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nominal values) for which it is impossible to establish a single-valued characteristic expressed in relative units

or measurement units. Categories of accuracy represent a nominal characteristic and its content can only be de-
termined by evaluating the relation between a scale of a certain grade of accuracy and the numerical param-
eters which determine the accuracy of measurement by means of a given device without introducing corrections.
Classes of accuracy characterize devices for which a given error characterizes c o m p l e t e l y and in a single-valued
manner their metrological properties.

For a more c o m p l e t e metrologieal characterization of measures and measuring instruments, it is advisable


to indicate on the measures or measuring instruments, or in their certificates, in addition to their nominal c a t e -
gories and classes also their ranges, scale factors, or scale values.

It is possible to use a double classification system, i.e., to assign to a single measure or measuring instru-
ment both its category and class of accuracy. It has already been pointed out that the category characterizes
the degree to which a measure o~ measuring instrument approaches its m a x i m u m attainable accuracy with the
existing technique for measuring the given physical value. The class of accuracy indicates the tolerated and
a c t u a l l y a t t a i n a b l e l i m i t i n g measurement error.

CLASSIFICATION OF ELECTRICAL MEASURING EQUIPMENT

A. M. Turichin*

Translated from I z m e r i t e l ' n a y a Tekhnika, No. 6,


pp. 5-9, June, 1962

A modern e l e c t r i c a l measuring instrument, no matter how complex, consists of a combination of various


separate converters which transform the measured (input) physical quantity into an output value which ends the
measuring process, and in the overwhelming majority of cases it also requires a whole row of intermediate con-
versions,

At present, the output variables which are perceived by the human senses are supplemented by output vari-
ables which react on controlled members or require further m a t h e m a t i c a l treatment in computers.

The output variables consist at present, by their nature, not only of physical, but also of m a t h e m a t i c a l
quantities and codes,

Hence, any classification in the sphere of e l e c t r i c a l equipment will serve to develop the theory and prac-
tice of e l e c t r i c a l measurement technology only if it specifies according to various criteria both the converters
and the method of their combination.

The c o m p l e x i t y of modern measuring instruments deprives one of the possibility of classifying a c o m b i n a -


tion of converters by a single criterion. A comprehensive representation of the structure (not construction) of an
instrument and of its properties can only be attained by classifying it according to at least five characteristics.
This circumstance, it would appear, prevents the classification of e l e c t r i c a l measuring instruments.

Let us now examine the classification of converters according to each of the five characteristics.

Classification according to the method of conversion is a more precise development of the existing classi-
fication according to the method of measurements.** In recent years the subdivision of this method into a di-
rect evaluation and a comparison method has been widely practiced.

* Deceased.
* * The proposal to substitute classification according to the method of measurements by that according to the

method of conversion (either direct or compensated conversion) was first suggested by P. V. Novitskii and M. M.
Fetisov in 1968.

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The main characteristic of the direct evaluation method consists of estimating the whole measured quan-
tity by the readings of the measuring instrument. At present, however, the a u t o m a t i c instruments which operate
by means of the comparison method are also supplied with a scale and a pointer, by means of which the entire
measured quantity is evaluated.

The instruments, which normally consist of a group of devices operating by means of the direct evaluation
method must, of course, be a l l o c a t e d a separate classification group which, however, should not be distinguished
by its "direct evaluation of the measurement result" characteristic, but by its characteristic of combining con-
verters into a chain which provides a series of consecutive conversions. The measured quantity X is consecutive-
ly converted into several e l e c t r i c a l quantities a n d f i u a l l y into a deflection a. The consecutive conversion of quan-
tity X into deflection a constitutes the m a i n feature of such an instrument, n a m e l y , its accuracy, since the errors
introduced by each converter are added ( a r i t h m e t i c a l l y or according to the quadratic m e a n law). Hence, this
conversion method should be considered as a "method of direct conversions."

