Abstract: With a transistor ignition system, in order to generate an ion current measurement signal at the secondary end, the ignition transistor, following an ignition triggering impulse, will be driven such that a saw-toothed collector current results as a primary current, and whose rate of increase is selected such that the quasi-stationary direct voltage generated hereby at the secondary end will not trigger any ignition process. The advantage is that for generating such a measurement signal as well as for its evaluation only a few components are required.

Abstract: A voltage detector includes, inside a Faraday cage, between a contact electrode and a counterweight outside the Faraday cage, a load resistor to which is connected a detector circuit driving at least one indicator device. The distance L between the counterweight and the contact electrode and the active surface area S of the counterweight respectively and simultaneously satisfy the following conditions:L>200 mm50 mm.sup.2 <S<500 mm.sup.2.The counterweight includes a conductive wire that is part of a screened electric cable. The screen is shorter than the electric cable and is a tubular extension of the Faraday cage. Applications include testing overhead transmission and distribution of electric wire lines.

Abstract: A diagnostic circuit for checking a capacity of a backup condenser having a check circuit in which the clamp means includes a Zener diode and a transistor connected in parallel with the backup condenser and the current flowing through a charge resistor, the Zener diode and the transistor during a time B that the transistor is turned on by a microprocessor, results in the terminal voltage of the backup condenser to be clamped to a predetermined clamp voltage.

Abstract: A protective grounding jumper cable tester is provided which includes a housing; a pair of jumper attachment terminals on the housing for attachment of a jumper cable therebetween; a dc voltage applying circuit disposed in the housing and connected to the pair of jumper attachment terminals for applying a direct current through a jumper cable attached between the jumper attachment terminals; and electronic means in the form of a PC board and microprocessor disposed in the housing and interconnected to the dc voltage circuit for applying a predetermined mathematical relationship to measure a resistance value of at least a portion of the jumper cable attached between the jumper attachment terminals. The electronic means in applying the predetermined mathematical relationship to measure the resistance value includes means for taking different voltage readings in accordance with Kelvin's measurement procedure and calculating the resistance value from the voltage readings in accordance with Kirchoff's current law.

Abstract: A moisture sensor has two spaced main electrodes which are arranged on the outer side of the windshield of a motor vehicle in a region which is passed over by the windshield wiper and are connected to an evaluation circuit for the determination of resistance as a function of a degree of moisture. In order to improve the precision of the measurement results supplied by the moisture sensor, an auxiliary electrode is arranged between the two main electrodes outside a region passed over by the wiper in order to determine a shunt resistance formed by residues on the windshield and/or in the region of a windshield gasket covering. The main electrodes and the auxiliary electrode lead to an evaluation circuit.

Abstract: A solenoid actuation detection device for detecting actuation of an armature of a solenoid includes a sensor for sensing electric current flowing through a solenoid, a peak detector for receiving the sensing signal and for creating a peak signal from the sensing signal, and a comparator for comparing the two signals to determine when an armature of the solenoid was actuated.

Abstract: A surface mountable reed switch, which is particularly useful for implantable devices such as pacemakers, defibrillators, drug pumps and neurostimulators. The switch includes reed contacts hermetically sealed within a tubular glass envelop, wherein the reed contacts extend through ends of the envelop to provide external contacts. A trilobular cross section mounting bar is attached to each external contact such that the reed switch can be mounted on a mounting surface such as a ceramic substrate or the like. A protective housing contains the reed switch while the attached trilobular bars extend from a side of the housing to allow communication between the switch and the mounting surface. Further, a testing apparatus is provided for evaluating how the housed reed switch will perform when installed in the implantable device and subjected to stray (must not operate) as well as designated (must operate) magnetic fields.

