Boots – shoes – and leggings
Patent
1988-10-31
1990-08-14
Lall, Parshotam S.
Boots, shoes, and leggings
364131, 3645135, 324 99D, G01R 1900
Patent
active
049492748
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to test meters, particularly of the type employed for testing an electrical circuit or component for one or a plurality of parameters, e.g., multimeters; and provides improvements in meters of this type which greatly enhance their convenience and their efficiency of use.
Multimeters are well known in electronics, research, and trouble-shooting contexts for testing, typically voltage, current and resistance with a single instrument. Often, meters of this type will further have temperature-sensing capability. These meters almost universally have a visual display for reporting test results and one or more switches on the meter for selecting the test parameter and scale range desired. Hand-held probes are typically employed for contacting a work piece at suitable test points.
Unfortunately, where it is necessary to run a variety of tests, it is often inconvenient to set the probes down, change switch positions, and again place the probes in contact with the desired test points.
It is also inconvenient at times for the operator to change his direction of view from the test points to the visual display. While meters with voice reporting are know, the reporting format will in many circumstances detract from its apparent appeal.
It would be advantageous to have a test meter which would overcome at least one of the noted disadvantages by enabling switching between a plurality of test or report formats without moving test probes from test points and/or enabling variations in the format of an audible report.
BACKGROUND ART
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,563,770, Lemelson and Grund disclose an electrical measuring instrument, such as a multimeter, which enables the results of a measurement to be displayed visually as well as by synthesized speech. The meter includes an electrical circuit for the analyzing signals generated in making measurements to assure that no speech report is produced until the signals have stabilized. A foot-operated, normally-open switch permits the operator to trigger the operation of the speech synthesizer when it is desired to generate audible synthetic speech, and also provides the operator with a means for repeating the most recent measurement in the event the operator did not properly hear the previous speech indication of the measurement. While an object of the invention is to enable blind persons to more easily employ the meter due to its speech report, the meter does not solve some of the more troublesome problems with meters with conventional visual displays, much less with speech reporting systems.
Regardless of the means employed for reporting, be it visual or audible, test meters have the nearly universal problem that the operator's hands and vision must usually give attention to the area of the test points. Often it is desired to switch among a plurality of test or report formats; however, there is no provision for such by the device of Lemelson and Grund. For example, where the operator has both hands busy on a complex electrical workpiece and wishes to test resistance followed by voltage and then current, he must remove his test probes from the locale of the test points, manually reset the meter, and again find the test points.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,569, Tedd and Kennedy describe a multimeter having two slide switches on the meter to control test format and an audible alarm to warn of incompatible settings to control test format. Each of the switches is set by the operator to control a different measurement function Where the operator makes a selection of two incompatible setting, a buzzer sounds. While this feature is advantageous, it requires manual setting of the switches and permits the incompatible settings to be made. It would be more desirable to have a meter which could be set from a remote location, e.g., at the location where the operator is using his hands to perform the test of the circuitry, and preferably to include circuitry which would not permit the incompatible test format to be selected and would audibly advise the
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Article entitled, "General Purpose Talking Laboratory Instrument For The Visually Handicapped", by Alger Salk, et al, published in Dec., 1980 American Institute of Physics.
Crimmins James P.
Hollander Milton B.
McKinley William E.
Storer Ian K.
Hosmer Bruce E.
Lall Parshotam S.
Omega Engineering Inc.
Ramirez Ellis B.
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