Abstract:
An electronic test equipment apparatus is provided. A metrologic device is adapted for creating stimulus signals and capturing responses from electronic devices under test (DUTs). An auditory device is in communication with the metrologic device. The auditory device is adapted for converting an output of the metrologic device to an audio signal to be heard by a user.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention generally relates to electronics devices, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to speech synthesis and voice recognition devices integrated into, or otherwise associated with, metrologic equipment. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Metrologic equipment includes a number of devices used to analyze and test electronic components in electronics devices. For example, metrologic equipment may include voltmeters to measure a voltage across two nodes, an oscilloscope to measure a waveform, an ammeter to measure current, etc. Users of metrologic equipment perform test procedures to diagnose equipment problems, perform research and development functions, and perform a variety of additional tasks. 
         [0003]    The use of metrologic equipment in laboratory environments often requires the operator to change focus from the unit or component being measured (i.e. circuit assembly) to the metrologic equipment repeatedly, therefore reducing efficiency and increasing the probability of error. 
         [0004]    For example, test points in electronics devices are often very small, requiring a lot of precision so as not to short or damage components. As a result, an engineer measuring an attribute of the electronics device, such as a voltage on a circuit board, has to locate the test point, connect the probe to the test point, and then switch focus by looking at the readout of the voltmeter and/or change the settings of the metrologic equipment. The engineer may have to repeat these steps, constantly switching focus between the voltmeter and the circuit board. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In light of the foregoing, a need exists for a mechanism by which a user of metrologic equipment, such as an engineer in a laboratory setting, may perform tasks without the requirement of physically looking at a display, manually changing settings on the metrologic equipment, and allowing the user to focus on the electronics device, component, circuit, etc. under analysis. 
         [0006]    Accordingly, in one embodiment, by way of example only, an electronic test equipment apparatus is provided. A metrologic device is adapted for creating stimulus signals and capturing responses from electronic devices under test (DUTs). An auditory device is in communication with the metrologic device. The auditory device is adapted for converting an output of the metrologic device to an audio signal to be heard by a user. 
         [0007]    In another embodiment, again by way of example only, a method for analyzing electronic devices under test (DUTs) is provided. At least one of creating stimulus signals for and capturing responses from the electronic devices is performed using a metrologic device. An output of the metrologic device is converted to an audio signal to be heard by a user. 
         [0008]    In still another embodiment, again by way of example only, a computer program product for analyzing electronic devices under test (DUTs) is provided. The computer program product comprises a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein. The computer-readable program code portions comprise a first executable portion for performing at least one of creating stimulus signals for and capturing responses from the electronic devices using a metrologic device, and a second executable portion for converting an output of the metrologic device to an audio signal to be heard by a user. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]    The present invention will hereinafter be described in conjunction with the following drawing figures, wherein like numerals denote like elements, and 
           [0010]      FIG. 1  illustrates an exemplary multimeter embodiment of electronic test equipment; 
           [0011]      FIG. 2  illustrates a block diagram of exemplary functionality of the multimeter embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0012]      FIG. 3  illustrates a block diagram of an additional embodiment of electronic test equipment; and 
           [0013]      FIG. 4  illustrates an exemplary method for analyzing electronics devices under test (DUTs). 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    The following detailed description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention or the application and uses of the invention. Furthermore, there is no intention to be bound by any theory presented in the preceding background of the invention or the following detailed description of the invention. 
         [0015]    The present description and following claimed subject matter present exemplary embodiments of electronics test equipment having integrated voice synthesis and voice recognition functionality. The illustrated embodiments allow a user to maintain their focus on the test point, while listening to and/or commanding the electronics test equipment. In some embodiments, wireless communication functionality may be integrated into the electronics test equipment. This allows a user, for example, to wear a wireless headset to allow for greater flexibility. 
         [0016]    Turning to  FIG. 1 , exemplary electronics test equipment embodied in a multimeter  10  is illustrated. Multimeter  10  allows, as one skilled in the art will appreciate, the collection of a variety of electronics data, such as voltage, current, capacitance, frequency, field strength, and temperature. The electronics data is obtained using selector knob  12  to select the desired function, and using the probes  14  which are placed at test points on the electronics devices under test. 
