Abstract:
An electronic test probe is built including a switch or other control device coupled to the test equipment, such that a user may make a measurement with the probe, and then without moving the probe, activate the control device to change the configuration of the test equipment. This allows a user to make different measurements of the same part of a device without having to remove the probe from the device to change the configuration of the test equipment. Further by configuring the control device to save data or print data from the test equipment, the user may save or print data without removing their hand from the probe.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    The present invention relates generally to the field of test equipment probes, and more particularly to the field of controlling test equipment from probes.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    Modem electrical test equipment, such as multi-meters and oscilloscopes, use remote probes between the test equipment and the device under test. This allows the test equipment to sit on a shelf or lab bench away from the device under test so that the user may easily make various measurements of the device by moving only the small probe instead of the more bulky test equipment.  
           [0003]    Often the test equipment is placed on a shelf or in a rack near the device under test, but far enough away to allow the user free movement around the device. In making a series of measurements the user typically configures the test equipment for the desired measurement and then places the probe (or probes) on the device under test to make the actual measurement. If the user desires to make a similar measurement of a different part of the device, the configuration of the test equipment may be left unchanged, and the user simply moves the probe (or probes) to a different part of the device and makes the measurement. If the user desires to make different measurements of the same part of the device, they may need to change the configuration of the test equipment between the different measurements. This involves setting down the probe (or probes), changing the configuration of the test equipment, and replacing the probe (or probes) to the same part of the device under test. In a complex device, it may be tedious and difficult to properly place the probes to make a measurement. Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus allowing a user to change the configuration of test equipment without having to remove the probe (or probes) from the device under test.  
           [0004]    While making delicate measurements a user often will want to save or print a copy of the present display or data from a piece of test equipment. Currently, the user must have one hand free to save or print the data. If two hands are required to take the measurement, or if the test equipment is located out of reach, an additional person is required to save or print the data from the test equipment. Thus, there is a need in the art for an apparatus allowing a user to save or print data from test equipment from the probe itself instead of having to physically reach the test equipment.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An electronic test probe is built including a switch or other control device coupled to the test equipment, such that a user may make a measurement with the probe, and then without moving the probe, activate the control device to change the configuration of the test equipment. This allows a user to make different measurements of the same part of a device without having to remove the probe from the device to change the configuration of the test equipment. Further by configuring the control device to save data or print data from the test equipment, the user may save or print data without removing their hand from the probe.  
           [0006]    Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device.  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display and a communication port. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device. A probe  100  comprising a probe body  102 , an optional finger guard  106 , a cable  104  electrically connecting the probe to test equipment, and a probe tip  108 , is improved by the addition of a control device  110 . In this example configuration, the probe  100  is attached to the test equipment through a cable  104  between the probe body  102  and the test equipment. Note that within the scope of the present invention there are other mechanisms instead of a cable to send probe data and configuration data to the test equipment. For example, infrared light emitting diodes (LEDs), or radio waves may be reasonable mechanisms to couple the probe with the test equipment in some configurations. (FIG. 5 is an example embodiment of the present invention including a communication port  500  for transfer of data between the test probe and the test equipment.) Within the probe body are electrical connections between the cable  104  (or the communication port  500 ) and the probe tip  108  and the control device  110 . An optional finger guard  106  is mechanically attached to the probe body  102  to keep the users fingers from contacting the probe tip  108 . The control device  110  may be a simple push button switch as shown here, a rotary switch, an optoelectronic motion controller, or another method of controlling the test equipment. For example, a simple push button may be configured to cycle the test equipment through a series of configurations and the user would repeatedly press the button until the desired configuration is reached. A small rotary switch may have several different configurations encoded such that rotating the switch changes the configurations on the test equipment. Further, the configurations represented by rotational direction of the rotary switch may be programmable by a user. An optoelectronic motion encoder similar to those used on computer mice may be used such that the user turns a wheel or ball to change the configurations of the test equipment. Using a small trackball or a joystick, such as those often used in laptop personal computers, two different variables may be changed at the same time. For example, on an oscilloscope probe, a small joystick may be configured such that the x-axis controls the voltage sensitivity of the oscilloscope and the y-axis controls the time domain. This would allow the user to vary both sensitivity and frequency of the oscilloscope measurement without having to release the probe. Also, any combination of buttons, switches, wheels, balls and joysticks may be used if room allows on the probe, greatly expanding the possible variables that may be controlled without releasing the probe. Further, the control device is not limited to selecting configurations of the test equipment. In some embodiments of the present invention the control device may be designed to save a current reading or to print a display of the data, or to print a configuration summary. Thus, within the scope of the present invention, one embodiment may have both a joystick for controlling the configuration of the test equipment along with a push button for saving the present data or printing a representation of the data display of the test equipment to a printer.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display. This example configuration comprises the same elements as the probe shown in FIG. 1 with the addition of a mode display  200 . This mode display  200  may be a small liquid crystal diode (LCD) display, an array of light emitting diodes (LED&#39;s), a LED numeric display, or similar display devices. Anything that gives an indication of the configuration of the test equipment may be used as a mode display  200 . The test equipment configuration may be represented by alphanumeric digits, color, position, or any other indication possible on such displays. A simple row of LED&#39;s below printed configuration information may be an inexpensive display method. Such a mode display  200  would allow the user to verify that the test equipment is in the proper mode for the current measurement without having to look at the face of the test equipment itself.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device. This example embodiment of the present invention is equivalent to that shown in FIG. 1 with the internal connections within the probe body  102  shown. In this example embodiment, the probe tip  108  is electrically connected to the cable  104  through a wire  300 . In addition the control device  110  is electrically connected to the cable through a wire  302  and a second wire  304 . The elements connecting the probe tip  108  to the cable  104  may vary according to the needs of the probe and are not critical elements of the present invention. Likewise, the wires connecting the control device  110  to the test equipment through the cable  104  may vary in number and type within the scope of the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display. This example embodiment of the present invention is equivalent to that shown in FIG. 2 with the internal connections within the probe body  102  shown. In this example embodiment, the probe tip  108  is electrically connected to the cable  104  through a wire  300 . In addition the control device  110  is electrically connected to the cable through a wire  302  and a second wire  304 . The elements connecting the probe tip  108  to the cable  104  may vary according to the needs of the probe and are not critical elements of the present invention. Likewise, the wires connecting the control device  110  to the test equipment through the cable  104  may vary in number and type within the scope of the present invention. Also, the mode display  200  is connected to the test equipment through the cable  104  by a number of wires  400 . The number and type of these wires  400  may vary greatly within the scope of the present invention. In some embodiments of the present invention, such as that shown in FIG. 5, there may not need to be any wires connecting the probe  100  to the test equipment.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is a cut-away drawing of a portion of a probe including a control device and a mode display and a communication port. The example embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 5 is identical to that of FIG. 4 except that the cable  104  has been replaced with a communication port  500 . This communication port  500  may be an infrared LED or other wireless communication port that enables the probe  100  to send test data and configuration data to a piece of test equipment and optionally receive communication from the test equipment. For example, the test equipment may need to signal the probe when it is ready to receive data, or to confirm configuration changes or other control signals sent to the test equipment from the test probe.  
         [0017]    The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and other modifications and variations may be possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in various embodiments and various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the appended claims be construed to include other alternative embodiments of the invention except insofar as limited by the prior art.