Patent ID: 8589101

Claim:
An apparatus for measuring RMS parameters of devices controlled by burst-fired currents comprising: a current sensor to sense burst-fired current having a signal output; an analog-to-digital (A/D) converter coupled to said signal output of said current sensor; a digital processor coupled to an output of said A/D converter; and digital memory coupled to said digital processor including code segments executable on said digital processor for: a) sampling said output of said A/D converter; b) detecting from said sampling a burst-fired current pattern, wherein said burst-fired current pattern is detected by determining a plurality of samples within alternating current (AC) current-off periods of said burst-fired current pattern followed by a sample within AC current-on periods of said burst-fired current pattern; c) in response to detecting said sample within an AC current-on period of said burst-fired current pattern, sampling said output of said A/D converter N times within said burst-fired current pattern to acquire N samples; and d) calculating an RMS parameter value from said acquired N samples.