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:
Feb. 25, 2014
Filed:
Dec. 28, 2011
Petri Heliö, Tampere, FI;
Petri Korpi, Kangasala, FI;
Niko Mikkola, Tampere, FI;
Paavo Väänänen, Nokia, FI;
Sami Vilhonen, Lieto, FI;
Petri Heliö, Tampere, FI;
Petri Korpi, Kangasala, FI;
Niko Mikkola, Tampere, FI;
Paavo Väänänen, Nokia, FI;
Sami Vilhonen, Lieto, FI;
St-Ericsson SA, Plan-les-Ouates, CH;
Abstract
The charge-to-digital timer apparatus and method disclosed herein estimates the elapsed time between two signals, e.g., a start signal and a stop signal. To that end, at least a capacitive load is charged with a known current to generate a load voltage. Subsequently, a first voltage is ramped in a plurality of discrete voltage steps associated with a plurality of known capacitances until the ramped voltage satisfies a predetermined criterion relative to a second voltage. The elapsed time is determined from the discrete voltage steps, one of the first and second voltages, the known current, and the known capacitive load.