Patents by Inventor Richard Heinz

Richard Heinz has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20250036156
    Abstract: A sensor system may include an object, a magnet, and a magnetic sensor. The magnet may be connected to the object such that a center of the magnet is offset from an axis of the object. The magnetic sensor may include a first three-dimensional (3D) sensing pixel and a second 3D sensing pixel. The magnetic sensor may be arranged such that the first 3D sensing pixel and the second 3D sensing pixel are at different distances from a tilt point of the object. The magnetic sensor may be arranged such that the first 3D sensing pixel and the second 3D sensing pixel are at different distances from the center of the magnet.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2023
    Publication date: January 30, 2025
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Richard HEINZ, Severin NEUNER, Michael ORTNER, Peter LEITNER, Florian SLANOVC
  • Publication number: 20250004977
    Abstract: A device is configured with a plurality of device addresses and a plurality of dedicated device configurations, with each device address being associated with one dedicated device configuration. The device includes an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) communication interface configured to receive a serial data line (SDA) signal that includes an address frame that identifies a target device for communication with a master device and a dedicated device configuration of the target device. The device includes a processing circuit configured to decode the address frame to identify the target device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 14, 2023
    Publication date: January 2, 2025
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Catalina-Petruta JUGLAN, Richard HEINZ
  • Publication number: 20240328829
    Abstract: An inductive position measuring system includes metallic target and a flexible substrate having a first field coil and a first receiving coil arrangement, the first field coil and the first receiving coil arrangement each running along in a straight line on the flexible substrate. The metallic target is at a distance from the flexible substrate and is configured to provide an inductive coupling between the first field coil and the first receiving coil arrangement, the actual position of the metallic target being able to be determined based on this inductive coupling. The metallic target moves relative to the flexible substrate, with the metallic target being able to be deflected along a coordinate line on a curved path. The flexible substrate is curved such that the first field coil running and the first receiving coil arrangement are likewise curved and extend parallel to the coordinate line.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 25, 2024
    Publication date: October 3, 2024
    Inventors: Andreas BARBUL, Richard HEINZ
  • Publication number: 20240247926
    Abstract: A magnetic angle switch circuit including a magnetic sensor circuit configured to determine a sensor signal indicative of an angle of a magnetic field; and a switch circuit configured to compare the sensor signal against a threshold signal indicative of a predefined angular threshold, and output a binary signal indicative of whether the angle of the magnetic field exceeds or falls below the predefined angular threshold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2024
    Publication date: July 25, 2024
    Inventors: Joo Il PARK, Richard HEINZ, Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Severin NEUNER, Hyun Jeong KIM
  • Publication number: 20240230796
    Abstract: A current sensor arrangement includes a first conductor structure extending in a first direction and configured to carry a first current along the first direction; a second conductor structure extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to carry a second current along the second direction; and a magnetic field sensor arranged between the first conductor structure and the second conductor structure and configured to receive a first magnetic field produced by the first current and a second magnetic field produced by the second current. The first conductor structure and the second conductor structure overlap with the magnetic field sensor in a third direction that is perpendicular to the first and second directions. The magnetic field sensor includes a first sensor element sensitive to the first magnetic field and a second sensor element sensitive to the second magnetic field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 19, 2022
    Publication date: July 11, 2024
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Richard HEINZ
  • Publication number: 20240142273
    Abstract: Described herein is a magnetic-field-based position determination device including a sensor device with at least two magnetic field sensors arranged spaced apart from each other by a distance and with a magnet movable relative to the sensor device. Each of the two magnetic field sensors is configured to measure the magnetic field emanating from the magnet in at least a first spatial direction and a different second spatial direction and, based thereon, to determine a magnetic field vector angle, respectively, wherein the first magnetic field sensor determines a first magnetic field vector angle, and wherein the second magnetic field sensor determines a second magnetic field vector angle. The sensor device is configured to determine the current position of the magnet relative to the sensor device based on the determined magnetic field vector angles and the distance of the two magnetic field sensors from each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2023
    Publication date: May 2, 2024
    Inventors: Richard HEINZ, Stephan LEISENHEIMER
  • Patent number: 11971459
