APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING FAILURE OF AN EXTERNAL DEVICE BY A MICROCOMPUTER

摘要

The microcomputer of the invention comprises a flip-flop which repeats setting and resetting of a monitor signal. The monitor signal is delivered from an external device in response to a PWM output signal for driving the external device. The flip-flop sets and resets at the front edge, of the monitor signal. The invention detects a failure of the external device according to the presence or absence of inversion of its held value. Hence, the failure of the external device operating at high speeds can be reliably detected by the microcomputer of the invention.