Digital Oscilloscope Multiple Acquisition Pathways Continuous Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital oscilloscopes are limited in their ability to continuously measure and display signals, often ignoring available data during dead-time and lacking capabilities for continuous measurements like root mean squared (RMS) voltages or minimum and maximum voltages, requiring users to employ multiple instruments for comprehensive analysis.
Innovation Solution
A digital oscilloscope system with multiple data acquisition pathways that independently process and display digital samples in different formats, including waveforms and numerical formats, allowing continuous low-frequency measurements even when the primary acquisition is stopped, and enabling simultaneous display of oscilloscope and DVM measurements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a single data acquisition system is used in conventional digital oscilloscopes, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement capabilities are limited and dead-time causes loss of information
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multiple data acquisition pathways (first and second acquisition systems) that independently process the same digital sample stream to produce different data sets. One pathway handles traditional waveform acquisition while another performs continuous measurements like DVM functions, enabling the single oscilloscope device to perform multiple measurement types simultaneously without requiring separate instruments
Solution Approach 2:
The data acquisition system is segmented into independent pathways that can operate simultaneously. Each acquisition system processes the digital sample stream independently, allowing one pathway to capture waveforms while another captures continuous measurements, thereby eliminating the dead-time limitation of single-pathway systems and providing comprehensive measurement capabilities
2Loss of information
If conventional digital oscilloscopes operate in periodic update cycles, then processing time is reduced, but dead-time causes loss of information during non-capture periods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a second data acquisition system that continuously processes the digital sample stream without periodic interruptions. This continuous acquisition pathway maintains constant monitoring of the signal, eliminating dead-time information loss while the first acquisition system operates in periodic cycles for waveform display, thus preserving all signal information including glitches that occur between periodic updates
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instruments are used to obtain both waveform and DVM measurements, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges traditional oscilloscope waveform acquisition with DVM measurement capabilities into a single integrated system. Multiple data acquisition pathways process the same digital sample stream to simultaneously produce waveform data and numerical measurements (RMS, minimum, maximum, average), allowing users to obtain both types of measurements from one instrument rather than requiring separate oscilloscope and DVM devices
Solution Approach 2:
The oscilloscope system is designed with universal measurement capabilities through independent acquisition pathways that can simultaneously perform waveform analysis and electrical measurement functions. This multi-functionality allows a single device to replace multiple instruments, providing both visual waveform display and numerical DVM measurements without increasing the number of required devices
Data Source
AI summary
A digital oscilloscope comprises a sampling unit configured to sample an input signal received from an oscilloscope probe to produce a first stream of digital samples, a first acquisition system configured to store and process the stream of digital samples to produce a first data set, a second acquisition system configured to store and process the first stream of digital samples independent of the first acquisition system to produce a second data set, and a display system configured to concurrently display the first data set in a first format and the second data set in a second format different from the first format.