Capacitive sensor for sensing the amount of material in a container

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United States of America Patent

PATENT NO 6472887
SERIAL NO

09606417

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ATTORNEY / AGENT: (SPONSORED)

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Abstract

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One embodiment of the invention is a capacitive sensor for sensing the amount of material in a container. This embodiment includes an oscillator that generates an oscillating signal. This oscillator includes an integrating amplifier that is formed by (1) an operational amplifier that has a low-impedance output and a virtually-grounded input, and (2) a capacitor that has a capacitance which depends on the amount of material in the container. The capacitor connects between the low impedance output and the virtually-grounded input of the operational amplifier In some embodiments, the operational amplifier includes a first amplifier and a second amplifier that are connected in series, with an output of the second amplifier fed back through the capacitor to the input of the first amplifier.

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Patent Owner(s)

Patent OwnerAddress
HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY L P10300 ENERGY DRIVE SPRING TX 77389

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Inventor(s)

Inventor Name Address # of filed Patents Total Citations
Gao, Jun Mountain View, CA 229 941
Picciotto, Carl Menlo Park, CA 16 218
Tullis, Barclay J Palo Alto, CA 58 2563

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