Printer interface system

• US 5,652,755 A
• Filed: 02/03/1994
• Issued: 07/29/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Roche Diagnostics Operations Incorporated (Roche Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: Boehringer Mannheim Corporation (Roche Holding AG)
• Inventors: Carey, Brian
• Primary Examiner(s): Baker, Stephen M.
• Application Number:
  US08/191,423
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: 340/538, 340/310.01, 340/310.02, 340/310.03, 340/310.04, 340/310.05, 364/413.01, 364/413.02, 364/413.03, 364/413.07, 371/37.1, 371/49.1, 371/57.1
• US Class Current: 714/811
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5416 by adding signals to the wave form of the power source
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5458 Monitor sensor; Alarm systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/547 via DC power distribution
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/548 the power on the line being DC arrangements for feeding power H04L12/10; extracting feeding power from signals H04L25/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/02 Details ; arrangements for supplying electrical power along data transmission lines systems for transmitting signals via power distribution lines H04B3/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/061 providing hard decisions only; arrangements for tracking or suppressing unwanted low frequency components, e.g. removal of dc offset removal of dc offset in coupling arrangements H04L25/029, H04L25/0296

Abstract

Monitor (11) includes a microcontroller (51) programmed in a first mode of operation to drive various loads (59), (69) which operate to perform tests on patient samples. The results of the tests are sensed by sensors (61), (75) and digitally stored in storage (67) for display on display (21). The microcontroller (51) is programmed in a second mode of operation to transmit the stored displayed information to a printer (13) over the line (23) transmitting power to the monitor (11) by selectively routing current through the load (69). A data transmission interface (15) includes circuitry (37) (39) (43) for sensing the changing current provided to the monitor (11) for decoding the information to be printed and for sending print information to printer (13). Error checking is performed by microprocessor (39) which inhibits all printing if any errors occur in the received message.

Claims

1. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a printer, including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load; and

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the printer;

(e) said detection means and said printer being physically separate from said display monitor.

2. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a utilization device including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor, said display monitor including analysis means for analyzing a patient sample and means for storing a binary representation of the analysis results in said storage device;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load; and

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the utilization device;

(e) said detection means and said utilization device being physically separate from said display monitor.

3. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a utilization device including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load, said modulation means being an amplitude shift keying modulator using carrier on/off keying to represent two binary values; and

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the utilization device, said detection means including a narrow bandpass filter and a threshold detector, the Q of the filter and the threshold of the detector being chosen so that at least two carrier cycles are required to overcome the damped response of the filter to the point that the threshold is reached;

(e) said detection means and said utilization device being physically separate from said display monitor.

4. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a utilization device including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load;

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the utilization device; and

(e) time and date generation means located at said detection means for providing a signal representing time and date information to said utilization device along with the output signal corresponding to the stored data;

(f) said detection means and said utilization device being physically separate from said display monitor.

5. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a utilization device including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load;

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the utilization device;

(e) said detection means and said utilization device being physically separate from said display monitor;

(f) error check code generation means responsive to the storage device for generating error check code information corresponding to the data temporarily stored in the storage device and wherein said modulation means is further responsive to the error check code generation means for further modulating said current with the error check code information;

(g) error detection means responsive to the demodulated output signal for providing an output error signal upon detecting an incorrect character or set of information;

(h) inhibit means responsive to the output error signal for preventing the utilization of an output signal by the utilization device until a further signal is provided by the initiation signal providing means; and

(i) time and date generation means located at said detection means for providing a signal representing time and date information to said utilization device along with the output signal corresponding to the stored data; and

wherein said inhibit means further prevents the utilization of the signal representing time and date information by the utilization device.

6. A data transmission interface for transmitting data temporarily stored in a storage device of a display monitor to a utilization device including:

(a) power means for providing a constant voltage varying current power to the display monitor;

(b) initiation signal providing means for providing an initiation signal;

(c) modulation means responsive to the initiation signal providing means and to the storage device for modulating the current provided by said power means in accordance with the data temporarily stored in the storage device by selectively routing current through a load, said modulating means including a microprocessor programmed to provide a fixed duration oscillating signal output in response to a first binary value of data stored in the storage device and a fixed duration steady state signal output in response to a second binary value of data stored in the storage device; and

wherein said signal outputs are provided to route current through said load with the oscillating signal output; and

(d) detection means coupled to said power means for demodulating the modulated current and for providing an output signal corresponding to the stored data to the utilization device;

(e) said detection means and said utilization device being physically separate from said display monitor.

7. The data transmission interface set forth in claim 6 wherein the load comprises a light emitting diode.

8. The data transmission interface set forth in claim 7, wherein said microprocessor is programmed in response to the absence of the initiation signal and the presence of a second control signal to turn on the light emitting diode to provide a light output which is sensed by the monitor and used in analyzing patient data.