NAS [ AT 3-4 ! GSC Electronic Components and Circuits Electronic Systems Physical Sciences Materials Computer Programs Mechanics Machinery Fabrication Technology Mathematics and Information Sciences Life Sciences ¥ 95-05 BEST COPY AVAILABLE §2A y9r . ,UGyERt” 1995 75 - 036604 Availability of NASA Tech Briefs and TSP’s Distribution of NASA Tech Briefs, a monthly periodical publication, is limited to engineers in U.S. industry and to other domestic technology transfer agents. Requests for individual Tech Briefs or for Technical Support Packages (TSP's) announced herein should be addressed to NASA Center for AeroSpace information PO. Box 8757 Baltimore, MD 21240. 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Stennis Spece Center Technology Utilization Officer Technology Utilization Officer Technology Utilization Officer Technology Utilization Officer Mail Code 223-3 Mail Stop PT-PMO-A Mail Stop 156-211 Code HA-30 Moffett Field, CA 04035 KenSpance eCentedr, FyL 32 899 4800 Oak GrovDeiv e Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 PasadeCnA a91,10 9 Patent Counsel Patent Counsel Mail Code 200-11 Mail Code PT-PAT Moffett Field, CA 94035 Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 mene GodSpdace aFlirght dCen ter Langley Research Center NASA Resident Office-JPL Technology Utilization Officer Te Utilization Officer Technology Utilization Officer Utilization Officer Code Mail Code 702-1 Mail Stop 143 Mail Stop 180-801 WashingOtCo 2n05,4 6 Greenbelt, MD 20771 Hampton, VA 23665 4800 Oak Grove Drive Pasadena, CA 91109 Assistant General Patent Counsel! Patent Counsel Coufonr Psatenet Mlatte rs Mail Code 204 Mail Code 279 Patent Counsel Code GP Greenbelt, MD 20771 Hampton, VA 23665 Mail Code 180-801 WashingtOCo 2n05,4 6 4800 Oak Grove Drive PasadeCnA a91,10 9 LyndonB . Johnson Space Lewis Reseach Center George C. Marshall Spece Dryden Flight Research Utilization Officer Flight Technology Utilization Officer Mail Stop 7-3 Utilization Officer Utilization, Officer Mail Code IC-4 21000 Brookpark Road Code ATO1 M/S 021-31 Houston, TX 77058 Cleveland, OH 441/15 rent tiie Bi4d832g W.hse 7 1 Patent Counsel Patent Counsel EdwarrCiA 9s35,2 3 Mail Code AL3 Mail Code LE-LAW Patent Counsel Houston, TX 77058 21000 Brookoark Road Mail Code CC01 Cleveland, OH 44135 eo SDace Flight Center 12 NASA Tech Briefs, May 1995 1 ° NASA Tech Briefs, May 1995 5 Electronic Components and Circuits 13 Electronic Systems 23 Physical Sciences 29 Materials 39 Computer Programs 43 Mechanics 51 Machinery 57 Fabrication Technology 67 Mathematics and Information Sciences 3|O68'/ O00/ 9/68 71 Life Sciences This document was prepared under the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Neither the United Govern t nor any person acting on behalf of the United States Govenent assures any lability resulting from the use of the information contained in this docurnent, or warrants that such use wil be free from :-"Wately owned rights. NASA '> 2 Briefs, May 1995 3 GUAM PAGE Sf O. m—i_ oana oYno en a f met Wet ee! the tg- See Se TC ' i a ) ag ae eee Hardware, Techniques, and Processes 7 Maximum AcceleRrecaordtinig oCinrcu it 7 Switch Box for Controlling Flows of Four Gases 8 Circuit for Control ofB lectromecPhroastnheiticc aHlan d 9 ASIC for Complex Fixed-PAoriithnmetti c 10 K ,-Band Data~CommunicatAdiaoptne r 10 Transient-Switch-Signal Suppressor 11 Digital Latching Circuit for a Safety-Related Application Books and Reports 11 Test of a Microwave Amplifier With SuperconductiFvilete r NASA Tech Briefs, May 1995 GLARE PAGE Maximum Acceieration Recording Circuit Coarsely digitized maximum levels are Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, recorded in blown fuses. Houston, Texas A circuit feeds power to an accelerom- Switch eter and makes a nonvolatile record of the ? maamnum level to which the output oft he wv ev |e v 1 Jom acosierometer rises Guring @ measure- Fieté-Ettect <Ug ht-Emitbng ment interval. Inc omparwiitsh oinenrti a- rece smunaee os 3|_|e Diode Toive type single-preset-trip-point mechanical \ s + ~g _ maximum-acceleration-recording ) ae 6 (a P— - devices, the circut weighs much less, |A ccelerometer = 1 net occupies less sp20e, and records accel- eure +— Dieplay , erations within narrower bands of uncer- ou ude R, Sik2 bee fe tainty. in comparison with prior electronic 100K, 7 Le data-acquisttion systems designed fort he ST 310T ua 4 a ve same purpose, the circuit iss impler, less _ TowrFr | gf +» bulky, consulemss eposwer , costs less, “ - L vfores and does not require playback and analy- = —" a sis of data recorded in magnetic ore lec- LMS © Gunna tnaaad tronic memory devices. The circuit could