Monitoring system and interface apparatus therefor
First Claim
1. A monitoring system comprising a plurality of monitoring devices for acquiring data about a subject, an analog-to-digital converter means responsive to a sampling clock signal for digitizing data acquired by the monitoring devices, and interface apparatus for receiving data from the monitoring devices and interconnecting with the analog-to-digital converter means, the interface apparatus comprising timing means including means for generating a time code signal, means for deriving the sampling clock signal from, and synchronized to, the time code signal, and means for supplying said sampling clock signal to the analog-to-digital converter means.
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Abstract
In monitoring systems for acquiring data about a subject, such as are used, for example, in the medical, scientific and engineering fields, determination of temporal relationships between data acquired from multiple monitoring devices is facilitated by means of an interface unit which interconnects the monitoring devices with tape recorders for storing the data and a computer for processing the data. The interface unit generates various timing and control signals including a time code signal. The interface unit supplies the time code signal to the recording devices for recording simultaneously with the data. The time code signal may be a linear time code (LTC) derived from a video sync signal generated by the interface unit for synchronizing a camera. A sampling clock signal for controlling digitizing of the analog data acquired by the system is derived from the time code signal. The time code signal may comprise a common temporal reference signal, for example the SMPTE used with NTSC format video or its European equivalent EBU used with the PAL format. The video synchronization signal may itself be synchronized to and external timing signal, perhaps derived from one of the monitoring devices.
41 Citations
54 Claims
- 1. A monitoring system comprising a plurality of monitoring devices for acquiring data about a subject, an analog-to-digital converter means responsive to a sampling clock signal for digitizing data acquired by the monitoring devices, and interface apparatus for receiving data from the monitoring devices and interconnecting with the analog-to-digital converter means, the interface apparatus comprising timing means including means for generating a time code signal, means for deriving the sampling clock signal from, and synchronized to, the time code signal, and means for supplying said sampling clock signal to the analog-to-digital converter means.
- 28. Interface apparatus for use in a monitoring system comprising a plurality of monitoring devices for acquiring and transmitting data about a subject and Operatively interconnected with an analog-to-digital converter means to receive said data and responsive to a sampling dock signal for digitizing data acquired by the monitoring devices, the interface apparatus comprising timing means including means for generating a time code signal and means for deriving the sampling clock signal from, and synchronized to, the time code signal.
Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeQueen's University At Kingston
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Original AssigneeQueen's University At Kingston
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InventorsHood, Kevin H., Loeb, Gerald E., Young, Roy A.
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Primary Examiner(s)Heckler, Thomas M.
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Application NumberUS08/084,928Time in Patent Office1,153 DaysField of Search395/550, 348/537, 364/556, 364/566, 364/569, 341/122, 341/123, 375/355US Class Current713/400CPC Class CodesG06F 3/05 Digital input using the sam...
