Measuring amplifier with background adjustment and method therefor
AssigneeHottinger Baldwin Messtechnik GmbH
InventorsMarco M. Schaeck, Herbert Kitzing
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A measuring amplifier (103) with background calibration and adjustment amplifies, digitizes and processes at least one measurement signal (111) from at least one measuring transducer (102) with the aid of at least one amplifier arrangement (108). This can be intermittently replaced by an additional amplifier arrangement (107), which enables interruption-free direct calibration and, if necessary, adjustment of the amplifier arrangement. In the calibration, both a zero point error and an amplification error of the amplifier arrangement are reliably determined. A high accuracy is achieved without measurement interruption. Only one additional amplifier arrangement is generally required, even for a measuring amplifier with plural channels.
Claims21
A measuring amplifier that is calibrateable and adjustable without interruption for N measurement signals that are supplied to the measuring amplifier, wherein N≥1, and wherein the measuring amplifier comprises the following features:
- at least N+1 amplifier arrangements that each respectively comprise and amplifier circuit, an analog-digital converter, and a digital signal processing unit including at least one digital filter;
- at least N+1 switches that are each respectively allocated to a respective one of the N+1 amplifier arrangements;
- at least one reference signal generating arrangement configured to produce reference signals;
- and
- at least one selection arrangement;
- wherein:
- each amplifier arrangement of the N+1 amplifier arrangements is calibratable and adjustable with the aid of the reference signals produced by the at least one reference signal generating arrangement,
- a selected one amplifier arrangement of the at least N+1 amplifier arrangements in switchable parallel to each other one of the amplifier arrangements, or each amplifier arrangement of the at least N+1 amplifier arrangements is respectively switchable parallel to each other one of the amplifier arrangements, or each amplifier arrangement of the at least N+1 amplifier arrangements is switchable parallel to exactly one other one of the amplifier arrangements, wherein the respective switching-over can be carried out via corresponding switches of the at least N+1 switches, and
- the at least one selection arrangement is configured for the outputting of N measurement values that correspond to the N measurement signals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.