Patent ID: 7466119

Claim:
A sensor circuit comprising: sensing means that produces detection signals; voltage conversion means that subjects the detection signals to voltage conversion to produce a conversion voltage; AC component pickup means that receives the conversion voltage and picks up an AC component in the conversion voltage; first adder means that provides an upper-limit voltage by adding an upper-limit threshold value to the AC component; second adder means that provides a lower-limit voltage by adding a lower-limit threshold value smaller than the upper-limit threshold value to the AC component; and detecting means that detects an abnormal offset voltage depending upon whether the conversion voltage is in a range of normal voltages between the upper-limit voltage and the lower-limit voltage, wherein the AC component pickup means and the first adder means form a first high-pass filter, the AC component pickup means and the second adder means form a second high-pass filter, the first and second high-pass filters include, respectively first operational amplifiers, first capacitors connected between terminals for receiving the conversion voltage and inverting input terminals of the first operational amplifiers, second capacitors connected between output terminals of the first operational amplifiers and the inverting input terminals of the first operational amplifiers, and first and second resistors connected in parallel with the second capacitors, so that phases of the AC component are inverted, the conversion voltage is input to the inverting input terminals of the first operational amplifiers via the first capacitors, and the upper-limit threshold value or the lower-limit threshold value is input to the non-inverting input terminals of the first operational amplifiers, an inverting amplifier is provided between the voltage converting means and the first and second high-pass filters for amplifying the conversion voltage in an inverted manner, and an inverted voltage is applied to the detecting means to be compared with the upper-limit voltage and the lower-limit voltage.