Abstract: A process for identifying the type of fault detected by a protective relay includes measuring pre-fault and post-fault samples of current waveforms on the phase-A, phase-B and phase-C conductors of a transmission line. Next, increment currents DELIA1, DELIB1, and DELIC1 are calculated, whereDELIA1=(I.sub.ar -I.sub.apr).sup.2 +(I.sub.ai -I.sub.api).sup.2DELIB1=(I.sub.br -I.sub.bpr).sup.2 +(I.sub.bi -I.sub.bpi).sup.2DELIC1=(I.sub.cr -I.sub.cpr).sup.2 +(I.sub.ci -I.sub.cpi).sup.2.The increment currents are then employed to identify a two-phase to ground fault. In calculating the increment currents, I.sub.ar represents a post-fault value of the real part of the phase-A current, I.sub.apr represents a pre-fault value of the real part of the phase-A current, I.sub.ai represents a post-fault value of the imaginary part of the phase-A current, and I.sub.api represents a pre-fault value of the real part of the phase-A current. The phase-B and phase-C values are denoted accordingly.

Abstract: An ion current detection apparatus for detecting an ion current caused by combustion in a cylinder of an internal combustion engine comprises an ion current detection circuit for detecting the ion current, a gain adjustment circuit for controlling to keep the magnitude of low frequency components of the detected ion current at a constant value, an amplifier for amplifying high frequency components of the detected ion current and outputting a high frequency component detection signal, a magnitude detection circuit for detecting the magnitude of the detected ion current to output an ion current detection signal when the detected magnitude is larger than a predetermined value, and a comparator for comparing the high frequency component detection signal with the ion current detection signal delayed by a delay circuit to output a knocking detection signal.

Abstract: The circuit arrangement and method is for measuring a difference in capacitance between a first capacitance (C.sub.1) and a second capacitance (C.sub.2). A hitherto necessary compensation of a plurality of parasitic effects has become unnecessary due to isolated measurement of an unwanted capacitance (C.sub.P) with which parasitic effects, to which the first capacitance (C.sub.1) and the second capacitance (C.sub.2) are subject, are modelled. When an evaluation logic (AL) realized in digital form is employed, only one counter unit wherein a binary value proportional to the respectively measured capacitance is counted need be provided. By cyclical measurement of the unwanted capacitance (C.sub.P), the first capacitance (C.sub.1), the second capacitance (C.sub.2) and, at the end, the unwanted capacitance (C.sub.P) are determined. The unwanted capacitance (C.sub.P) is compensated when the counter unit respectively counts backward when "counting" the unwanted capacitance (C.sub.P) but otherwise counts forward.

Abstract: A connector conduction tester includes a conduction testing section and a connector holding section which are arranged on a stand frame and an operating section for moving the conducting testing section towards the connector holding section, in which a conduction testing operation is carried out with testing pins of the conduction testing section abutted against terminals in a connector. In the tester, the stand frame has a spacer supplying hole which is confronted with a spacer inserting hole formed in a connector set in the connector holding section, and spacer pushing device located below the spacer supplying hole.

Abstract: A radiometer system detects naturally occurring atmospheric microwave radiation in three bands at approximately 20, 30, and 90 GHz. Signals representing radiation intensity at each of these bands is converted into a brightness temperature and used as a system input to a processing system that yields system outputs including the atmospheric ice water path, liquid water path, and water vapor content. A parameterized radiative transfer model is used to quantify radiation emanating from the atmosphere. The applied signal processing technique provides measurement of the total ice column in the atmosphere, and simultaneously provides accurate measurement of water vapor and liquid water. A calibration technique enhances the accuracy of ice detection measurements by correcting for the effects of absorptive atmospheric components, such as water vapor and liquid water.

Abstract: A detection system measures very small concentrations of compounds of interest within gaseous samples. A spark discharge system induces pulsed spark discharges across a pair of electrodes within an inert gas in a gas flow chamber. Various reactions are induced by spark interaction with the flow of inert gas, and with any sample or dopant commingled with the inert gas, in the region of the pulsed spark discharge. This induces photon ionization which creates an instantaneous current flow within the gas flow chamber. Current flow is held constant for all concentrations of sample introduced into the gas flow by means of a control feedback system. The output of the control feedback system is indicative of sample concentration. The system responds linearly over approximately five orders of magnitude of sample concentration for use with the sample which will be described and low femtogram sensitivity is achieved.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for the contactless detection of the position of a moving webs. The web has on one side of the web a detector electrode covering its entire width and on the other side in the area of the web edges transmission electrodes fed by an oscillator in phase opposition, so that the capacitive couplings between the transmission electrodes and the detector electrode respond in opposing fashion to deviations of the web from the central position. The signal received by the detector electrode is processed by a current to voltage converter with a very small input impedance so that the potential of the detector electrode remains at zero, and virtually no capacitive displacement currents flow to a screening electrode In this way, the sensitivity of the measurement array is independent of the web width.

