JP2010096821A - Waveform output device and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a waveform output device capable of outputting image data, allowing each comparison etc, of waveforms included in a plurality of images without requiring a user of complicated work, and to provide a waveform output method. <P>SOLUTION: A waveform measuring device 1 is provided, including an output unit 18 outputting the image data of an image displayed on a display unit 20, the image data converted into a predetermined format (for example, a PNG format, a GIF format, a JPEG format or the like) to the outside, and an image changing unit 23 converting the background color of the image data into a transparent color when the format of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 can handle a transparent color. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a waveform output device and a waveform output method for outputting image data of an image including a waveform in a predetermined format.

  Waveform measuring devices such as oscilloscopes and spectrum analyzers, as is well known, display waveforms showing changes in electrical signals over time and frequency distribution on displays such as CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) and LCD (Liquid Crystal Display). The user observes the waveform displayed on the display of the waveform measuring device and determines whether there is an abnormality in the electrical signal. Many waveform measuring apparatuses developed in recent years include an output interface that can output image data of a waveform displayed on a display to the outside. The waveform image data output via this output interface is used, for example, for comparison of waveforms using a personal computer, advanced analysis, creation of reports and presentation materials, and the like.

  Further, in many recent waveform measuring apparatuses, a touch panel and a GUI (Graphical User Interface) are mounted in order to improve user operability and convenience. For this reason, in addition to the measured waveform, grid, information indicating the scale of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis, etc., various menus operated by the user are displayed on the display of the waveform measuring apparatus. Moreover, these are color-coded and displayed by color display in order to improve the visibility of the user. In a conventional waveform measuring apparatus capable of color display, it is possible to select whether to output image data as it is in color or to output image data converted into black and white binary according to a user operation.

For details of a conventional waveform measuring apparatus capable of outputting waveform image data displayed on the display, see, for example, Patent Document 1 below.
JP 2003-344453 A

  Incidentally, the image data output via the output interface described above is basically image data displayed on the display. For this reason, when outputting color image data as it is via the output interface, image data having a background color (background color) is output. Also, when outputting image data converted into black and white binary, image data having a white background color is output.

  When comparing waveforms using a personal computer, performing advanced analysis, or creating reports and presentation materials, output from the waveform measurement device to compare multiple waveforms It is often necessary to superimpose waveform image data. However, when the waveform image data output from the waveform measuring apparatus has a background color, the image data located below the overlap is simply overlapped by simply overlapping a plurality of image data. The image data positioned on the upper side of the alignment is covered, and the image data positioned on the lower side of the overlay cannot be referred to.

  Also, if the background color of the image data is removed using a paint application that can handle the image data on a personal computer, and the image data from which the background color has been removed is superimposed, the superimposed image data Can be referred to. However, the operation of removing the background color is extremely complicated and troublesome, and when the number of image data to be handled is large, the operation takes a long time, and there is a problem that it is extremely inefficient.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is a waveform capable of outputting image data that can easily compare waveforms included in a plurality of images without requiring a user's troublesome work. An object is to provide an output device and a waveform output method.

In order to solve the above problem, the waveform output device of the present invention can handle a transparent color as the format of the image data to be output in the waveform output device that outputs the image data of the image including the waveform in a predetermined format. In the case of the format, a conversion unit (23) for converting the background color of the image data into a transparent color is provided.
According to the present invention, when the format of image data to be output is a format that can handle a transparent color, the background color of the image data is converted into a transparent color and then output in a predetermined format.
In addition, the waveform output device of the present invention includes a setting unit (17) for setting whether or not the background color of the image data is converted into a transparent color by the conversion unit.
In the waveform output device of the present invention, when the conversion unit is set to output binary image data, the image data is binarized and the background color of the image data is changed. It is characterized by converting white to a transparent color.
Alternatively, the waveform output apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that, when the conversion unit is set to output color image data, the background color of the image data is converted to a transparent color.
In the waveform output device of the present invention, the conversion unit sets the background color of the image data in the color palette for managing the color of the image data to a transparent color, thereby setting the background color of the image data to a transparent color. It is characterized by converting to.
The waveform output method of the present invention is a waveform output method for outputting image data of an image including a waveform in a predetermined format, and whether or not the format of the image data to be output is a format capable of handling a transparent color. A first step (S13, S22) for determining the image data, and a second step for converting the background color of the image data into a transparent color when it is determined that the first step can handle the transparent color ( S15, S19, S24) and a third step (S20) for outputting the image data in which the background color is converted to a transparent color in the second step.

