IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
|
출원번호 |
US-0008938
(2011-01-19)
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등록번호 |
US-8736113
(2014-05-27)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Austerlitz, Howard
- Bueter, Ron
- O'Brien, John
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출원인 / 주소 |
- Parker Hannifin Corporation
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대리인 / 주소 |
Renner, Otto, Boisselle & Sklar, LLP.
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
0 인용 특허 :
4 |
초록
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A method and system for limiting energy to a sensor and/or an environment in which the sensor is located. A high current sensor driver is powered through a resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit. In a failure mode, the RC circuit constrains output of a sensor driver to the sensor in order to limit aver
A method and system for limiting energy to a sensor and/or an environment in which the sensor is located. A high current sensor driver is powered through a resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit. In a failure mode, the RC circuit constrains output of a sensor driver to the sensor in order to limit average current applied to the sensor. In one embodiment, the capacitor is chosen so that it can provide adequate current to the sensor driver for a short period of time. The value of the resistor may be chosen to ensure that under short circuit conditions direct current (DC) is limited to a safe value. The combined values of the resistor and capacitor may be adjusted such that the capacitor can charge to a prescribed level during the interval between active pulses.
대표청구항
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1. An energy limiting circuit comprising: a pulse generator operable to generate pulses at a prescribed frequency;a sensor driver operable to supply a pulsed excitation voltage to an associated sensor, wherein the sensor driver outputs a sensor driver signal that corresponds to a waveform received f
1. An energy limiting circuit comprising: a pulse generator operable to generate pulses at a prescribed frequency;a sensor driver operable to supply a pulsed excitation voltage to an associated sensor, wherein the sensor driver outputs a sensor driver signal that corresponds to a waveform received from the pulse generator;a resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit coupled between an associated drive voltage source and the sensor driver, wherein the RC circuit constrains output of the sensor driver signal to limit average current applied to the associated sensor, andwherein the RC circuit is operable to provide power from the associated drive voltage source to the sensor driver independent of the pulse generator. 2. The energy limiting circuit of claim 1, wherein the sensor driver is a high current sensor driver. 3. The energy limiting circuit of claim 2, wherein the current output to the associated sensor is 0.1 ampere or more. 4. The energy limiting circuit of claim 1, wherein the RC circuit includes a resistor and a capacitor coupled in series. 5. The energy limiting circuit of claim 1, wherein a time delay for charging the capacitor limits a duty cycle associated with the associated sensor. 6. An energy limiting circuit comprising: a pulse generator operable to generate pulses at a prescribed frequency;a sensor driver operable to supply a pulsed excitation voltage to an associated sensor, wherein the sensor driver outputs a sensor driver signal that corresponds to the waveform received from the pulse generator; anda resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit coupled between an associated drive voltage source and the sensor driver, wherein the RC circuit constrains output of the sensor driver signal to limit average current applied to the associated sensor,wherein a time delay for charging the capacitor limits a duty cycle associated with the associated sensor, and wherein the duty cycle is less than or equal to substantially about 0.1%. 7. The energy limiting circuit of claim 5, wherein values for the resistor and capacitor are chosen so the capacitor can charge sufficiently between active pulses of the pulse generator to provide a drive voltage to the associated sensor. 8. The energy limiting circuit of claim 1, further including a transformer coupled between the sensor driver and the associated sensor. 9. The energy limiting circuit of claim 8, further including a sensor cable for coupling the associated sensor to the transformer. 10. The energy limiting circuit of claim 9, wherein the sensor cable is a shielded twisted pair cable. 11. The energy limiting circuit of claim 10, wherein the sensor cable outputs a sensor output signal to instrumentation electronics. 12. The energy limiting circuit of claim 10, further including a processor for processing the sensor output signal received at that instrumentation electronics. 13. The energy limiting circuit of claim 1, further including a processor for controlling operation of at least the sensor driver and the pulse generator. 14. The current limiting circuit of claim 13, wherein the processor is operable to control and adjust one or more values of the resistor and/or capacitor so that the capacitor can fully charge between an interval of active pulses output from the sensor driver. 15. The current limiting circuit of claim 1, wherein the sensor driver outputs a pulsed signal to an ultrasonic transducer. 16. The current limiting circuit of claim 1, wherein the sensor driver outputs a pulsed signal to radio frequency transducer. 17. The current limiting circuit of claim 1 further including an analog to digital converter coupled to the RC circuit for monitoring voltage of the capacitor. 18. The current limiting circuit of claim 1 further including a comparator having a first input coupled to the RC circuit and a second input coupled to a threshold source. 19. A method for limiting output energy to an associated sensor, the method comprising: receiving from a pulse generator a pulsed waveform at a predetermined frequency for input to a sensor driver;receiving a driving voltage at the sensor driver from an associated drive voltage source via a resistor-capacitor (RC) circuit, the RC circuit being independent of the pulse generator; andoutputting a sensor driving signal to the associated sensor, wherein the RC circuit constrains output of the sensor driver signal until the capacitor is charged in order to limit average energy output to the associated sensor. 20. The method of claim 19, further including controlling operation of the sensor driver with a processor. 21. The method of claim 20, further including automatically adjusting resistor and capacitor values so the capacitor can fully charge between outputting of the sensor driving signal to the associated sensor. 22. The method of claim 19, further including limiting a duty cycle associated with the associated sensor, wherein a time delay for charging the capacitor limits the duty cycle. 23. The method of claim 19, further including receiving a sensor output that corresponds to at least one physical parameter sensed by the sensor. 24. The method of claim 23, further including processing the sensor output to determine a fluid level. 25. The method of claim 19 further including coupling a comparator having a first input coupled to the RC circuit and a second input coupled to a threshold source for generating an energy limit flag. 26. A communication system for controlling a sensing device on an associated aircraft, the system comprising: a sensor operably positioned in a fuel tank of an associated aircraft, wherein the sensor senses at least one physical parameter associated with the fuel tank;a pulse generator operable to generate a waveform at a predetermined frequency;a sensor driver operable to supply a pulsed excitation voltage to the sensor, wherein the sensor driver receives an input signal and outputs a sensor driver signal that corresponds at least in part to the waveform received from the pulse generator; anda resistance-capacitance (RC) circuit coupled between an associated drive voltage source and the sensor driver, wherein the RC circuit constrains output of the sensor driver signal to limit average current applied to the associated sensor. 27. The system of claim 26, further including an output signal generated by the sensor, wherein the output sensor corresponds to at least one physical parameter sensed by the sensor. 28. The system of claim 26, wherein the at least one physical parameter is a fluid level associated with the fuel tank of an associated aircraft. 29. The system of claim 26, further including an in-tank fuel sensor coupled to the sensor driver, wherein the in-tank fuel sensor measures at least one physical property of an associated fuel tank. 30. The system according to claim 26, wherein the RC circuit is operable to provide power from the associated drive voltage source to the sensor driver independent of the pulse generator.
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