3.3 Output Signals of a Mechatronic System
Digital-to-Analog Converters
The output command from the microcontroller is a binary value in bit, byte (8 bits), or word (16 bits) form. This digital signal is converted to analog using a digital-to-analog converter, or DAC. Let us examine converting an 8-bit value into a voltage level between 0 and 12 V. The most significant bit in the binary value to be converted (decimal 128) creates an analog value equal to half of the maximum output, or 6 V. The next digit produces an additional one fourth, or 3 V, the next an additional one eighth, and so forth. The sum of all these weighted output values represents the appropriate analog voltage. As was mentioned in a previous section, the maximum voltage value in the range is not obtainable, as the largest value generated is 255/256 of 12 V, or 11.953125 V. The smoothness of the signal representation depends on the number of bits accepted by the DAC and the range of the output required. Figure 3.7 demonstrates a simplified step function using a one-byte binary input and 12-V analog output.
Actuator Output
Like sensors, actuators were first introduced in a previous section and will be described in detail in a later chapter of this handbook. The three common actuators that this section will review are switches, solenoids, and motors. Switches are simple state devices that control some activity, like turning on and off the furnace in a house. Types of switches include relays and solid-state devices. Solid-state devices include diodes, thyristors, bipolar transistors, field-effect transistors (FETs), and metal-oxide field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). A switch can also be used with a sensor, thus turning on or off the entire sensor, or a particular feature of a sensor.
Solenoids are devices containing a movable iron core that is activated by a current flow. The movement of this core can then control some form of hydraulic or pneumatic flow. Applications are many, including braking systems and industrial production of fluids. More information on solenoid actuators can be found in a later chapter. Motors are the last type of actuator that will be summarized here. There are three main types: direct current (DC), alternating current (AC), and stepper motors. DC motors may be controlled by a fixed DC voltage or by pulse width modulation (PWM). In a PWM signal, such as shown in Fig. 3.8, a voltage is alternately turned on and off while changing (modulating) the width of the on-time signal, or duty cycle. AC motors are generally cheaper than DC motors, but require variable frequency drive to control the rotational speed. Stepper motors move by rotating a certain number of degrees in response to an input pulse.
3.4 Signal Conditioning
Signal conditioning is the modification of a signal to make it more useful to a system. Two important types of signal conditioning are, of course, the conversion between analog and digital, as described in the previous two sections. Other types of signal conditioning are briefly covered below, with a full coverage reserved for Chapters 46 and 47.
Sampling Rate
The rate at which data samples are taken obviously affects the speed at which the mechatronic system can detect a change in situation. There are several things to consider, however. For example, the response of a sensor may be limited in time or range. There is also the time required to convert the signal into a form usable by the microprocessor, the A to D conversion time. A third is the frequency of the signal being sampled. For voice digitalization, there is a very well-known sampling rate of 8000 samples per second. This is a result of the Nyquist theorem, which states that the sampling rate, to be accurate, must be at least twice the maximum frequency being measured. The 8000 samples per second rate thus works well for converting human voice over an analog telephone system where the highest frequency is approximately 3400 Hz. Lastly, the clock speed of the microprocessor must also be considered. If the ADC and DAC are
on the same board as the microprocessor, they will often share a common clock. The microprocessor clock, however, may be too fast for the ADC and DAC. In this case, a prescaler is used to divide the clock frequency to a level usable by the ADC and DAC.
Filtering
Filtering is the attenuation (lessening) of certain frequencies from a signal. This process can remove noise from a signal and condition the line for better data transmission. Filters can be divided into analog and digital types, the analog filters being further divided into passive and active types. Analog passive filters use resistors, capacitors, and inductors. Analog active filters typically use operational amplifiers with resistors and capacitors. Digital filters may be implemented with software and/or hardware. The software component gives digital filters the feature of being easier to change. Digital filters are explained fully in Chapter 29.
Filters may also be differentiated by the type of frequencies they affect.
Low-pass filters allow lower set of frequencies to pass through, while high frequencies are atten-uated. A simplistic example of this is shown in Fig. 3.9.
High-pass filters, the opposite of low-pass, filter a lower frequency band while allowing higher frequencies to pass.
Band-pass filters allow a particular range of frequencies to pass; all others are attenuated.
Band-stop filters stop a particular range of frequencies while all others are allowed to pass.
There are many types and applications of filters. For example, William Ribbens in his book Under-standing Automotive Electronics (Newnes 1998) described a software low-pass filter (sometimes also called a lag filter) that averages the last 60 fuel tank level samples taken at 1 s intervals. The filtered data are then displayed on the vehicle instrument cluster. This type of filtering reduces large and quick fluctuations in the fuel gauge due to sloshing in the tank, and thus displays a more accurate value.
Data Acquisition Boards
There is a special type of board that plugs into a slot in a desktop personal computer that can be used for many of the tasks above. It is called a data acquisition board, or DAQ board. This type of board can generate analog input and multiplex multiple input signals onto a single bus for transmission to the PC. It can also come with signal conditioning hardware/software and an ADC. Some units have direct memory access (DMA), where the device writes the data directly into computer memory without using the microprocessor. While desktop PCs are not usually considered as part of a mechatronic system, the DAQ board can be very useful for instrumentation.