Sensor module

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12231833-B2
Application number	US-201916979826-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 28, 2019
Priority date	Mar 12, 2018
Publication date	Feb 18, 2025
Grant date	Feb 18, 2025

Abstract

A sensor module comprises a master sensor unit for sensing a first environmental parameter, a slave sensor unit for sensing a second environmental parameter, a common substrate on which the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit are mounted, and a digital bus interface for a communication between the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit. The master sensor unit comprises a non-volatile memory for storing calibration data and configuration data of the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit. The master sensor unit is embodied as a first chip, and the slave sensor unit is embodied as a second chip. Such sensor module is compact, robust and versatile.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A sensor module, comprising:
a master sensor unit configured to sense a first environmental parameter;
a slave sensor unit configured to sense a second environmental parameter;
a common substrate on which the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit are mounted; and
a digital bus interface for a communication between the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit,
wherein the master sensor unit comprises a non-volatile memory configured to store calibration data and configuration data of the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit,
wherein the master sensor unit is embodied as a first chip, and the slave sensor unit is embodied as a second chip,
wherein the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit are configured to operate synchronously, based on a common clock with a common clock period and common phase for each sensor unit,
wherein the master sensor unit is configured to supply the common clock to the slave sensor unit,
wherein the common clock and a reset signal are supplied to the slave sensor unit via a combined signal over the digital bus interface on a single pin, and
wherein a reset pulse is derived from the combined signal in the slave sensor unit if the common clock period deviates from a nominal common clock period in a defined way.

2. The sensor module according to claim 1 , comprising a set of slave sensor units, each slave sensor unit of the set being configured to sense an environmental parameter different to the environmental parameters sensed by one or more of the other slave sensor units of the set, each slave sensor unit of the set being embodied as an individual chip.

3. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
wherein the master sensor unit is configured to receive one external time reference, from a quartz, and is configured to derive the common clock from the received external time reference.

4. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
wherein the at least one slave sensor unit comprises a reset sequence detector, and
wherein the reset sequence detector generates the reset pulse when detecting in the combined signal a high pulse that is longer than a nominal high time directly followed by a low pulse that is shorter than a nominal low time.

5. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
wherein the combined signal over the digital bus interface is additionally used to provide a supply voltage to the slave sensor unit, and
wherein a cumulated duration of high pulses in the combined signal is longer than a cumulated duration of low pulses.

6. The sensor module according to claim 1 , wherein the master sensor unit comprising a measurement sequence unit configured to trigger a sequence of measurements by sensor units,
wherein the measurement sequence unit is configured to trigger the sequence of measurements by the sensor units synchronously, based on the common clock applied by all the sensor units, and based on a frequency of multiple integers of the common clock period,
wherein the measurement sequence unit is configured to trigger the measurements of all sensor units at the same time, and
wherein the measurement sequence unit is configured to initiate measurements of a sensor unit dependent on a value measured by a different sensor unit.

7. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
comprising an interface for the master sensor unit to communicate with one or more units external to the sensor module,
wherein the sensor module is configured to communicate with the one or more external units exclusively via the interface for the master sensor unit,
wherein multiple slave sensor units are connected to the master sensor unit by means of the same digital bus interface,
wherein a protocol of the digital bus interface is configured to make each slave sensor unit exclusively communicate with the master sensor unit,
wherein the digital bus interface is a two-wire interface or a single-wire interface.

8. The sensor module according to claim 1 , the master sensor unit comprising a combined humidity and temperature sensor, wherein the temperature sensor is arranged and configured to determine a temperature ambient of the sensor module.

9. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
wherein the slave sensor unit comprises one of
a gas sensor comprising one of a MOX-based gas sensor; an optical gas sensor, a photoacoustic gas sensor; a thermal gas sensor; an electrochemical gas sensor comprising a solid EC gas sensor or a room temperature organic liquid EC gas sensor;
an aerosol concentration sensor comprising a PM optical particle counter;
a humidity sensor;

wherein another slave sensor unit comprises one of
a gas sensor comprising one of a MOX-based gas sensor; an optical gas sensor; a photoacoustic gas sensor; a thermal gas sensor; an electrochemical gas sensor comprising a solid EC gas sensor or a room temperature organic liquid EC gas sensor;
an aerosol concentration sensor comprising a PM optical particle counter;
a humidity sensor;

wherein a further slave sensor unit comprises one of
a gas sensor comprising one of a MOX-based gas sensor; an optical gas sensor; a photoacoustic gas sensor; a thermal gas sensor; an electrochemical gas sensor comprising a solid EC gas sensor or a room temperature organic liquid EC gas sensor;
an aerosol concentration sensor comprising a PM optical particle counter;
a humidity sensor.

10. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
comprising slave sensor units including the slave sensor unit; and a housing for the master sensor unit and the slave sensor units,
wherein the housing comprises at least one opening arranged and configured to enable a medium to access the sensor units for enabling the sensor units to sense the corresponding environmental parameters,
wherein the housing comprises at least two openings arranged and configured to enable a medium to access the sensor units for enabling the sensor units to sense the corresponding environmental parameters,
wherein the housing comprises one opening per sensor unit each opening being arranged and configured to enable a medium to access the sensor units for enabling the sensor units to sense the corresponding environmental parameters.

11. The sensor module according to claim 1 ,
the master sensor unit comprising a power management unit for generating an internal supply voltage and a supply voltage for the digital bus interface, and
the slave sensor unit comprising a power management unit for generating an internal supply voltage.

12. A sensor module, comprising:
a master sensor unit configured to sense a first environmental parameter;
a slave sensor unit configured to sense a second environmental parameter;
a common substrate on which the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit are mounted; and
a digital bus interface for a communication between the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit;
wherein the master sensor unit comprises a non-volatile memory configured to store calibration data and configuration data of the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit,
wherein the master sensor unit is embodied as a first chip, and the slave sensor unit is embodied as a second chip,
wherein the master sensor unit and the slave sensor unit are configured to operate synchronously, based on a common clock with a common clock period and common phase for each sensor unit,
wherein the master sensor unit is configured to receive one external time reference from a quartz, and is configured to derive the common clock from the received external time reference,
wherein the master sensor unit is configured to supply the common clock to the slave sensor unit,
wherein the common

Assignees

• Sensirion Ag

Inventors

• Steiner Vanha Ralph
• Fuhrer Samuel
• Pluess Marcel
• Bartsch Ulrich

Classifications

• H04Q2209/30

  using a wired architecture · CPC title

• G06F13/40

  Bus structure {(for computer networks G06F15/163; for optical bus networks H04B10/25)} · CPC title

• G06F1/04

  Generating or distributing clock signals or signals derived directly therefrom · CPC title

• G01N33/0073

  Control unit therefor · CPC title

• G01N33/0036

  specially adapted to detect a particular component (physical analysis of gaseous biological material G01N33/497) · CPC title