points;
• at least two comparators, each having two input terminals and one output terminal, each of the input terminals connected to a connection point via which the comparator bridges a single resistor, the comparator adapted to output a signal having a first logic level in response to a discontinuity in a portion of the resistor voltage divider chain not bridged by the comparator, and to otherwise output a second logic level;
• and
• a switch having an input terminal connected to each of the output terminals of the comparators and adapted to provide an error signal indicating a discontinuity in a bridged resistor in response to one of the comparator output signals having the first logic level.

A circuit arrangement for detecting a break in a resistor voltage divider chain comprising N two-terminal resistors connected in series between N+1 connection points, with N being greater than or equal to 2, the circuit arrangement comprising:

• at least two comparator stages, each comparator stage including
• two input terminals, each of which is connected to one of the connection points such that each of the resistors is bridged by the input terminals of at most one of the comparator stages, and
• one output terminal for outputting a comparator output signal having a first logic level when corresponding signals are fed to the input terminals and otherwise having a second logic level;
• a switching stage having one input terminal connected to each of the output terminals of the comparator stages, adapted to form an error signal by logic switching of the comparator output signals to indicate an error when at least one of the comparator output signals has a first logic level, and adapted to output a signal that includes information about which of the comparator output signals is of the first or the second logic level.