Ronald W Hogan

US Patent:

51627230, Nov 10, 1992

Filed:

Feb 11, 1991

Appl. No.:

7/654451

Inventors:

Michael S. Marzalek - Petaluma CA
Richard C. Keiter - Healdsburg CA
John A. Wendler - Santa Rosa CA
Stephen R. Peterson - Santa Rosa CA
Ronald J. Hogan - Santa Rosa CA

Assignee:

Hewlett-Packard Company - Palo Alto CA

International Classification:

G01R 2302

US Classification:

324 77B

Abstract:

A sampling signal analyzer in which the frequency of an input signal to be measured is initially ascertained, an appropriate sampling frequency is then determined, data needed to reconstruct the wave form of the input signal is acquired, and the input signal wave shape is reconstructed with a calibrated time axis and preferably displayed. The sampling signal analyzer synthesizes a sampler drive signal to enable continuous sampling of the input signal and therefore has the advantage over known data sampling signal measurement instruments that it is not triggered directly in response to the level of the input signal to be measured. Instead, sample timing is based on numerical analysis of the intermediate frequency (IF) signal produced by the sampler. The IF frequency can be an arbitrarily low frequency, which allows digitizing and digital signal processing for aligning measurement data from sweep to sweep with precision. The sampling signal analyzer operates so that all frequency components of the input signal will lie within plus or minus an IF bandwidth away from a comb tooth of a sampling frequency and will translate (i. e.