Electrical component monitoring circuit
AssigneeVulcan Inc.
InventorKeith John Perez
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A modular computer system includes a plurality of circuit modules, each of which includes one or more components that are subject to failure, such as a vacuum tube. A carrier assembly is added to each circuit module of the modular computer system. The carrier assembly hosts monitoring circuitry that indicates the proper functioning of one or more components on the attached module. In one implementation, each module includes a vacuum tube, and a coil located on the carrier assembly is connected in series with the heater of the vacuum tube. A Hall effect sensor is positioned near the coil. If the heater of the vacuum tube fails, the flow of current through the coil is interrupted and is detected by the Hall effect sensor. The Hall effect sensor is connected to an LED that indicates failure of the vacuum tube.
Claims20
An electrical circuit comprising:
- a coil connected in series with a heater of a vacuum tube, the coil having a plurality of turns of wire around a ferrite core, the ferrite core having a slot;
- a Hall effect sensor positioned in the slot to detect a magnetic field generated by the coil;
- and
- an indicator coupled to the Hall effect sensor that indicates when current is flowing through the heater;
- wherein the vacuum tube is part of a circuit module of a modular computer system;
- and
- the indicator provides a visible indication of the state of the vacuum tube while the circuit module is installed inside the modular computer system.
A computer system having a plurality of pluggable circuit modules, each circuit module comprising:
- a heater of a vacuum tube wired in series with a current sensor;
- and
- an indicator mounted on a module and coupled to the current sensor, the indicator observable from outside the computer system and indicating a failure of the vacuum tube when current is not flowing through the heater.
A circuit board monitor assembly comprising:
- a carrier assembly capable of being removably attached to a module of a computer system, the module including a component to be monitored;
- a current monitor mounted on the carrier assembly, the current monitor connected in series with the component to be monitored;
- and
- an indicator coupled to the current monitor and mounted on the carrier assembly, the indicator visible from outside the computer system while the module is installed in the computer system;
- wherein the current monitor is implemented using a resistor wired in series with the component to be monitored, the resistor having a resistance less than 5 percent of the resistance of the component to be monitored;
- a voltage across the resistor is amplified by an amplifier;
- and
- an output of the amplifier is coupled to the indicator.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.