Abstract: A method and apparatus that monitors and controls an operation of an electricity meter. A potential failure condition of an electrical connection between an electricity meter and a meter socket in an electrical line that provides power from a power supply to an electrical load through the electricity meter, is detected. A correction time may be determined based on a temperature in a vicinity of and a current through the electrical connection, and may indicate an amount of time before a predicted failure of the electrical connection will occur. The method determines whether the electricity meter is in an imminent failure condition based on the correction time or the information used to detect the potential failure condition of the electrical connection. The method may provide either, or both, notification of the imminent failure condition and disconnection of power to the electrical load by operating a disconnection switch.

Abstract: A method and system for measuring a time constant RC of an integrated electronic circuit is provided. This integrated circuit may be made up of a first hardware component and of a second hardware component wherein one of the hardware components is a resistive element and the other is a capacitive element. The first and the second hardware components are connected to an inverting input of an operational amplifier of an integrator of a delta-sigma modulator. A DC voltage is applied to the modulator input. The output signal Qs of the modulator is measured with the aid of an analog/digital converter, and the value of the time constant RC is determined on the basis of at least one measurement of the level of the DC component of the output signal Qs of the modulator carried out with the air of a measurement counter circuit.

Abstract: The present application describes, among other things, a ground fault detection system. The system includes an optocoupler, a current sink, and a first voltage source connected in series. The first voltage source can connect to a negative terminal of a battery unit. Upon connection between a positive terminal of the battery unit and a first node at a ground zero reference level, current can flow through the optocoupler and the current sink to cause the optocoupler to output a ground fault detection signal.

Abstract: The disclosure relates to a meter for monitoring usage of power provided by a power transmission system to a site. The meter comprises: a meter module connected to a power feed associated with the power transmission system to provide readings relating to the power; a messaging module to provide messages to the power transmission system; a connection to an alternating current (AC) power supply; a rectifier circuit connected to the AC power supply to generate a direct current (DC) power signal; a capacitive circuit connected to an output of the rectifier circuit, the capacitive circuit including a capacitor for storing a voltage for temporarily providing replacement power for the rectifier circuit; and a switching regulator circuit connected to the output of the rectifier circuit and the capacitive circuit, the switching regulator converting the DC voltage signal to a stepped down voltage signal for the meter module.

Abstract: An electromechanical system (MEMS) voltmeter. An exemplary MEMS voltmeter includes a proof mass mounted to a substrate in a teeter-totter manner. The MEMS voltmeter also includes an input voltage plate located on the substrate under a first end of the proof mass. The first input voltage plate receives a voltage from a device under test. A drive voltage plate is located on the substrate under a second end of the proof mass. A first sense input voltage plate is located on the substrate under the first end of the proof mass. A second sense voltage plate is located on the substrate under the second end of the proof mass. A rebalancing circuit receives signals from the proof mass and the first and second sense voltage plates and generates a voltage value that is equal to the root mean square (RMS) voltage of the device under test.

Abstract: Disclosed is an eddy current non-destructive inspection device which includes an eddy current probe with a probe conductor resistance dynamically changing due to operation conditions, such as temperature. The device further includes a signal generating circuit generating an inspection frequency signal and a low frequency signal. Sensed inspection frequency signals are processed to produce resulting signals with possible drift. A low frequency processing circuit includes a resistance calculator producing a substantially true value of the dynamic probe resistance, based on which compensation operations are configured to correct the drifted resulting signals and produce corrected resulting signals.

Abstract: In an inspection jig (1) for electrical inspection of printed circuit boards, an electrode section (40) has an electrode (41) disposed on a surface of an electrode plate (42), and a contact (10) includes a conductive contact needle (11), a compression coil spring (12), and an intermediate member (13) that are arranged coaxially for use. The contact needle (11) has a distal end (111), a projection (112), a larger diameter portion (113), and an intermediate portion (114), and the intermediate member (13) has a cylindrical intermediate end (131), a guide portion (132), and an electrode end (133). The electrode end (133) has a cut section at an oblique angle, is bent to have a proximal end (133a) in the vicinity of a central portion, and is held by a contact holder (30) to have an initial load. The electrode (41) is smaller in diameter than the contact (10).

Abstract: A method and apparatus eliminate magnetic domain walls in a flux guide by applying, either simultaneously or sequentially, a current pulse along serially positioned reset lines to create a magnetic field along the flux guide, thereby removing the magnetic domain walls. By applying the current pulses in parallel and stepping through pairs of shorter reset lines segments via switches, less voltage is required.

Abstract: A method for capacitive sensing comprises the steps of tagging a transmitting signal by modulating a sub-carrier on said signal using state of the art modulation techniques; demodulating said subcarrier out of useful/received signal to prove validity of said signal.

Abstract: A phase detector (100, 400, 800) comprising a balun (150) and input ports (116) at each of the balun's balanced ports. The phase detector (100, 400, 800) has four devices (105, 115, 110, 155) for measuring a signal's amplitude: —a first device (105) at a first input port (116), —a second device (115) at a second input port (117), —a third device (110) between the input ports (116, 117), connected to the ports via a passive component (120, 125; 120?, 125; 120?, 125?), —a fourth device (155) at the unbalanced port of the balun (150), The difference between the amplitude values of the third (110) and fourth (155) devices indicate the phase difference and the difference between the amplitude values measured by the first (110) and second (115) devices indicates the phase difference in the region of 0-2?.

