Implementing a graphical program on a programmable hardware element to configure an instrument to perform a measurement function
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for configuring an instrument to perform a measurement function, wherein the instrument includes a programmable hardware element, the method comprising:
- creating a block diagram, wherein the block diagram implements the measurement function;
wherein the block diagram comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes are connected to indicate data flow among the at least a subset of the plurality of nodes, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes specifies control flow of data among one or more of the plurality of nodes;
generating a hardware description based on the block diagram, wherein the hardware description describes a hardware implementation of the block diagram;
configuring the programmable hardware element in the instrument utilizing the hardware description, wherein after said configuring the programmable hardware element implements a hardware implementation of the block diagram;
wherein the programmable hardware element in the instrument is operable to perform the measurement function on a received signal.
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Abstract
A computer-implemented system and method for generating a hardware implementation of graphical code. The method comprises first creating a graphical program. A first portion of the graphical program may optionally be compiled into machine code for execution by a CPU. A second portion of the graphical program is converted into a hardware implementation according to the present invention. The operation of converting the graphical program into a hardware implementation comprises exporting the second portion of the graphical program into a hardware description, wherein the hardware description describes a hardware implementation of the second portion of the graphical program, and then configuring a programmable hardware element utilizing the hardware description to produce a configured hardware element. The configured hardware element thus implements a hardware implementation of the second portion of the graphical program.
38 Citations
59 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for configuring an instrument to perform a measurement function, wherein the instrument includes a programmable hardware element, the method comprising:
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creating a block diagram, wherein the block diagram implements the measurement function; wherein the block diagram comprises a plurality of nodes, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes are connected to indicate data flow among the at least a subset of the plurality of nodes, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes specifies control flow of data among one or more of the plurality of nodes; generating a hardware description based on the block diagram, wherein the hardware description describes a hardware implementation of the block diagram; configuring the programmable hardware element in the instrument utilizing the hardware description, wherein after said configuring the programmable hardware element implements a hardware implementation of the block diagram; wherein the programmable hardware element in the instrument is operable to perform the measurement function on a received signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A measurement system, comprising:
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a computer system comprising a processor, memory and a display; wherein the memory stores a block diagram, wherein the block diagram implements a measurement function, wherein the block diagram comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the block diagram, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of nodes are connected to indicate data flow among the at least a subset of the plurality of nodes, wherein a first node of the plurality of nodes specifies control flow of data among one or more of the plurality of nodes; wherein the memory also stores a software program which is executable to generate a hardware description based on the block diagram, wherein the hardware description describes a hardware implementation of the block diagram; and an instrument coupled to the computer system, wherein the instrument includes; an input for acquiring a signal from an external source; and a programmable hardware element coupled to the input, wherein the programmable hardware element in the instrument is configurable utilizing the hardware description, wherein after being configured the programmable hardware element implements a hardware implementation of the block diagram, and wherein the programmable hardware element in the instrument is operable to perform the measurement function on an acquired signal. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59)
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Specification