Broken filament detector and system therefor

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Detector circuitry and a system for detecting and/or counting transient events such as the passage of broken filament ends in an article such as a fiber glass strand, and for thereby determining the quality of the article being measured, is disclosed. Optical detectors are arranged to produce output pulses for each measured event and each, includes amplifier means and at least one threshold detector for producing a count pulse representing the measured event. Each detector circuit further includes a feedback loop incorporating an integrator and a drive amplifier for the optical detector light source for stabilizing the light output. An alarm is connected to the output of the drive circuit …