Patent ID: 8862476

Claim:
A device for triggering a measurement instrument, responsive to a spoken command comprising voiced and unvoiced sound intervals in a particular order, said device comprising a microphone, an amplifier, a processor, memory elements, and an output connector, wherein: the memory elements contain information indicating the order of voiced and unvoiced sound intervals in a plurality of predetermined commands; the microphone is configured to convert sounds of the spoken command to an electrical signal; the amplifier is configured to amplify the electrical signal, thereby generating an amplified signal; the processor is configured to analyze the amplified signal, thereby detecting and identifying speech sounds as being voiced sounds and unvoiced sounds in the spoken command, thereby determining the order of voiced and unvoiced intervals in the spoken command; the processor is further configured to generate a particular output signal when the order of voiced and unvoiced intervals in the spoken command matches the order of voiced and unvoiced intervals in one of the predetermined commands, the particular output signal being associated with the matching predetermined command, the output signal comprising an electrical pulse having an amplitude and a duration sufficient to trigger the measurement instrument and cause the measurement instrument to make a measurement; and the output connector is configured to detachably connect to the measurement instrument, and to convey the output signal to the measurement instrument so as to trigger the measurement instrument, thereby causing the measurement instrument to make a measurement; wherein the measurement instrument comprises an oscilloscope or a sample-and-hold voltmeter.