Detector Cable Gain Setting for Accurate Material Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing material testing machines require cumbersome calibration and cannot use amplifiers optimally across different types and sensitivity levels of detectors, leading to insufficient resolution and accuracy in force and displacement measurements.
Innovation Solution
A measuring device with a cable unit containing a nonvolatile memory and a resistor to set the gain of the instrumentation amplifier based on detector information, along with an electrical calibration circuit, allows for automatic calibration and optimal gain adjustment regardless of detector type or sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If gain switching is performed with digital circuit after analog-to-digital conversion, then amplifier gain adjustment is possible, but the AD converter and analog circuit cannot be saturated optimally for detectors with different sensitivity levels
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces digital gain adjustment (performed after ADC) with analog gain adjustment using a resistor in the cable unit that modifies the signal before ADC conversion. This substitution ensures the analog circuit and ADC operate at optimal saturation points for each detector type, maximizing measurement resolution and precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable unit acts as an intermediary between the detector and the amplifier, containing a resistor that adjusts the signal level before it reaches the ADC. This intermediary component enables optimal signal conditioning for different detector sensitivities without requiring changes to the amplifier or ADC circuitry.
2Measurement precision
If individual amplifier calibration is performed for each detector, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but calibration work becomes cumbersome for users
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service calibration by incorporating a calibration circuit directly into the cable unit. The calibration resistor and switching mechanism allow the cable itself to perform calibration functions, eliminating the need for users to manually adjust amplifier gains or perform complex calibration procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the calibration circuitry with the cable unit, combining the resistor, switching mechanism, and calibration components into a single integrated component. This integration simplifies the overall system and makes calibration functionality accessible without requiring separate calibration devices or procedures.
3Productivity
If amplifier gain is adjusted for high-sensitivity detectors, then full scale utilization is optimized, but low-sensitivity detectors cannot achieve sufficient resolution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing different resistor values in the cable unit corresponding to different detector sensitivity levels. Each detector type receives a locally optimized signal conditioning configuration, ensuring that high-sensitivity detectors don't overload the ADC while low-sensitivity detectors achieve sufficient signal amplification for full-scale utilization.
Data Source
AI summary
Once a sensor amplifier side connector of a cable unit for interconnecting a detector and a sensor amplifier is connected to the sensor amplifier, a gain resistor on the cable unit side and an instrumentation amplifier of the sensor amplifier are interconnected and the gain of the instrumentation amplifier is determined. As a result, the gain of the instrumentation amplifier is determined such that the magnitude of a signal that the sensor amplifier receives from the detector becomes a magnitude optimal for an analog circuit in the sensor amplifier.