Temperature sensor and related methods
First Claim
1. A temperature sensor comprising:
- a capacitor;
a circuit element coupled in series with said capacitor and having a resistance that varies with temperature;
a plurality of calibration resistors coupled to said capacitor and having different resistance values; and
a controller for sequentially charging said capacitor through said circuit element and each of said calibration resistors, measuring respective charging times required to charge said capacitor to a predetermined threshold through said circuit element and said calibration resistors, cooperating with said plurality of calibration resistors to determine a capacitance variation of said capacitor, and determining the temperature based upon the charging times and the capacitance variation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A temperature sensor may include a capacitor, a circuit element coupled in series with the capacitor and having a resistance that varies with temperature, and a controller. The controller is for charging/discharging the capacitor through the circuit element, measuring a charging/discharging time required to charge/discharge the capacitor to a predetermined threshold, and determining a temperature based upon the charging/discharging time. More specifically, the circuit element may be a thermistor, for example. The temperature sensor may further include at least one calibration resistor coupled between the controller and the capacitor. As such, the controller may sequentially charge/discharge the capacitor through the circuit element and the at least one calibration resistor, measure respective charging/discharging times required to charge/discharge the capacitor to the predetermined threshold through the circuit element and the at least one calibration resistor, and determine the temperature based upon the charging/discharging times.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A temperature sensor comprising:
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a capacitor;
a circuit element coupled in series with said capacitor and having a resistance that varies with temperature;
a plurality of calibration resistors coupled to said capacitor and having different resistance values; and
a controller for sequentially charging said capacitor through said circuit element and each of said calibration resistors, measuring respective charging times required to charge said capacitor to a predetermined threshold through said circuit element and said calibration resistors, cooperating with said plurality of calibration resistors to determine a capacitance variation of said capacitor, and determining the temperature based upon the charging times and the capacitance variation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A temperature sensor comprising:
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a capacitor;
a thermistor coupled in series with said capacitor;
a high calibration resistor coupled to said capacitor;
a low calibration resistor coupled to said capacitor and having a lower resistance value than said high calibration resistor; and
a controller for sequentially charging said capacitor through said thermistor and each of said high and low calibration resistors, measuring respective charging times required to charge said capacitor to a predetermined threshold through said thermistor and each of said high and low calibration resistors, cooperating with said plurality of calibration resistors to determine a capacitance variation of said capacitor, and determining a temperature based upon the charging times and the capacitance variation. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for sensing temperature using a capacitor, a circuit element having a resistance that varies with temperature, and a plurality of calibration resistors having different resistance values, the method comprising:
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sequentially charging the capacitor through the circuit element and each of the calibration resistors;
measuring a respective charging time required to charge the capacitor to a predetermined threshold through the circuit element and each of the calibration resistors;
determining a capacitance variation of the capacitor using the plurality of calibration resistors; and
determining the temperature based upon the charging times and the capacitance variation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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Specification