Patent Document ID: 4021933
Application ID: 05684540
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A programmable educational instrumentation device for aiding students in learning problem solving and measurement and instrumentation techniques as applied to a wide variety of physical and biological phenomena, said instrument including in combination: at leat one sensor means for sensing a selected phenomena and generating therefrom an analogous electrical signal, said sensor means having connector means, an instrument housing providing a program panel and a control panel and containing a plurality of electronic circuits, said program panel having a series of spaced-apart connection means, each circuit being connected within said housing to at least one of said connection means, said connection means being adapted to receive an external conductive lead, whereby said device may be programmed into an instrument for measuring a phenomenon by interconnection of selected pairs of connection means, said control panel having a plurality of control means each for controlling a said circuit, input connector means on said housing for connecting a said sensor with a said circuit, one of said circuits being a null-point circuit including reference signal generation means for generating at least one known adjustable reference signal, signal comparison means connected to said reference signal generation means and connected to said sensor means via said input connector means for enabling comparison of said signals and for producing an output signal as the difference thereof, visual display means on said control panel, viewable by a student while operating said device, said display means being connected to said signal comparison means for displaying said output signal, and for indicating a null-point reached when by adjustment of one of said control means said reference signal equals said sensed signal, others of said circuits including amplifier means selectably connectable between said sensor means and said null-point circuit in accordance with connections made at said program panel for amplifying sensed signals at a low level, power-supply means in said housing for providing operating voltages to said circuits and to external devices via connections at designated connection means of said program panel.