Power supply for realistic control of model railroad engines
First Claim
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1. A power supply for realistic control of a model railroad engine comprising, in combination:
- a linear ramp generator for producing a linear ramp signal;
a pulse generator for generating a train of pulses;
an output circuit with an output terminal responsive to both said linear ramp signal and said train of pulses, said output circuit producing an output signal at said output terminal for powering the model railroad engine, said output signal having a level proportional to said linear ramp signal in absense of a pulse and at a maximum level when a pulse is present; and
means for disabling said pulse generator whenever the level of said linear ramp signal is greater than a given level.
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Abstract
A power supply for realistically controlling a model railroad engine. For engine acceleration, the power supply provides an output signal having a linear ramp with pulses superimposed thereon. For constant speed operation, the supply produces a constant output voltage. For deceleration, the power supply produces a decreasing linear ramp signal with pulses superimposed thereon. Adjustment circuitry is provided for modifying the output waveshape so that realistic control can be achieved for different model engines having different operating characteristics.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A power supply for realistic control of a model railroad engine comprising, in combination:
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a linear ramp generator for producing a linear ramp signal; a pulse generator for generating a train of pulses; an output circuit with an output terminal responsive to both said linear ramp signal and said train of pulses, said output circuit producing an output signal at said output terminal for powering the model railroad engine, said output signal having a level proportional to said linear ramp signal in absense of a pulse and at a maximum level when a pulse is present; and means for disabling said pulse generator whenever the level of said linear ramp signal is greater than a given level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A signal generator comprising, in combination:
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a current-differencing amplifier with an inverting input, a non-inverting input and an output; a capacitor connected between said output and said inverting input; means to input a constant current signal into said non-inverting input to produce a linearly rising ramp signal at said output; an adjustable voltage source producing an adjustable DC voltage; and comparison circuit means for comparing the voltage at said output with said adjustable voltage to connect said non-inverting input to ground whenever the voltage at said output is at least as large as said adjustable voltage to cause the voltage at said output to remain constant thereafter. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A power supply for realistic control of a model railroad engine comprising, in combination:
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an adjustable speed selector for generating a speed signal for controlling the maximum speed attainable by the model railroad engine; an operation selector for selectively producing a first and a second operation signal for accelerating and decelerating the model railroad engine respectively; a linear ramp generator responsive to said speed signal and said first operation signal to produce a rising linear ramp signal and responsive to said speed signal and said second operation signal to produce a falling linear ramp signal, said ramp signal always having an amplitude less than or equal to a value related to said speed signal; a pulse generator for producing a train of pulses; an output circuit with an input and an output terminal, response to said train of pulses and to said ramp signal at said input to produce an output signal at said output terminal to power the model railroad engine, said output signal having a maximum output amplitude whenever a pulse is present and having an output amplitude proportional to the amplitude of said ramp signal whenever a pulse is not present; and a pulse control circuit for disabling said pulse generator when said ramp signal is above a given amplitude. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification