Diagnosing problems in an electrical system by monitoring changes in nonlinear characteristics
US5594439A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 24, 1994 |
| Grant date | Jan 14, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 24, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH03M1/1076
- WIPO fieldBasic communication processes
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Abnormal changes in the non-linear characteristics of electronic components are an indication of abnormal conditions such as impending component or system failure. To detect such abnormal changes in nonlinearity, an electronic circuit is subjected to a calibration signal including at least one frequency component. Nonlinearity in the electronic circuit causes distortion components to be generated from the calibration signal. Preferably the nonlinearity is characterized by compensation coefficients that digitally compensate the nonlinearity. The compensation coefficients are adjusted in a feedback loop in response to measured values of the distortion components, so that the distortion components are minimized. At the end of the adjustment process, the transfer function of the electronic circuit is specified by the compensation coefficients, which are stored in memory. The compensation coefficients are compared to respective limits to detect abnormal nonlinearity, and any abnormal nonlinearity is reported to a human operator or to a diagnostic computer. At various times, the measurement process is repeated, and the new values of the compensation coefficients are again compared to the…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.