Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Measurement system in a specific environment – Electrical signal parameter measurement system
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-14
2004-02-10
Barlow, John (Department: 2863)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Measurement system in a specific environment
Electrical signal parameter measurement system
C702S067000, C702S068000, C702S119000, C702S127000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06691050
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
The present invention concerns data acquisition and pertains particularly to a data acquisition instrument architecture with flexible data acquisition, processing and display.
Electronic instruments such as network analyzers and spectrum analyzers often allow data acquisition over many channels and include a display capable of displaying one or more traces. For example, Model Number 8719D microwave vector network analyzers are available from Agilent Technologies, Inc., having a business address of 395 Page Mill Road, P.O. Box #10395, Palo Alto, Calif.94306. An 8719D microwave vector network analyzer has a four parameter display that can display all four S-parameters simultaneously. Any combination of reflection and transmission parameters can be displayed, with magnitude, phase, group delay, Smith chart, polar, standing wave ratio (SWR), or time-domain formats. Results may viewed in overlay or split-screen format on a liquid crystal display (LCD) color display with one, two or four graticules. See, for example,
Agilent
8719
D.
8720
D.
and 8722
D Microwave Vector Network Analyzers
brochure, available as part number 5966-4007E, copyright 1998,2000, from Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Architecture for prior art electronic instruments tend to limit a user to a fixed set of measurement acquisition, post-processing, and display options. For example, previous analyzers have fixed the number of channels, restricting to user to a fixed maximum number of measurements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention an electronic instrument includes instrument hardware. A data acquisition engine schedules time sharing of the instrument hardware. Channel objects act each as a client of the data acquisition engine. The channel objects each included a channel buffer that contains data obtained from the instrument hardware. Measurement objects are each a client of one of the plurality of channel objects. Each measurement object processes data obtained from a channel buffer of a channel object to which the measurement object is a client.
In the preferred embodiment, display window objects are each a client of at least one of the plurality of measurement objects, each display window object displaying data processed by any measurement object to which the display window object is a client. Also in the preferred embodiment, memory within the electronic instrument is allocated among object types to accommodate a user specified mix of object types.
The present invention provides a user with flexibility in allocating resources within an electronic instrument.
REFERENCES:
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patent: 6050940 (2000-04-01), Braun et al.
patent: 6459256 (2002-10-01), Pickerd
patent: 6507923 (2003-01-01), Wall et al.
patent: 6515665 (2003-02-01), Ross
patent: 2002/0083128 (2002-06-01), Miyajima et al.
patent: 2002/0147554 (2002-10-01), Pickerd
patent: 2003/0014611 (2003-01-01), Ferris
Agilent 8719D, 8720D, and 8722D Microwave Vector Network Analyzersbrochure, available as part No. 5966-4007E, copyright 1998,2000, from Agilent Technologies, Inc.
Agilent Technologie,s Inc.
Barlow John
Dougherty Anthony T.
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