Automated system for testing radio receivers
First Claim
1. An automated system for conducting a plurality of performance tests on a radio receiver for determining the full response characteristics of the receiver, the system being of the type including means for producing a plurality of predetermined simulated broadcast signals, means for introducing the simulated signals into the receiver, said receiver producing an output signal responsive to each one of said simulated broadcast signals, means connected to said receiver for detecting each said output signal, and means connected to said receiver for analyzing the quality of each said output signal, the improvement comprising:
- a. a plurality of said analyzing means in parallel, each of said analyzing means comprising means for comparing a particular one of each said receiver output signals with respect to a specific set of preset parameters for conducting one of said plurality of performance tests;
b. means for selecting and activating a specific one of said analyzing means in response to the particular output signal produced by the receiver, andc. one of said simulated broadcast signals including a plurality of separate and distinct components, said receiver being responsive to said broadcast signals to produce an output signal comprising a like plurality of separate and distinct components, said analyzing means including means for comparing the relative strengths of the respective components of the output signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automated system for electronically testing the response and the quality of the output produced by radio receivers and the like is provided, wherein various tests including frequency response, harmonic distortion, sensitivity, selectivity, signal-to-noise ratio, fidelity, stereophonic separation and the like may be effectively and efficiently performed for testing a plurality of broadcast bands and signals without the aid of skilled technicians or trained personnel.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. An automated system for conducting a plurality of performance tests on a radio receiver for determining the full response characteristics of the receiver, the system being of the type including means for producing a plurality of predetermined simulated broadcast signals, means for introducing the simulated signals into the receiver, said receiver producing an output signal responsive to each one of said simulated broadcast signals, means connected to said receiver for detecting each said output signal, and means connected to said receiver for analyzing the quality of each said output signal, the improvement comprising:
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a. a plurality of said analyzing means in parallel, each of said analyzing means comprising means for comparing a particular one of each said receiver output signals with respect to a specific set of preset parameters for conducting one of said plurality of performance tests; b. means for selecting and activating a specific one of said analyzing means in response to the particular output signal produced by the receiver, and c. one of said simulated broadcast signals including a plurality of separate and distinct components, said receiver being responsive to said broadcast signals to produce an output signal comprising a like plurality of separate and distinct components, said analyzing means including means for comparing the relative strengths of the respective components of the output signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An automated system for conducting a plurality of performance tests on a tunable radio receiver for comparing the response characteristics of the receiver to preset standards, the system being of the type including a plurality of signal generators for simultaneously introducing a plurality of simulated broadcast signals into the receiver, said receiver being selectively tuned to one of said simulated signals for producing a corresponding analog output signal, and means for analyzing the quality of the output signal relative to the tuned one of said plurality of simulated broadcast signals, the improvement comprising:
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a. a plurality of analyzing means in parallel, each of the analyzing means comprising means for comparing the receiver output with a specific set of preset parameters, for conducting one of the plurality of tests, said analyzing means including i. a band-pass filter for filtering out uncritical portions of the output signal produced by the receiver; ii. a band-reject filter in tandem with the band-pass filter for filtering out all but the impurities of the output signal produced by the receiver; and iii. a comparator responsive to both the filtered and unfiltered output signals produced by the receiver for determining if the relative strengths of the filtered and unfiltered signals are within preset parameters; and b. means responsive to the particular tuned simulated broadcast signal for selecting and activating a specific one of said parallel analyzing means. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of automatically and sequentially conducting a plurality of performance tests on a tunable radio receiver for comparing the performance characteristics of the receiver with a set of predetermined parameters, the method including the steps of:
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a. providing means for producing a plurality of predetermined simulated broadcast signals; b. simultaneously introducing the plurality of simulated broadcast signals into the receiver; c. sequentially tuning the receiver to each one of said plurality of signals; d. producing a distinct receiver output signal in response to each of the signals to which the receiver is sequentially tuned; e. selecting and conducting a particular one of said plurality of performance tests in response to the signal to which the receiver is tuned to thereby determine the quality of the corresponding output signal produced in step (d); f. activating the tuning step (c) upon completion of the test selecting and conducting step (e); and g. inhibiting the tuning step (c) during step (e). - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification