Heated type sensor with auxiliary heater in bridge circuit for maintaining constant sensor temperature

• US 6,190,039 B1
• Filed: 06/22/1998
• Issued: 02/20/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Riken
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Riken
• Inventors: Yaguchi, Osamu
• Primary Examiner(s): Gutierrez, Diego
• Assistant Examiner(s): PRUCHNIC, STANLEY J
• Application Number:
  US09/091,564
• Time in Patent Office: 974 Days
• Field of Search: 324/725, 374/164, 374/165, 374/173, 374/163, 374/172, 374/183, 219/499, 219/511
• US Class Current: 374/164
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/122 Circuits particularly adapted therefor, e.g. linearising circuits

Abstract

A main heater, auxiliary heater and guard heater arranged on an insulator substrate to absorb leakage current, thereby maintaining precise sensing temperature. The main heater is parallel with a bridge circuit containing the auxiliary heater, and the main and auxiliary heater s are typically adjacently arranged with a guard heater there between, electrically interconnected to maintain target temperature of the main heater, regardless of leakage current typically resultant from insulation substrate deterioration.

Claims

1. A heating type sensor in which a main heater and an auxiliary heater are arranged adjacent to a sensing portion to heat said sensing portion to a predetermined temperature, in which said auxiliary heater comprises one side of a bridge circuit;

said bridge circuit is parallel to said main heater, a pyro control circuit feeding the power to said bridge circuit and said main heater based on the output of said bridge.

2. The sensor according to claim 1, comprising an insulation substrate on which said sensing portion, said main heater and said auxiliary heater are arranged and in which said bridge circuit contains said auxiliary heater in one side and first, second and third resistors respectively in the remaining three sides,

said pyro-control circuit comprises a voltage follower which supplies a voltage to said main heater, and an amplifier having an inverting input connected to the serial node between said first resistor and said auxiliary heater;

a non-inverting input connected to the serial node between said second and third resistors and an output connected to a control input end of said voltage follower.

3. The sensor according to claim 2, in which said insulation substrate has a good thermal conductivity, and contains said sensing portion secured on its one surface and said main heater secured on its another surface in alignment with the area of said sensing portion, and said auxiliary heater is arranged around said main heater on said another surface of the insulation substrate.

4. A heating type sensor in which a main heater and an auxiliary heater are arranged adjacent to a sensing portion to heat said sensing portion to a predetermined temperature in which a guard heater is arranged between said main and auxiliary heaters adjacent to said auxiliary heater.

5. The sensor according to claim 4, further comprising:

a main heater paralleled to a first bridge circuit containing an auxiliary heater;

a first amplifier controlling a first voltage supplied to said first bridge circuit and said main heater based on the output of the first bridge circuit; and

a second amplifier for controlling a second voltage of said guard heater being identical to a third voltage applied on said auxiliary heater based on the output of a second bridge circuit containing said auxiliary and guard heaters.

6. The sensor according to claim 5, in which said first bridge circuit contains first, second and third resistors in the remaining three sides, and said first amplifier having an inverting input connected to a first node between said first resistor and said auxiliary heater, a non-inverting input connected to a second node between said second and third resistors, and an output connected to said main heater and said bridge circuit.

7. The sensor according to claim 5, in which said first bridge circuit comprises at least a first resistor defining a first node between said first resistor and said auxiliary heater and said second amplifier has a non-inverting input connected to said first node, an inverting input connected to said guard heater, and an output connected to supply current to the guard heater.

8. The sensor according to claim 5, in which a transistor is connected to a feeding point between said guard heater and said first bridge circuit, and an output of said second amplifier is connected to the base or gate of said transistor.

9. The sensor according to claim 5, in which said first bridge circuit is initially power supplied by a triggering resistor.