The m a i n characteristic of measurements according to the comparison method is normally considered to


consist of the use of a reference standard, which accounts for the higher accuracy of this method. However, the
use of a standard is not the principal feature of this method. The formation of a difference function of two
quantities, the measured and the reference (standard) quantity, which in certain cases need not be a reference
quantity, constitutes the principal feature of this method when approached from the point of view of transforma-
tions. Often the only requirement specified for this second quantity (and its transformation channel) is that its
variation with t i m e due to external factors should be the same as those of the measured quantity. In such a case,
the second quantity need not be a standard.

We shall refer to the conversion method based on the formation of a difference function simply as the dif-
ference method. This method can be subdivided according to its structure into two versions, each of which is
distinguished by the method of its operation.

X-J~ ,4y
X E
X-N
N E~ --~~ . . . .

Fig. 1. Fig. 2.

Figure 1 shows the b l o c k schematic of an instrument which uses a difference method of an open circuit
type. The measured quantity X and the constant quantity N are transformed in a similar manner in converters
1 and 1' into e l e c t r i c a l quantities E and E1, and then fed to the difference unit 2 which forms the difference
function X - N. At the output of unit 2, the difference function can be again subjected to several consecutive
transformations in converters 31 . . . 3 i, and then fed to measuring unit 4, which provides a reading a . In a par-
ticular case the difference unit can be connected directly in front of the measuring unit, or the m e t e r itself can
serve as a difference unit. The above (open circuit type) difference method comprises instruments which use a
bridge circuit with a differential converter, photometric and ionization instruments with two radiation channels,
etc.

The difference method can be used both in a b a l a n c e d and unbalanced operating condition. In the first
case, one converter is adjusted (preferably that used for transforming quantity N) to obtain a difference function
equal to zero for each variation of the quantity X; in the second instance, the instrument is only b a l a n c e d for
the initial value of X, and the deviations of X from its initial value are indicated by reading a .

The reduction of the instrument error is attained by the simple requirement that the variations of quantity
N with t i m e and due to external factors should be the same as those of quantity X, without the former quantity
having a reference (standard) value. In the case, however, when the conversion circuits of X and N are not
identical, which happens in the case, for instance, of a bridge circuit with one operating arm, the quantity N
must have a reference (standard) value.

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For an operation in a b a l a n c e d condition and identical effect with time of external factors on N and X,
supplementary errors are e l i m i n a t e d , and the basic error is determined by the construction of the converter and
the error of calibration.

In an unbalanced operating condition it is only possible to reduce or e l i m i n a t e supplementary converter


errors up to the difference unit, whereas the converter errors after that unit enter fully in the measurement re-
sults. The errorsof instruments using the difference method in an unbalanced condition are considerably smaller
than those using the consecutive conversion method.

Another variety of the difference method is characterized by the use of a (partially or c o m p l e t e l y ) closed-
loop conversion circuit. Such conversion circuits are normally known as compensation circuits. On the basis of
the principle of operation and properties such circuits should be considered as having a negative feedback.

A block s c h e m a t i c of such an instrument is shown in Fig. 2. It represents the most general case in which
a nonelectrical quantity X is being measured and compensated by quantity X~ of the same kind, but fed in the
opposite direction to X. The difference AX = X - X~ is fed to the input of transducer 1, which converts the non-
e l e c t r i c a l quantity AX into an e l e c t r i c a l quantity A y , which is then transformed into other e l e c t r i c a l quantities
by converters 21 . . . 2 i. The output quantity of this consecutive conversion circuit is fed to an inverse trans-
ducer 4, which converts A y into a compensating nonelectrical quantity XS. The value of X can be estimated
from that of A y , since each value of X has a corresponding XB and, hence; a definite value of Y. The value of
Y is read on meter 3.

Thus, the circuit of the inverse transducer is a feedback circuit. The m i n i m u m value of AX = X - X B ,i.e.,
the m i n i m u m uncompensated quantity depends on the threshold of sensitivity and the stability of the instrument.

