High-Rate Waveform Display Using Trigger List Memory Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Modern digital oscilloscopes face challenges in efficiently acquiring and displaying long signal records due to large memory capacities, leading to impractical scrolling and slow search features, and limited waveform throughput when viewing short time intervals.
Innovation Solution
A waveform display apparatus and method that utilize an interface for setting a time interval of interest and trigger criteria, with an analog-to-digital converter, acquisition memory, and a trigger unit to detect and store trigger events, allowing for high-throughput display of waveforms outside the initial time interval by using a trigger list to locate and display digital data corresponding to trigger events.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the oscilloscope acquires a full long data record (e.g., 40 million samples) to enable viewing of signal portions outside the original time period, then the user can view extended time intervals, but the waveform drawing rate is limited to less than 100 waveforms per second due to the time required to acquire the full record
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the long acquisition memory into multiple shorter waveform records (e.g., 1000 samples each). Instead of acquiring and displaying one long record sequentially, the system acquires multiple short records that can be overlaid and displayed simultaneously, enabling high waveform throughput while maintaining the ability to view extended time intervals through accumulation of multiple segments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary acquisition of multiple short waveform records into the acquisition memory before display. The records are pre-acquired and stored in the memory buffer, allowing the display system to rapidly retrieve and overlay them without waiting for sequential acquisition completion, thus achieving high waveform drawing rates.
2Productivity
If the user specifies a shorter record length (e.g., 1000 samples) to obtain high waveform throughput, then the waveform drawing rate increases, but the user is limited to viewing only a short period of time even if the oscilloscope has a considerably longer acquisition memory
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple short waveform records (e.g., multiple 1000-sample records) by overlaying them on the display. The display system combines these separate records to create an extended time view, allowing the user to see more time than any single short record provides while maintaining high waveform throughput since each short record is acquired quickly.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the oscilloscope stores a significantly larger data record to provide additional functionality and extended time viewing, then more functionality is available, but scrolling through the entire data record becomes impractical and search features are slowed down
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the large data record into multiple manageable short waveform records. This segmentation makes the data easier to navigate and search through, as users can work with smaller, more manageable segments rather than scrolling through one continuous large record. The segmented structure maintains all the functionality of extended time viewing while improving operational efficiency.
Data Source
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AI summary
A waveform display apparatus and method displays one or more waveforms of a signal under test at high throughput while acquiring digital data of the signal under test in a large acquisition memory. A user sets a time interval of user's interest when viewing a signal under test and sets trigger criteria through a user interface. An ADC converts the signal under test into digital data that is stored in a large acquisition memory. A trigger unit detects and produces trigger events, based on a trigger, as trigger event information during one acquisition process. A trigger event eliminator may discard some of the trigger events based on pre-trigger and post-conditions set through the interface by a user. The trigger events are recorded in a trigger list as the trigger event information. A control unit locates the digital data in the acquisition memory corresponding to the trigger events in the trigger list and displays a waveform associated with the trigger event for the time interval on a display device.