be used, for exarnple, to record accelera- This Circult Blows Onc or More Fuses in a module. The posi/son of the blown fuse(s) in the tions to which commodiarte siubejescte d module indicate(s) the maximum level(s) of acceleration reacned during a measurement. Guring transportoant tiruockns . ing division of the next higher level by a brated a? the setting at which the light- The circuit (see figure) includes three 9- facior of V2 (3 decibels/step). emitting, diode on output line 10 (which V batteries, one of which supplies the 9 V D.spon tehe nlevedl ofi then inpgut s ig- reptrhe efull-sscalee signnal tlevesl) fl ick- needed by the circull, and al of which nal, the Gisplay driver energizes 1 of its 10 ers on. The power is then turned off. Supply the 27 V needed by the accalerom- output lines, each of which is connected to The calibsourrcea its diiscoonnnect - ter. Power 's supplied to the acoslerome- 1 of 10 2-mA transparent-cap microfuses 1, the acceleriso comnneecttede, ra nd ter throug’: field-effect diode D,, which plugged into a module. If the fuse on a line the power is tured on. Next, mode reguictes the acoceleron ster current to is st intact, then when that ine is ene- Switch S,, is turned to the “operate” posi- keepi t in the rangeo f 2 to 4 mA The @ized, the driver delivers a current of 10 tion. (Capacitor C, absorbs the resulting acceleputrs oout mane act siegnarl th at mA, biowing the fuse. The fuses can be turn-on transients and prevents inadver- peaks at a full-scale value of 5 V when the inspected visually or electrically at any oun- tent triggering of the open-coliectodrri - ac Compof aoccelnerateion nreacthes 50 venient time thereafter to determine vhich vers in the display-criver circuit) The g (where g denotes normal Earth gravita- @f any) has blown, thereby deternining Circuit can then be left unattended to tion). ihe acceleration signal is coupled what level of accelerwaast rieaochned . record the naximum acceleration. through C, and D, into C,, which retains The circuit is calibrated wil’) the This work was done by Richard J. the peak value for a short time. accelerometer visconnected and a 5-V Bazeman, Jr, of Johnson Space Cen- The signal is fed through potentiometer peak-sigtnalo at- a frpequeencay okf 5 00 ter. Further information is contained in a R, to the input terminal (pin 5) of a 10- Hz Coupled capacitot thie vaceoelleryom - TSP [see page 1] level display driver, which is basicallayn eter terminalis. Mode swith S. is placed This invention is owned by NASA, and a analog-tcoonv-erdteri. gThie tconavelrte r in the “calibrate” position, and power patent application has been filed. inquiries can be an integrated circuit (M3914) switch S, is dosed to tn the power on. that has equally spaced levels, each rap- The potentisi fsot smete tot mienirmum , resenting 5 g; or it can be a similar circuit then the setting is inc/eased to the level of (LUM3915) that has logarithwnicsaalcleyd the signal reaching the input of the display Counsel, Johnson Space Center {see levels, each succeleevedl irepn: sgsen t- driver. The croult 6 deemed to be caii- page 1) Refer toM SC-21922. Switch Box for Controlling Flows of Four Gases Each of four gas controllers can be connected to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, any one of six mass-flow controllers. Pasadena, California A switch box has been designed for conttro anoy olne lof eas rmansy ,as six mechaeffnectis thce raegullatilon yof t he use in simultaneously comrolling the available mass-fiow controllAesr uss.e d flow of one of the sik gazes at a rate flows of as many as four out of a total o! six available gases into a semiconductor. processing chamber. The switch box circuiry that commathen“lldow sof a To select one of the six gases to be fed contains switches, relays, logic circuliry, speciic gas at a specific rate. “Mass- to the chamber, the technician fips one of display devices, end other circuitry for flow contdrenootesl thlat eparrt o”f t he six activation switches on the front panel conneaceh ofc ast mainy ans fgour gas processe-quicpmoentn tthert oelelctr o- of the switch box (see figure). The logic arr- NASA Tech Brie, May 1995 7 ? ’ | Gelay circuits) in the switch box seeks a gas Controller for that gas and activates an apprreloay pwhenr itif indas atn aveaila ble gas controller. The switch box contains 12 relays On a board. Each relay is assigned to a specific gas controller and mass-fliow controller. When a relay is activated by the on the devices correspond to the gas con- trolers. When the technitcumis aonn a The Front Panel of the Switch Box apprises the technician of the statuses of the flows of Switch