The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 24, 1987
Filed:
Sep. 03, 1985
Glenn T Darilek, San Antonio, TX (US);
Mobil Oil Corporation, New York, NY (US);
Abstract
A system and method for sensing the status of a plurality of valves by detecting the total current flowing through a network of constant current devices connected in series with a plurality of limit switches responsive to the open and closed positions of the valves. The system uses a binary constant current encoding network to provide a total current that is a unique binary weighted indication of which switches are closed. The system includes a current measurement circuit that converts the current to a voltage, filters out noise and amplifies the voltage for input to an analog to digital converter. The output of the analog to digital converter is then decoded by a logic hardware or by a computer to derive a digital output indicative of the position of the switches. A bipolar voltage source energizes the constant current encoding network and interacts with the current measurement and decoding circuits to ensure a sufficient voltage level for constant current operation.