Continuous Pulse Generator

The Continuous Pulse Generator node continuously generates a digital pulse sequence while the value of the Gate connector is equal to 1.
The duration of the ON state is defined by the Factor for ON property, while the duration of the OFF state is defined by the Factor for OFF property.

When Gate is not active, the pulse generation is stopped.

The Continuous Pulse Generator generates a repeating ON/OFF sequence while the Gate connector remains equal to 1.

The basic cycle is:

• Output = 1 for the duration defined by Factor for ON;
• Output = 0 for the duration defined by Factor for OFF;
• the sequence is repeated continuously while Gate = 1.

Conceptually:

ON → OFF → ON → OFF → …

The cycle continues until the Gate input disables the generator.

The Gate input controls whether the pulse generator is active.

When:

Gate = 1

the node generates the configured ON/OFF pulse sequence.

When:

Gate = 0

continuous pulse generation is disabled.

The Gate input can therefore be used as an enable condition for the pulse generator.

The Factor for ON property defines the duration of the active part of each pulse.

During this interval:

Output = 1

A larger Factor for ON keeps the output active for a longer part of the cycle.

The Factor for OFF property defines the duration of the inactive part of each pulse.

During this interval:

Output = 0

A larger Factor for OFF increases the time between consecutive ON pulses.

One complete pulse cycle consists of:

ON time + OFF time

For example, if:

the resulting sequence is:

• Output = 1 for 2 seconds
• Output = 0 for 3 seconds
• Output = 1 for 2 seconds
• Output = 0 for 3 seconds
• the cycle continues while Gate = 1

The duration of one complete cycle is therefore:

2 s + 3 s = 5 s

Assume:

and:

Gate = 1

The output behaves as follows:

The same sequence continues while Gate remains active.

The relationship between ON time and the complete cycle determines how long the output remains active.

Conceptually:

Duty Cycle = ON time / (ON time + OFF time)

For example:

ON = 2 s

OFF = 2 s

produces a 50% duty cycle.

With:

ON = 1 s

OFF = 4 s

the output is active for a smaller portion of the complete cycle.

The Continuous Pulse Generator is useful whenever a periodic digital signal is required.

Typical applications include:

• generating periodic trigger signals;
• flashing or blinking commands;
• periodically activating a logic function;
• generating cyclic ON/OFF commands;
• creating periodic test signals;
• repeatedly triggering another Logic Module node while an enable condition is active.

Suppose another logic function must be triggered every 10 seconds.

A Continuous Pulse Generator can be configured with an appropriate ON and OFF duration.

For example:

while:

Gate = 1

the node generates an active pulse approximately once every 10 seconds.

The resulting output can be connected to another logic node that reacts to the generated pulse.

The Continuous Pulse Generator can be tested using the Logic Module simulation tools.

A typical test procedure is the following:

• connect a digital value to the Gate connector;
• configure Factor for ON;
• configure Factor for OFF;
• start the simulation;
• set Gate = 0 and verify that continuous pulse generation is disabled;
• set Gate = 1;
• observe the Output switching between 1 and 0;
• verify that the ON duration corresponds to Factor for ON;
• verify that the OFF duration corresponds to Factor for OFF;
• return Gate to 0 and verify that the continuous pulse sequence stops.

• Pulse generation is active only while Gate = 1.
• Factor for ON determines the duration of the active output state.
• Factor for OFF determines the duration of the inactive output state.
• The complete cycle is the sum of the ON and OFF times.
• Select ON and OFF durations according to the required pulse frequency and duty cycle.
• Avoid unnecessarily short pulse times when the output controls devices that cannot support frequent switching.
• The node generates a digital ON/OFF output.

• Logic Module
• Logic Module - Simulation management