Method and circuit for supervision of protective-earth continuity in medical devices using a lock-in amplifier
AssigneeAuris Health, Inc.
InventorsEyal AKLIVANH, Jonathan BERNARD, Chase Paul HATHAWAY, Martin CARNOGURSKY
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Abstract
A robotic system may include an electrical ground line and a protective earth line electrically coupled to the electrical ground line. The robotic system may also include a testing circuit coupled to the protective-earth line via an isolation capacitor. The testing circuit may include a lock-in amplifier and may be configured to measure an impedance for the protective-earth line through the isolation capacitor. Methods for testing or monitoring protective-earth lines are also disclosed herein.
Claims20
A robotic system comprising:
- an electrical ground line;
- a protective-earth line electrically coupled to the electrical ground line at a first point;
- and
- a testing circuit coupled to the protective-earth line at a second point via an isolation capacitor, the testing circuit comprising a lock-in amplifier and configured to measure an impedance for the protective-earth line.
A method for testing a protective-earth line of a robotic system, the method comprising:
- applying a test signal to the protective-earth line via an isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the protective-earth line;
- obtaining a signal from the protective-earth line via the isolation capacitor in response to the test signal;
- measuring an impedance for the protective-earth line based on the obtained signal, the measuring performed by a lock-in amplifier;
- comparing the measured impedance with a baseline impedance;
- and
- providing information indicating the outcome of the comparison.
A robotic system comprising:
- an electrical ground line;
- a protective-earth line;
- and
- a testing circuit coupled to the protective-earth line via an isolation capacitor electrically coupled to the protective-earth line and configured to measure an impedance through the isolation capacitor to the electrical ground line via the protective-earth line.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.