According to some aspects of the subject technology, an apparatus includes a first electrode, a second electrode and a dielectric membrane disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The first electrode and the second electrode include a number of pores within a region of an input port of the apparatus. The first electrode, the second electrode and the dielectric membrane form a capacitor that is configured to enable detection of occlusion of the input port by water.

The present invention makes it possible to, even when a stainless steel is adopted in a diaphragm: prevent the diaphragm and a strain sensor from exfoliating from each other; be hardly susceptible to the influence of temperature in an operating environment; not allow the sensitivity of a pressure sensor to be dominated only by the mechanical characteristic of a material constituting the diaphragm; and increase the degree of freedom in design of members constituting the pressure sensor. A pressure sensor according to the present invention is, in order to solve the above problems, characterized in that: the pressure sensor has a diaphragm deforming by the pressure of a fluid, an elastic body covering the whole surface of the diaphragm and joining to the diaphragm on one side, and a strain sensor being arranged by joining on the other side of the elastic body and on an end side apart from a position corresponding to the center of the diaphragm and detecting the deformation of the elastic body working together with the deformation of the diaphragm as a strain; and the elastic body is formed of a material having a linear expansion coefficient close to the linear expansion coefficient of a material constituting the strain sensor.

Apparatus and associated methods relate to sensing a physical parameter and verifying correct operation of a system used to sense the physical parameter. A sensing device includes four resistive elements configured in a Wheatstone bridge configuration is configured to sense the physical parameter. A biasing network selectively provides first and second biasing conditions to the sensing device. First and second output electrical signals are generated by the sensing device in response to the first and second biasing conditions, respectively, selectively provided to the sensing device. The first and second output electrical signals are each indicative of the parameter value of the physical parameter, but not necessarily equal to one another. A verification module verifies correct operation of the system based on a consistency determination of first and second output electrical signals.

A fluid supply monitoring system includes a fluid sensor configured to identify a flow rate of a fluid through a supply line. The system comprises a valve configured to control the flow rate through the supply line and a pressure sensor configured to detect a fluid pressure. A controller is configured to receive the flow rate data and identify fluid consumption from the supply line based on the flow rate. The controller is further configured to compare the fluid consumption of a usage event to one of a time limit and a volume limit. In response to the fluid consumption exceeding the time limit or the volume limit, the controller controls the valve to a closed position and identifies a potential fluid leak. With the valve in the closed position, the controller processes a verification procedure that identifies whether the potential fluid leak is an actual fluid leak.

To enable early detection of abnormal states including accumulation on a pressure sensor, a characteristic measuring portion obtains a change in an output of a pressure sensor in a state in which the temperature of a sensor chip is changed by operation of a temperature controlling portion and thereby obtains a sensor characteristic indicating the change in the output. A state determination portion determines an abnormal state of a diaphragm by comparing the sensor characteristic obtained by the characteristic measuring portion with a reference characteristic, used as a reference, stored in a reference value storing portion.

A diagnostic apparatus for a fluidic actuator, in particular a fluidic valve drive, which has an actuator element displaceable into different positions (x1, x2, xp1, xp2), wherein the diagnostic apparatus is configured to provide a first break-away pressure measured value (pi1) for a first position of the actuator element. The diagnostic apparatus is further configured to determine, based on the first break-away pressure measured value (pi1) and break-away pressure reference information (pri) stored in the diagnostic apparatus, a first break-away pressure prediction value (pp1) for a first prediction position (xp1) of the actuator element, the first prediction position being different from the first position (x1).

An industrial process differential pressure sensing device includes a housing having first and second isolation cavities that are respectively sealed by first and second diaphragms, a differential pressure sensor, a static pressure sensor, an eddy current displacement sensor, and a controller. The static pressure sensor is configured to output a static pressure signal that is based on a pressure of fill fluid in the first isolation cavity. The differential pressure sensor is configured to output a differential pressure signal that is indicative a pressure difference between the first and second isolation cavities. The eddy current displacement sensor is configured to output a position signal that is indicative of a position of the first isolation diaphragm relative to the housing. The controller is configured to detect a loss of a seal of the isolation cavity based on the position signal, the static pressure signal and the differential pressure signal.

A pressure detecting device is mounted in a measurement target and instrument includes a strain inducer to which pressure of a pressure medium is applied and which generates strain in accordance with the pressure and a strain detecting element that is bonded onto a surface opposite to a pressure receiving surface of the strain inducer, in which the strain detecting element includes one or multiple central strain resistant bridges which are arranged at a central portion of the strain detecting element in a bonded surface direction, and one or multiple outer peripheral strain resistant bridges which are arranged at an outer periphery, and in which, for example, deformation of the strain detecting element caused by an external force when being screw-fixed to the measurement target instrument is obtained through the multiple strain resistant bridges. An error of detection pressure caused by the deformation in a pressure value detected through the central strain resistant bridge is corrected.

A sensor arrangement and a method of operating a sensor arrangement are disclosed. In an embodiment, a sensor arrangement includes a pressure sensor realized as a capacitive pressure sensor, a capacitance-to-digital converter, a test circuit and a switching circuit coupling the capacitance-to-digital converter and the test circuit to the pressure sensor.

A load cell input unit capable of determining whether load cell connection cables have a broken line is provided. When the load cell input unit (30) is in a broken line detection mode, a voltage applying element (311) applies a voltage to distribution lines of an amplifying element (31), and a broken line deteiiiiination element (33) determines whether the load cell connection cables (40) have a broken line based on a voltage measured by a load measuring element (32).