A Microprocessor-Minicomputer Combination for Simpler, More Flexible Instruments

Although microprocessors have been considered for a variety of applications in recent years, their primary practical use has been related to large quantity production runs. For few-of-a-kind instrument development programs the microprocessor has been a very expensive, time-consuming option employed gainfully only where very tight constraints such as physical size or power dissipation were involved. On the other hand, minicomputers have become commonplace in the industry, with most engineers familiar with their interfacing and use. We describe the parallel interface of a microprocessor to a common minicomputer. This approach uses existing minicomputer expertise and hardware to open up many new low-quantity micro applications.