System for magnetic self test

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10527701-B2
Application number	US-201414512500-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 13, 2014
Priority date	Oct 14, 2013
Publication date	Jan 7, 2020
Grant date	Jan 7, 2020

Abstract

The disclosure provides a system for magnetic self test. The system includes an electronic control unit (ECU) including a controller. Only one sensor is electrically coupled to the ECU, wherein the sensor includes a sensing element, a signal conditioning element electrically coupled to the sensing element and the controller, and a wire-on-chip (WOC) device disposed next to the sensing element. The system further includes a WOC stimulus element provided in the ECU or the sensor to drive the WOC to create a WOC magnetic field, wherein the system is configured to compare an expected sensor output signal that is caused by the WOC magnetic field with an actual sensor output signal by the controller or an additional signal assessment element in the sensor to identify whether the sensor is still functioning correctly.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A system for magnetic self test, comprising:
an electronic control unit (ECU) including a controller;
only one sensor electrically coupled to the ECU, wherein the sensor comprises a sensing element, a signal conditioning element electrically coupled to the sensing element and the controller, and a wire-on-chip (WOC) device disposed next to the sensing element;
a WOC stimulus element provided in the ECU or the sensor to drive the WOC device based at least in part on a test pattern to create a WOC magnetic field,
wherein the system is configured to compare an expected sensor output signal that is caused by the WOC magnetic field with an actual sensor output signal by the controller or an additional signal assessment element in the sensor to identify whether the sensor is still functioning correctly,
wherein the sensor further comprises one or more integrated capacitors parallel connected with the WOC device, wherein the inductor of the WOC device and the integrated capacitor form a resonant circuit that is excited by an internal driver device, the enabling input of which is connected to the WOC stimulus element, and
wherein the controller is configured to trigger the test pattern based on one of enabling or disabling a feed forward loop.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is provided in the ECU and receives the command signal from the controller to drive the WOC device.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is provided in the sensor and receives the command signal from the controller to drive the WOC device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor further comprises an integrated energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device is powered by an external supply and electrically coupled to the WOC stimulus element provided in the sensor to avoid high current consumption peaks of the sensor during the magnetic self test.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the energy storage device is one or more capacitors in series or parallel connection.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the internal driver device is an amplifier.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element and the controller are configured to not be synchronized in real-time with a synchronization signal sent from the WOC stimulus element to the controller being not needed.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is configured to send a synchronization signal to the controller so as to achieve real-time synchronization between the WOC stimulus element and the controller.

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is configured to send a synchronization signal to the additional signal assessment element rather than the controller so as to achieve real-time synchronization between the WOC stimulus element and the additional signal assessment element.

10. The system of claim 7 , wherein the synchronization signal is derived from the resonant circuit or the internal driver device and the additional signal assessment element contains a synchronous demodulation of the sensor output signal.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the WOC stimulus element drives the WOC via an oscillation of the resonant circuit modulated by the test pattern.

12. A system for magnetic self test, comprising:
an electronic control unit (ECU) including a controller;
only one sensor electrically coupled to the ECU, wherein the sensor comprises a sensing element, a signal conditioning element electrically coupled to the sensing element and the controller, and a wire-on-chip (WOC) device disposed next to the sensing element;
a WOC stimulus element provided in the ECU or the sensor to drive the WOC device to create a WOC magnetic field,
wherein the system is configured to compare an expected sensor output signal that is caused by the WOC magnetic field with an actual sensor output signal by the controller or an additional signal assessment element in the sensor to identify whether the sensor is still functioning correctly,
wherein the sensor further comprises an integrated energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device is powered by an external supply and electrically coupled to the WOC stimulus element provided in the sensor to avoid high current consumption peaks of the sensor during the magnetic self test.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the sensor further comprises one or more integrated capacitors parallel connected with the WOC device, wherein the inductor of the WOC device and the integrated capacitor form a resonant circuit that is excited by an internal driver device, the enabling input of which is connected to the WOC stimulus element, and wherein the controller is configured to trigger the test pattern based on one of enabling or disabling a feed forward loop.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the internal driver device is an amplifier.

15. The system of claim 13 , wherein the WOC stimulus element and the controller are configured to not be synchronized in real-time with a synchronization signal sent from the WOC stimulus element to the controller being not needed.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the synchronization signal is derived from the resonant circuit or the internal driver device and the additional signal assessment element contains a synchronous demodulation of the sensor output signal.

17. The system of claim 13 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is configured to send a synchronization signal to the controller so as to achieve real-time synchronization between the WOC stimulus element and the controller.

18. The system of claim 13 , wherein the WOC stimulus element is configured to send a synchronization signal to the additional signal assessment element rather than the controller so as to achieve real-time synchronization between the WOC stimulus element and the additional signal assessment element.

19. The system of claim 12 , wherein the energy storage device is one or more capacitors in series or parallel connection.

Assignees

• Infineon Techologies Ag
• Infineon Technologies Ag

Inventors

• Heinrichs Frank
• Hammerschmidt Dirk

Classifications

• G01R33/0035

  Calibration of single magnetic sensors, e.g. integrated calibration · CPC title

• G01R35/00 Primary

  Testing or calibrating of apparatus covered by the other groups of this subclass · CPC title

• G01R33/0017 Primary

  Means for compensating offset magnetic fields or the magnetic flux to be measured; Means for generating calibration magnetic fields · CPC title

• G01R31/2829

  Testing of circuits in sensor or actuator systems (testing of apparatus for measuring electric or magnetic variables G01R35/00; testing of indicating or recording apparatus G01D; in airbag systems B60R21/0173; checking gas analysers G01N33/007; monitoring or fail-safe circuits for electromagnets H01F7/1844) · CPC title

• G01R31/007

  using microprocessors or computers · CPC title