Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Anthony G Chaprnka

Shan C Sun

Leonard C Vercellotti

Patrick J McKenzie

An input signal supplied to a signal measuring circuit is either amplified or attenuated as necessary to establish the magnitude of the input signal within the defined dynamic range of the measuring circuit and the output signal developed by the measuring circuit is subsequently readjusted through amplification or attenuation to develop an output signal which corresponds to the magnitude of the initial input signal.

Technique for extending the range of a signal measuring circuit

An automatic gain control circuit functions to adjust the magnitude of an input signal supplied to a measuring circuit to a level within the dynamic range of the measuring circuit while a log-ratio circuit adjusts the magnitude of the output signal from the measuring circuit to the level of the input signal and optimizes the signal-to-noise ratio performance of the measuring circuit.

Measuring circuit

A clock driven digital pattern generator responds to input pulses by generating a digital pattern output corresponding to a predetermined geometric sequence, and a digital to analog converter converts the digital pattern into an analog output signal which is a logarithmic function of the frequency of the input pulses.

Logarithmic frequency to voltage converter

A pulse generator for generating pulses over a wide range without changing scales is disclosed. The pulse generator is capable of generating pulses in the range from 0.5 Hz to greater than 2 MHz in one continuous range. The wide range of operation is achieved by a timing capacitor which is charged at a logarithmic rate with respect to a frequency determining voltage input signal. This permits a wide frequency range to be covered with a reasonable range of the voltage input signal.

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Cockeysville, MD, United States of America

Anthony G Chaprnka