Finite State Machine Digital Triggering for Oscilloscope Blind Time
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital oscilloscopes face significant challenges in detecting complex signal patterns in real-time due to the limitations of current triggering schemes, which result in substantial 'blind time' and loss of signals of interest, as they cannot operate at the high sample rates required for modern measurement instruments.
Innovation Solution
The use of a finite state machine (FSM) with a symbol generator and controller to process analog signals, converting them into ordered sequences of symbols, allowing for real-time detection of complex patterns by reducing the memory requirements and increasing processing speed through multi-symbol processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a two-step triggering system is used with RTT for simple patterns and PAT for complex patterns, then complex pattern detection capability is improved, but blind time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The triggering system is segmented into RTT for simple patterns and PAT for complex patterns, allowing each to operate independently on different data streams. This segmentation enables parallel processing where RTT handles real-time simple triggers while PAT processes complex patterns without blocking data acquisition, thereby reducing blind time while maintaining complex pattern detection capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by having RTT pre-process and filter simple trigger conditions in real-time, preparing data for subsequent PAT analysis. This preliminary filtering reduces the burden on PAT and allows it to focus only on complex pattern recognition, improving overall system efficiency and reducing the time PAT needs to operate
2Productivity
If PAT operates at high sample rates to reduce blind time, then productivity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional software-based PAT processing with a hardware-implemented finite state machine that operates at high sample rates. This substitution of mechanical/software processing with dedicated hardware circuitry enables real-time complex pattern detection without increasing overall system complexity, as the FSM is implemented in fixed logic rather than software
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus that can be configured for various functions such as a digital oscilloscope, logic analyzer or frequency analyzer is disclosed. The apparatus includes a symbol generator, an FSM, and a controller. The symbol generator generates an ordered sequence of symbols from an analog input signal. The symbols have a number of states that is less than or equal to 16. The controller causes the FSM to search for a pattern in the sequence of symbols that identifies a corresponding pattern in the analog signal. A portion of a digital sequence generated from the analog signal is then displayed based on the location of the pattern in the sequence of symbols.