The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 03, 2007
Filed:
Oct. 09, 2003
Randy K. Rannow, Albany, OR (US);
Bradley D. Winick, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Shaun L. Harris, McKinney, TX (US);
Randy K. Rannow, Albany, OR (US);
Bradley D. Winick, Fort Collins, CO (US);
Shaun L. Harris, McKinney, TX (US);
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Houston, TX (US);
Abstract
The present invention determines temperature and current from resistance measurements of a single magnetoresistive sensor. A dual-purpose sensor includes the magnetoresistive sensor having a single pair of terminals. The sensor is multiplexed under separate current conditions to produce both a temperature measurement and a current measurement in a vicinity of the sensor. A sensor system includes the dual-purpose sensor, a resistance sensing subsystem and a controller that controls the current conditions. A method of measuring temperature and current includes measuring a first resistance of the dual-purpose sensor while a first current is flowing in a conductor adjacent to the sensor, and measuring a second resistance of the sensor while a second current is flowing in the conductor. The first current has a known value while the second current has an unknown value. The temperature and current are determined respectively from the first and second resistance measurements.