KR-20260067302-A - SENSOR SYSTEM

KR20260067302AKR 20260067302 AKR20260067302 AKR 20260067302AKR-20260067302-A

Abstract

In a sensor system in which sensor units equipped with analog sensors are connected in series, the state of the entire sensor system is determined using the output of a single signal terminal. The sensor system according to the present invention comprises a sensor unit formed by a pair of a sensor and a unit electronic circuit for each sensor, and the switch circuits provided by each unit electronic circuit are connected in series, and each unit electronic circuit is configured such that when the output from all sensors is normal, all switch circuits conduct in series.

Inventors

가네다 다이
이시가끼 나오야

Assignees

주식회사 히타치하이테크

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250829
Priority Date: 20241105

Claims (8)

It is a sensor system having multiple sensors, and A sensor unit formed by a pair of the above sensor and a unit electronic circuit is provided for each of the above sensors, and Each of the above-mentioned unit electronic circuits is equipped with a switch circuit, and Each of the above switch circuits is connected in series, and Each of the above unit electronic circuits is configured such that when the output from all of the above sensors is normal, all of the above switch circuits conduct in series. A sensor system characterized by the following.
In paragraph 1, The above switch circuit is configured to have a first input terminal, a second input terminal, and an output terminal, and to switch which of the signals input to the first input terminal or the second input terminal is output from the output terminal. The output terminal provided by the above switch circuit is connected to the first input terminal of the switch circuit provided by the next stage unit electronic circuit, thereby connecting each of the above switch circuits in series. The second input terminal provided by the sensor unit is connected to the output of the sensor provided by the same sensor unit, and A sensor system characterized in that the switch circuit provided by the sensor unit is switched to output an input to the first input terminal from the output terminal when the output from the sensor provided by the same sensor unit is normal.
In paragraph 2, A sensor system characterized in that the switch circuit provided by the sensor unit is switched to output an input to the second input terminal from the output terminal when the output from the sensor provided by the same sensor unit is abnormal.
In paragraph 2, The above unit electronic circuit is, A differential amplifier circuit that amplifies and outputs the difference between the output from the sensor and the reference signal, An absolute value circuit that outputs the absolute value of the output signal from the above differential amplifier circuit, A comparison circuit that outputs the result of comparing the output signal from the above absolute value circuit with the threshold voltage. Equipped with, A sensor system characterized in that the above unit electronic circuit switches the switch circuit by an output signal from the comparison circuit.
In paragraph 4, A sensor system characterized by the comparison circuit switching the switch circuit such that when the output signal from the absolute value circuit is below the threshold voltage, the first input terminal and the output terminal are connected, and when the output signal exceeds the threshold voltage, the second input terminal and the output terminal are connected.
In paragraph 1, The sensor system also comprises a line that supplies power to each of the unit electronic circuits by connecting each of the unit electronic circuits in series, and A sensor system characterized in that the above-mentioned line is provided separately from the line connecting each of the above-mentioned switch circuits in series.
In paragraph 1, The above unit electronic circuit is equipped with an OR logic circuit, and The first input terminal of the above OR logic circuit receives a switching signal that switches the switch circuit, and A sensor system characterized by connecting each of the above OR logic circuits in series by connecting the output terminal of the above OR logic circuit to the second input terminal of the above OR logic circuit provided by the next stage of the above unit electronic circuit.
In Paragraph 7, A sensor system characterized by each of the above OR logic circuits being connected in series, such that when at least one of the outputs of each of the above sensors is abnormal, the output of the OR logic circuit at the final stage is configured to output a signal indicating that at least one of the outputs of each of the above sensors is abnormal.

Description

Sensor System The present invention relates to a sensor system in which a plurality of sensors are connected. A sensor system in which multiple sensors are connected in parallel to a single monitoring device allows for monitoring of each sensor without requiring complex algorithms, but it lacks scalability. Furthermore, as the system grows in scale, the number of required sensors increases, and in such environments, problems such as increased wiring or complexity of wiring paths arise. Regarding such challenges, there is a technology that serially connects sensors to a monitoring device as a technology that improves scalability, cost advantages, and maintainability. Although there are various methods of connecting the monitoring device and the sensors, Patent Document 1 can be cited as an example. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sensor system (10) according to embodiment 1. Figure 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of each sensor unit and the connection between sensor units. Figure 3 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a switch switching circuit. FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram showing the relationship between each signal in Embodiment 1. FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a switch switching circuit according to embodiment 2. FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram showing the relationship between each signal in Embodiment 2. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a sensor system (10) according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. The sensor system (10) is composed of a plurality of sensor units. Each sensor unit is composed of a sensor (e.g., an analog sensor) and a unit electronic circuit. The sensor units (10-1, 10-2, 10-3, … 10-N) are electrically connected in series. The monitoring device (1) can determine the stable state and abnormal state of all sensors mounted in the sensor system (10) by monitoring the voltage value output from the first sensor unit (10-1). In addition, in the case of an abnormal state, the output voltage of the sensor at the location where the abnormality occurred can be checked. Here, "stable state" refers to a condition in which the sensor's output voltage maintains a constant value over time and shows almost no fluctuation, as long as external conditions do not change. "Abnormal state" refers to a condition in which the sensor's output voltage deviates from the expected range and displays unexpected fluctuations or abnormal values. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of each sensor unit and the connection between sensor units. The Nth sensor unit (100) is electrically connected to the N+1th sensor unit (101). Each sensor unit is configured with equivalent contents. To give an example using a sensor unit (100), the sensor unit (100) has a sensor (110) and a unit electronic circuit (111), and the unit electronic circuit (111) is composed of a switch (112) (e.g., a single-pole double-head switch) and a switch switching circuit (113). The sensor (115), unit electronic circuit (116), switch (117), and switch switching circuit (118) are configured in the same way. The switch (112) has two terminals on the input side and one terminal on the output side, and one end of the input side is electrically connected to the output of the switch (117) in the unit electronic circuit (116) provided by the N+1th sensor unit (101) (line (102)), and the other end of the input side is electrically connected to the output voltage V S of the sensor (110) provided by the Nth sensor unit (100). The output side is output to the outside of the Nth sensor unit (100), and in the case of N≥2, it is electrically connected to one end of the input of the switch in the unit electronic circuit provided by the N-1th sensor unit, and in the case of N=1, it is electrically connected to a monitoring device, etc. The switch (112) is switched using the output V SW of the switch switching circuit (113) as a trigger. When V S is in a stable state, the output of the line (102) and the switch (112) are conducted, and when V S is in an abnormal state, the output of V S and the switch (112) are switched to be conducted. As inputs, the switch switching circuit (113) receives V S branched from the node (114), a fixed voltage V REF with the same value as the output voltage value when the sensor (110) is in a stable state, and a threshold voltage V TH . A detailed description of V REF and V TH will be provided later. V SW can be used as a switching trigger for the switch (112), and it does not matter if it is not directly electrically connected to the switch (112). With the above configuration, when a sensor included in any sensor unit is in an abnormal state, the voltage value of that sensor is output from the first sensor unit, and by the monitoring device confirming whether the voltage value is a voltage value in a stable state or a voltage value in an abnormal state, the stable state and abnormal state of the sensor mounted in each sensor unit can be