  According to the present invention, when the format of the image data to be output is a format that can handle a transparent color, the background color of the image data is converted into a transparent color and then output in a predetermined format. The waveforms included in each of the images can be referred to even when the images related to the plurality of image data are superimposed. As a result, there is an effect that the user can easily compare waveforms included in a plurality of images without having to perform complicated operations.

  Hereinafter, a waveform output device and a waveform output method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a waveform measuring apparatus including a waveform output apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a mode in which the waveform output device is provided in an oscilloscope which is a kind of waveform measuring device will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the waveform measuring apparatus 1 includes an input terminal portion 2, a plurality of operation keys 3, and a display 4 on the front surface thereof.

  The input terminal unit 2 includes a plurality of input terminals 2a to 2d, and probes (not shown) are connected to the input terminals 2a to 2d as necessary. That is, the waveform measuring apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 can simultaneously measure four types of waveforms (four channels). The operation key 3 is used to input a user instruction to the waveform measuring apparatus 1 and includes a plurality of push buttons, a rotary knob, and the like operated by the user.

  The display 4 is, for example, a liquid crystal display device or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), and displays measured waveforms, various menus operated by the user, and the like. The display 4 is provided with a touch panel (not shown), and various menus displayed on the screen can be operated when the user presses the display screen of the display 4.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a main configuration of a waveform measuring apparatus including a waveform output apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the waveform measuring apparatus 1 includes an A / D conversion unit 11, a waveform data memory 12, a control unit 13, a hard disk 14, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 15, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 16, and an operation unit 17. (Setting part), the output part 18, the display control part 19, and the display part 20 are provided.

  The A / D conversion unit 11 performs sampling and quantization on a signal input from the input terminal T1 (any one of the input terminals 2a to 2d provided in the input terminal unit 2 shown in FIG. 1). The signal is converted into digital signal waveform data. As described above, since the waveform measuring apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 can simultaneously measure four channels, the A / D converters 11 are provided in the number corresponding to the number of input terminals (four). However, only one is shown in FIG. 2 for simplicity of illustration.

  The waveform data memory 12 is a memory (acquisition memory) including a RAM or the like that stores the waveform data output from the A / D converter 11. The control unit 13 comprehensively controls the operation of the waveform measuring apparatus 1. For example, read control of the waveform data stored in the waveform data memory 12 is performed, and analysis processing of the read waveform data is performed. Further, display control of waveform data and various menus according to a user instruction input from the operation unit 17 is performed. Furthermore, in accordance with a user instruction input from the operation unit 17, control is performed to output image data of an image displayed on the display unit 20 (display 4) to the outside.

  Specifically, the control unit 13 includes a waveform analysis unit 21, a waveform display unit 22, and an image conversion unit 23 (conversion unit). The waveform analysis unit 21 reads the waveform data stored in the waveform data memory 12 and performs waveform analysis to obtain a peak value (maximum peak value and minimum peak value), a frequency, and the like. The waveform display unit 22 reads the waveform data stored in the waveform data memory 12, processes the waveform data into display data, outputs the data to the display control unit 19, and causes the display control unit 19 to display the display data. .

  The image conversion unit 23 converts the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20 into image data of a predetermined format (format) to be output from the output unit 18. Specifically, the image conversion unit 23 converts the background color of the image data to a transparent color when the background color of the image data output from the output unit 18 is set to be a transparent color. Also, the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20 is converted into image data in a format such as PNG (Portable Network Graphics), GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), BMP (Bit MaP), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), etc. To do.

  However, the PNG, GIF, and BMP formats are formats that can handle transparent colors, but the JPEG format is a format that cannot handle transparent colors. For this reason, the image conversion unit 23 converts the background color of the image data to a transparent color only when the format of the image data output from the output unit 18 is a format that can handle transparent colors such as PNG and GIF. To do.

  Here, the image displayed on the display unit 20 is usually a color image. For this reason, the image conversion unit 23 binarizes the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20 when the setting is made to output the binary image data from the output unit 18. Further, when the background color of the image data output from the output unit 18 is set to be a transparent color, white of the background color of the image data is converted to a transparent color.

