Measuring device and measuring method with interactive operation

• US 9,658,741 B2
• Filed: 06/23/2014
• Issued: 05/23/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 04/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Original Assignee: Rohde & Schwarz GmbH & Company KG
• Inventors: Braunstorfinger, Thomas, Pauly, Andreas, Rieger, Angela, Tietscher, Gerald
• Primary Examiner(s): Titcomb, William
• Application Number:
  US14/312,651
• Publication Number:
  US 20150309716A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,065 Days
• Field of Search: 715771
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04812 Interaction techniques based on cursor appearance or behaviour, e.g. being affected by the presence of displayed objects
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence

Abstract

A measuring device comprises a control unit, a measuring unit, a display unit and an input unit. The measuring unit comprises a plurality of functional units and a connection unit configured for selectively connecting the plurality of functional units. The control unit is configured to control the display unit to display a plurality of function blocks each corresponding to at least one functional unit. The input unit is configured to allow a user to select one of the plurality of function blocks. The control unit is configured, after a function block is selected by the user, to control the display unit to display possible connections of the selected function block to further function blocks.

Claims

1. A measuring device comprising:

a controller;

a display;

a user interface; and

a plurality of functional elements configured to be selectively interconnected in any one of a plurality of configurations of the measurement device,

wherein the controller is configured to control the display to display a plurality of function blocks, each respectively corresponding to at least one of the functional elements,

wherein the user interface is configured to receive one or more user inputs to control the selective interconnection of the functional elements in a one of the plurality of configurations by means of connections amongst the plurality of function blocks,

wherein a first of the user inputs triggers a selection of a one of the plurality of function blocks, and

wherein, upon the selection of the one function block, the controller is further configured to control the display to display an indication of one or more possible connections between the selected one function block and one or more further of the function blocks to which the selected one function block can operably be connected, wherein the one or more possible connections are indicated by displaying the selected one function block in a first manner, displaying the one or more further function blocks, to which the selected one function block can operably be connected, in a second manner, and displaying a cursor icon partially in the first manner and partially in the second manner.

2. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the first manner comprises one or more of a first color, a first texture and a first appearance, and the second manner comprises one or more of a second color, a second texture and a second appearance.

3. The measuring device according to claim 1,

wherein the controller is configured to control the display to display the selective interconnection of the functional elements as interconnections between the respective corresponding function blocks;

wherein a second of the user inputs triggers a temporary selection of a one of the one or more possible connections consisting of a connection between the the selected one function block and a one of the further function blocks to which the selected one function block can be connected, and

wherein, upon the temporary selection of the one connection, the controller is further configured to control the display to display the connection between the selected one function block and the one further function block, and to continue to display the selected one function block in the first manner, the one further function block connected by the temporary selected connection in the second manner, and the cursor icon partially in the first manner and partially in the second manner.

4. The measuring device according to claim 3, wherein a seventh of the user inputs triggers a finalization of the temporary selection of the one of the one or more possible connections, wherein controller is further configured to control the display to continue displaying the connection between the selected one function block and the one further function block, and to display all of the plurality of function blocks in a same manner.

5. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of functional elements include one or more of coders, baseband processors, faders, noise generators, mappers, modulators, radio frequency generators, digital outputs, digital inputs, analog outputs, analog inputs, adders, mixers, multipliers and connectors.

6. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of function blocks include one or more of coding blocks, baseband blocks, fading blocks, noise blocks, mapping blocks, modulator blocks, radio frequency blocks, digital output blocks, digital input blocks, analog output blocks and analog input blocks.

7. The measuring device according to claim 1,

wherein one of the plurality of function blocks corresponds to a combination of at least two functional elements, and

wherein a third of the user inputs triggers an expanding of the one of the plurality of function blocks that corresponds to the combination of at least two functional elements, wherein the controller is further configured to control the display to display additional function blocks instead of the one function block being expanded, each corresponding to a respective one of the at least two functional elements of the expanded one function block.

8. The measuring device according to claim 7, wherein a fourth of the user inputs triggers a collapsing the expanded one function block, wherein the controller is further configured to control the display to display the one of the plurality of function blocks that corresponds to the combination of at least two functional elements instead of the additional function blocks.

9. The measuring device according to claim 1,

wherein a fifth of the user inputs triggers display of a context menu corresponding to a targeted one of the plurality of function blocks, wherein the controller is further configured to control the display to display a context menu corresponding to the targeted function block.

10. The measuring device according to claim 1,

wherein a selection window displaying different function block layouts that can be selected is displayed on the display,

wherein a sixth of the user inputs triggers a selection of a one of the function block layouts displayed in the selection window, and wherein the controller is further configured to control the display to display a preview window showing the selected one function block layout.

11. The measuring device according to claim 1,

wherein the controller is further configured to detect one or more ambiguities regarding an establishment or a deletion of at least one connection between function blocks, and

wherein, when the controller detects at least one ambiguity, the controller is further configured to control the display to display one or more of a warning message and a dialog requesting clarification of the at least one ambiguity.

12. A measuring system comprising a first measuring device according to claim 1 and at least one further measuring device,

wherein one or more of the plurality of function blocks correspond to one or more respective ones of the functional elements of the first measuring device, and

wherein one or more of the plurality of function blocks correspond to one or more respective further ones of the functional elements of at least one of the at least one further measuring device.

13. The measuring system according to claim 12, wherein the one or more user inputs control the selective interconnection of the functional elements of the first measuring device and the functional elements of one or more of the at least one further measuring device.

14. A measuring method comprising:

displaying, on a display of a measuring device, a plurality of function blocks, each corresponding to at least one of a plurality of functional elements of the measuring device, wherein a selective interconnection of the functional elements in any one of a plurality of configurations of the measuring device is controlled by means of connections amongst the plurality of function blocks;

selecting a one of the plurality of function blocks;

displaying, on the display, an indication of one or more possible connections between the selected one function block and one or more further of the function blocks to which the selected one function block can be operably connected, wherein the one or more possible connections are indicated by displaying the selected one function block in a first manner, displaying the one or more further function blocks, to which the selected one function block can operably be connected, in a second manner, and displaying a cursor icon partially in the first manner and partially in the second manner; and

selecting a one of the one or more further function blocks to which the selected one function block can be connected, which establishes a connection between at least one of the at least one functional element corresponding to the selected one function block and at least one of the at least one functional element corresponding to the selected one further function block.

15. The measuring method according to claim 14, wherein the first manner comprises one or more of a first color, a first texture and a first appearance, and the second manner comprises one or more of a second color, a second texture and a second appearance.