Switch with diagnostic capability

摘要

A switch is provided with the ability to diagnose its own operation and provide signals that represent the actuation of the switch and various diagnostic outputs that indicate fault conditions or potential fault conditions with regard to either the switch or related machinery. A magnetically sensitive component, such as a Hall element, is used to provide an analog output signal that is representative of the position of an actuator to which a magnet structure is rigidly attached. As the actuator moves in response to an external force, the magnet structure moves with respect to a stationary magnetically sensitive component. The analog output from the magnetically sensitive component can be used to determine the position of the switch. Based on this information, a microprocessor provides a binary output signal indicating whether the switch is actuated or deactuated. In addition, the movement of the actuator can be compared to various thresholds to determine the operate point, the overtravel point, the total travel and the velocity of the switch plunger.