Optical analogue=digital converter for optical measuring system - uses optical comparator with optical bistable elements coupled to controlled light source

摘要

The A/D converter allows an analogue signal provided by an optical measuring sensor to be converted into a corresponding digital signal fed to an evaluation and/or control circuit. It uses an optical comparator with at least one optical bistable element (2) with an optical control input (22) coupled to a controlled light source (4). Pref. the optical comparator uses a number of optical bistable elements (2) connected in parallel wtih a coupler (30) assigning the received optical measuring signal (M) to their signal inputs (21). Each of their control inputs (22) is supplied with a control signal(s). The outputs from the bistable elements are fed to an optical priority decoder. USE - For optical temp. sensor or pressure sensor.