    Abstract: A sensor system may include a first magnet arranged such that a position of the first magnet corresponds to a position of a trigger element on a linear trajectory. The sensor system may include a second magnet arranged such that a position of the second magnet corresponds to a selected position of a selection element. The sensor system may include a magnetic sensor to detect a strength of a first magnetic field component, a strength of a second magnetic field component, and a strength of a third magnetic field component. The magnetic sensor may be further to determine the position of the trigger element based on the strength of the first magnetic field component and the strength of the second magnetic field component, and to determine the selected position of the selection element based on the strength of the third magnetic field component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Sebastian Ladurner, Richard Heinz
  • Publication number: 20240133981
    Abstract: A current sensor arrangement includes a first conductor structure extending in a first direction and configured to carry a first current along the first direction; a second conductor structure extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to carry a second current along the second direction; and a magnetic field sensor arranged between the first conductor structure and the second conductor structure and configured to receive a first magnetic field produced by the first current and a second magnetic field produced by the second current. The first conductor structure and the second conductor structure overlap with the magnetic field sensor in a third direction that is perpendicular to the first and second directions. The magnetic field sensor includes a first sensor element sensitive to the first magnetic field and a second sensor element sensitive to the second magnetic field.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 18, 2022
    Publication date: April 25, 2024
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Richard HEINZ
  • Patent number: 11965756
    Abstract: Implementations relate to a sensor assembly for determining rotation about an axis and linear movement parallel to the axis. The sensor assembly comprises a magnetic structure comprising a north pole radially displaced from the axis and a south pole radially displaced from the axis and opposite to the north pole. The north pole and the south pole of the magnet extend radially into the direction of the axis at an axial end of the sensor assembly. The sensor assembly further comprises at least one sensor element sensitive to magnetic fields radially between the north pole and the south pole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 23, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Joo Il Park, Richard Heinz, Hyun Jeong Kim, Sehwan Kim, Stephan Leisenheimer, Severin Neuner
  • Publication number: 20240061055
    Abstract: A sensor system may include a first magnet arranged such that a position of the first magnet corresponds to a position of a trigger element on a linear trajectory. The sensor system may include a second magnet arranged such that a position of the second magnet corresponds to a selected position of a selection element. The sensor system may include a magnetic sensor to detect a strength of a first magnetic field component, a strength of a second magnetic field component, and a strength of a third magnetic field component. The magnetic sensor may be further to determine the position of the trigger element based on the strength of the first magnetic field component and the strength of the second magnetic field component, and to determine the selected position of the selection element based on the strength of the third magnetic field component.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 17, 2022
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Sebastian LADURNER, Richard HEINZ
  • Publication number: 20240060798
    Abstract: A sensor system may include a magnet arranged such that a linear position of the magnet corresponds to a position of a trigger element on a substantially linear trajectory, and such that an angular position of the magnet corresponds to a selected position of a selection element, the selected position being one of a plurality of selected positions. The sensor system may include a magnetic sensor to determine the position of the trigger element based on a strength of a first magnetic field component and a strength of a second magnetic field component, and determine the selected position of the selection element based on a strength of a third magnetic field component and the strength of the second magnetic field component. The first magnetic field component, the second magnetic field component, and the third magnetic field component may be perpendicular to each other.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2023
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Sebastian LADURNER, Richard HEINZ, Sigmund ZARUBA, Severin NEUNER
  • Patent number: 11885648
    Abstract: A method for determining a rotation angle of a magnet includes measuring a 3D magnetic field vector of a magnetic field generated by the magnet, wherein the 3D magnetic field vector describes at least a part of an ellipse in 3D space during a rotational movement of the magnet. The method further includes mapping the measured 3D magnetic field vector to a 2D vector based on a compensation mapping, wherein the compensation mapping is configured to map the ellipse in 3D space to a circle in 2D space. The method further includes determining the rotation angle of the magnet based on the 2D vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Joo II Park, Richard Heinz, Hyun Jeong Kim, Stephan Leisenheimer, Severin Neuner
  • Publication number: 20230305042
    Abstract: The innovative concept described herein relates to a magnetic-field-based current measuring device. The latter includes, inter alia, an at least two-dimensionally measuring magnetic field sensor mounted at a node at which a first, a second and a third electrical conductor, each coming from different directions, are brought together. The magnetic field sensor is configured to determine in each case a magnitude and/or a direction of the magnetic fields which are respectively generated in the first, second and third electrical conductors and meet at the node, and to derive, on the basis thereof, information about a magnitude and/or a direction of the individual electric currents flowing at the node. The innovative concept described herein additionally relates to a corresponding method for magnetic-field-based measurement of electric currents using a magnetic-field-based current measuring device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 14, 2023
