Industrologic UCB2

Universal Comparator Board

UCB2-12 and UCB2-24

Reference Manual

version 11/9/09

Industrologic, Inc.
3201 Highgate Lane
St. Charles, MO
63301
USA

Phone: (636) 723-4000
www.industrologic.com
info@industrologic.com

Trademark and Copyright Information

UCB2 is a Trademark of Industrologic, Inc. 2009
This document is Copyright (c) 2009 by Industrologic, Inc.
All rights reserved.
No part of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or scanning, for any purpose other than the personal use by the purchaser of this product. Industrologic, Inc. reserves the right to revise this document at any time without obligation to notify any person of such revision. Industrologic, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document.

Warning/Disclaimer

Whereas effort has been made to make the information in this document as useful and accurate as possible, Industrologic, Inc. assumes no responsibility for the application, usefulness, or completeness, of the information contained herein. Under no circumstance will Industrologic, Inc. be responsible or liable for any damages or losses including indirect or consequential damages or losses arising from either the use of any information contained within this manual or the use of any products or services referenced within this manual.

Industrologic, Inc. reserves the right to change any product's features, specifications, documentation, warranties, fee schedules, and conditions at any time and without notice.

Industrologic products are provided as printed circuit board level assemblies. Some Industrologic products may include mechanical packaging accessories which are provide for the purchaser's convenience, and are not intended to be final assembly enclosures.

Industrologic products are provided with the understanding that the purchaser will determine fitness for any particular application as well as achieve compliance with any particular specifications or regulations as required or desired for that application.

Warranty

Industrologic, Inc. products are warranted to be free from defects in workmanship or material under normal use and service for a period of one year from date of purchase. Industrologic's warranty is to the original purchaser only, but is extended to you by the Distributor or OEM from whom you purchased the product.

Industrologic's obligation under this Warranty is limited to replacement with a new or repaired unit to the original purchaser. The unit must be returned, and replacements obtained from Industrologic, Inc. or the Distributor or OEM from whom it was purchased.

This warranty will not apply if, in the judgment of Industrologic, Inc., damage or failure of the product has resulted from accident, alteration, misuse, abuse, connection to or operation with incompatible signals or power sources, or improper installation.

Under no circumstances shall Industrologic, Inc. be liable to purchaser or any third party for any loss of profits or other direct or indirect costs, expenses, losses, or consequential damages arising out of or as a result of any defects in or failure of Industrologic products or any part or parts thereof.

THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ANY OTHER WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, AS TO DESCRIPTION, QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE, OR ANY OTHER MATTER.

Return and Repair Policy

Products purchased in single piece quantities may be returned, if in resellable condition, for a full refund of the purchase price only, to the original purchaser, within 30 days of purchase.

Products must be returned by original purchaser with a Return Materials Authorization (RMA) number issued by Industrologic, Inc. or the Distributor or OEM from whom it was purchased, authorizing its return. Current repair or replacement fees and procedures will be related during the issue of the RMA number.

Warranty or repair units must be returned with postage and insurance paid by purchaser. Industrologic, Inc. is not responsible for damages or loss during shipment.

Industrologic UCB2

Universal Comparator Board

UCB2-12 and UCB2-24

The Industrologic UCB2 is a dual channel universal comparator board assembly designed to allow two voltage signals or two 4-20 mA current loop signals to be monitored, and compared against preset reference voltages. The outputs of the comparators drive high current Form "C" relays, which allows a wide variety of actions to be performed based on the comparisons.

Summary of Features

Two independent analog comparator circuits with relay outputs
Based on discrete logic and relay drive circuitry
Available in 12 and 24 volt DC versions, the UCB2-12 and the UCB2-24
Inputs can be either 0-12 volts (0-24 volts with the UCB2-24) or 4-20mA current loop
Convenient screw terminal block connections for relay and analog signals
On-board trimmer potentiometers for reference voltage adjustments
10 amp Form "C" relays with connections to all contacts
LED indicators for relay activations
Optional ABS plastic enclosure available

Mechanical specifications

Double-sided .062" FR-4 glass epoxy printed circuit board
Printed circuit board size is 4.25" wide by 2.75" long
Four #6 clearance holes for mounting
Optional enclosure is 3.5" wide by 6" long by 1.5" thick

Refer to the drawing "Dimensions and Connections" on a following page for printed circuit board layout and dimensions.