Abstract: The present invention, generally speaking, provides for highly accurate correction of a sensor output using circuitry that is compact and inexpensive. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, an output signal of a sensor having a sensitivity that varies as a function of temperature and that includes resistors connected to form a bridge is corrected by, first, modeling the sensitivity of the sensor using an expression that is the ratio of two polynomials; applying a voltage across the bridge; and controlling the applied voltage as a function of temperature substantially in accordance with the inverse expression.

Abstract: For measuring a temperature with a thermistor, an electrical circuit including the thermistor and resistors for voltage division has to be maintained in the normally energized state and a variation in the voltage caused by resistance variation is detected. This requires a considerable amount of power consumption. On the other hand, thermal reed switches SW1 to SWn are mounted on the surfaces of the unit cells 1-1 to 1-n included in the battery pack 10. Each of the thermal reed switches is connected at one end to a common power source VDD and at the other end to a corresponding input terminal of a selector switch 20. The selector switch 20 is responsive to a switch signal from a determining unit 30a for passing selectively and periodically input signals of the input terminals to the determining unit 30a which in turn detects the temperature of a corresponding unit cell on the basis of the input signal selected by the switch signal.

Abstract: A method for monitoring contamination in a semiconductor wafer uses a capacitance-frequency measurement on MOS structures to calculate an impurity concentration. The silicon substrate along with an oxide layer is first biased into the inversion region using a variable frequency waveform generator superimposed upon a DC voltage bias. Next, the capacitance of the wafer is measured as a function of the varying frequency in order to develop a capacitance versus frequency curve. From this frequency response, a bandwidth (BW) is measured at a particular normalized capacitance point. The impurity concentration N is then derived using the formula N=G.times.BW, where G is the correlation constant. With an a priori knowledge of impurity concentration, N, the constant G may be derived by measuring a bandwidth of the capacitance versus frequency curve. Once the constant G is determined, future evaluation of impurity concentration can be made by a capacitance measurement.

Abstract: A misfire detecting device for an ignition system, comprises high voltage applying means for applying a pulsed high voltage to each spark plug of an engine after completion of firing of the spark plug, voltage restricting means for restricting a peak of the pulsed high voltage to a highest possible value that does not cause firing of the spark plug, voltage detecting means for detecting a plug voltage across a center electrode-to-outer electrode of the spark plug after reducing the same, and misfire detecting means for detecting a misfire at each cylinder on the basis of a decay characteristic of a detection voltage which is caused by application of the pulsed high voltage.

Abstract: Fluid transmission pipelines and similar structures which are cathodically protected from electrolytic corrosion and are disposed in urban areas under pavements and other structures which prevent access to the soil for verifying pipe-to-soil potentials are subjected to pipe-to-soil potential measurements using a reference electrode disposed in a container which has a permeable bottom and which is capable of saturating a pavement layer with a brine electrolyte to provide electrical conductivity between the reference electrode and the soil. Validation of electrical conductivity is made by a second reference electrode of a dissimilar metal which is also disposed in a container having a permeable bottom and an electrolyte which permeates the pavement layer and establishes electrical conductivity between the soil and the second reference electrode. Potential measurements between the first and second electrodes validate ion transport between the soil and the first reference electrode.

Abstract: An intelligent automated battery multimeter system having data storing and multi-cell reading capabilities in a self-contained unit for automatically performing in-service DC load testing on battery cells without requiring the removal of battery chargers wherein the tester measures, records and displays load voltages, float voltages, internal cell resistance, intercell connection resistance and other cell integrity measurements. The battery tester is also computer compatible wherein it provides PC links for extracting data from the system and downloading it into computer networks.