Textual and graphical demarcation of location, and interpretation of measurements

• US 7,574,323 B2
• Filed: 01/11/2006
• Issued: 08/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Extreme Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Wireless Valley Communications Incorporated (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Henty, Benjamin, Rappaport, Theodore, Skidmore, Roger
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; John H
• Application Number:
  US11/329,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20060116853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 702/21, 702/182, 702/184, 702/188, 345/619, 345/582, 455/449, 455/562.1, 700/95, 703/20, 705/7, 705/29, 709/202, 709/224, 709/232, 715/16
• US Class Current: 702/182
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 23/80 Arrangements for signal processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0639 Performance analysis of employees; Performance analysis of enterprise or organisation operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic

Abstract

A computerized system allows for collecting data for a spatially distributed group of objects or networks by either skilled or unskilled personnel and for analyzing the collected data in an environmental database.

Claims

1. A computerized system for collecting data for a spatially distributed group of objects or networks, comprising:

a measurement data input which receives measurement information selected from the group consisting of measured performance metrics and inputted quality measures;

a descriptive data input which receives descriptive information from a predefined set of selections wherein said selections are selected from the group consisting of text strings and icons;

means for associating said measurement information with said descriptive information within a region of the environment; and

a display for displaying the measurement information, descriptive data input and environment, the display displaying the measurement information within the region of the environment in response to a selection from the group of text strings and icons of the descriptive data input.

2. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising at least one measurement tool linked for data communication to said measurement data input.

3. The computerized system of claim 2 wherein said measurement tool is electrically connected to said measurement data input.

4. The computerized system of claim 2 wherein said measurement data input is located on a host computer and said descriptive data input is located on a slave computer, and wherein measurement information received by said measurement data input is a performance metric based on communications between said host computer and said slave computer.

5. The computerized system of claim 2 further comprising a means for selectively entering said measurement information to said measurement data input.

6. The computerized system of claim 5 wherein said measurement information is a quality criteria that is selected by said means for selectively entering from amongst a plurality of pre-defined selections.

7. The computerized system of claim 5 wherein said means for selectively entering is selected from the group consisting of a keyboard, button, switch, stylus input, mouse, touch screen, knob, and voice activated detector.

8. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said predefined set of selections includes at least a first list and a second list of said selections.

9. The computerized system of claim 8 further comprising a means for adding selections selected from the group consisting of text strings and icons to at least one of said first list and said second list of selections.

10. The computerized system of claim 8 further comprising a means for selecting selections from both said first list and said second list.

11. The computerized system of claim 8 wherein said selections in said first list are text strings and wherein said selections in said second list are graphical icons.

12. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising a means for adding selections to said predefined set of selections.

13. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising a means for automatically selecting said descriptive information received by said descriptive data based on said measurement data received at said measurement data input.

14. The computerized system of claim 13 further comprising a means for displaying said descriptive information selected by said means for automatically selecting.

15. The computerized system of claim 13 wherein said descriptive information in said predefined set of selections includes icons which prompt an operator.

16. The computerized system of claim 13 wherein said descriptive information in said predefined set of selections includes at least one text string which prompts an operator.

17. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising a means for displaying said measurement information and said descriptive information.

18. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said descriptive information in said predefined set of selections includes text strings pertaining to location information.

19. The computerized system of claim 18 further comprising a means to automatically select said text strings pertaining to location information based on a selected environmental database model for said predefined set of selections.

20. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said selections in said predefined set of selections are icons.

21. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said selection in said predefined set of selections are text strings.

22. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising a means for displaying said predefined set of selections.

23. The computerized system of claim 1 wherein said means for associating and storing said measurement information and said descriptive information comprises an acceptance switch for allowing an operator to accept descriptive information for said descriptive data input and measurement information for said measurement data input.

24. The computerized system of claim 23 wherein said acceptance switch is a hard or soft button or contact.

25. The computerized system of claim 1 further comprising an environmental database model, and a means for displaying at least a portion of said environmental database model together with at least one of said measurement information and said descriptive information.

26. The computerized system of claim 25 wherein said at least one of said measurement information and said descriptive information is related to at least one specific location in said environmental database model and said means for displaying displays said at least one of said measurement information and said descriptive information at said at least one specific location in said environmental database model.

27. A method for collecting data for a spatially distributed group of objects or networks, comprising the steps of:

obtaining measurement information selected from the group consisting of measured performance metrics and inputted quality measures;

obtaining descriptive information from a predefined set of selections wherein said selections are selected from the group consisting of text strings and icons;

associating said measurement information with said descriptive information within a region of the environment; and

displaying the measurement information, descriptive data input and environment, wherein displaying the measurement information within the region of the environment is in response to a selection from the group of text strings and icons of the descriptive data input.

28. The method of claim 27 further comprising the step of displaying said measurement information and said descriptive information.

29. The method of claim 27 wherein said obtaining descriptive information step includes the steps of displaying said predefined set of selections, and selecting at least one of said selections in said predefined set of selections.

30. The method of claim 27 wherein said obtaining descriptive information step further comprise the step of adding at least one selection to said predefined set of selections.

31. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of obtaining measurement information is performed using a measurement tool.

32. The method of claim 31 wherein said measurement measures a performance metric.

33. The method of claim 31 wherein said step of obtaining measurement information further comprises the step of communicating a measurement from said measurement tool to a computer, and wherein said step of associating and storing is performed in said computer.

34. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of obtaining measurement information is performed by inputting said measurement information with a device selected from the group consisting of a keyboard, stylus, touch screen, mouse, and voice activated detector.

35. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of obtaining measurement information is performed automatically by retrieving a measurement from a measurement tool into a computer memory.

36. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of associating and storing is performed at a time controlled by a user.

37. The method of claim 36 wherein said step of associating and storing includes the step of a user actuating an actuator selected from the group consisting of a button, a switch, a stylus, a knob, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, and a voice activated detector at a selected time.

38. The method of claim 27 wherein step of associating and storing is performed at a location controlled by a user.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein said step of associating and storing includes the step of a user actuating an actuator selected from the group consisting of a button, a switch, a stylus, a knob, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch screen, and a voice activated detector at a selected location.

40. The method of claim 27 wherein said step of obtaining descriptive information is performed automatically in response to said measurement information obtained in said obtaining measurement information step, and wherein said descriptive information is determined by said measurement information.

41. The method of claim 27 wherein said measurement information obtained in said obtaining information step pertains to communications between a slave and a host computer, and said measurement information is derived from communication parameters between said slave and said host computer.