Electrical specifications

Operating Environment:
Temperature: 0-50 degrees Celsius (32-122 Fahrenheit)
Humidity: 30 to 80 percent, non-condensing

Power Supply, UCB2-12:
Supply voltage: 12 volts DC
Logic current (neither relay activated): 9 mA
Relay and LED Current (each relay): 46mA

Power Supply, UCB2-24:
Supply voltage: 24 volts DC
Logic current (neither relay activated): 18mA
Relay and LED Current (each relay): 34mA

Voltage Input:
Range: 0 to power supply voltage (0.1 volt to power supply minus 1 volt for camparisons)
Impedance: 15K resistor to ground

Current Loop Input:
Current range: 0 to 20mA (3-20mA for comparisons)
Resistive load: 250 ohms

Form "C" Relay Contacts-
Maximum voltage: 30 volts, AC or DC
Maximum current: 10 amps
Manufacturer's type: Omron G5LE-14 series or equivalent

Warning/Disclaimer specific to the UCB2

The UCB2 is not a precision analog circuit. It is suitable for the general monitoring of signals and can provide a simple backup or secondary indication. It is not suitable for use where the signals that it is monitoring are of a critical nature or are related to safety.

Power connections

Power supply connections are made to the +V and GND signals. All of the +V signals are connected to the same power bus and all of the GND connections are connected to the same ground. +V and GND connections are available near the voltage input connections to provide power to any external circuit that is supplying an output signal to drive the UCB2 voltage input.

Reference voltages and basic operation

The reference voltages for the comparators are set using multiturn trimmer potentiometers, R1 for channel one and R2 for channel 2. When the voltage input signal (or equivalent current loop signal converted to voltage) is greater than the voltage set by the reference potentiometer, the relay will turn on.

If the user is not familiar with comparator circuits like the UCB2, it will be helpful for them to temporarily use an external potentiometer to simulate an input voltage while experimenting with the reference voltage adjustment.

If an input signal is connected to both channels of a UCB2, the reference setpoints can be set so that the signal must be within a specific range. Since both the normally open and normally closed contacts of the relays are available, the contacts may be wired in a logical AND or OR condition to provide this functionality.

Input signals

The UCB2 can monitor two types of input signals, either a voltage signal or a current loop signal, and the board has separate connections for each type. Only one of these two types should be connected per channel, however, since the two channels are totally independent of each other except for their power supply, one channel can monitor a voltage signal while the other can monitor a current loop signal.

The UCB2 circuit includes approximately a 1% voltage hysteresis on the input voltage to help prevent relay "chatter" on signals that vary near the reference voltage setpoint.

Voltage input signals

The voltage input signals can range from zero to the power supply voltage, however, due to the hysteresis built into the circuit, the practical range for comparison is from about 0.1 volt to the power supply voltage minus 1 volt. This means that either a UCB2-12 or UCB2-24 can make comparisons on most of the range of a typical 0-10 volt DC signal.

The voltage reference potentiometers on the UCB-2 are connected from the power supply voltage to ground, and provide a ratiometric reference based on the setting of the potentiometer. This means that on the UCB2-12, the reference potentiometer may be used through most of its range to select a setpoint for a 0-10 volt signal. If a 0-10 volt signal is being monitored with a UCB2-24, the reference potentiometer range will be from zero volts to slightly less than their midpoint (about 10 volts).

4-20 mA current loop input signals

The current loop input signals on the UCB2 are converted to voltage signals by an analog optocoupler circuit, and are connected internally to the voltage input signals. The current loop inputs provide approximately a 250 ohm load to any current loop connected to them.

Input currents in the range of 3 mA to 20mA will produce voltages suitable for comparison by the voltage comparators, i.e., approximately 0.1 volt to 10 volts.

Dimensions and Connections

Interfacing Examples

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