    Publication date: September 28, 2023
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Richard HEINZ
  • Patent number: 11762799
    Abstract: The described techniques address deadlocking issues associated with interconnected hardware devices that share bus lines associated with a digital communication interface. A watchdog-based solution is described that may be implemented internally within the interconnected hardware devices or, alternatively, as an external component. The watchdog circuity may monitor a logic state of one or more internal connections of a hardware device and cause one or more portions of the hardware device to reset when a deadlock condition is detected using this internal monitoring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stephan Leisenheimer, Christof Bodner, Benjamin Kollmitzer, Richard Heinz
  • Patent number: 11644342
    Abstract: A method of determining a position of a first object includes receiving a first component and a second component of a vector field jointly generated by the first object and by a second object. The method further includes using the second component of the vector field to provide a compensation quantity indicating a contribution of the second object to the first component of the vector field. Further, the method includes determining the position of the first object using the first component of the vector field and the compensation quantity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 9, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stephan Leisenheimer, Richard Heinz, Hyun Jeong Kim, Joo Il Park
  • Patent number: 11630796
    Abstract: A serial peripheral interface (SPI) communication system includes a memory configured with a start register address and an end register address that define a register address range for a data operation; a chip select terminal configured to receive a chip select signal comprising an active and idle signal levels that define a plurality of chip select frames; a serial data input terminal configured to receive a master out, slave in (MOSI) signal, wherein the MOSI signal includes configuration information received in a first chip select frame of the data operation, wherein the configuration information includes an operation command bit indicating whether the data operation is a write operation or a read out operation and an auto-incrementation control bit indicating whether automatic register address incrementation across chip select frames is enabled or disabled; and a serial data output terminal configured to transmit a master in, slave out (MISO) signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 18, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Andreas Jansen, Richard Heinz, Catalina-Petruta Juglan, Stephan Leisenheimer, Lacramioara Mihaela Smochina
  • Patent number: 11574167
    Abstract: An exemplary embodiment of a circuit for determining information about the position, attitude, or orientation of a magnet comprises an input interface configured to receive components of a magnetic field produced by the magnet. An evaluation logic unit corresponds to at least one trained neural network and is configured to determine the information about the position, attitude, or orientation of the magnet on the basis of the received components.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Richard Heinz, Andrea Hollenbach, Stephan Leisenheimer
  • Publication number: 20230035123
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a sensor chip, including a semiconductor substrate, a first sensor circuit monolithically integrated into the semiconductor substrate, at least one second sensor circuit monolithically integrated into the semiconductor substrate, wherein the first and second integrated sensor circuits are embodied identically.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2022
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Richard HEINZ, Hans-Joerg WAGNER, Markus KAMMERSBERGER
  • Publication number: 20230037205
    Abstract: A method for determining a rotation angle of a magnet includes measuring a 3D magnetic field vector of a magnetic field generated by the magnet, wherein the 3D magnetic field vector describes at least a part of an ellipse in 3D space during a rotational movement of the magnet. The method further includes mapping the measured 3D magnetic field vector to a 2D vector based on a compensation mapping, wherein the compensation mapping is configured to map the ellipse in 3D space to a circle in 2D space. The method further includes determining the rotation angle of the magnet based on the 2D vector.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 14, 2022
    Publication date: February 2, 2023
    Applicant: Infineon Technologies AG
    Inventors: Joo II PARK, Richard HEINZ, Hyun Jeong KIM, Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Severin NEUNER
  • Publication number: 20220373359
    Abstract: Implementations relate to a sensor assembly for determining rotation about an axis and linear movement parallel to the axis. The sensor assembly comprises a magnetic structure comprising a north pole radially displaced from the axis and a south pole radially displaced from the axis and opposite to the north pole. The north pole and the south pole of the magnet extend radially into the direction of the axis at an axial end of the sensor assembly. The sensor assembly further comprises at least one sensor element sensitive to magnetic fields radially between the north pole and the south pole.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2022
    Publication date: November 24, 2022
    Inventors: Joo Il PARK, Richard HEINZ, Hyun Jeong KIM, Sehwan KIM, Stephan LEISENHEIMER, Severin NEUNER