Circuit for shaping a measurement-signal voltage into a square-wave signal

Claim 2

A circuit for shaping a measurement-signal voltage having a DC component and an AC component, into a square-wave signal, comprising a first voltage divider having a low end grounded through a load resistor, said load resistor being shunted by a series combination including a resistor and a grounded capacitor, the low end of said first voltage divider being connected through the resistor to a negative input of a comparator and an additional resistor to the positive input of the comparator, said positive input being connected through a feedback resistor to the output of the comparator, and the low end of said first voltage divider being connected to the supply voltage through a second voltage divider, said second voltage divider having a controllable, temperature-stabilized zener diode forming a first resistor, said diode being connected through a second resistor of the second voltage divider to the supply voltage and having a control electrode subjected to the measurement-signal voltage obtained from a tap of the first voltage divider.

Claim 3

A circuit as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one resistor of two resistors in the first voltage divider is a magnetoresistor, said first voltage divider having a high end connected by a further resistor to a tap of the second voltage divider, a further capacitor connected between the high end and the low end of the first voltage divider, and said further resistor and said further capacitor forming a timing section having a time constant which is longer than the period of the AC component of the measurement signal voltage.

Claim 4

A circuit as claimed in claim 2, wherein said high end of the first voltage divider is connected to the supply voltage through a drain-source path of a field-effect transistor, and the junction of the further resistor and the further capacitor is connected to the gate terminal of the field-effect transistor.

Claim 5

A circuit for generating a stable square-wave output signal from a measurement-signal voltage having DC and AC components, comprising: a voltage divider including first and second series-connected resistive elements having a tap therebetween, the resistance of at least one of said resistive elements being variable with respect to the other resistive element to produce at said tap said measurement-signal voltage; zener diode means having a control electrode connected to the tap of said voltage divider, said zener diode means being connected directly to one end of said voltage divider and to the other end of said voltage divider through a first resistor; a first capacitor connected across said voltage divider, the time constant of said first resistor and said first capacitor being greater than the period of the AC component of said measurement-signal voltage; a load resistor having one end coupled to the junction of said voltage divider and said zener diode means and the other end to a reference potential, the voltage across said load resistor corresponding to an amplified version of said measurement-signal voltage; a comparator having negative and positive inputs and an output, the negative and positive inputs of said comparator being connected to the one end of said load resistor by second and third resistors respectively; a second capacitor connected between the negative input of said comparator and said reference potential, the DC component of the amplified version of said measurement-signal voltage across said load resistor appearing across said second capacitor; a feedback resistor connected between the positive input and the output of said comparator, the threshold voltage of said comparator being determined by said third and feedback resistors; and means coupling a supply voltage to the other end of said voltage divider and to the junction of said zener diode means and said first resistor, said output signal being generated at the output of said comparator.

Claim 6

A circuit for generating a stable square-wave output signal from a measurement-signal voltage having DC and AC components, comprising: a voltage divider including first and second series-connected resistive elements having a tap therebetween, the resistance of at least one of said resistive elements being variable with respect to the other resistive element to produce at said tap said measurement-signal voltage; zener diode means having a control electrode connected to the tap of said voltage divider, said zener diode means being connected directly to one end of said voltage divider and to the other end of said voltage divider through a first resistor; a first capacitor connected across said voltage divider, the time constant of said first resistor and said first capacitor being greater than the period of the AC component of said measurement-signal voltage; a load resistor having one end coupled to the junction of said voltage divider and said zener diode means and the other end to a reference potential, the voltage across said load resistor corresponding to an amplified version of said measurement-signal voltage; a comparator having negative and positive inputs and an output, the negative and positive inputs of said comparator being connected to the one end of said load resistor by second and third resistors respectively; a second capacitor connected between the negative input of said comparator and said reference potential, the DC component of the amplified version of said measurement-signal voltage across said load resistor appearing across said second capacitor; a feedback resistor connected between the positive input and the output of said comparator, the threshold voltage of said comparator being determined by said third and feedback resistors; and means coupling a supply voltage to the other end of said voltage divider and to the junction of said zener diode means and said first resistor, said output signal being generated at the output of said comparator.

Claim 7

A circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein at least one of said first and second resistive elements comprising said voltage divider is a magnetoresistor.

Claim 8

A circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein said means coupling a supply voltage to the other end of said voltage divider is a field-effect transistor and to said zener diode means is a fourth resistor, said field-effect transistor maintaining the other end of said voltage divider at a constant potential.

Claim 9

A circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein said zener diode means comprises a controllable temperature-stabilized zener diode having said control electrode, an anode and a cathode.

Claim 10

A circuit as claimed in claim 7 wherein said first resistor is connected to the anode of said zener diode and said load resistor is connected to the cathode thereof.

Claim 11

A circuit as claimed in claim 4 wherein said zener diode means comprises a series-connected zener diode and a transistor, the emitter of said transistor being connected to the anode of said zener diode, the collector of said transistor being connected to said first resistor, the base of said transistor being connected to the tap on said voltage divider and cathode of said zener diode to the one end of said load resistor.