The error of the instrument, according to the feedback theory, is determined m a i n l y by the error in the
feedback circuit and the error of the meter.

The difference method with the closed-loop circuit (compensation) raises the accuracy of the instrument,
providing the inverse transducer is m a d e more precise that that in the consecutive (direct) channel, and the
meter error is sufficiently small.

The above reasoning also holds when the measured quantity X is e l e c t r i c a l and when the balancing of in-
struments which operate on a difference method is made manually.

The a i m of the present a r t i c l e does not consist in the classification of all the block schematics according
to their conversion methods. We are only attempting to show that, instead of classifying according to the
measurement methods, it is more expedient to use the conversion method as a basis for classification (consecu-
tive conversion and difference method), since it reflects more fully and correctly the structure and properties of
the instrument.

However, classification by the conversion method alone cannot provide a full picture of the structure and
properties of an instrument.

Classification according to types of conversions. Transducers of e l e c t r i c a l measuring instruments until a


fairly recent t i m e converted one quantity into another continuously. The variations with t i m e of the output
variable of a transducer reflected with a given accuracy in a different scale, and sometimes in different units,
the changes in the input variable. In such a case, it is said that the output is an analog of the input variable. In-
struments with such transducers are known as analog instruments and their transducers as analog transducers.

Discrete conversion consists of the transformation of a continuously variable input quantity into a system
of pulses of a given value. Such transformations open the way to the representation of complex phenomena
(one-, two-, or t h r e e - d i m e n s i o n a l ) by an abstract number (digital instruments), and to the operation of measur-
ing instruments with computers.

It is obvious that the structure of analog and digital instruments differ from each other. However, it should
be noted that, both in analog and, e s p e c i a l l y in digital, instruments, analog and discrete transformations are c o m -
bined, and either the consecutive conversion or the difference method of transformation can be used.

If, for instance, an instrument with an ionization transducer in the form of a counter tube is used for re-
cording the mean current per unit t i m e , the instrument is an analog one, although the counter tube is a discrete

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transducer which converts the intensity of radioactive radiation into a number of pulses. On the other hand, if
the instrument consists of a number of consecutive analog transducers which are terminated in a discrete con-
verter in order to obtain a digital r e a d - o u t , such instruments are considered to be digital, although the greater
part of their converters are analog.
Thus, it will be seen that the division of instruments into analog and digital does not provide the required
information on their structure and properties. The method of conversion and the transducers themselves, however,
should undoubtedly be divided according to the method of transformation into analog and discrete ones, since
the properties and conversion possibilities of either type of transducer are different and determine to a great ex-
tent the properties and potentialities of the instrument as a whole.

The principal difference between the two types consists in the output variable of analog transducers de-
pending not only on the input variable but also on extraneous factors which affect the properties of the trans-
ducer (time, temperature, pressure, etc.), whereas the output variable of discrete transducers depends virtually
only on the input variable. It is true that discrete converters have their own specific error, that of discrete count-
ing, but on the whole the conversion function of discrete transducers is more accurate than that of analog trans-
ducers.

Transducers of various quantities into the frequency of a current (or voltage), or into a phase (time) o c -
cupy a special position. For instance, an induction converter o f the rotation speed into frequency of an e m f (an
ac generator) is, according to its principle of operation, an analog transducer. However, such a converter p o s -
sesses all the properties of discrete transducers, and can easily be expressed in numbers. For this purpose, it is
sufficient to take a reference time interval T in which the number of oscillations m of the e m f is counted. Then
m = f 9 T, i.e., the abstract number __mis directly proportional to frequency f andThence, to the measured rota-
tion speed.

The closer the discrete transducer is placed in the conversion sequence of digital instruments to the m e a s -
ured input variable, the more accurate becomes the instrument as a whole. It is, therefore, possible to make
t h e following observation. If it is possible to convert the input (measured) variable directly into a discrete quan-
tity or frequency, its further transformation can be carried out by means of consecutive conversions without the
use of a difference method of conversion, which c o m p l i c a t e s the construction of the instrument, since, even
with consecutive conversions, the error in this instance wilI be sufficiently small. If, however, the input (meas-
ured) variable is subjected to analog conversions before being fed to a discrete transducer, it is advisable to carry
out the analog conversions by means of the difference method.

