Abstract:
A probe contains integrated oscilloscope controls. This allows the technician to operate the controls while holding the probe. Consequently, changes can be made at the probe without the technician needing to go to the oscilloscope to change controls. The programmable oscilloscope embodiment is for broad use with any oscilloscope where controls can be put on the probe body.

Description:
BACKGROUND  
         [0001]    Many electronic devices, such as computers, include circuit boards, on which are mounted electronic components such as a processor or memory. When these components malfunction or when the devices are beta tested, a technician typically probes the components with a probe coupled to an oscilloscope to determine the cause of the malfunction or to confirm the device operates as intended.  
           [0002]    There are different types of probes for different uses. Passive probes are used to measure typical signal and voltage levels. To measure signals with fast rise times, high-speed active or differential probes are used for more accurate results.  
           [0003]    For example, referring to FIG. 1, a technician (not shown) connects a high-frequency probe  10  to an oscilloscope  11  with a probe cable  13  and then probes  10  a node  17  on a circuit board  16 . Often, however, when the technician probes the node  17 , he needs to hold the probe  10  in position with one of his hands. This may make it difficult for the same technician to maneuver the controls  14  on the oscilloscope  11  or to look at and evaluate the display on the oscilloscope screen  12 , particularly if the technician has to take his eyes off of the probe  10  or if the oscilloscope  11  is out of the technician&#39;s reach. In such a situation, the probe  10  may slip and at best lose the signal to be measured and at worst may damage the circuit board  16 . Furthermore, if the measurement requires two probes, a lone technician cannot hold both probes and simultaneously maneuver the oscilloscope controls  14 .  
           [0004]    There are a number of solutions to this problem. The technician could mount the probe in a fixed position and secure it permanently or semi-permanently to the device under test to free up his hands to control the scope and free up his eyes to look at the screen. This solution allows a single technician to both make measurements with one or multiple probes and also to control the oscilloscope, but requires a means to attach the probes to the device. Although such attachment is possible and is used in situations where repeated measurements need to be taken over time, it is often too time consuming to merely make a quick measurement and potentially causes damage to the system under test.  
           [0005]    Still referring to FIG. 1, another solution is to use a voice-controlled oscilloscope  11 . This allows the technician to hold the scope probe(s)  10  to measure a signal or the node  17  while controlling the scope  11  via a microphone  15 . A problem with this solution is that oscilloscope measurements are often made in a noisy environment such as a lab where voice control does not work well or at all. Typically, only about one in ten voice commands actually provide the desired response, such that the technician must continually repeat a voice command until the oscilloscope  11  properly implements the command.  
           [0006]    Yet another solution is having a second technician control the oscilloscope  11  while a first technician holds the probe(s), but using two technicians to make a measurement is often an inefficient use of resources.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0007]    In one aspect of the invention, a probe includes oscilloscope controls so that a technician can control the oscilloscope while probing a circuit node. The controls may be positioned on the probe such that the technician can use his probe-holding hand, his other hand, or both to control the oscilloscope. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional oscilloscope and signal probe.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a probe incorporating oscilloscope controls and an oscilloscope according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a probe incorporating programmable oscilloscope controls and an oscilloscope according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the probe of FIG. 3, and a personal-computer-based oscilloscope according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0012]    The following discussion is presented to enable a person skilled in the art to make and use the invention. Various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles herein may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features disclosed herein.  
         [0013]    Referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment of the invention, a probe  18  for probing a node  17  includes one or more oscilloscope controls  19 . The embedded controls  19  may be hard-wired to provide a predetermined set of commands to the oscilloscope  11 , or may be programmable.  
         [0014]    Still referring to FIG. 2, the embedded controls  19  may take many forms. For example, they may be buttons located on the body of the probe  18  that the technician can push in certain sequences while he is holding the probe to give the desired function to the scope  11 , they may be hard-wired one-function buttons, or they may be completely programmable such that pressing a single button or pressing a sequence of buttons can implement respective selected functions. Placement of the buttons  19  on the probe body is designed to allow for easy pressing of the buttons with the same hand used to hold the probe. In one embodiment, the functionality of the embedded button controls  19  can be programmed from the front-panel controls  14  of the oscilloscope  11 , or one or more of the buttons  19  can be enabled or disabled via the controls  14 . Examples of oscilloscope functions that can be controlled via hard-wired buttons  19  are: start, stop, store waveform and auto scale. Examples of oscilloscope functions that can be controlled via programmable buttons  19  are: changing the trigger input, changing the time scale, and changing the voltage scale. Thus, the controls  19  allow a single technician to control the functionality of the oscilloscope  11  and at the same time make a measurement without needing help from a second technician, or needing to maneuver the front-panel controls  14  with his free hand. In one embodiment, the embedded controls  19  include an analog dial capability and in another embodiment, an up/down step function capability.  
         [0015]    Still referring to FIG. 2, the controls  19  are connected to the scope  11  via the cable  13  that connects the probe  18  to the scope  11  by including control wires (not shown) within the cable  13 . These wires are routed within the cable  13  without any interference or negative impact to the measurement accuracy. Alternatively, the controls  19  may be coupled to the scope  11  via a wireless link. Furthermore, the scope  11  may be operable with multiple probes  18  each having controls  19 . In such an embodiment, the controls  19  on either probe  18  may be used to control the oscilloscope  11 , or the technician may disable one set of controls  19 . In one embodiment, a probe  18  with controls  19  may also include an embedded speaker  21  providing audible feedback to the technician when a control  19  has been used.  
         [0016]    Still referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the controls  19  are separate from the body of the probe  18  and disposed in a remote unit  20  similar to a TV remote control, which is used to control the oscilloscope  11 .  
         [0017]    Referring to FIG. 3, in one embodiment, an embedded display  22  allows for remote control of the oscilloscope  11  with an interface similar to that of a cell phone. This allows for the ability to see a small copy of the oscilloscope screen output  12  on the embedded display screen  22 . This brings the technician, the controls  19 , the speaker  21 , and the display (on the screen  22 ) all into close proximity and thus allows the technician to focus on probing the node  17  without having to look away from the general area of the node  17 . In one embodiment, the quality of the embedded display screen  22  is low and is sufficient only to show the existence of a signal. In another embodiment, the quality is higher requiring more computational power to show more detail.  
         [0018]    Referring to FIG. 4, the probe  18  of FIG. 3 can be used in conjunction with an oscilloscope that is implemented into a computer  27  such as a personal computer according to an embodiment of the invention. This integration may allow for easier programming of the probe  18  and allows for integration of the scope display  23  into the computer display console  24 . The functionality of a computer  27  may allow for easier programming of the oscilloscope  25  using the keyboard  26  and display console  24  if available. It also may allow for multiple display windows for multiple scope displays  23  on the computer&#39;s console  24 . In one embodiment of the invention, the probe display  22  can be remotely controlled via the controls  19  to display any of the scope display windows  23  that the technician needs view.  
         [0019]    Other embodiments of the programmable probe are contemplated. For example, the probe  18  of FIG. 2 may also be used with the scope implemented on the computer  27  of FIG. 4. Also, it is possible to take advantage of computer networking and have a programmable probe be part of one computer system networked to a distant remote and separate computer system with the oscilloscope embedded. This allows for remote diagnostics and repair. For example, just as remote medical diagnostics are made today via the internet to remote and isolated individuals and locations, remote electrical diagnostics and repairs can be made with the expert technician not physically present at the remote site where there is only a programmable probe connected to a local computer operated by a physically remote technician&#39;s aide.