Temperature compensation method for hall effect proximity sensors

1. A proximity sensor system, comprising:

a proximity sensor article, wherein the proximity sensor article includes a sensor sensing surface and wherein the proximity sensor article is configured to operate based, at least in part, on the hall-effect principal to sense the magnetic field of a target article located proximate the sensor sensing surface and generate an analog sensor signal;

a temperature compensation article including a plurality of temperature dependent resistors coupled to respective digital-to-analog converters, the digital-to-analog converters being configured to receive digital data responsive to predetermined threshold data, and the temperature compensation article being configured to generate a non-linear analog TCA signal responsive to the predetermined threshold data; and

a processor, wherein the processor is a comparator configured to use analog techniques to achieve proper operation of the proximity sensor article over a predetermined operating temperature range by comparing the analog sensor signal and the non-linear analog TCA signal to generate a processor output signal, wherein the processor output signal is at least one of a digital high signal and a digital low signal and is introduced into the aircraft system as a proximity signal.

2. The proximity sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor signal is generated responsive to the location of the target article relative to the sensor sensing surface.

3. The proximity sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the sensor signal is generated in response to a plurality of target article locations across the predetermined operating temperature range.

4. The proximity sensor system of claim 3 , wherein the operating temperature range is between about −55° C. and about +125° C.

5. The proximity sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the TCA signal is determined by generating a first sensor signal with the target article located at a first location across a predefined temperature range, generating a second sensor signal with the target article located at a second location across the predefined temperature range and averaging the first and second sensor signals across the predefined temperature range.

6. The proximity sensor system of claim 5 , wherein the predefined temperature range is between about −55° C. and about +125° C.

7. The proximity sensor system of claim 1 , wherein the temperature compensation article includes a first biasing resistor, a second biasing resistor, a third biasing resistor, a Resistive Temperature Detector (RTD) and a thermistor article, wherein the first biasing resistor, third biasing resistor, Resistive Temperature Detector (RTD) and thermistor article are connected in series configuration and the second biasing resistor is connected in parallel with the thermistor article.

8. The proximity sensor system of claim 7 , wherein one or more of the first biasing resistor, second biasing resistor and third biasing resistor are at least one of a fixed resistor or a variable resistor.

9. A method for implementing a proximity sensor system, wherein the proximity sensor system includes a proximity sensor article that is configured to operate based, at least in part, on the hall-effect principal, a temperature compensation article including a plurality of DACs, and a processor, the method comprising:

generating first sensor output data for a target article located at a first distance away from the sensor article;

generating second sensor output data for the target article located at a second distance away from the sensor article;

processing the first sensor output data and the second sensor output data to generate threshold data;

configuring the proximity sensor system to generate an output signal responsive to the threshold data and the temperature compensation article;

calculating the digital data responsive to the threshold data;

introducing the digital data into the plurality of DACs to generate a TCA output signal;

generating sensor operating data, wherein the sensor operating data is generated by operating the sensor article across an operational temperature range using analog techniques to achieve proper operation over the operational temperature range; and

processing the threshold data and the sensor operating data to generate a processor output signal, wherein the processor output signal is at least one of a digital high signal or a digital low signal.

10. The method of claim 9 , further including introducing the processor output signal into an aircraft system.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein processing includes comparing the sensor operating data with the threshold data to generate at least one of a digital high signal and a digital low signal.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second distance away from the proximity sensor article is larger than the first distance away from the proximity sensor article.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein the target article includes a target magnetic portion and wherein the proximity sensor article senses the magnetic field of the target magnetic portion.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein generating the first sensor output data and the second sensor output data include operating the proximity sensor article across the operational temperature range.

15. The method of claim 9 , wherein the operational temperature range is between about −55° C. and about +125° C.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein configuring includes selecting electrical components of the TCA and connecting the electrical components together to generate a TCA output signal responsive to the threshold data, wherein the threshold data is determined by averaging the first sensor output data and the second sensor output data.

17. A method for generating a proximity system output signal for a proximity sensor system in an aircraft, wherein the proximity sensor system includes a digital sensor article which is configured to operated, based at least in part, on the hall-effect principal, a temperature compensation article including a plurality of DACs and a processor being a comparator, the method comprising:

operating the digital sensor article to generate first sensor output data, wherein the first sensor output data is responsive to the digital sensor article sensing the magnetic field of a magnetic target article across a predefined temperature range and located at a first distance away from the digital sensor article;

operating the digital sensor article to generate second sensor output data, wherein the second sensor output data is responsive to the digital sensor article sensing the magnetic field of a magnetic target article across the predefined temperature range and located at a second distance away from the digital sensor article;

processing the first sensor output data and the second sensor output data to generate threshold data;

configuring the temperature compensation article to generate a non-linear analog TCA output signal responsive to the threshold data;

generating sensor operating data, wherein the sensor operating data is generated by operating the digital sensor article across an operational temperature range using analog techniques, wherein the operational temperature range is within the predefined temperature range; and

comparing the non-linear analog TCA output signal and the sensor operating data to generate a processor output signal, wherein the processor output signal is at least one of a digital high signal and a digital low signal.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the predefined temperature range is between about −55° C. and about +125° C.

19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the method further including introducing the processor output signal into an aircraft system.

20. The method of claim 17 , wherein the temperature compensation article including a plurality of temperature dependent resistors coupled to respective digital-to-analog converters.