Data acquisition system which includes remote access to data acquisition devices

• US 6,243,738 B1
• Filed: 04/06/1998
• Issued: 06/05/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: National Instruments Corporation (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Gupta, Vivek G., Hayles, Tim
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): LEE, TAK KAM
• Application Number:
  US09/055,589
• Time in Patent Office: 1,156 Days
• Field of Search: 370/312, 702/16, 709/201-211, 709/304
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/133 Protocols for remote procedure calls [RPC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols

Abstract

A remote device access (RDA) feature for enabling access and control of remote devices in a data acquisition (DAQ) system. The data acquisition system comprises at least one client computer system executing a client DAQ application. The data acquisition system also comprises one or more server computer systems coupled to the client computer system through a network, wherein each server computer includes a data acquisition device which is controllable by the client DAQ application. The RDA method comprises the client DAQ application making a call to access the remote DAQ device in the server computer. In response to a determination that the call is intended for a remote DAQ device (the identical call could be intended for a local DAQ device), the call is then packaged into one or more packets and transferred to the server computer. The packets are preferably transferred using a remote procedure call (RPC). The server computer receives the one or more packets and unpackages the one or more packets to produce the call. The call is then provided to DAQ driver software executing in the server computer. The DAQ driver software executing in the server computer executes the call, i.e., performs a DAQ function using the DAQ device in response to the call, and generates result data. The result data is then transferred to the client computer, and the client application receives the result data.

Claims

1. A method for remotely accessing data acquisition (DAQ) devices in a DAQ system, the method comprising:

a client application in a client computer making a call to access a DAQ device, wherein the DAQ device is located in or coupled to a server computer, wherein the server computer is coupled to the client computer through a network;

client DAQ driver software executing in the client computer receiving the call to access the DAQ device after the client application making the call;

the client DAQ driver software determining that the call to access the DAQ device is intended to access a remote DAQ device after the client DAQ driver software receives the call;

packaging the call into one or more packets;

transferring said one or more packets to the server computer, wherein said packaging and said transferring are performed in response to determining that the call is intended to access a remote DAQ device;

the server computer receiving said one or more packets after said transferring;

unpackaging said one or more packets to produce said call after the server computer receiving said one or more packets;

providing said call to server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer after said unpackaging;

the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform a DAQ function using the DAQ device, wherein said performing said DAQ function generates result data;

transferring said result data to the client computer after the server DAQ driver software executing the call; and

the client application in the client computer receiving the result data.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the call includes a device number, wherein said device number indicates a remote device;

wherein said determining that the call is intended to access a remote DAQ device comprises examining said device number and determining that said call is to a remote DAQ device.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the device number uniquely identifies the DAQ device located in or coupled to the server computer, the method further comprising:

the server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer examining the device number to determine the DAQ device in the server computer after said providing said call to the server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer and prior to the server DAQ driver software executing the call.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

configuring the client computer with access information of the server computer prior to the client application making the call.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein a server program executes in the server computer;

wherein the server program operates to receive said one or more packets, unpackage said one or more packets to produce the call, and provide the call to the server DAQ driver software.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said transferring is performed using a remote procedure call (RPC).

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a local DAQ device is coupled to the client computer, the method further comprising:

the client application making a call to access the local DAQ device;

the client DAQ driver software executing in the client computer receiving the call to access the local DAQ device after the client application making the call;

the client DAQ driver software determining that the call to access the DAQ device is intended to access a local DAQ device after the client DAQ driver software receives the call;

the client DAQ driver software executing the call to perform a DAQ function using the local DAQ device in response to determining that the call is intended to access the local DAQ device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is performed for two or more remote DAQ device coupled to two or more different server computers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said method is performed by two or more client computers.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the client application performs a virtual instrumentation function.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the DAQ device is coupled to a unit under test or process, wherein the DAQ system is operable to measure signals from the unit under test or process.

28. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

the DAQ device acquiring the result data from an external source in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device.

