US 12,007,421 B2
Load sensing circuit employing sink and sense configuration
Patrick Troy Gray, Cedar Park, TX (US); Michael Shawn Gray, Dripping Springs, TX (US); Daniel Keith Van Ostrand, Leander, TX (US); Richard Stuart Seger, Jr., Belton, TX (US); and Timothy W. Markison, Mesa, AZ (US)
Assigned to SigmaSense, LLC., Austin, TX (US)
Filed by SigmaSense, LLC., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed on Apr. 12, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/718,459.
Application 17/718,459 is a continuation in part of application No. 17/301,346, filed on Mar. 31, 2021, granted, now 11,513,543.
Application 17/301,346 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/113,379, filed on Aug. 27, 2018, granted, now 11,099,032, issued on Aug. 24, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0236307 A1, Jul. 28, 2022
Int. Cl. G01R 19/257 (2006.01); H03K 5/24 (2006.01)
CPC G01R 19/257 (2013.01) [H03K 5/24 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A load-sensing circuit comprising:
a load coupled to a load source having a load voltage that causes a load signal to flow through the load;
a regulated sink circuit coupled to a sink source providing a sink voltage, wherein the regulated sink circuit is coupled in series with the load, and is configured to regulate, based on a regulation signal, a first electrical characteristic of the load signal;
a comparison circuit including:
a reference input configured to receive a reference signal that establishes a reference value of a second electrical characteristic, wherein the reference signal includes one or more oscillating components;
a sense input coupled to the load and to the regulated sink circuit, wherein the regulated sink circuit regulates the first electrical characteristic of the load signal so that a sense value of the second electrical characteristic present at the sense input matches the reference value of the second electrical characteristic;
a comparison output configured to generate a comparison signal indicating a difference between the sense value of the second electrical characteristic and the reference value of the second electrical characteristic;
a feedback circuit coupled to the comparison output and to the regulated sink circuit, the feedback circuit configured to generate the regulation signal based on the comparison signal; and
an analog to digital converter configured to convert the comparison signal into a digital signal.