US 4,728,885 AGranted

Method and apparatus for duplicating electrical environmental conditions

OwnerJoseph J. DeSantoinventor

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A monitoring system and apparatus is employed to duplicate unique environmental conditions at a first location so that sensitive electronic devices can be tested at a second location. Initially an environment recorder is plugged into the AC line at the first location. Line voltage characteristics including transients are then captured on tape. The environment recorder has the ability to record and respond only to unusual environmental conditions. The tape of the environment recorder is subsequently removed to a second location, typically the manufacturer's laboratory, where it is played back through the same or another environmental recorder into a reproduction line driver. Output voltages produced by the reproduction line driver exactly mimic the environmental conditions at the first location. The duplicated output is fed into the sensitive electronic device which might be a computer or other sensitive instrument to see how it responds to the simulated electronic conditions from the first location. In this manner a manufacturer can safely test and analyze sensitive electronic equipment in the laboratory rather than at a remote customer location. The invention permits the user to selectively record and save electrical events that occur at random thereby conserving recording tape and valuable laboratory testing time.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A system for duplicating electrical environmental conditions comprising:

environment recording means for monitoring electrical environmental conditions at a source location and recording said electrical environmental conditions, said environment recording means including:
a first recording means for temporarily recording said electrical environmental conditions;
an electrical environmental condition analyzing means for analyzing said electrical environmental conditions substantially at the same time as said first recording means is recording said electrical environmental conditions and for determining when said electrical environmental conditions exceed certain predetermined limits, said electrical envionmental condition analyzing means including a microprocessor means for processing signals representative of said electrical environmental conditions and memory means for storing said predetermined limits;
and,
second recording means connected to said first recording means and to said electrical environmental condition analyzing means for selectively and permanently recording from said first recording means those electrical environmental conditions which exceed said predetermined limits;
and,
reproducing means connectable to said environment recording means for reproducing said electrical environmental conditions,
wherein an electrical device may be attached to said reproducing means and tested under substantially the same electrical environmental conditions as though said electrical device were at the location of said source of said electrical environmental conditions and wherein said second recording means only records from said first recording means beginning at a predetermined voltage level and ending at the same predetermined voltage level so that the electrical environmental conditions recorded by said second recording means have substantially continuous beginning and ending transitions.

5 more elements

An enviroment recording apparatus for monitoring electrical envrionmental conditions including:

first recording means connected to said electrical environmental conditions for temporarily recording said electrical environmental conditions;
electrical environmental condition analyzing means for analyzing said electrical environmental conditions substantially at the same time as said first recording means is recording said electrical environmental conditions and for determining when said electrical environmental conditions exceed certain predetermined limits, said electrical environmental condition analyzing means including microprocessor means for automatically processing signals representative of said electrical environmental conditions and memory means connected to said microprocessor means for storing said predetermined limits;
and,
second recording means connected to said first recording means and to said electrical environmental condition analyzing means for automatically, selectively and permanently recording from said first recording means those electrical conditions which exceed said predetermined limits,
wherein said second recording means only records from said first recording means beginning at a predetermined voltage level and ending at the same predetermined voltage level so that the electrical environmental conditions recorded by said second recording means have substantially continuous beginning and ending transitions.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.