Channel isolation by switched grounds
First Claim
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1. A signal acquisition instrument, comprising:
- an input stage referenced to a first ground, said input stage for receiving an input signal;
a memory for storing information related to said input signal;
an instrumentation network referenced to a second ground, said instrumentation network for processing information from said memory; and
a switch network having at least two switches for selectively switching said memory between said first and second grounds;
wherein said first and second grounds are electrically isolated.
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Abstract
A signal acquisition instrument, such as an oscilloscope, having an input stage that is referenced to a user'"'"'s ground is disclosed. Information gathered by the input stage is stored in a storage element powered by a floating power supply that is referenced to the user'"'"'s ground. After storage, the storage element is disconnected from the floating power and from the user'"'"'s ground and switched to a power supply referenced to the remainder of the system. FET switching is beneficial, and information can be stored either in an analog format or in a digital format.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A signal acquisition instrument, comprising:
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an input stage referenced to a first ground, said input stage for receiving an input signal;
a memory for storing information related to said input signal;
an instrumentation network referenced to a second ground, said instrumentation network for processing information from said memory; and
a switch network having at least two switches for selectively switching said memory between said first and second grounds;
wherein said first and second grounds are electrically isolated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. An oscilloscope, comprising:
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an input stage referenced to a first ground, said input stage or receiving an input signal;
a memory for storing information related to said input signal;
an instrumentation network referenced to a second ground, said instrumentation network for processing information from said memory;
a display for displaying a waveform representation of said input signal; and
a switch network having at least two switches for selectively switching said memory between said first ground and said second ground;
wherein said first and second grounds are electrically isolate. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of acquiring a signal comprising:
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receiving a signal referenced to a first ground;
storing information about the received signal in a memory referenced to the first ground;
disconnecting the memory from the first ground;
referencing the memory to a second ground, the first and second grounds being electrically isolated; and
processing the stored information using a system referenced to the second ground. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification