# US 7,746,091 B2 · Sensor apparatus

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- Number: US 7,746,091 B2
- Document ID: US7746091B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 12/576,590
- Filed: 2009-10-09
- Published: 2010-04-22
- Granted: 2010-06-29
- Earliest claimed: 2008-10-16
- Assignees: Panasonic Corporation
- Inventors: Takeshi Uemura
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US7746091B2

## CPC

- G01C 25/00: Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass (testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38)
- G01C 19/00: Gyroscopes; Turn-sensitive devices using vibrating masses; Turn-sensitive devices without moving masses; Measuring angular rate using gyroscopic effects
- G01C 19/5776: Signal processing not specific to any of the devices covered by groups G01C19/5607 - G01C19/5719
- G01D 5/24461: {by redundancy or plausibility}
- G01P 15/08: with conversion into electric or magnetic values
- G01P 21/00: Testing or calibrating of apparatus or devices covered by the preceding groups
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)
- G01D: MEASURING NOT SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR A SPECIFIC VARIABLE; ARRANGEMENTS FOR MEASURING TWO OR MORE VARIABLES NOT COVERED IN A SINGLE OTHER SUBCLASS; TARIFF METERING APPARATUS; MEASURING OR TESTING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01P: MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, OR SHOCK; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT (measuring or recording blood flow A61B5/02, A61B8/06; monitoring speed or deceleration of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L3/00; vehicle lighting systems adapted to indicate speed B60Q1/54; determining position or course in navigation, measuring ground distance in geodesy or surveying G01C; combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement G01C23/00; measuring velocity of sound G01H; measuring velocity of light G01J7/00; measuring direction or velocity of solid objects by reception or emission of radiowaves or other waves and based on propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effect, propagation time, direction of propagation, G01S; measuring speed of nuclear radiation G01T; measuring acceleration of gravity G01V; {measuring or recording the speed of trains B61L23/00; speed indicators incorporated in motor vehicles B60K35/00; measuring frequency or phase G01R; traffic control G08G})

## Abstract

The present invention includes an output circuit section for digitally outputting from an output terminal in a time division system a failure detection signal from a failure diagnosis circuit and a sense signal from a process circuit section, leading to reduction in size of a sensor apparatus. Further, outputting a failure detection signal earlier than a sense signal leads to improvement in reliability at the time of abnormality.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A sensor apparatus, comprising:
a drive circuit section for outputting a drive signal;
a detection device, into which a drive signal from the drive circuit section is inputted;
a detection circuit section for fetching a response signal from the detection device;
a process circuit section, into which the response signal from the detection circuit section is inputted and which fetches a sense signal from this response signal;
a failure diagnosis circuit for setting as a failure diagnosis object section at least any one of the drive circuit section, the detection device, the detection circuit section and the process circuit section, to determine whether the failure diagnosis object section is normal or abnormal; and
an output circuit section having an output terminal for digitally outputting in a time division system a failure detection signal from the failure diagnosis circuit and the sense signal from the process circuit section,
wherein a period of time required for an output concerning the failure detection signal from the failure diagnosis object section to reach the output terminal through the failure diagnosis circuit is shorter than a period of time required for an output concerning the sense signal from the failure diagnosis object section to reach the output terminal.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a delay means is provided at any place on an electric connection line from the failure diagnosis object section to the output terminal.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The sensor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the output circuit section does not output the sense signal from its output terminal when receiving the failure detection signal indicating abnormality of the failure diagnosis object section.