Multiplexing instrumentation preamplifier
First Claim
1. An instrumentation preamplifier system comprising:
- a plurality of instrumentation preamplifier inputs;
a plurality of instrumentation preamplifier outputs;
interleaving means for providing an increased sample rate signal by interleaving signals on at least some of said plurality of instrumentation preamplifier outputs, with at least a plurality of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs electrically connectable to said interleaving means and at least a plurality of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs are electrically connectable to an instrumentation device; and
programmable means for connecting any of said instrumentation preamplifier inputs with any one or more of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs with no two inputs connected to the same output, whereby said instrumentation preamplifier may be programmed to provide either a preamplifier with as many channels as the lesser of the number of said inputs or the number of said outputs, or a preamplifier with a lesser number of channels with a higher sampling rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An oscilloscope preamplifier includes N inputs and Z outputs. A programmable cross-point multiplexer provides a first operating mode in which each of N inputs is connected to a different output thereby providing a preamplifier with Z channels, a second operating mode in which one input is multiplexed to all the outputs which are interleaved to maximize the sampling rate, and a range of operating modes in between. The programmable multiplexer includes a switching amplifier connected between each input and each output. Dials on the preamp select the mode by causing a microprocessor to program latches which activate or deactivate the switching amplifiers. A voltage divider is connected across inputs of the multiplexer to provide a programmable attenuator with selectable attenuation levels.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An instrumentation preamplifier system comprising:
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a plurality of instrumentation preamplifier inputs; a plurality of instrumentation preamplifier outputs; interleaving means for providing an increased sample rate signal by interleaving signals on at least some of said plurality of instrumentation preamplifier outputs, with at least a plurality of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs electrically connectable to said interleaving means and at least a plurality of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs are electrically connectable to an instrumentation device; and programmable means for connecting any of said instrumentation preamplifier inputs with any one or more of said instrumentation preamplifier outputs with no two inputs connected to the same output, whereby said instrumentation preamplifier may be programmed to provide either a preamplifier with as many channels as the lesser of the number of said inputs or the number of said outputs, or a preamplifier with a lesser number of channels with a higher sampling rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An oscilloscope preamplifier comprising:
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a plurality of oscilloscope preamplifier inputs and a plurality of oscilloscope preamplifier outputs; interleaving means for interleaving signals on at least some of said oscilloscope preamplifier outputs; and programmable cross-point multiplexing means for connecting said oscilloscope preamplifier inputs to said oscilloscope preamplifier outputs to provide a first operating mode in which each of at least a plurality of said oscilloscope preamplifier inputs is connected to a different single corresponding oscilloscope preamplifier output thereby providing an oscilloscope preamplifier with multiple channels, and a second operating mode in which one input is multiplexed to at least a plurality of said interleaved outputs to provide a system with an increased sample rate. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An instrumentation preamplifier system comprising:
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preamplifier input and preamplifier output; an attenuation selector for selecting one of a plurality of attenuations for analog signals passing from said preamplifier input to said preamplifier output and providing electrical data signals representative of said selected attenuation; a programmable multiplexer having a plurality of multiplexer inputs and at least one multiplexer output, said multiplexer output connected to said preamplifier output; a plurality of attenuation circuits, each providing a different attenuation and each connected between said preamplifier input and one of said plurality of multiplexer inputs said programmable multiplex connected to said attenuation selector and responsive to said electrical data signals, for connecting one or more of said multiplexer inputs to said multiplexer output to provide said selected attenuation to said analog signals. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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Specification