GB1515525A - Data handling systems - Google Patents

Abstract

1515525 Data handling system UNITED KINGDOM ATOMIC ENERGY AUTHORITY 20 July 1976 [25 July 1975 7 May 1976] 31269/75 and 18705/76 Heading G3N [Also in Divisions H3-5] A data handling system is used, e.g., to control machinery and industrial processes and has duplicated facilities to reduce errors. The system monitors electric analog signals originating from each of six locations, there being four transducers A-D at each location sensing the same parameter. Four scanning multi-plexers 7-10 each receive a signal from each location, together with two interleaved test signals T, and the outputs pass via respective A/D converters 11-14 to respective digital computers 15-18. The computer output for plant control is chosen by a 3 out of 4 majority decision among the computer outputs. In a computer a primary shift register Fig. 2 (not shown), receives the digital signals from its A/D converter and recycles the signals after each complete scan of the analog signals. Signals from this register are compared with a stored threshold to yield a binary 0 or 1, and the resulting bits from a number of cycles are stored in primary status registers. A majority voting circuit responds to a majority of status bits from the primary status registers to indicate a fault. The ultimate plant control depends on the 3 out of 4 majority of the four computers.