Signal viewing instrumentation control system

A method for controlling a programmable test instrument having a first processor and which operates within a constrained operating region to acquire a test signal within a two-dimensional signal acquisition window relative to an input trigger event, the method comprising:

• providing a computer having a second processor, external communications means for receiving and transmitting data between the processors, a display means for displaying data from the computer to a user, and user input means for the user to enter data to the computer, and a memory;
• programming the computer processor with interactive graphics software for displaying data graphically and windowing software for displaying data within a two-dimensional definition window on the display means;
• entering, in the computer, a graphical specification of a desired signal acquisition window and displaying same on the display means;
• storing display coordinates of the desired window in the memory;
• transforming the display coordinates in the second processor to two-dimensional signal feature coordinates whereby an acquisition window is defined by start and end values in a first dimension and by lowest and highest values in a second dimension;
• storing a transformation function of the test instrument including a set of commands for programming control settings of the instrument and data defining the constrained operating region of the instrument in at least one dimension;
• comparing the signal feature coordinates in at least said one dimension to the constrained operating region;
• producing a set of control settings in accordance with said signal feature coordinates if the signal feature coordinates in said one dimension are within said region;
• and
• generating and transmitting to the test instrument processor selected ones of said set of commands including the control settings for the signal feature coordinates, thereby causing the test instrument to acquire signal data from a device under test in accordance with a signal acquisition window determined by the desired signal acquisition window.

A user-interactive, graphically-controllable electronic test system, comprising:

• a computer having external communications means for receiving and transmitting data, a display means for displaying data from the computer to a user, and user input means for the user to enter data to the computer;
• programmable test instrument means including a processor responsive to computer-generated commands for providing an output function defined in at least two dimensions;
• and
• instrument control means in the computer for generating control setting commands for transmission to the test instrument means;
• the computer including:
• interactive graphics software means for displaying data graphically on the display means;
• windowing software means for displaying data within a two-dimensional definition window on the display means;
• means responsive to the user input means for entering and two-dimensionally positioning a user-defined point on the display means;
• means for converting the user-defined point from coordinates of the display means into two-dimensional signal feature coordinates of the test instrument means;
• and
• means for inputting said signal feature coordinates to the instrument control means to cause it to actuate generation of control setting commands embodying the signal feature coordinates and transmission thereof to the test instrument means to cause it to provide said output function in accordance with said user-defined point.

A method for controlling a test instrument which provides data defining an output representation of a portion of an input test signal within a signal acquisition window of at least two dimensions in a test instrument coordinate system, including first and second dimensions selectable in response to at least two computer-programmable control settings, the method including:

• providing a computer having a memory, means for transmitting control settings to the test instrument, graphical display means for displaying data including said output representation in a display window of at least two dimensions in a graphical coordinate system, and user input means for a user to enter data to the computer;
• storing, in the computer memory, data defining a transformation function of the test instrument for inversely transforming a selectable two-dimensional definition window into a variable set of control settings for controlling operation of the instrument in said first and second dimensions;
• sending a first set of control settings to the test instrument to cause it to provide first data for an output representation of a first portion of an input test signal within a first signal acquisition window;
• displaying the output representation of the first portion of the input test signal in the display window, including scaling said output representation from the instrument coordinate system to the graphical coordinate system;
• entering, in the computer, data defining a user-specified definition window having first and second dimensions relative to the display window in the graphical coordinate system to define a second portion of the input test signal for the test instrument to provide;
• inversely transforming the user-specified definition window in accordance with the transformation function to produce a specific set of said control settings to operate the test instrument in accordance with a second signal acquisition window substantially replicating the user-specified definition window;
• controlling the test instrument with the specific set of control settings to cause it to produce second data defining an output representation of the second portion of an input test signal within the second signal acquisition window;
• and
• displaying the output representation of the second portion of the input test signal in said display window, including scaling said output representation from the instrument coordinate system to the graphical coordinate system.