29. The method of claim 28,

wherein the DAQ device acquires the result data from a unit under test or process being monitored or measured.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein, in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device, the method further comprises:

the DAQ device acquiring analog data from an external source; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the analog data to produce the result data.

31. The method of claim 1, wherein, in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device, the method further comprises:

acquiring analog input data from an external source;

conditioning the analog input data to produce conditioned analog input data;

the DAQ device receiving the conditioned analog input data; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the conditioned analog input data to produce the result data.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the DAQ device comprises one or more of an analog input/output (I/O) board, or a digital input/output (I/O) board.

11. A method for remotely accessing data acquisition (DAQ) devices in a DAQ system, the method comprising:

a client application in a client computer making a call to access a DAQ device, wherein the DAQ device is located in or coupled to a server computer, wherein the server computer is coupled to the client computer through a network;

determining that the call to access the DAQ device is intended to access a remote DAQ device after the client application making the call;

transferring the call to the server computer, wherein said transferring is performed in response to determining that the call is intended to access a remote DAQ device;

server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer executing the call to perform a DAQ function using the DAQ device, wherein said performing said DAQ function generates result data;

transferring said result data to the client computer after the DAQ driver software executing the call; and

the application in the client computer receiving the result data.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said transferring the call comprises:

packaging the call into one or more packets;

transferring said one or more packets to the server computer, wherein said packaging and said transferring are performed in response to determining that the call is intended to access a remote DAQ device;

the server computer receiving said one or more packets after said transferring;

unpackaging said one or more packets to produce said call after the server computer receiving said one or more packets.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein client DAQ driver level software executes on the client computer;

wherein the client DAQ driver level software performs said determining.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the call includes a device number, wherein said device number indicates a remote device;

wherein said determining that the call is intended to access a remote DAQ device comprises examining said device number and determining that said call is to a remote DAQ device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the device number uniquely identifies the DAQ device located in or coupled to the server computer, the method further comprising:

the server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer examining the device number to determine the DAQ device in the server computer after said providing said call to the server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer and prior to the server DAQ driver software executing the call.

16. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

configuring the client computer with access information of the server computer prior to the client application making the call.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein said transferring is performed using a remote procedure call (RPC).

33. The method of claim 11, wherein the DAQ device is coupled to a unit under test or process, wherein the DAQ system is operable to measure signals from the unit under test or process.

34. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

the DAQ device acquiring the result data from an external source in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device.

35. The method of claim 34,

wherein the DAQ device acquires the result data from a unit under test or process being monitored or measured.

36. The method of claim 11, wherein, in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device, the method further comprises:

the DAQ device acquiring analog data from an external source; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the analog data to produce the result data.

37. The method of claim 11, wherein, in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the DAQ device, the method further comprises:

acquiring analog input data from an external source;

conditioning the analog input data to produce conditioned analog input data;

the DAQ device receiving the conditioned analog input data; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the conditioned analog input data to produce the result data.

38. The method of claim 11, wherein the DAQ device comprises one or more of an analog input/output (I/O) board, or a digital input/output (I/O) board.

18. A data acquisition (DAQ) system, comprising:

a server computer;

a remote DAQ device coupled to the server computer;

a client computer coupled to the server computer through a network, wherein a client application is stored in the client computer, wherein the client application is executable to make a call to access the remote DAQ device coupled to the server computer, wherein the client computer is operable to examine the call to access the remote DAQ device and determine that the call is intended to access the remote DAQ device;

wherein the client computer is operable to package the call into one or more packets and transfer said one or more packets to the server computer in response to determining that the call is intended to access the remote DAQ device;

wherein the server computer includes server DAQ driver software stored in the server computer, wherein the server computer is operable to unpackage said one or more packets to produce said call and provide said call to the server DAQ driver software executing in the server computer;

wherein the server DAQ driver software is operable to execute the call to perform a DAQ function using the remote DAQ device, wherein execution of the call generates result data;

wherein the server computer is operable to transfer said result data to the client computer;

wherein the client application in the client computer receives the result data.

19. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein client DAQ driver level software is stored on the client computer and executes on the client computer;

wherein the client DAQ driver level software is executable to examine the call to access the remote DAQ device and determine that the call is intended to access the remote DAQ device.