  On the other hand, when setting is made to output color image data from the output unit 18, the image conversion unit 23 performs a process of changing the color of the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20. Absent. If the background color of the image data output from the output unit 18 is set to be transparent, the background color of the image data is converted to a transparent color. For example, when the background color is blue, blue is converted into a transparent color.

  The color of the image displayed on the display unit 20 is managed using a color palette CP stored in the RAM 16. When the setting for outputting binary image data from the output unit 18 is made, the image conversion unit 23 sets the color used in the color palette to only white and black and displays the image displayed on the display unit 20. The image data is binarized, and the background color of the image data, white, is set as a transparent color. When the output unit 18 is set to output color image data, the image conversion unit 23 sets the background color of the image data in the color palette to a transparent color, thereby setting the background color of the image data. Convert to transparent color.

  The hard disk 14 records the analysis result of the waveform analysis unit 21 of the control unit 13 and other various data. In addition, when it is necessary to save the contents of the color palette CP even after the waveform measuring apparatus 1 is turned off, the color palette CP is stored in the RAM 16 and recorded on the hard disk 14. The ROM 15 stores various programs used by the control unit 13. For example, when the control unit 13 is realized by a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a program for realizing the waveform analysis unit 21, the waveform display unit 22, and the image conversion unit 23 in FIG. 2 is stored. The RAM 16 temporarily stores various data used in the processing performed by the color palette CP and the control unit 13 described above.

  The operation unit 17 includes the operation keys 3 shown in FIG. 1 and outputs instruction information indicating user instructions to the control unit 13. When the user performs a predetermined operation on the operation unit 17, the setting of the format of image data to be output from the output unit 18 and the type of image data to be output from the output unit 18 (binary image data or color image) Various settings such as setting of (data) and setting of whether or not the background color of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 is a transparent color can be performed.

  The output unit 18 outputs image data displayed on the display unit 20 (including image data subjected to conversion processing by the image conversion unit 23) to the outside under the control of the control unit 13. Specifically, the output unit 18 outputs image data to a nonvolatile removable memory that can be attached to and detached from the waveform measuring apparatus 1 such as an SD (registered trademark) memory, a CF (CompactFlash) memory, and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory. A writing unit (not shown) for writing is provided. If the removable memory in which the image data is written by the writing unit of the output unit 18 is removed from the waveform measuring apparatus 1, the image data is output to the outside of the waveform measuring apparatus 1.

  In place of the removable memory, image data can be written on a recording medium such as a magnetic disk such as a hard disk or a flexible disk, an optical disk such as a CD-R, or a magneto-optical disk such as an MO disk. Further, if a communication unit that enables wired or wireless communication via a network is provided in the output unit 18, image data can be output (transmitted) via the network without writing to the various recording media. Is possible.

  The display control unit 19 controls display contents displayed on the display unit 20 under the control of the control unit 13. For example, when waveform data is output from the control unit 13, the waveform data is displayed on the display unit 20. When various menus are output in addition to the waveform data, various menus are displayed together with the waveform data. The display unit 20 includes the display 4 shown in FIG. 1 and displays various data such as measured waveform data.

  Next, the operation of the waveform measuring apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described. Below, the operation | movement at the time of measurement of a to-be-measured signal is demonstrated easily first, and the operation | movement at the time of the output of the waveform data of the to-be-measured signal displayed on the display part 20 is demonstrated.

[Operation when measuring signal under test]
Prior to measurement of the signal under measurement using the waveform measuring apparatus 1, the user turns on the waveform measuring apparatus 1 and operates the operation keys 3 (see FIG. 1) to make various initial settings. For example, various settings such as setting of display contents to be displayed on the display unit 20 such as setting of horizontal and vertical scales and offsets of the display screen in the display unit 20 and setting of display / non-display of menus are performed. The setting content input by the user operating the operation key 3 is input from the operation unit 17 to the control unit 13, and an initial process corresponding to the setting content is performed.

