Patent ID: 7271595

Claim:
A sensor detection apparatus for detecting a state of a sensor element having a bridge circuit based on a potential difference between two output potentials of said bridge circuit outputted from said sensor element, comprising: a first input terminal and a second input terminal to which the two output potentials outputted from said sensor element are inputted respectively; a differential amplifying unit which amplifies the potentials of the input signals inputted to said first input terminal and said second input terminal, respectively, and outputs amplified results; a monitoring unit for monitoring the potential of the input signal of said differential amplifying unit, and a monitoring unit for monitoring the potential of the output signal of said differential amplifying unit, wherein both monitoring units include a comparator that compares a potential to be monitored and a reference potential and then outputs a signal indicating a comparison result, and a control unit which detects the state of the sensor element based on monitor result by said monitoring unit.