MONITORING APPARATUS
First Claim
1. A monitoring system for determining which relay contact is the first to drop out of a circuit having a plurality of relay contacts connected in series across a voltage source, the system comprising:
- a plurality of detectors for sensing the dropping out of the relay contacts and for producing output signals in response thereto, with a separate detector associated with and connected in parallel across each relay contact, each detector producing an optical detector output signal in response to the dropping out of its associated relay in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact; and
binary logic means electrically isolated from the relay contacts and detectors, and having photo receiving devices for receiving the optical detector output signals from the detectors through an optical connection and for responding to the detector output signals by producing a binary display signal indicative of which relay contact was the first to drop out.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is provided for monitoring a series connection of a plurality of contacts across a voltage source, by responding as the contacts drop out to generate a binary coded display signal indicative of the initial contact to drop out. The system includes a detector connected in parallel across each contact to generate a detector output signal in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact. A binary logic system, electrically isolated from the contacts and detectors, is responsive to the detector output signals to generate the binary coded display signal through binary logic. In the preferred embodiment, each detector includes a light emitting diode across a full wave rectifier, driveable to an excited state in response to the dropping out of its associated relay. The binary logic system contains photo transistors optically coupled to the light emitting diodes, and responsive to the light emitting diode output signals to produce binary output signals. The binary logic system further includes a logic-gating system for receiving the binary output signals and analyzing the binary signals through binary logic to produce a binary display signal indicative of which relay contact was the first to drop out.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A monitoring system for determining which relay contact is the first to drop out of a circuit having a plurality of relay contacts connected in series across a voltage source, the system comprising:
- a plurality of detectors for sensing the dropping out of the relay contacts and for producing output signals in response thereto, with a separate detector associated with and connected in parallel across each relay contact, each detector producing an optical detector output signal in response to the dropping out of its associated relay in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact; and
binary logic means electrically isolated from the relay contacts and detectors, and having photo receiving devices for receiving the optical detector output signals from the detectors through an optical connection and for responding to the detector output signals by producing a binary display signal indicative of which relay contact was the first to drop out.
- a plurality of detectors for sensing the dropping out of the relay contacts and for producing output signals in response thereto, with a separate detector associated with and connected in parallel across each relay contact, each detector producing an optical detector output signal in response to the dropping out of its associated relay in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact; and
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2. The monitoring system of claim 1 wherein each detector comprises:
- a full wave rectifier connected in parallel across the associated relay contact and having output contacts, the rectifier producing a direct current signal at its output contacts upon the dropping out of the associated relay contact; and
a light emitting diode connected across the output contacts of the full wave rectifier and driveable by the direct current signal of the full wave rectifier to produce the detector output signal in the form of a light beam.
- a full wave rectifier connected in parallel across the associated relay contact and having output contacts, the rectifier producing a direct current signal at its output contacts upon the dropping out of the associated relay contact; and
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3. The monitoring system of claim 1 wherein each detector has a light emitting diode driveable to an excited state in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact, for producing the detector output signal;
- and the binary logic means includes a photo transistor electrically isolated from and optically coupled to each light emitting diode, responsive to the detector output signals.
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4. The monitoring system of claim 1 wherein:
- the binary logic means has a plurality of receivers, at least one of which receivers is coupled to each detector;
the receivers are responsive to the output signal of at least the detector associated with the first relay contact to drop out, with each responding receiving producing a binary output signal in response thereto; and
the binary logic means includes a logic-gating system for receiving the binary output signals and analyzing the binary output signals through binary logic to produce a binary-coded display signal indicative of which relay contact was the first to drop out.
- the binary logic means has a plurality of receivers, at least one of which receivers is coupled to each detector;
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5. The monitoring system of claim 1 wherein:
- each detector is associated with and connected in parallel acroSs only one of the relay contacts; and
each detector has a photo emitting device driveable to an excited state in response to the dropping out of its associated relay contact, for producing the detector output signal; and
the binary logic means has a plurality of receivers, each of which receivers contains a photo receiving device electrically isolated from and optically coupled to one detector for responding to the output signal of the coupled detector by producing a binary output signal in response thereto.
- each detector is associated with and connected in parallel acroSs only one of the relay contacts; and
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6. The monitoring system of claim 5 wherein the binary logic means has a logic-gating system for receiving the binary output signals and analyzing the binary signals through binary logic to produce a display signal indicative of which relay contact was the first to disconnect.
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7. The monitoring system of claim 6 wherein the logic-gating system comprises:
- a plurality of logic gates connected to the receivers for receiving the step-level binary output signals from the receivers and converting the binary output signals through binary logic to binary coded display signals; and
a plurality of latches connected to the logic gates for receiving the binary coded display signals and passing only the first display signal received in time as the display signal of the first relay contact to drop out.
- a plurality of logic gates connected to the receivers for receiving the step-level binary output signals from the receivers and converting the binary output signals through binary logic to binary coded display signals; and
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8. The monitoring system of claim 7 including a display board for displaying the binary coded display signal of the first relay contact to drop out.
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeHans Melgaard, Nile E. Plapp
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Original AssigneeHans Melgaard, Nile E. Plapp
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InventorsMelgaard, Hans, Plapp, Nile E.
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Primary Examiner(s)Caldwell, John W.
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Assistant Examiner(s)Polange, Richard
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Application NumberUS05/408,722Time in Patent Office511 DaysField of Search340/256,415,412 250/211 324/123 317/137US Class Current340/520CPC Class CodesG08B 23/00 Alarms responsive to unspec...
