Expedited selection of items from a list within a drop down menu of an eye diagram analyzer

• US 20030193525A1
• Filed: 04/11/2002
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Nygaard, Richard A. Jr.
• Application Number:
  US10/120,565
• Publication Number:
  US 20030193525A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/810
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus

Abstract

An eye diagram analyzer can assign a plurality of SUT data signals to be members of a labeled group of channels merged into a composite eye diagram presentation. When a composite eye diagram is being displayed, the operator may select a channel from among the group, and then have the pixels associated with that channel be displayed in an altered manner (highlighted) that allows them to be distinguished from all others, to determine if the behavior of that channel contributes to a condition in the eye diagram that is of interest. The menu from which channels may be selected includes at least one button in a fixed location, and which when clicked on, automatically selects the next item in the list within that menu. In this way the mouse can be positioned just once, and then clicked as often as needed without further motion, allowing the operator to continuously observe, without re-direction of his visual attention, what effect, if any, is produced in the composite eye diagram. There may be one button for traversing the menu list in each direction. Traversing (automatic selection of an adjacent entry in the list) might be one step per click, or if the click is extended, be automatically repeated at some convenient rate. When one end of the list is reached the next selected item can be the item at the other end of the list.

Claims

1. A method of selecting the next item in an ordered list of items within a menu, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) positioning with motion of a user operated pointing device a screen pointer icon proximate a next item selection icon that is proximate a legend representing a currently selected item within the ordered list, the ordered list being displayable as the menu in response to an operation involving a menu icon;

(b) while the screen pointer icon is positioned as in step (a), actuating a switch on the user operated pointing device;

(c) in response to step (b), automatically selecting as a new currently selected item an item from within the ordered list and which is adjacent, within the order of the list and in a direction associated with the next item selection icon, to that item that previously was the currently selected item at the time step (b) occurred; and

(d) subsequent to step (c), displaying in place of the legend of step (a) a new legend representing the automatically and newly selected item of step (c).

2. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step (e) of, subsequent to step (c), automatically implementing an action based upon the selection of an item in the ordered list.

3. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the step, prior to step (a), of user definition of the items in the ordered list.

4. A method as in claim 1 wherein prior to step (a) an initial selection from the ordered list is made by performing the steps comprising:

(a1) positioning with motion of the user operated pointing device the screen pointer icon proximate a desired item in an ordered list of items in the menu;

(a2) while the screen pointer icon is positioned as in step (a1), initially selecting the desired item as the selected item by actuating the switch on the user operated pointing device; and

(a3) subsequent to step (a2), displaying a legend representing the initially selected item of step (a2).

5. A method as in claim 1 further comprising the steps of displaying a composite eye diagram whose components are signals associated with the items in the ordered list and highlighting that portion of the displayed composite eye diagram corresponding to a component thereof whose associated item in the ordered list was selected in accordance with steps (a) through (d).

6. Menu apparatus having a pointing device with motion signals and a user actuatable switch, having a display device and having a processor mechanism writing to the display device a menu of implementable items selectable in response to the motion signals and to user activation of the switch, the menu apparatus comprising:

a screen pointer icon whose position in the display is in response to the motion signals;

an ordered list of menu items, selectable one at a time;

a displayed legend indicating a selected menu item;

a next-item-in-the-ordered-list selection icon; and

the processor mechanism responding to an actuation of the switch while the screen pointer icon is proximate the next-item-in-the-ordered-list selection icon by de-selecting a currently selected menu item and selecting the next menu item in the ordered list, by altering the displayed legend to reflect that activity, and by implementing the newly selected menu item.

7. Menu apparatus as in claim 6, further comprising:

a previous-item-in-the-ordered-list selection icon; and

wherein

the processor mechanism responds to an actuation of the switch while the screen pointer icon is proximate the previous-item-in-the-ordered-list selection icon by de-selecting a currently selected menu item and selecting the previous menu item in the ordered list, by altering the displayed legend to reflect that activity, and by implementing the newly selected menu item.

8. Menu apparatus as in claim 6, further comprising:

eye diagram data acquisition and analysis mechanisms for a plurality of data signals applied to respective eye diagram channels; and

further wherein

the menu items represent eye diagram channels; and

the processor mechanism implements the selected menu item by highlighting a component portion of a composite eye diagram corresponding to the data signal applied to the selected eye diagram channel.