Etcon Corporation

John Crosetto

David W Kirby

Kent L Earle

Joseph A Rocci, Jr

An apparatus for determining the length of wires includes connector assemblies, a current source circuit, a voltage gain circuit, analog-to-digital converter, a read-only memory, a microprocessor and a display unit. The connector assemblies are connected across the ends of the wire whose length is to be determined. The current source circuit is used to selectively supply different values of currents to the wire whose length is to be determined. The voltage gain circuit is responsive to the different values of currents for selectively generating a plurality of different voltage levels for each of the different values of currents so as to provide an analog voltage signal having a predetermined range. The analog-to-digital converter is responsive to the analog voltage signal for converting the same to a first digital signal corresponding to a resistance of the wire. The read-only memory is used to store data representative of resistance per unit length of various sizes of wires having a uniform cross-sectional area and for storing programmed instructions. The microprocessor utilizes the first digital signal corresponding to the resistance of the wire and the stored data representative of resistance per unit area for generating a second digital signal representative of the length of the wire. The display unit is responsive to the second digital signal for indicating the wire length.

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Bridgeview, IL, United States of America

John Crosetto