US Patent 10128836 Proximity sensor assembly and method of detecting failure thereof

A proximity sensor assembly is provided that includes a proximity sensor comprising conductive circuitry and generating a signal based on a sense activation field. The proximity sensor assembly also includes control circuitry for processing the signal to sense activation of the sensor, the control circuitry further monitoring the signal and comparing the signal to one or more parameters of a prior captured signal stored in memory and determining a fault condition based on a change between the current signal and the one or more parameters of the prior signal, wherein the control circuitry generates a baseline value of the prior signal and adjusts the baseline value to an adjusted baseline value when a fault condition is detected in an attempt to correct the fault condition.