Data acquisition system comprising real-time analysis and storing means

• US 6,297,760 B1
• Filed: 11/14/2000
• Issued: 10/02/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Keysight Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Acqiris
• Inventors: Mauron, Bernard, Hungerbuehler, Viktor M.
• Primary Examiner(s): YOUNG, BRIAN K
• Application Number:
  US09/712,097
• Time in Patent Office: 322 Days
• Field of Search: 341/155, 341/161, 341/159, 341/160, 341/158
• US Class Current: 341/155
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 5/00 Methods or arrangements for data conversion without changing the order or content of the data handled

Abstract

The circuit for converting a high-frequency analog input signal (a) into a plurality of digital signals (D₁-D_N) for processing by a digital processor (8) in a data acquisition system comprises: an analog-to-digital m-bits converter (1), a memory (5) for storing the digital data (d₁-d_N) converted by said converter, said memory being accessible by said digital processor (8), a circuit (6) for analyzing in real time said digital data (D₁-D_N), capable of modifying the storage address of said digital data (D₁-D_N) in said memory (5) following the detection of a predefined event in said digital data (D₁-D_N).

Claims

1. Circuit for converting a high-frequency analog input signal into a plurality of digital signals for processing by a digital processor in a data acquisition system, comprising:

an analog-to-digital m-bits converter,

a memory for storing the digital data converted by said converter, said memory being accessible by said digital processor,

a circuit for analyzing in real time said digital data, intended to provoke a modification of the storage address of said digital data in said memory upon a predefined event being detected in said digital data.

2. Circuit according to the preceding claim, further comprising a demultiplexer for demultiplexing the digital data supplied by said analog-to-digital converter and for supplying in parallel to said memory and to said analysis circuit N words of m bits demultiplexed from N words of m bits supplied in series by said analog-to-digital converter.

3. Circuit according to claim 1, further comprising an address counter defining an address at which said digital data are to be stored in said memory,

the functioning of said address counter being controlled by said real-time analysis circuit.

4. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein the functioning of said address counter is controlled by said digital processor.

5. Circuit according to claim 3, wherein the functioning of said address counter is controlled by a plurality of registers of which at least several are accessible in writing by said digital processor and/or by said analysis circuit.

6. Circuit according to claim 3, wherein data segments in the same segment of said memory, then in another segment following the occurrence of a said predefined event.

7. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein the length of said segments is controlled by said digital processor and/or by said analysis circuit.

8. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein, following the occurrence of a said predefined event, the value of said counter is incremented by a value stored in a register accessible in writing by said digital processor and/or by said analysis circuit.

9. Circuit according to claim 6, wherein the initial position of said segments is indicated in a register accessible by said digital processor and/or by said analysis circuit.

10. Circuit according to claim 5, wherein a register accessible by said digital processor and/or by said analysis circuit indicating from which time onwards said storage address must be modified by said analysis circuit following the occurrence of a said specific configuration.

11. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein said analysis circuit further supplies processed results to said digital processor.

12. Circuit according to claim 1, wherein the sampling frequency of the analog-to-digital converter is greater than the processing rate of the digital processor.

13. Circuit according to claim 1, wherein said real-time analysis circuit comprises N analysis systems in parallel.

14. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein each analysis system comprises a signal processor.

15. Circuit according to claim 1, wherein said real-time analysis circuit comprises one or several gate arrays.

16. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein said real-time analysis circuit comprises one or several field programmable gate arrays.

17. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein said real-time analysis circuit comprises one or several field programmable gate arrays whose algorithm is contained in a RAM.

18. Circuit according to the preceding claim, wherein said RAM is accessible in reading and/or writing by said digital processor.

19. Circuit according to claim 1, wherein said memory comprises a double access memory accessible simultaneously by said digital processor (8) and by said demultiplexer or by said converter.

20. Oscilloscope comprising a circuit according to claim 1.