Patent ID: 8502526
Filing Date: 2013-08-06
Classification: G01D,G01R

Abstract:
1. A device comprising at least one magnetic sensor circuit generating an output signal representing a logic level corresponding to a polarity of a detected magnetic field, the at least one magnetic sensor circuit comprising: a magnetoelectric conversion device generating, between a first pair of terminals or between a second pair of terminals, an output voltage commensurate with magnetism applied thereto; a selection switch circuit switched between a first switch state, in which a power supply voltage is applied between the first pair of terminals and a voltage appearing at one of the second pair of terminals is outputted to a first output terminal and a voltage appearing at the other of the second pair of terminals is outputted to a second output terminal, and a second switch state, in which the power supply voltage is applied between the second pair of terminals and a voltage appearing at one of the first pair of terminals is outputted to the first output terminal and a voltage appearing at the other of the first pair of terminals is outputted to the second output terminal; a comparator unit performing comparison between a first comparison voltage and a second comparison voltage to generate a comparison result signal corresponding to a result of the comparison, the first comparison voltage being based on a voltage at the first output terminal and a predetermined first reference voltage, and the second comparison voltage being based on a voltage at the second output terminal and a predetermined second reference voltage; a logic circuit generating, based on the output signal and the comparison result signal, a logic operation signal for maintaining or inverting a logic of the output signal; a latch circuit latching the logic operation signal to output a latched logic operation signal as the output signal; and a control circuit determining, based on the output signal, whether switching control of the selection switch circuit is to be performed in an order from the first switch state to the second switch state or in an order from the second switch state to the first switch state.