SENSOR SUBASSEMBLY AND METHOD FOR SENDING A DATA SIGNAL

• US 20150229469A1
• Filed: 02/11/2015
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
• Inventors: Hainz, Simon
• Granted Patent: US 9,680,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/0091 Transmitter details
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/0332 with an integrator-detector
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A sensor subassembly having a memory unit for storing a sensor data value from the sensor subassembly and a transmission unit for sending a data signal with information about the stored sensor data value to an external receiver at a data rate that is dependent on a clock frequency of a clock signal produced by the sensor subassembly. The transmission unit sends the data signal with the information about the stored sensor data value on the basis of a piece of trigger information in an externally received control signal.

Claims

1. A sensor subassembly, comprising:

a memory unit configured to store a sensor data value from the sensor subassembly; and

a transmission unit configured to send a data signal with sensor data value information to an external receiver at a data rate that is dependent on a clock frequency of a clock signal produced by the sensor subassembly, wherein the transmission unit sends the data signal with sensor data value information on the basis of a piece of trigger information in an externally received control signal.

2. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is configured to receive a multiplicity of pieces of trigger information, wherein a frequency of said reception of the pieces of trigger information is lower than the data rate or clock frequency of the data signal when the sensor data value information is sent.

3. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising an analog-to-digital converter that is configured to convert analog sensor data determined by the sensor subassembly into a digital sensor data value for storage in the memory unit.

4. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensor subassembly comprises a magnetic sensor that is configured to measure the measured variable.

5. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the externally received control signal is modulated on a supply voltage provided to the sensor subassembly.

6. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is configured to send the data signal by modulating a supply current associated with the sensor subassembly.

7. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the piece of trigger information is an impulse with a trigger pulse length.

8. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is configured to detect the piece of trigger information, and send the data signal with the sensor data value information, only upon receipt of a piece of beginning information in the externally received control signal and prior to receipt of a piece of end information in the externally received control signal.

9. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the piece of beginning information consists of a predefined data word.

10. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the piece of end information consists of a longer impulse than the trigger pulse length.

11. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the transmission unit is configured to send a sensor signal on a connection, and to send the data signal on the connection instead from the instant of receiving the piece of beginning information.

12. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the transmission unit is configured to send a sensor signal on a connection and to modulate the data signal onto the sensor signal from the instant of sending of the piece of beginning information.

13. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmission unit is configured to output the data signal on a connection that is not used for a supply voltage or a sensor signal.

14. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the memory unit comprises at least two registers, and wherein the sensor data value is stored in the at least two registers, and the transmission unit is configured to transmit the content of one of the at least two registers as sensor data value information to the receiver when, before the piece of beginning information, a piece of register information that determines the register is received in the control signal.

15. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data rate of the data signal with the sensor data value information is dependent only on the clock frequency of the clock signal produced by the sensor subassembly without being dependent on a clock frequency of an external signal.

16. A sensor subassembly, comprising:

a clock signal generator configured to produce an internal clock signal; and

a transmission unit configured to send a data signal at a first data rate, wherein the first data rate is less than or equal to a data rate or a frequency of an externally received control signal, and wherein the transmission unit is configured to send a data signal at a send data rate, which is dependent on a clock frequency of an internal clock signal, following reception of a piece of trigger information in the externally received control signal, wherein the second data rate is higher than the data rate or the frequency of the externally received control signal.

17. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first data rate is dependent on a clock frequency of the internal clock signal.

18. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the transmission unit is configured to change over from serial protocol transmission at the first data rate to faster transmission at the second data rate following reception of the piece of trigger information.

19. The sensor subassembly as claimed in claim 16, wherein the first data rate is dependent on the received control signal.

20. A method for data transmission for a sensor subassembly, comprising:

storing a sensor data value for a measured variable measured by the sensor subassembly; and

sending a data signal with sensor data value information to an external receiver at a data rate that is dependent on a clock frequency of a clock signal produced by the sensor subassembly, wherein the data signal with the sensor data value information is sent asynchronously with respect to a clock or a frequency of the control signal on the basis of a piece of trigger information in an externally received control signal.