20. The DAQ system of claim 19, wherein the client DAQ driver level software is executable to package the call into one or more packets and transfer said one or more packets to the server computer in response to determining that the call is intended to access the remote DAQ device.

21. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein the call includes a device number, wherein said device number indicates a remote device;

wherein the client computer is operable examine said device number and determine that said call is to a remote DAQ device.

22. The DAQ system of claim 21, wherein the device number uniquely identifies the DAQ device located in or coupled to the server computer;

wherein the server computer is operable to examine the device number to determine the DAQ device in the server computer.

23. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein the client computer is configured with access information for accessing the server computer.

24. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein a server program executes in the server computer;

wherein the server program is executable to receive said one or more packets, unpackage said one or more packets to produce the call, and provide the call to the server DAQ driver software.

25. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein the client computer is operable to transfer said one or more packets to the server computer using a remote procedure call (RPC).

26. The DAQ system of claim 18, further comprising:

a local DAQ device coupled to the client computer;

wherein client DAQ driver level software is stored on the client computer and executes on the client computer;

wherein the client application is executable to make a call to access the local DAQ device;

wherein the client computer is operable to determine that the call to access the DAQ device is intended to access the local DAQ device;

wherein the client DAQ driver software is executable to execute the call to perform a DAQ function using the local DAQ device in response to determining that the call is intended to access the local DAQ device.

39. The DAQ system of claim 18, wherein the remote DAQ device includes an input operable to couple to a unit under test or process, wherein the DAQ system is operable to measure signals from the unit under test or process.

40. The DAQ system of claim 18,

wherein the remote DAQ device includes an input operable to couple to an external source;

wherein the remote DAQ device is operable to acquire the result data fro m the external source in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the remote DAQ device.

41. The DAQ system of claim 40, wherein the remote DAQ device acquires the result data from a unit under test or process being monitored or measured.

42. The DAQ system of claim 18,

wherein the remote DAQ device includes:

an input operable to couple to a unit under test or process for receiving analog, input signals; and

analog to digital conversion logic coupled to the input for converting the received analog input signals into digital signals;

wherein, in response to the server DAQ driver software executing the call to perform the DAQ function using the remote DAQ device, the remote DAQ device is operable to;

acquire analog data from the unit under test or process; and

perform analog to digital conversion on the analog, data to produce the result data.

43. The DAQ system of claim 42, wherein the DAQ system further includes:

signal conditioning logic coupled to the input of the remote DAQ device for conditioning signals, wherein the signal conditioning logic is operable to couple to the unit under test or process;

wherein the signal conditioning logic is operable to condition the analog input data to produce conditioned analog input data;

wherein the remote DAQ device is operable to receive the conditioned analog input data from the signal conditioning logic.

44. A method for remotely accessing a data acquisition (DAQ) device in a DAQ system, the method comprising:

receiving a request to perform a DAQ function using the DAQ device, wherein the request is received by a client computer system;

wherein the DAQ device is coupled to a server computer system, wherein the server computer system is coupled to the client computer system over a network;

transferring the request to the server computer;

the server computer system executing the request, wherein said executing includes the DAQ device acquiring data from an external source;

the server computer system transferring the acquired data to the client computer system; and

the client computer system receiving the acquired data.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the external source comprises a unit under test or process being monitored or measured.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the DAQ device acquiring data from the external source comprises:

the DAQ device acquiring analog data from the external source; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the analog data to produce the acquired data.

47. The method of claim 44, wherein the DAQ device acquiring data from the external source comprises:

acquiring analog input data from the external source;

conditioning the analog input data to produce conditioned analog input data;

the DAQ device receiving the conditioned analog input data; and

the DAQ device performing analog to digital conversion on the conditioned analog input data to produce the acquired data.

48. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

determining that the request to perform the DAQ function is intended to use a remote DAQ device after receiving the request.

49. The method of claim 44, further comprising:

the client computer system performing a measurement function using the acquired data.