Data-transparent measurement management system

• US 20040054773A1
• Filed: 04/08/2003
• Published: 03/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Agilent Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Funke-Schaeff, Sabine, Schroth, Albrecht
• Granted Patent: US 7,469,286 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A measurement management system adapted to communicate with one or more measurement instruments, comprises at least one driver, each being adapted for communicating with at least one measurement instrument, a database adapted for storing information, and a processing unit adapted for processing information. Data communication within the measurement management system is provided using an MMS data format, in which data content is separated from information about presentation or representation of the data content.

Claims

1. A measurement management system adapted to communicate with one or more measurement instruments, comprising:

at least one driver, each being adapted for communicating with at least one measurement instrument,

a database adapted for storing information, and

a processing unit adapted for processing information,

wherein a data communication within the measurement management system is provided using an MMS data format, in which data content is separated from information about presentation or representation of the data content.

2. The measurement management system of claim 1, further comprising a user interface allowing giving access to a user to the measurement management system.

3. The measurement management system of claim 2, wherein the user interface is at least one of a group comprising:

a reporting tool for reporting measurement related data, a graphical user interface for graphically representing information, a non-graphical user interface for representing information in text format only, an interface to provide access to the internet, and an interface to provide access to a mobile device.

4. The measurement management system of claim 1, wherein data in the MMS data format is represented in at least one of the following group comprising:

a string that is not device specific, a generic string that is not device specific, a generic format, a generic format so that applicable for each of the one or more measurement instruments, a standard extensible Markup Language XML.

5. The measurement management system of claim 1, wherein at least one driver is adapted to provide data communication with one or more of the measurement instruments also using the same MMS data format.

6. A method for operating a measurement management system adapted to communicate with one or more measurement instruments and comprising at least one driver, each being adapted for communicating with at least one measurement instrument, a database adapted for storing information, and a processing unit adapted for processing information, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a data communication within the measurement management system by using an MMS data format, in which data content is separated from information about presentation or representation of the data content.

7. The method of claim 7, wherein the data communication comprises at least one of the steps:

initiating a measurement task to be executed by a coupled measurement instrument,

controlling a measurement task to be executed by a coupled measurement instrument,

requesting status information or measurement related data from a coupled measurement instrument,

receiving status information or measurement related data from a coupled measurement instrument,

storing information in the database,

processing information by the processing unit.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

in case data from the measurement instrument is provided to the driver of the measurement management system using the MMS data format, the data communication within the measurement management system is executed without modifying the MMS data format, and

in case data from the measurement instrument is provided to the driver of the measurement management system using a data format different from the MMS data format, the method further comprises a step of converting the data into the MMS data format.

9. A software program or product, preferably stored on a data carrier, for executing the method of claim 7, when run on a data processing system such as a computer.