Abstract: An electronic circuit for detecting magnetism includes: a detection unit in which at least three detection blocks including at least one magnetic field detection element are arranged, wherein by selecting first and second detection blocks from among the at least three detection blocks based on a detection target object, a distance between the first and second detection blocks becomes a distance suitable for the detected target object; a control unit configured to select the first and second detection blocks; and a switching unit configured to connect the selected first and second detection blocks to an output of the electronic circuit based on a control operation of the control unit.

Abstract: A micromachined magnetic field sensor is disclosed. The micromachined magnetic field sensor includes a substrate; and a drive subsystem partially supported by the substrate with a plurality of beams, and at least one anchor; a mechanism for providing an electrical current through the drive subsystem along a first axis; and Lorentz force acting on the drive subsystem along a second axis in response to a magnetic field vector along a third axis. The micromachined magnetic field sensor also includes a position transducer to detect the motion of the drive subsystem and an electrostatic offset cancellation mechanism coupled to the drive subsystem.

Abstract: A sensor for monitoring loads in a landing gear torque linkage includes a main pin having an axial interior bore defined therein. The main pin is configured and adapted to engage a torque link to a strut lug of a landing gear strut. A core pin is mounted axially within an interior bore of the main pin and is spaced radially inwardly from the interior bore for relative displacement with respect to the main pin. A capacitor is included having an inner capacitor plate mounted to the core pin. An outer capacitor plate is mounted to the main pin. Relative displacement of the core pin and the main pin due to loads acting on the torque link and strut lug results in relative displacement of the inner and outer capacitor plates. Signals can thereby be produced indicative of the loads acting on the torque link.

Abstract: A potential of a gate of the transistor of the memory cell is held at a predetermined potential VGM which is between a potential VGL used in normal holding and a threshold of the transistor Vth. When the potential is held for a predetermined period, the memory cell becomes in a similar state in which the memory cell is held at a potential VGL in 10 years. A memory cell, which does not hold data sufficiently at this time, can be judged not to hold data for 10 years in normal use.

Abstract: This method makes it possible to carry out the auto-calibration of the electromagnetic coils of an apparatus such as an atomic clock, a magnetometer or a gyroscope by injecting successive currents into the coils and measuring the magnetic fields induced in order to calculate the transfer coefficients (field/current) of each of the coils and the real angles that they form with very great precision.

Abstract: A test device for a liquid crystal display device includes a first shorting bar, a first, a second and a third control line, transmission lines and thin film transistor switch elements; in which the gate electrodes of thin film transistor switch element are respectively arranged on the first, the second and the third control line; the data lines are respectively connected to the first, the second and the third control line via the drain electrodes of thin film transistor switch elements, in which data lines for controlling the blue pixel units are connected to the first control line, data lines for controlling the red pixel units are connected to the second control line, data lines for controlling the green pixel units are connected to the third control line; and the source electrodes of multiple thin film transistor switch elements are connected to the first shorting bar via multiple transmission lines.

Abstract: An angle detecting device has a combined structure of plural resolvers, but is simple and is easily produced, and has redundancy reducing the risk of failure. The angle detecting device has two resolvers which are combined in the axial direction and has a stator core 100. The stator core 100 is formed by laminating a first stator core 103 on a second stator core 104. The first stator core 103 is provided with plural salient poles 101 which extend to a center of an axis. The second stator core 104 is provided with plural salient poles 102 which extend to the center of the axis. The salient poles 101 and 102 differ in position when viewed from the axial direction, and the salient poles 102 are positioned between the adjacent salient poles 101 when viewed from the axial direction.

Abstract: A contactor assembly for automated testing a device under test (DUT) that includes a plurality of separate electrodes including a first electrode includes a tester load board and a contactor body coupled to the tester load board. A plurality of contactor pins carried by the contactor body includes a first contactor pin and a second contactor pin that are electrically coupled to the tester load board. The tester load board is configured to couple the plurality of contactor pins to automatic test equipment (ATE) for testing the DUT. The first contactor pin and second contactor pin are positioned to both contact the first electrode. A first path to the first contactor pin and a second path to the second contactor pin are electrically shorted together by the contactor assembly to be electrically in parallel to provide redundant paths to the first electrode during automated testing of the DUT.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods which employ a primary source mirror to scan a conductive sample containing an electric current to determine the distribution of currents in the sample, providing location, total magnitude, and direction in three dimensions of each component of the electric current distribution, by means of measuring the magnetic field external to the sample.

Abstract: A method for dealing with faults in an electrical drive system having an electrical machine and a pulse-controlled inverter which has a first and a second supply connection, the method including the steps of: detecting a first fault in the electrical drive system; selecting a first of a large number of circuit states (22, 23, 24) of the pulse-controlled inverter according to the detected first fault; and driving the pulse-controlled inverter to set the first circuit state (23), with the circuit states (22, 23, 24) including a short circuit (23) between the power connections of the electrical machine and the first supply connection, a short circuit (24) between the power connections of the electrical machine and the second power connection, and a free-running mode (22).