for a gas, its activation lamp ights the various gases. Gases that have been selected are indicated by illurrunation of the corre- up, and a number from 0 to 4 appears on sponding activation lamps. The gas controllers assigned to those gases are indicated by the the adjacent display device. A display of 0 numbers on the numerical-disdpevliaceys . indicates that no gas controller has been assigned to that gas, and so the gas is not rupted. It telis the technitchait aalnl o f This work was done by James FR flowing. A display of 1 to 4 represents the the mass-fiow controhalvel beeern sdi s- Wishanad Jramdes L. Laomf Cbalte ch gas controtlo ewhric h the gas and its confnrom eall ocf thte gaes condtrol lers for NASA's Jet Propulsion Labor- mass-flow controler are assigned. and thus all flows of gases have been story. Further informisa cotntiaionend in The power-interirnduicpattori olanm p stopped. The technmiusct iresaetn t he a TSP [see page 1} lights up when power has been inter- system to make the flows resume. NPO-19201 Circuit for Contro! of Electromechanical Prosthetic Hand Control signals would be derived from Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, shoulder movements. Houston, Texas A proposed circuit for the control of an electromechanical prosthetic hand would Geter derive electrical control signals from He Actuator -Driving shoulder movernents. The circuit can be ayad a regarded as an updated, electronic ver Dagita! Digna! Output) sion of a prosthesis, developed in the pel, 2008 |Or tputs | 19th century, that includes two hooklike se 1 ~wccce weedecce fingers actuated via cables from a shou- A, ‘ ar ! der harness. Many below-the-elbow | 100K ; 7 1 ; amputees still favor prostheses based on Unease wee! ' that design because of its low cost, relia- Potentiometer a ; bility, ease of repair, and simplicity of in Shoulder 3 Solenoido r | operation. ji. prop7ee circuit would be ditasnen 2 ; ya ’ built around the favored shvulder har- Fm tert of Shrug) Wendt 5 ness, yet would provide more Gexterous ! movewithmout eounningt th,e c om- ! plexity of compu’-contr“obiloiniec”d o r hydraulically actuated devices. The har.ess would contain a linear Digital Outputs of the bar-graph driver, representing a sequence of values of R, would turn potent(R,i inot hem figeuret), t.he ’res is- on current to actuators in prosthetic fingers. tance of whch would be varied by log-tocon-verdteri ogf tihe ttyape lus ed current to a solenoid or rnc .or to actuate shrugging the svouider as in the older to control a bar-graph display. Either a one of the prostfh geers.t Wiitch n o mechsysater’n. Tihe vcariaable lout put strug, the prosthetic t unb and all oft he voltage of the pote tiometer would be prosthetic fingers we uid be extended. As fed to an attenpu.t aenttiomietner gR. ,), the stvug increar sd, the cioltal outputs which would be set to ucule the voltage would tum oo: in sequence, thereby to the range of shoulder movementT.h e Causing tty thumb and fingteor msov e Caled voltage would be fed to on ana- sequen? ally to the closed position. BEST COPY AVAl! ABLE NASA Tech Briefs, May 1995 An @ Gitonal hamess and potentiom- tol signals Geveloped by the croull con This invention is owned by NASA and ter con wected to a similar contol cro nected to the frst shoulder harness would 8 patent application hes been fied could ve mounted on the offer shoulder be tanstor tei prfosivieice hadnd ve inquines conceming nonexclusive or This cout could be used to contal a Sigvings at te prosthweistt ijocrt . exclusive tcense for fis commercial Stepung motor tal would rlsle Te This work was done by Richard J. Gevelshooulpd bme aaddrressend tto t he hanJ about the prosthetic wrist to one of Bareman, Jc. of Johnson Space Cen- Patent Counsel, Johnson Space Canter @ rumber of anges consistet’ wih te ter. Further inforims aconttaiineod nin a fsee page 1) Refer toM SC-2'941. nmuniber of digial outputs. The finger-con- TSP [see page1 } ASIC for Complex Fixed-PAoriithnmetti c A 24-bit design reflects a compromise between NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, preciasndi ospened . Pasadena, California Auxitinaor yCa te Cosme Sie that work in parallel to give 26-bit trun cated results. They multiply the shifte: fy operation. The final section of the ASIC is a dual possible to use the ASIC as a multiplier and acournasd miaghtt boe rnee,de d, for example, in digital Mtering. Each acournulator in the dua acoumnuator can be operated separateAedl iy. ,-b it outputs allow 4 bits of expery son before Olson of Caltech for NASA's Jet Pro- pulsion Laborafutrtoherr iynfo.rme - tion is contained in a TSP see page 1) NPO-19102