Patent 7977948 was granted and assigned to Freescale Semiconductor on July, 2011 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A sensor device determines a value based on a sensed parameter by applying a voltage across two voltage terminals of a sensor. In response, the sensor provides an electrical signal representative of a sensed parameter to a controller via a pair of conductors. The controller samples the electrical signal to determine the value. In addition, the controller alternates the polarity of the voltage applied to the voltage terminals, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the conductors due to ion drift.