MAGNETIC FIELD SENSORS AND OUTPUT SIGNAL FORMATS FOR A MAGNETIC FIELD SENSOR

An apparatus and a method provide an output signal indicative of a speed of rotation and/or a direction of movement of a ferromagnetic object having ferromagnetic features and capable of moving. A variety of signal formats of the output signal are described, each of which have pulses at a rate faster than the ferromagnetic features pass by the magnetic field sensor. The output signal can comprise PWM pulses having pulse widths changing in relation to the current amplitude of the field signal. The output signal can comprise PWM pulses having a width linearly increasing or decreasing within a period of the field signal. The output signal can comprise a predetermined number of pulses within each period of the signal. The field signal from two channels can be converted to a phase value using a CORDIC module generating an arctan signal. This arctan signal can be subsequently compared with a number of thresholds. The output signal can comprise pulses having a fixed frequency independent of the speed, within each period of the field signal. La présente invention concerne un appareil et un procédé qui fournissent un signal de sortie indiquant une vitesse de rotation et/ou une direction de déplacement d'un objet ferromagnétique qui présente des caractéristiques ferromagnétiques et est capable de se déplacer. L'invention concerne en outre une variété de formats de signal du signal de sortie, dont chacun possède des impulsions à une fréquence plus rapide que celle des caractéristiques ferromagnétiques qui passent devant le capteur de champ magnétique.