Lgz Landis Gyr Zug Ag

Landis+gyr Ag

Jan Petr

Heinz Lienhard

Benedikt Steinle

Radivoje Popovic

Thomas Seitz

The invention relates to a circuit configuration for compensating for the changes in a transfer ratio of a magnetic field sensor arrangement. According to one embodiment of the invention, a control loop for effecting this compensation is provided in the form of an integrated circuit whereby the change in transfer ratio is compensated by means of a control signal variation. This circuit configuration includes a series configuration of an A/D converter, a digital controller and a D/A converter exhibiting high precision and high control speed. A control that is significantly more precise and faster than that of the prior art is achieved by virtue of the fact that only a variable portion of regulating variables is fed through the digital controller after which a constant portion of regulating variables for the actual regulating variable used for compensation is added.

Circuit arrangement and a method for compensating changes of a transfer factor of a magnetic field sensor arrangement

The present invention is an arrangement for measuring electrical power. The arrangement comprises a conductor traversed by an electrical current i and a voltage-to-current converter for transforming an electrical voltage u.sub.N into a proportional supply current i.sub.N for a Hall element. The Hall element is adapted to produce an intelligence containing output signal .+-.u.sub.H proportional to the product (.+-.i.u.sub.N) of the current i and the voltage .+-.u.sub.N. The Hall element is arranged in an air-gap of a ferromagnetic core that is excited by the current i. A voltage-to-frequency converter transforms the Hall element output voltage .+-.u.sub.H into a proportional output frequency. The voltage-to-frequency converter includes a capacitor for integration purposes and at least two signal sources. The power measuring device also includes a switch for periodically switching a signal proportional to the signal .+-.u.sub.H and for switching said signal sources to compensate for an offset voltage. Use of the arrangement permits an improvement in the ratio of the intelligence containing signal to an interference signal, which interference signal includes for example an offset voltage.

Arrangement for measuring electrical power

A method and apparatus for converting an electrical signal into a proportional frequency is disclosed. Modulation of the output frequency resulting from polarity switching cycles having half-periods of unequal duration and capacitor voltages which might be non-zero at the time of polarity reversal are substantially avoided. This permits faster and more precise calibration.

Method and apparatus for converting an electrical signal into a

The present invention is an electrical circuit for use with a four-pole device. The four-pole device has two input connections and two output connections. The output of the four-pole device is measured at one output relative to a base potential present at the other output. The electrical circuit comprises a two-poled switch, which is connected in such a manner, that in its first position a signal source is connected with the first input of the four-pole device and the output of an amplifier is connected with the second input of the four-pole device. In the switch's second position, the signal source is connected with the second input of the four-pole device and the output of the amplifier is connected with the first input of the four-pole device. The output of the four-pole device, which is at the base potential, is connected to an inverting input of the amplifier, while the non-inverting input of the amplifier is connected to a constant reference voltage (U.sub.R). When connected in this fashion, the amplifier serves to compensate base potential present at one output of the four-pole device. The switching arrangement serves to switch the polarity of an information containing component of the output signal of the four-pole device (which depends on the input signal source) without reversing the polarity of an interference component, which is produced within the four-pole device or which is produced in electronic components connected at the output side of the four-pole device. This may be useful for separating the information-containing and interference components in the output signal of the four-pole device.

Interference signal component compensation circuit

A compensated measurement transducer for measuring a first current generates a first magnetic field of a predetermined direction which flows in a first circuit including a first conductor; a second current substantially similar to the first current is generated in a second circuit and the first current is measured by obtaining the value of the second current. The second circuit includes a compensating current conductor, which generates a second magnetic field, compensating the first magnetic field, a Wheatstone bridge to which both magnetic fields are applied, and an amplifier connected to the output of the Wheatstone bridge, and coupled to the compensating current conductor. An auxiliary magnetic field is applied to the Wheatstone bridge, which is connected to a current- or voltage-source, and includes four ferromagnetic and magnetoresistive thin film. The magnetic fields have a direction along the direction of the hard magnetic axes of the thin films, and the thin films are so positioned that the magnetization of two electrically oppositely disposed thin films, which results from the application of the first and second magnetic fields thereof, is rotated in a direction opposite to the correspondingly resulting magnetization of the remaining thin films, following application of the auxiliary magnetic field to the thin films.

Compensated transducer

In an apparatus for the measurement of electrical power, including a multiplier which receives on an input thereof an electrical signal proportional to the voltage component of the electrical power, and which is subjected to an external magnetic field proportional to the current component of the electrical power, an auxiliary magnetic field is applied to the multiplier. The multiplier is a Wheatstone bridge including four ferromagnetic and magnetoresistive thin films, and the magnetic fields have a direction along the direction of the hard magnetic axes of each of the thin films. The thin films are so positioned that the magnetization of two electrically oppositely disposed thin films resulting from the application of the external magnetic field thereto is rotated in a direction opposite to that of the correspondingly resulting magnetization of the remaining thin films, following application of the auxiliary magnetic field to the films.

System for measuring electrical output or energy

A current to pulse-sequence transducer for transforming a current to be measured into a sequence of pulses which has a certain mark-to-space ratio, includes a first transforming device for transforming the current to be measured into a measurement magnetic field, a second transforming device for generating a reference magnetic field, and magnetic field comparison device including a magnetoresistive thin film comparator normally providing a zero output when the fields are equal, but generating an impulse when the strength of one magnetic field exceeds that of the other, and an impulse processing device. The impulse processing device includes a differentiator amplifier connected to the output of the magnetoresistive thin film comparator and a Schmitt trigger circuit postcoupled to the differentiator amplifier. Thus there will be generated the sequence of pulses which have the mark-to-space ratio in dependence of the current to be measured; this will minimize the influence of any imbalance from the zero output when the fields are equal, and the influence of any external electromagnetic disturbance picked up by the transducer, which has a magnitude below the threshold value of the Schmitt trigger circuit.

Current to pulse-sequence transducer

In a magnetoresistive current detector, which includes a conductor carrying a current to be measured, which in turn generates an external magnetic field, four bridge elements are connected to one another so as to constitute a Wheatstone bridge. The Wheatstone bridge is adapted to be fed by a supply current from a current- or voltage-source and includes two pairs of ferromagnetic and magnetoresistive thin films which have hard and easy axes, respectively, and each thin film constitutes a respective bridge element. The thin films of each pair are magnetostatically coupled to one another, so that the portion of the supply current flowing in each thin film of each pair generates an auxiliary magnetic field, which has a direction along the hard magnetic axis of the other thin film of the same pair. The thin films of each pair form bridge portions connected to one another at respective bridge output terminals and all these films have substantially equal respective thicknesses; the external magnetic field has a direction along the direction of the hard magnetic axes of each of the thin films.

Magnetoresistive current detector

An analog to frequency convertor for developing an output signal of frequency proportional to a measuring current or voltage by the charge quantity compensation method, comprising an integrator, a threshold switch downstream thereof, a compensating charge transmitter which supplies a constant compensating charge to a capacitor of the integrator each time the threshold switch responds, and a control circuit to generate a periodic digital polarity signal which controls the polarity of the measuring current or voltage and of the compensating charge transmitter and always changes its logic value at the same level of the output voltage of the integrator.

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Oberwil, Switzerland

Jan Petr