  When the initial setting is completed and the user electrically connects the tip of the probe connected to at least one of the input terminals 2a to 2d of the input terminal unit 2 provided in the waveform measuring apparatus 1 to the measured part. Data acquisition starts. A signal input from the input terminal T1 shown in FIG. 2 via the probe is sampled and quantized by the A / D converter 11 and binarized, and converted into waveform data which is a digital signal. The waveform data output from the A / D converter 11 is stored in the waveform data memory 12.

  The waveform data stored in the waveform data memory 12 is sequentially read out by the control unit 13, processed into display data by the waveform display unit 22, output to the display control unit 19, and displayed by the display control unit 19. Displayed on the unit 20. Through the above processing, the waveform of the signal under measurement is displayed on the display 4.

[Operation when outputting image data]
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation when outputting image data from the waveform measuring apparatus 1. The process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 is started when the user operates the operation unit 17 to give a print instruction to the waveform measuring apparatus 1. Here, in order to simplify the description, it is assumed that various settings necessary for outputting the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20 are set in advance by the user.

  That is, the format of image data to be output from the output unit 18 (PNG format, GIF format, JPEG format, etc.), and the type of image data to be output from the output unit 18 (binary image data or color image data) It is assumed that various settings such as setting of whether or not to set the background color of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 to a transparent color are set in advance by the user before the above print instruction. It should be noted that the convenience of the user is enhanced if the above various settings can be changed after the user gives the print instruction.

  When the process is started, first, the control unit 13 determines whether the image data to be output from the output unit 18 is binary image data (step S11). If the user has set to output the binary image data, the determination in step S11 is “YES”, and the binary image data is obtained from the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20. The process of creating is started.

  When processing for creating binary image data is started, an image creation area used to create image data to be output from the output unit 18 is first secured in the RAM 16 under the control of the control unit 13. At the same time, the image creation area is initialized with data indicating white in the image data. Further, the image conversion unit 23 performs processing for setting the color palette CP stored in the RAM 16 to a binary value composed of white and black (step S12).

  Next, the image conversion unit 23 determines whether the format of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 is a format that can handle transparent colors. Specifically, it is determined whether the PNG format or the GIF format is set as the format of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 (step S13). If the PNG format or the GIF format is set, the determination result in step S13 is “YES”, and it is determined whether or not the setting for converting the background color to the transparent color is made (step S14).

  If the setting for converting the background color to a transparent color is made by the user, the determination result in step S14 is “YES”, and the image conversion unit 23 changes the white color of the color palette CP to a transparent color (white transparent color). It is set (step S15). If either one of the determination results of steps S13 and S14 is “NO”, the process of step S15 is omitted, and the white color of the color palette CP is not set to a transparent color.

  Next, under the control of the control unit 13, the waveform data is read out and written into the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 (step S16). Here, the reading of the waveform data is started from a channel having a low display priority (this priority is preset). In addition, the waveform data reading process is omitted for channels in which the waveform data is not displayed on the display unit 20 (channels whose display is off).

  When the process of step S16 is completed, the control unit 13 determines whether or not the waveform data reading process has been completed for all channels (step S17). If there is a channel for which the waveform data reading process is not performed, the determination result of step S17 is “NO”, and the process of step S16 is repeated. On the other hand, when the waveform data reading process is completed for all channels, the determination result in step S17 is “YES”.

  Then, under the control of the control unit 13, the menu and character data displayed on the display unit 20 are read out and written into the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 (step S18). Thereby, the menu and character data displayed on the display unit 20 together with the waveform of the signal under measurement are added to the waveform data, and the content of the image formed by the image data to be output from the output unit 18 is displayed on the display unit 20. It is equivalent to the contents of the displayed image.

  When the above processing is completed, the data written in the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 and the color palette CP are read, and the image conversion unit 23 sends the data read from the image creation area from the output unit 18. A process of converting the image data to be output is performed (step S19). Specifically, first, data read from the image creation area is binarized according to the color palette CP, and then the binarized data is converted into image data in a set format (for example, PNG format). To image data) is performed. When the above processing is completed, the image data converted by the image conversion unit 23 is output to the output unit 18 and written in a nonvolatile removable memory or the like, whereby the converted image data is output (step S20). ).

