Multiple scanivalve control device
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorRobert N. Geopfarth
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A controller featuring digital address display, manual control functions, signal conditioning, transducer outputs and computer address interrogation for a plurality of multi-port devices. For address interrogation the controller is compatible with a standard digital interface bus. The current device address is input to a plurality of multiplexers. The address of the device to be selected is transmitted from a computer through the interface bus to a data input/output circuit which routes the address data to a data storage unit. The address data is used to address the multiplexers to transmit to the interface bus the state of the device selected by the address data.
Claims1
A controller which, when used in concert with a scanner and a digital voltmeter, allows selective real-time, on-line data acquisition from a plurality of multi-port pressure-monitoring instruments by manual control simultaneous with computer control by any computer compatible with a digital interface bus conforming to IEEE Standard 488-1975, each of said pressure-monitoring instruments having a single transducer output signal dependent upon which of said ports is interrogated comprising:
- (a) a plurality of signal conditioning control sets, each of said sets receiving as input the output of one of said transducer output signals, said signal conditioning control sets providing span and balance voltage adjustment of said transducer output signals and having outputs to front panel test points on said controller and to said scanner;
- (b) a plurality of manual control line switches connected with control lines parallel to control lines of said computer to relays in said scanner to effect a position control function in a selected pressure monitoring instrument whenever the electrical path of either of said control lines is completed;
- (c) a power supply connected to said scanner, said manual control line switches and said signal conditioning control sets such that selective adjustment of said transducer output signals and selective energization of said relays is achieved;
- (d) a printed circuit board receiving as inputs port address data from said transducer output signals and continuously displaying said port address data;
- and
- (e) a multiplexing printed circuit board receiving as inputs port address data from said transducer output signals and interfacing with said digital interface bus such that said computer control of said data address interrogation may function independently and simultaneously with said manual control.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.