Classification according to types of modulation. It is known that the term modulation is applied to a trans-
formation consisting of varying the amplitude, frequency, or phase of an oscillatory (modulated) p a r a m e t e r by
means of another (modulating) parameter.

The modulated parameter usually consists of a voltage or a current. The oscillations producing such a
voltage or current are known as the carrier frequency. The modulating parameter consists normally of the meas-
ured variable.

We come across modulation in all the instances when it is required to measure e l e c t r i c a l parameters (R,
L, C, M, f , ~), or physical quantities which are converted into e l e c t r i c a l parameters, and also in all measure-
ments of emf's which vary with t i m e , and of physical quantities which are converted into emf's.

Modulation is often attained directly in the measuring circuit of the instrument.

It is necessary, however, in many instances to use a separate transducer for modulating a direct voltage
(or current) by means of various physical (measured) variables. As an e x a m p l e , it is possible to cite a chopper
used for modulating with the measured direct emf Ex an alternating voltage U, which is induced in the second-
ary winding of the transformer.

Modulation of the voltage (or current) of the carrier frequency with the measured variable requires in the
overwhelming m a j o r i t y of cases, demodulation, i.e., a transformation of the modulated oscillations of the carrier-
frequency carried out in such a manner as to separate and register a variable corresponding to the m e a s u r e d ( m o d -
ulating) quantity.

In a m p l i t u d e modulation, supplementary errors are produced, which are due to the effect of external factors

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on the converters' output variable (time. temperature, supply voltage, variation, etc.). In frequency and phase
modulation these errors are greatly reduced. However, it is useful to remember that the main measurement er-
ror in analog instruments is due to amplitude demodulation (rectifying units and filters). Hence, the fact that
in frequency and phase demodulation used in analog instruments it is impossible to avoid amplitude demodula-
tion in front of the measuring device, undoubtedly, lowers the accuracy gained by using frequency or phase mo-
dulation. It should also be noted that the design of frequency or phase-modulated instruments is more compli-
cated than that of amplitude-modulated instruments.

Frequency or phase modulation of analog converters used in digital instruments, undoubtedly, leads to a
considerable increase in the accuracy of the instrument.

Classification accordin8 to types of transformation. It is possible to consider that measuring converters


consist of those which use the same type of energy for their conversion, and those which transform one type of
energy into another. However, such an approach in many practical cases is of little value, since the power ef-
ficiency of converters does not normally constitute their determining property. It is advisable, from the point of
view of the transformed variables, to divide the converters into the following groups:

a) Converters of electrical quantities into the rotation of a moving system (measuring mechanisms),

b) Converters of electrical quantities into other electrical quantities, for instance, potential or current
(shunts) dividers, crystal diodes and transistors, etc.

c) Converters of nonelectric into electrical quantities. Converters of this type have no special name.They
are often called generators, or simply converters (in English they are known as transducers, and in German as
Geber, or Wandler). Such converters include transducers of temperature, mechanical quantities, and liquid and
gas concentrations into electrical quantities.

It should be noted that some transducers of this group sometimes operate as converters of electrical into
none]ectrlcal quantities (inverted transducers).

d) Transducers of magnetic into electrical quantities. This group comprises transducers of the magnetic
flux, magnetic field strength, and magnetomotive force into electrical quantities (mostly into emf's).

The classification of converters according to the type of transformation simplifies considerably the provi-
sion of a systematic theory and operation for such converters.

Classification of converters according to their system amounts to classification according to their principle
of operation. The theory of a converter's operation is represented by its conversion function, i.e., by the rela-
tion between the input and output variables of the converter.

