Process and system for gathering and evaluating measured data

Details Process and system for gathering and evaluating measured data Process and system for gathering and evaluating measured data

1992-05-21

1993-08-17

Williams, Howard L.

Coded data generation or conversion

Analog to or from digital conversion

Analog to digital conversion

341122, 364550, H03M 100

Patent

active

052373258

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for multi-channel gathering and evaluation of measured data where analog measured data are picked up in parallel measured data channels, are converted into digital measured data and are stored in a memory for on-line or off-line evaluation. Also included in the subject matter of this invention is a system with measured data channels which are operated in parallel and which are independent of one another, namely with analog data channels, provided with individual analog-to-digital converters or with multiplexers having one common analog-to-digital converter at a time and with memories; with digital measured data channels, or rather with so-called event channels; as well as with circuits for controlling the gathering of the measured data.


DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

Systems for multi-channel gathering and evaluation of measured data are already known (essay by M. Vieten, "Erfassung schneller Me.beta.signale mit dem Personal-Computer" Gathering fast measured signals by means of the personal computer, Elektronik, Heft volume 4/1986). Such systems, inter alia, are used in automotive engineering both for driving tests and for realizing digital multi-variable control units.
The measured value gathering systems, known by the term "transient recorders," are composed of a plurality of independent measured data channels operated in parallel. In general, each measured data channel is allocated a preamplifier stage of its own, an analog-to-digital converter of its own, and a data memory of its own. In principle, each channel is an individual device, with the special feature that all channels operate synchronously and are jointly controlled. For the purpose of gathering measured data, a momentary value of the signal applied to the measured data channel input is sampled in all channels in equidistant time steps, i.e., it is picked up and processed. After analog-to-digital conversion, the numerical values corresponding to these measured values are stored in a memory. Depending on the type of application or on the version of the system, the sampled values remain in the memory until "off-line" evaluation of the measured data, or they are further processed "on-line" at once; if so, they are overwritten by new data after a certain cycle time. A variety of different versions of apparatuses use this principle. For instance, instead of using one analog-to-digital converter at a time for each channel, it is possible to feed the analog measured data to a common analog-to-digital converter via a multiplexer in order to reduce cost. As the measured data have to be processed consecutively, this technique implies a lengthened processing time.
In these known measured data gathering systems working in accordance with the transient recorder concept, a sequence of numbers, or rather a sequence of measured values, is always gained as a function of time. This implies restrictions in case of technical operations where reference to time does not play any role or is only of minor importance and where the sensor used for generating the measured data is the incremental type. Then the information available from measuring is not in the signal amplitude but is contained in the alternating edges of binary signal conditions. For instance, the alternating edges of the signal at the output of a wheel speed sensor of an anti-skid control system mark the rolling angle and are independent of whether the wheel rotates quickly or slowly. In this case, time-equidistant sampling of the amplitude is particularly disadvantageous as it is necessary to work with a high sampling rate in order to detect the time of alternating edges with sufficient accuracy, although later on only one value will be evaluated, namely the time of alternating edges. Therefore, in such an application counters are often used which register the number of alternating edges occurring during one sampling interval. This number is then stored as the measured value. Thereby it is, admittedly, possibl

REFERENCES:
patent: 4224672 (1980-09-01), Leleu et al.
patent: 4987539 (1991-01-01), Moore et al.
patent: 5065321 (1991-11-01), Bezos et al.
patent: 5081297 (1992-01-01), Lebel et al.
Design Ideas, "Transient Processor and Plotter Combined in One Unit", Design Engineering Aug. 1977, p. 27.
Dipl.-Ing. Manfred Vieten, "Erfassung Schneller MeBsignale mit dem Personal Computer, Elektronik", Feb. 21, 1986, pp. 113-117.

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