System and method for remotely displaying data

• US 9,954,976 B2
• Filed: 11/03/2008
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Viavi Solutions, Inc. (Lumentum Holdings Inc.)
• Inventors: Engel, Glenn, Purdy, Jr., Glen L.
• Primary Examiner(s): ENGLAND, SARA M
• Application Number:
  US12/263,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20100115437A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,459 Days
• Field of Search: 715746, 715740
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 13/02 for displaying measured electric variables in digital form
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/75 Indicating network or usage conditions on the user display

Abstract

An electronic device for collecting and displaying measurement data includes a data interface, a processor and a transport interface. The data interface obtains measurement data. The processor is configured to generate portable graphical user interface (GUI) information indicating a visual format corresponding to at least one of the measurement data or the electronic device, and to associate the portable GUI information with the measurement data. The transport interface is configured to deliver the measurement data and the associated portable GUI information to a remote display, enabling the remote display to display the measurement data in accordance with the visual format indicated by the portable GUI information.

Claims

1. A computer system for displaying of measurement data, the computer system comprising:

a data storage to store measurement data generated by a plurality of different test instruments, wherein each test instrument is a device that is connectable to a device under test (DUT) to receive signals from the DUT and measure parameters of the received signals to determine at least a portion of the measurement data, wherein each test instrument has a type of portable graphical user interface (GUI) information for displaying the measurement data generated by the test instrument, and wherein the types of the portable GUI information are different for different types of the test instruments;

a processor to;

receive a request for stored measurement data generated by a test instrument of the plurality of different test instruments;

query the test instrument to determine a type of the test instrument that generated the measurement data and a type of the requested measurement data;

determine the type of the portable GUI information of the test instrument for displaying the measurement data based on the determined type of test instrument and the type of the measurement data; and

generate portable GUI information according to the determined type of the portable GUI information and to associate the portable GUI information with the requested measurement data, wherein the portable GUI information comprises a GUI rendering engine and corresponding metadata for configuring the GUI rendering engine for displaying the requested measurement data in accordance with the determined type of the portable GUI information,

wherein the corresponding metadata comprising customized display features corresponding to display parameters associated with the determined type of the portable GUI information; and

a transport interface to deliver the measurement data and the associated portable GUI information to a remote display, wherein the remote display is operable to display the measurement data in accordance with the determined type of the portable GUI information.

2. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the transport interface comprises a network interface configured to transport the measurement data and the associated portable GUI information over a data network to the remote display.

3. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the network interface comprises a web computer system configured to populate a web page with the measurement data and the associated portable GUI information in response to a request from a web client over a data network, and to transport the populated web page to the web client over the data network, the web client comprising the remote display.

4. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the web page comprises an applet to be downloaded by a web browser of the web client, the applet identifying the measurement data and the associated GUI information to enable the web client to display the measurement data according to the type of the portable GUI information.

5. The computer system of claim 4, wherein a location of the measurement data and the associated GUI information is provided by a self-contained software module.

6. The computer system of claim 5, wherein the self-contained software module comprises one of a Shockwave Flash object, a Silverlight object or a Java applet.

7. The computer system of claim 4, wherein the applet enables the web client to display the measurement data substantially in real-time.

8. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the web computer system includes an electronic laboratory notebook utilizing the measurement data and the associated GUI information.

9. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the web page further comprises other graphics software capable of accurately simulating a local display of the test instrument within the web page.

10. The computer system of claim 3, wherein the web page displays measurement data and associated portable GUI information from multiple ones of the test instruments of different types at the same time.

11. The computer system of claim 2, wherein the network interface comprises a standard commands for programmable instrumentation (SCPI) interface.

12. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the transport interface comprises a universal serial bus (USB) interface configured to transport the measurement data and the associated portable GUI information to a portable USB storage device compatible with the remote.

13. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the type of the portable GUI information is associated with a local display of the test instrument.

14. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the local display comprises one of a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode ray tube (CRT) display.

15. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the corresponding metadata comprises a uniform resource locator.

16. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the metadata of the portable GUI information provides additional information to facilitate proper understanding and interpretation of the measurement data and the metadata comprises at least one of:

an acquisition rate of the test instrument,

a vertical axis calibration of the test instrument,

a horizontal axis calibration of the test instrument,

a marker placement of the test instrument,

value ranges of the test instrument,

time stamps of the measurement data,

a trace form of the test instrument,

a histogram form of the test instrument,

a pie-chart form of the test instrument,

a center point of the measurement data,

a scale of the measurement data, and

a scale mark spacing of the measurement data.

17. The computer system of claim 1, further comprising a database including a library of portable GUI information, each portable GUI information in the library associated with one or more types of the test instruments;

wherein the processor configured to generate the portable GUI information is configured to select the appropriate portable GUI information from the library of the portable GUI information based on a type of the test instrument.

18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein each portable GUI information associated with multiple types of the test instruments in the library is so associated on a basis that the multiple types of the test instruments comprise at least one of the same product lines, the same display properties, the same portable GUI rendering engines and the same configuration metadata.

19. The computer system of claim 1, wherein the test instrument comprises at least one of an oscilloscope, a spectrum analyzer, a network analyzer, a chemical analyzer, and a voltmeter.

20. A method of remotely displaying data, the method comprising:

storing, by a processor, measurement data measured by a plurality of different test instruments, wherein each test instrument of the plurality of different test instruments is a device that is connectable to a device under test (DUT) to receive signals from the DUT and measure parameters of the received signals to determine at least a portion of the measurement data, wherein each test instrument has a type of a portable GUI information for displaying the measurement data measured by the test instrument, and wherein the types of the portable GUI information are different for different types of the test instruments;

receiving, by the processor, a request for stored measurement data generated by a test instrument of the plurality of different test instruments;

querying, by the processor, the test instrument to determine a type of the test instrument that generated the measurement data and a type of the measurement data;

determining, by the processor, the type of the portable GUI information of the test instrument for displaying the measurement data based on the determined type of test instrument and the type of the measurement data;

generating, by the processor, portable graphical user interface (GUI) information according to the determined type of the portable GUI information;

providing metadata for the portable GUI information, the metadata comprising customized display features corresponding to display parameters associated with the type of the portable GUI information, wherein the metadata includes at least one of;

an acquisition rate of the test instrument,

a vertical axis calibration of the test instrument,

a horizontal axis calibration of the test instrument,

a marker placement of the test instrument,

value ranges of the test instrument,

time stamps of the measurement data,

a trace form of the test instrument,

a histogram form of the test instrument,

a pie-chart form of the test instrument,

a center point of the measurement data,

a scale of the measurement data, and

a scale mark spacing of the measurement data;

populating a web page with the measurement data and the GUI information; and

transporting the populated web page to a web client over a data network for display, wherein the web client is operable to display the measurement data in accordance with the type of the portable GUI information.