High speed rate indicator having improved metering circuit

Claim 1

This invention relates to a high rate parameter-measuring system, said system including pulse-squaring means, and monostable means, and metering means to measure said rate parameter and provide indications of a measured rate, said pulse-squaring means having an incoming rate signal indicative of said rate parameter and producing an output containing squared pulses corresponding to said incoming rate signal, said output of said pulse-squaring means associatively electrically coupled to said monostable means, said monostable means responsive to each pulse of said output of said pulse-squaring means to provide an output of constantwidth pulses at a rate proportional to said rate parameter, said output of said monostable means electrically coupled to said metering means, said metering means responsive to said rate of said constantwidth pulses from said monostable means to provide a linear indication proportional to said rate parameter, said metering means including a low temperature drift switching means relatively unaffected by wide ranges of ambient temperatures which may be intrinsic to the environment of said system to insure said linearity of said indication from said metering means and thereby provide relatively flawless measurement of said high rate parameter, said metering means further includes in combination said low temperature drift switching means which is a semiconductive device having an input which receives said output of constant-width pulses of said monostable means, and constant voltage means, and indication means, said low temperature drift switching means electrically coupled to said constant voltage means through said indication means and through a preselected reference node such that relatively constant current will flow through said indication means whenever one of said constant-width pulses of said output of said monostable means appears at said input of said low temperature drift switching means, said semiconductive device is a transistor having its base electrode electrically connected to said output of said monostable means to receive said constant-width pulses, its emitter electrode connected to said Constant voltage means through said indication means, and its collector electrode connected to said constant voltage means through said reference node, said constant voltage means includes a resistor impedance means and a Zener diode means, said impedance means supplied by a reference voltage and electrically coupled to said Zener diode means and said indication means, said Zener diode means also electrically coupled to said low temperature drift switching means through said preselected reference node, said constant voltage means providing a constant voltage across said low temperature drift switching means and said indication means.