Conditioning system for transducer signals
AssigneeBurroughs Corporation
InventorMichael Kenneth Brown
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A signal conditioning system for improving the analog signal-to-noise ratio. The system first filters (to reduce the extrinsic noise outside the bandpass), then squares (to reduce the intrinsic noise inside the bandpass), finally transforms the improved analog signal into a digital-like signal (using a threshold circuit) to interface with associated control logic in an ink jet droplet apparatus.
Claims31
An interface apparatus interposed on a line connecting a transducer to its associated control logic for improving the signal to noise ratio thereof comprising extrinsic means operative to receive signals from the transducer for relatively excluding all frequencies not within a given band, and intrinsic means connected to said extrinsic means for amplifiably squaring signals therefrom and for generating digital-like representations of the squared signals that exceed a given threshold level.
An interface unit for improving signal to noise ratios comprising transducer means for sensing changes from a given ambient level, means operative to receive signals from said transducer means for excluding relatively all frequencies extrinsic to a given band, and means connected to said extrinsic frequency exclusion means for amplifiably squaring signals therefrom and for transforming the squared signals into digital-like representations thereof whenever a given threshold level is exceeded.
A conditioning module interposed on a line connecting a transducer to its associated control logic for improving the signal to noise ratio thereof comprising active filter means operative to obtain signals from the transducer for amplifiably excluding all frequencies not within a given bandpass, means connected to said active filter means for geometrically squaring the amplitude of the signal from said active filter means, and means receiving signals from said amplitude squaring means for generating digital-like representations of the squared signal whenever a given threshold level is exceeded.
A conditioning system for improving signal to noise ratios comprising transducer means for sensing changes from a given ambient level in an observed environment, active filter means operative to receive signals from said transducer for amplifying and for relatively excluding all frequencies extrinsic to a given bandpass, means connected to said active filter means for amplitudably squaring the signal therefrom, and means receiving signals from said amplitude squaring means for generating digital-like representations of the squared signal when a given threshold level is exceeded.
A method for improving the signal to noise ratio between a transducer and its associated control logic, said method comprising the steps of amplifying the transducer signal, filtering out all frequencies extrinsic to a given bandpass, squaring the amplitude of the filter signal, and generating digital-like representations of the squared signal whenever a given threshold level is exceeded.
In an ink jet printing system of the class having a phase correction system for correcting the time-phase relation between droplet formation and droplet charging, where the phase correction system is of the type incorporating a transducer responsive to the impact of ink droplets to output an analog signal representative thereof, a conditioning system for improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the transducer output comprising:
- bandpass means, receiving as input the analog signal for passing only a selected frequency band of the analog signal and effectively filtering out frequencies extrinsic to the selected frequency band;
- squaring means, receiving as input the selected frequency band of the analog signal, for squaring the amplitude of said selected frequency band;
- and
- trigger means receiving as a first input the output of the squaring means and as a second input a reference signal for outputting a pulse whenever the first input exceeds in value the second input, thereby improving the signal-to-noise ratio of the analog transducer signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.