Mcgraw-Edison Company

New England Digital Corp.

Calman Gold

Robert Claude Prescott

Eric V Anderson

A method of (and apparatus for) extracting the fundamental pitch period of a complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t), that includes the serial steps of deriving a time varying reference signal V.sub.ref (t) from the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t), which reference signal V.sub.ref (t) adapts continuously (i.e., each cycle of the complex electrical signal) to peak amplitude excursions of the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t); sensing ascending values of the signal V.sub.2 (t) to a first point at which the maximum magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t) of one polarity is reached and reversal of direction thereof occurs; storing the first substantially instantaneous difference in magnitude between the complex electrical signal V.sub.2 (t) and the time varying reference V.sub.ref (t) at the point of maximum magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t); thereafter sensing a point at which the magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t) minus the first substantially instantaneous difference equals zero; thereafter sensing ascending values of the signal V.sub.2 (t) to a further point at which a maximum magnitude of the signal V.sub.2 (t) of opposite polarity to the one polarity is reached and reversal of direction thereof occurs; then storing the value of the signal V.sub.2 (t) at the further point and sensing ascending value of the signal V.sub.2 (t) to a still further point at which the substantially instantaneous value of the signal V.sub.2 (t) exceeds the stored value of the reference signal V.sub.ref (t), the pitch period being the time span between successive occurrences of the still further point.

Pitch extractor apparatus and the like

A transducer for converting an electrical current signal to a pneumatic pressure. A solid state element such as piezo-electric flapper element 48 is used to vary the pressure drop through a nozzle 46 to provide a controlled pressure supply 28. A micro-power electronic circuit 59 controls the flapper. A solid state pressure sensor 24 detects the output pressure and provides a feedback signal for use in a negative feedback loop to control the flapper element. The flapper element may be triangularly shaped to reduce its responsiveness to relatively low frequency mechanical vibrations. In a exemplary embodiment, where intrinsic safety requirements limit terminal voltages, the flapper element is driven by a transconductance amplifier 94 which is powered through a shunt regulator 82 and a voltage tripler 92. The shunt regulator provides operating potentials which are derived from the signal current.

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Post Mills, VT, United States of America

Calman Gold