         [0017]    In the illustrated embodiment, selector knob  12  is positioned to select the voltmeter function (V)  16 . Multimeter  10  is configured to allow for the measurement of direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) volts using a single selector position  16 . Display  18  shows an example output measurement of  0 . 385 V. 
         [0018]    Multimeter  10  includes an audio selector button  20 . Audio button  20  enables audio functionality on multimeter  10 . When audio button selector  20  is depressed, audio indicator  24  is shown in display  18  as seen to signify that the audio functionality has been enabled. A user may depress audio selector button  20  to enable the conversion of the digital output measurement of 0.385V to an audio signal fed to speaker  22 . As a result, when the user connects the probes  14  to the test point and the audio selector functionality is enabled, voice synthesis functionality integrated into the multimeter  10  produces a voice output of “0.385 Volts” through mic/speaker  22 , or through headphone jack  26 . 
         [0019]    Audio functionality integrated into multimeter  10  also includes voice recognition functionality. A user may plug an external microphone into microphone jack  28 . In other embodiments, the skilled artisan will appreciate that headphone jack  26  and microphone jack  28  are integrated into a single jack adapted to connect to a headset. In other embodiments, multimeter  10  may be equipped with wireless functionality to allow a user to wear a wireless headset to receive voice synthesized output measurements and provide voice commands. 
         [0020]    A user may speak a voice command into the mic/speaker  22  or into a microphone integrated into a headset connected to the multimeter  10 . For example, the user may say “select volts” to cause the multimeter  10  to choose the voltmeter function  16 . The voice recognition functionality integrated into multimeter  10  allows for the conversion of a recognized voice command to a machine instruction. The voice synthesis and voice recognition functionality will be further described, following. 
         [0021]    Turning to  FIG. 2 , a block diagram of exemplary voice synthesis and voice recognition functionality  50  for electronic test equipment  52  is depicted. Electronic test equipment  52  may include a variety of equipment, such as a voltmeter, an ohmmeter, an ammeter, a multimeter, a power supply, a signal generator, a pattern generator, a pulse generator, an oscilloscope, a frequency counter, a test probe, a solenoid voltmeter, a clamp meter, a wheatstone bridge, a capacitance meter, an LCR meter, an EMF meter, an electrometer, a signal tracer, a logic analyzer, a spectrum analyzer, a vector signal analyzer, a time-domain reflectometer, and a signal generator. Electronic test equipment  52  may, as the skilled artisan will appreciate, encompass additional electronics devices, such as medical devices. For example, electronic test equipment  52  may include sensor devices placed in communication with mechanical or electrical hardware and/or systems, such as a vehicle. 
         [0022]    A metrologic device  56  is integrated into the equipment  52 . The metrologic device performs the functionality of sending test signals and/or receiving measurement data from the electronic devices under test. In the case of a voltmeter, for example, the metrologic device  56  includes the components necessary to perform the voltmeter functionality, such as a processor  58  in communication with a memory  59 . As the skilled artisan will appreciate, the metrologic device  56  may include additional components, or the components may vary in a particular implementation. For example, in the case of medical electronic test equipment  52 , the metrologic device  56  may include a heart rate sensor/monitor or a pulse oximeter. 
         [0023]    Metrologic device  56  provides an output  60 , such as a voltage measurement. The output  60  is provided to an auditory device  62 . Auditory device  62  includes one or more converters and additional processors  64 . For example, the converters/processors  64  may include various digital-to-analog (D/A) and/or analog-to-digital (A/D) converters for converting analog signals to/from digital signals. In one embodiment, auditory device  62  also leverages the processing power of processor  58  to perform conversion functions. 
         [0024]    Converters/processors  64  are connected to a database  66 . Database  66  may store a list of recognized voice commands, for example. These commands may include such commands as “select,” and “volts.” The skilled artisan will appreciate that a variety of commands may be delineated in a particular implementation. 
