Computerized remote resistance measurement system with fault detection
US5317520A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 1, 1991 |
| Grant date | May 31, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 1, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R27/02
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A microprocessor-controlled remote resistance measurement system is disclosed wherein the connection leads to the three- or four-wire resistance temperature devices (RTDs) are multiplexed via a four-channel analog multiplexer at the input of the unit. A separate two-channel multiplexer is also used to multiplex a fifth input for measurement of a reference resistor. The output of the multiplexer is coupled to a voltage-to-frequency converter, wherein the frequency output is utilized as an input to the microprocessor-based controller. The microcontroller can check for broken wires by addressing the multiplexers to individually isolate any of the connecting wires to the remote RTD sensors. The output of the multiplexer is monitored in a Test Mode by connecting a known impedance to the multiplexer output to determine if any RTD connections are defective. If one of the voltage sensing wires is faulty, the known impedance will cause an erroneous frequency reading into the microcontroller, which will then provide an indication on the display for determining exactly which RTD wire is broken. Only two address lines are used to control the five multiplexer channels through the use of a funct…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.