Analog interface circuits for process controllers and process monitors

摘要

An interface circuit for use with process controllers permits analog signals to be input to a process controller through a binary interface of the process controller and permits analog signals to be output from the process controller through the binary interface. The input analog signal is converted to a digital sample of N bits. An identification pulse and the N bits of the digital sample are transmitted to the process controller at a rate selected for compatibility with the scan time of the process controller. The process controller includes a software routine for recognizing the identification pulse and the N bits of the digital sample. An equivalent approach is used for outputting analog signals through a binary interface of a process controller. The interface circuit can include multiple channels for inputting or outputting multiple analog signals.