Signal stabilization in a dielectric sensor assembly

Abstract

A non-resistive contact sensor assembly includes an electric field sensor device, including a dielectric component for receiving an electrical signal from an object of interest and a signal processing component for processing the electrical signal, a voltage regulator for controlling voltage to the dielectric component and the signal processing component, and a common ground reference for the dielectric component and the signal processing component.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A non-resistive contact sensor assembly, comprising:
 an electric field sensor device, including a dielectric component for receiving an electrical signal from an object of interest and an A/D converter for converting the electrical signal received from the object of interest to a digitized signal; and   circuitry interconnecting the dielectric component and the A/D converter and including a layer, directly below the dielectric component, that is substantially entirely ground fill.   
     
     
         2 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 1 , wherein the dielectric component includes an active component and a neutral component. 
     
     
         3 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , further comprising an analog filter for tuning the electrical signal received from the object of interest prior to the conversion of the electrical signal to a digitized signal by the A/D converter. 
     
     
         4 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the dielectric component, analog filter and A/D converter share a common ground reference. 
     
     
         5 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the analog filter and the A/D converter share a common voltage reference. 
     
     
         6 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 3 , wherein the signal processing component includes a level shift buffer between the analog filter and the A/D converter. 
     
     
         7 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 6 , wherein the analog filter, the level shift buffer, and the A/D converter share a common voltage reference. 
     
     
         8 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the A/D converter is less than 50 mm away from the dielectric component. 
     
     
         9 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the A/D converter is less than 20 mm away from the dielectric component. 
     
     
         10 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 9 , wherein the A/D converter is less than 10 mm away from the dielectric component. 
     
     
         11 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 10 , wherein the A/D converter is electrically connected to a dielectric component signal output by a signal connection that is less than 10 mm in length. 
     
     
         12 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the A/D converter oversamples the electrical signal at a rate of at least 16 times per sample to enhance signal clarity. 
     
     
         13 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 12 , wherein the A/D converter oversamples the electrical signal at rate of at least 128 times per sample. 
     
     
         14 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein the circuitry has a ground plane top layer, a ground plane bottom layer, and at least a partial ground plane in all layers directly below the dielectric component. 
     
     
         15 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , further comprising a casing in which the signal processing component is surrounded or embedded and wherein a common ground reference is connected to the casing and to the dielectric component. 
     
     
         16 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein circuitry providing voltage and ground reference for the components is implemented in a circuit board. 
     
     
         17 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein circuitry providing voltage and ground reference for the components is implemented in an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). 
     
     
         18 . The non-resistive contact sensor assembly of  claim 2 , wherein circuitry providing voltage and ground reference for the components is implemented in a combination of a circuit board with ASIC components.