An analysis of this function provides information on many properties of a converter, such as its sensitivity,
errors, frequency characteristic, etc., and makes it possible to formulate requirements for other converters and
components of the instrument,

For a more convenient analysis of the conversion functions of such transducers, it is advisable to classify
them into further groups on the basis of their theoretical operation or practical application.

For instance, measuring mechanisms can be divided on the basis of their conversion systems into moving-
coil, ferrodynamic, electrodynamic, moving-iron, electrostatic, induction, electrothermal, and cathode-ray in-
struments. The first six instrument types are normally combined, due to a common theory of their operation.in-
to a single group of electromechanical measuring mechanisms.

Transducers of nonelectrical into electrical quantities are usually divided into two groups consisting of
parametric and generating transducers.

Parametric transducers, whose output variable consists of one of the parameters of their electrical circuit
(R, C, L, M, f), must have a separate supply source. In the overwhelming majority of cases parametric trans-
ducers are included in a bridge circuit.

The output variable of generating transducers consists of an emf, and they do not require a separate supply
source. In the majority of cases such transducers operate in a compensation circuit.

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CONCLUSIONS
The above problems for classifying electrical measuring equipments with respect to various characteristics
of transformation and of converters which form part of electrical measuring instruments, reveal the extent of di-
versity in the design of modern measuring instruments. It should also be noted that all the above reasoning re-
fers only to so-called "measuring ~ transducers which affect directly the properties and characteristics of instru-
ments. In addition to the measuring converters, modern instruments also comprise supplementary converters,for
instance, in the supply circuit, which function as rectifiers, stabilizers of the supply voltage, etc., thus still fur-
ther complicating the design of the instrument.
Hence, it is simply impossible to classify the electrical measuring instruments by their design, or by any
single characteristic which determines the design of the instrument and its properties.

In designing electrical measuring instruments, it is necessary to examine (or compile) a technical speci-
fication by means of all five classification features.

The problem of selecting the type of input (receiving) and output conversion follows directly from the in-
tended use of the instrument.

S o m e t i m e s the instrument's application also determines the type of the input and output transducers.

Having determined the type of conversion at the input and output of the instrument, it is necessary to se-
lect the system of the measuring input transducer. Sometimes this problem has only a single possible solution,
in other instances it is necessary to choose a system for the input receiving transducer from several possible sys-
tems.

Now it becomes possible to select the type of modulation and the method of conversion by weighing up
such technical and economic considerations as accuracy, frequency range, speed of operation, complexity of the
design, possible cost, etc.

CLASSIFICATION OF A U T O M A T I C MEASURING INSTRUMENTS

V. M. S h l y a n d i n
Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 6,
pp. 9-11, June, 1962

In recent years, many new improved measuring instruments have been designed and conventionally called
automatic instruments. The term "automatic measuring instruments" (AMI) has been fairly widely adopted in
technical terminology. Even a special course under this name now figures in the curricula of several higher
technical educational establishments. Up to the present time, however, there does not exist a generally recog-
nized definition of this term, which impedes considerably mutual understanding of persons dealing with it.
Automatic measurements, naturally, eliminate direct human participation in the measuring process. How-
ever, such a general definition must be supplemented in order to reflect the specific features of AMI's. In fact,
ordinary direct-reading measuring instruments (ammeters, voltmeters, etc.) are, on the basis of this definition,
also classified in a number of instances as automatic instruments, although this contradicts both the adopted and
well-established terminology and the elementary conception of modern AMI's. On the other hand, any record-
ing measuring instrument, in many instances, is considered to be automatic, on the basis that it is precisely the
recording which eliminates direct human participation in measurements. Thus, for instance, an ordinary a m -
meter becomes automatic only by virtue of the fact that its pointer has been provided with a pencil which re-
cords on a mechanically propelled chart. In our opinion, such an approach is also incorrect, for the sole reason
that human participation is necessary for applying the recorded results. These results have no intrinsic value un-
less they are transmitted by human intervention to a process-controlling system. In the first instance, however,

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