         [0025]    Output  60  is processed through the auditory device to provide an audio signal  66 . The audio signal may be a voice synthesized conversion of the digital measurement, for example. In other embodiments, the audio signal may be an audio tone that changes in pitch as the measurement is increased/decreased. For example, the audio tone may increase in pitch as a particular voltage measurement increases, and decrease in pitch as a voltage measurement decreases. 
         [0026]    A user may speak a voice command  68  that is input to the auditory device  62  for conversion to a machine instruction  70 . The machine instruction is then provided to the metrologic device  56  to perform a specific function. Per the foregoing example, the voice command “select volts” may be converted to the machine instruction for the metrologic device to select voltmeter functionality. In a further example using an oscilloscope as metrologic device  56 , the user may use the voice command “increase time base” or “zoom out” to broaden the oscilloscope&#39;s time base by a predetermined amount. 
         [0027]    Turning to  FIG. 3 , an additional block diagram of electronic test equipment  52  is illustrated. Equipment  52  includes a microphone  70 , one or more inputs (such as inputs adapted to connect to probes  14  ( FIG. 1 ), and a display  74 . Inputs  72  are provided to the metrologic device  56 . Metrologic device  56  also provides an output connected to the display. 
         [0028]    Microphone  70  is connected to the auditory device  62 . Auditory device  62  includes a speech synthesis module in communication with a voice recognition module  78  and database  66 . Auditory device provides audio signals output to speaker  80 , headphone output  82 , and to the wireless communication module  84 . 
         [0029]    Auditory device  62  is connected to metrologic device  56  through an input/output (I/O) channel  86 . For example, a digital output measurement is passed through I/O channel  86  to the auditory device  62  as an input. A voice command that has been converted to a machine instruction is passed through I/O channel  86  to metrologic device  56  as an input. 
         [0030]    Wireless communication module  84  provides wireless communication functionality for the equipment  52  according to an available variety of wireless communications schemes. In one embodiment, wireless communication module  84  is compliant with the 2.4 GHz short-range radio frequency bandwidth commonly known as Bluetooth®. In other embodiments, wireless communication module  84  may implement other wireless communications schemes as the skilled artisan will appreciate. 
         [0031]    Turning to  FIG. 4 , an exemplary method  100  for analyzing an electronics device using electronics test equipment, such as a multimeter, is depicted. As one skilled in the art will appreciate, various steps in the method  100  may be implemented in differing ways to suit a particular application. In addition, the described method  100  may be implemented by various means, such as hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof operational on or otherwise associated with the blade server environment. For example, the method  100  may be implemented, partially or wholly, as a computer program product including a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein. The computer-readable storage medium may include disk drives, flash memory, digital versatile disks (DVDs), compact disks (CDs), and other types of storage mediums. 
         [0032]    Method  100  begins (step  102 ) with a user stating a command, such as “select DC Amps” (step  104 ). The voice command is received by the multimeter via a wireless protocol (step  106 ). The auditory device/voice recognition module converts the voice command into a computer-readable machine instruction (step  108 ). 
         [0033]    Control then moves to step  110 , where the metrologic device, in response to receiving the machine instruction, selects the DC ammeter functionality. The user places probes on the electronic device under test (step  112 ). The metrologic device calculates and/or records the measurement (step  114 ). The output measurement is then forwarded to the auditory device (step  116 ). 
         [0034]    The auditory device utilizes the speech synthesis module to convert the output measurement to an audio signal (step  118 ). The audio signal is transferred to the user either again via the wireless protocol or fed to an onboard speaker. The user hears the output measurement, such as “350 DC milliamps” (step  120 ). The method  100  then ends (step  122 ). 
         [0035]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in an embodiment,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment. 
         [0036]    Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the invention may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are described to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, and so forth. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention. 
         [0037]    Some of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, or the like. 
         [0038]    Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module. 
         [0039]    Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices and processors. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. 
         [0040]    While one or more embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated in detail, the skilled artisan will appreciate that modifications and adaptations to those embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.