Electrostatic discharge circuit
First Claim
1. A vibration sensor, comprising:
- a transducer adapted to generate an electrical signal as a function of vibration;
a signal conditioning circuit, comprising (i) at least one input node, (ii) at least one output node, and (iii) circuit components, the signal conditioning circuit characterized by a transfer function, adapted to receive an input signal from said at least one input node and to provide a conditioned output signal at said at least one output node according to the transfer function; and
an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit adapted to the signal conditioning circuit (i) to suppress ESD signals greater than about 2000 Vpp applied to said at least one node to levels electrically non-destructive to the signal conditioning circuit and (ii) to interface with the signal conditioning circuit in a manner substantially maintaining the transfer function;
said ESD protection circuit including linear protection elements coupled to components of said signal conditioning circuit sensitive to ESD signals; and
one of said linear protection elements coupled to said transducer has an impedance matching an impedance of the transducer to maintain electrical characteristics of the sensor while protecting the transducer and the signal conditioning circuit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A circuit includes at least one input node, at least one output node, a signal conditioning circuit, and an electrostatic discharge (ESD) circuit. The signal conditioning circuit is characterized by a transfer function and adapted to receive input signals from and provide conditioned output signals to the input and output node(s), respectively. The signal conditioning circuit processes the input signal and outputs the conditioned output signal as a function of the transfer function. The ESD protection circuit is adapted to the signal conditioning circuit (i) to suppress electrostatic discharge signals applied to at least one of the input or output node(s) to levels electrically non-destructive to the signal conditioning circuit and (ii) to interact with the signal conditioning circuit in a manner substantially maintaining the transfer function.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A vibration sensor, comprising:
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a transducer adapted to generate an electrical signal as a function of vibration; a signal conditioning circuit, comprising (i) at least one input node, (ii) at least one output node, and (iii) circuit components, the signal conditioning circuit characterized by a transfer function, adapted to receive an input signal from said at least one input node and to provide a conditioned output signal at said at least one output node according to the transfer function; and an electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection circuit adapted to the signal conditioning circuit (i) to suppress ESD signals greater than about 2000 Vpp applied to said at least one node to levels electrically non-destructive to the signal conditioning circuit and (ii) to interface with the signal conditioning circuit in a manner substantially maintaining the transfer function; said ESD protection circuit including linear protection elements coupled to components of said signal conditioning circuit sensitive to ESD signals; and one of said linear protection elements coupled to said transducer has an impedance matching an impedance of the transducer to maintain electrical characteristics of the sensor while protecting the transducer and the signal conditioning circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method for conditioning a signal, comprising:
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receiving a signal from a transducer representative of a vibration; conditioning the signal according to a transfer function; suppressing electrostatic discharge (ESD) signals greater than about 2000 Vpp to levels electrically non-destructive to the conditioning and in a manner substantially maintaining the transfer function, the suppressing of ESD signals effectuated by linear elements including at least one having an impedance matching the impedance of the transducer; and outputting the conditioned signal. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A vibration sensor including a circuit for conditioning a signal, comprising:
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means for receiving the signal; means for conditioning the signal according to a transfer function; means for suppressing electrostatic discharge signals to levels electrically non-destructive to the conditioning and in a manner substantially maintaining the transfer function; and means for outputting the conditioned signal.
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Specification