Sensirion Ag

Moritz Lechner

Felix Mayer

Mark Hornung

Jens Kubasch

Marc Von Waldkirch

Rafael Santschi

Markus Graf

Zeljko Mrcarica

Ferdinando Pace

Urs Rothacher

Samuel Fuhrer

Johannes Buhler

Frank Roeck

Andreas Martin Haeberli

Vincent Hess

Johannes Bühler

Leo Zimmerman

Michael Dommer

Frank Röck

A portable electronic device and related methods are described using an integrated chemical sensor linked to a chemical sensor processing unit and being sensitive to the concentration of a component in a sample of air and further including an operating system providing instructions for the control of the portable device, wherein the chemical processing unit uses under operating conditions a first set of instructions and a second set of instructions stored within the portable device, wherein the first set of instructions is part of the operating system level of instructions and the second set of instructions is part of a user of instructions with the second set of instructions being linked to the operating system via a plugin interface and wherein the second set of instructions is communicated to the portable device from a remote computing system based on access to measurements and/or operating conditions of the chemical sensor.

Portable electronic device with integrated chemical sensor and method of operating thereof

An integrated chemical sensor chip comprises on or integrated in a common substrate a chemically sensitive layer and a heater heating the sensitive layer. In addition, a memory is provided for the storage of a measurement routine, the measurement routine comprising instructions defining a heating process over time and instructions defining one or more measurement points in time. An I/O interface is provided for receiving a trigger for the measurement routine and for supplying a result of the measurement routine. An engine controls the heater and measures a resistance of the sensitive layer according the instructions of the measurement routine.

Integrated chemical sensor chip

A portable electronic device is described with telecommunication capabilities to allow for data and/or voice communication via private or public networks, having an integrated chemical sensor sensitive to ketones within a breath sample of a user wherein the sensor comprises at least one metal oxide gas sensor and a control circuit for the sensor integrated onto a common substrate or package.

Portable electronic device with ketone sensor

A chemical alert system for generating an alarm is described including a portable electronic device, preferably with telecommunication capabilities to allow for data and/or voice communication via private or public networks, and at least one chemical sensor integrated with the housing of the portable device and controlled by a chemical sensor processing unit, further comprising an alert discriminator receiving input based on measurements of the chemical sensor, performing a test on the input and based on an outcome of the test initiating the transfer of measurements of the chemical sensor to a remote processing facility.

Chemical alert system using a protable device with integrated chemical sensor

In a method for operating a portable electronic device a recharge process for recharging a rechargeable energy storage of the portable electronic device is detected. A heater is activated for heating a sensitive layer of a chemical sensor contained in the portable electronic device subject to the detection of the recharge process.

Heating a sensitive layer of a chemical sensor subject to detection of a recharge process in an electronic device

The flow sensor comprises a heater arranged between two sensing thermopiles. In addition, at least one monitoring thermocouple is provided for measuring the temperature of the heater. The signal from the monitoring thermocouple can be used to improve the accuracy of the device in several ways. In particular, the signal from the monitoring thermocouple depends on changes of the Seeback constant and other inherent properties of the thermopiles in the same way as the signal from the sensing thermopiles, which allows a compensation of such effects. The signal from the monitoring thermocouple can also be used as a reference voltage to an A/D converter for converting the signals from the sensing thermopiles.

Flow sensor with thermocouples

The humidity detector comprises a housing adapted to hold a humidity sensor towards the windscreen of a vehicle or any other type of window. A flexible printed circuit board is arranged between the humidity sensor and the windscreen and provides a connection between the humidity sensor and further circuitry of the detector. The humidity sensor is located under a cap, which is engaged by a glider member. A spring pushes the glider member towards the windscreen.

Humidity detector for detecting fogging on a window

An integrated circuit comprises an assembly of switched capacitors operated under control of a system clock signal. It further comprises a signal driver for generating a binary output signal at an output pad. The system clock signal is suppressed for a certain time period after each transition of the output signal, thereby preventing voltage droop generated by the transition to introduce noise in the signals of the assembly of switched capacitors.

Noise reduction for switched capacitor assemblies

The flow sensor comprises a heater arranged between two sensing thermopiles. In addition, at least one monitoring thermocouple is provided for measuring the temperature of the heater. The signal from the monitoring thermocouple is used as a reference voltage for an A/D converter, which converts the signals from the sensing thermopiles. This allows to increase the resolution of the converter at higher flows, which results in more accurate measurements.

Flow sensor with flow-adaptable analog-digital-converter

For measuring the flow and the thermal conductivity of a fluid, a sensor is used, which has a first temperature detector for measuring a first temperature and a second temperature detector for measuring a second temperature. A heating is arranged between the temperature detectors. Two measured quantities are determined by means of the temperature detectors, a first of which is e.g. a difference between the temperatures and a second one of which is one of the temperatures. By comparing the two measured quantities, the flow and the thermal conductivity of the fluid can be determined.

Device and method for measuring the flow and at least one material parameter of a fluid

A flow detector comprises at least two housing parts with a semiconductor chip having an integrated flow sensor arranged between the housing parts. An opening is provided in one of the housing parts and at least one metal pin extends through the opening and forms an electrical lead-through. A hardened filler material is used for sealing the lead-through against the walls of the opening. This construction provides a well sealed cavity for the fluid to be measured and can be manufactured easily.

Flow detector with lead-throughs and method for its production

A sensor for determining at least one parameter with a sigma-delta converter () comprises switched input capacitors and feedback capacitors (CfCfCrefcCrefcCreffCreffCrtCrtCrCrCtempCtempCsCs). At least one of the capacitors is designed such that its capacitance depends on the parameter to be determined. In this way, the change of capacitance can be directly determined by means of the sigma-delta converter. Due to a symmetric design of the converter a higher accuracy can be reached.

Sensor and sigma-delta converter

A device for measuring the flow of a fluid has a primary duct and a bypass arranged in series to the primary duct. The bypass has a first section and a second section. A baffle plate with a hole for the passage of the fluid is arranged in the first section. The second section comprises two parallel secondary ducts. In the first section, a turbulent flow dominates, while the flow in the second section is primarily laminar. If the turbulent effects in the bypass are sufficiently strong, the ratio of the flows in the primary duct and the bypass can be substantially independent of the fluid properties and of the flow rate. By using two parallel secondary ducts in the second section, high flow rates and therefore strongly turbulent effects can be achieved without exceeding the measuring range of the sensor.

Device for measuring the flow of a gas or a liquid in a bypass

A sensor, in particular a humidity sensor, comprises a measuring layer ( ), the dielectric properties of which depend on a parameter to be measured, e.g. of the humidity of the environmental air. Electrodes ( ) are arranged on a substrate ( ) side by side for capacitively measuring the measuring layer ( ). A protective layer ( ) of a non-oxidizing material, in particular a layer of silicon oxide or gold, is arranged between the electrodes ( ) and the measuring layer ( ). This layer prevents an oxidation of the electrodes ( ) and increases the live time and reliability of the sensor.

Growing community of inventors

Uerikon, Switzerland

Moritz Lechner