  On the other hand, if the user has set to output the color image data, the determination in step S11 is “NO”, and the color image data from the image data of the image displayed on the display unit 20 is determined. The process of creating is started. When the process of creating color image data is started, an image creation area used to create image data to be output from the output unit 18 is first secured in the RAM 16 under the control of the control unit 13. . Also, the color palette CP stored in the RAM 16 is read out by the image conversion unit 23 (step S21).

  Next, the image conversion unit 23 determines whether the format of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 is a format that can handle transparent colors. Specifically, it is determined whether the PNG format or the GIF format is set as the format of the image data to be output from the output unit 18 (step S22). If the PNG format or the GIF format is set, the determination result in step S22 is “YES”, and it is determined whether or not the setting for converting the background color to the transparent color is made (step S23).

  When the setting for converting the background color to the transparent color is made by the user, the determination result in step S23 is “YES”, and the background color of the image data in the color palette CP is set to the transparent color by the image conversion unit 23. (Step S24). With this setting, the background color of the image data is converted into a transparent color with increased transparency without changing its color. When either one of the determination results of steps S23 and S24 is “NO”, the process of step S24 is omitted, and the background color of the image data in the color palette CP is not set to a transparent color. .

  Next, under the control of the control unit 13, the waveform data of each channel is read out and written into the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 (steps S16 and S17). Next, under the control of the control unit 13, the menu and character data displayed on the display unit 20 are read out and written into the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 (step S18).

  When the above processing is completed, the data written in the image creation area secured in the RAM 16 and the color palette CP are read, and the image conversion unit 23 sends the data read from the image creation area from the output unit 18. A process of converting the image data to be output is performed (step S19). When the conversion process is completed, the image data converted by the image conversion unit 23 is output to the output unit 18 and written into a nonvolatile removable memory or the like, thereby outputting the converted image data (step). S20).

  If the user removes the removable memory in which the image data has been written from the waveform measuring apparatus 1 and loads it to a personal computer, for example, and reads the image data, the waveform comparison and advanced analysis, or the creation of reports and presentation materials It can be performed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of image data output from the waveform measuring apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  The images Im1 and Im2 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B are sequentially output from the waveform measuring apparatus 1 when the user issues a print instruction twice to the waveform measuring apparatus 1 at a predetermined time interval. It is an image obtained by displaying the obtained image data. As described with reference to FIG. 3, the image data output from the waveform measuring apparatus 1 may include menu data and character data displayed on the display unit 20. For simplicity, these illustrations are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the image Im1 includes two channel waveforms WF11 and WF12. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 4B, the image Im2 includes waveforms WF21 and WF22 of two channels. Further, when the image data related to the images Im1 and Im2 is output from the waveform measuring device 1, if the background of the image data is set to be transparent in the waveform measuring device 1, the image Im1, Each background color of Im2 is set to a transparent color.

  If the image Im1 and the image Im2 whose background color is set to be transparent are overlapped, as shown in FIG. 4C, the image located below the overlap (for example, the image Im2) is positioned above the overlap. The displayed image (for example, the image Im1) is transmitted and displayed. For this reason, as in the prior art, an image located on the lower side of the overlay is covered with an image located on the upper side of the overlay, and the image data located on the lower side of the overlay cannot be referred to. Therefore, both of the waveforms WF11 and WF12 included in the superimposed image Im1 and the waveforms WF21 and WF22 included in the image Im2 can be referred to.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, when the image Im1 and the image Im2 are displayed side by side without being overlapped, whether or not there is a change between the waveform WF11 and the waveform WF21. It is difficult to clearly grasp whether or not there is a change between the waveform WF12 and the waveform WF22. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the image Im1 and the image Im2 are displayed in a superimposed manner, there is no change between the waveform WF12 and the waveform WF22, and the waveform WF11 and the waveform It can be clearly understood that a slight change has occurred with the WF22. This allows the user to easily compare and analyze waveforms in a short time.

  The waveform output device and the waveform output method according to the embodiment of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be freely changed within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 3, the process of adding menu and character data to the waveform data (step S18) is performed. (Or, data obtained by adding only data indicating the vertical axis and the horizontal axis to the waveform data) may be converted into image data.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the entire background color of the image data is made transparent is taken as an example. However, the present invention can also be applied to a case where a part of the background color of the image data is made transparent. it can. For example, in the image displayed on the display unit 20, only the background color of the waveform display area where the waveform is displayed is made transparent, and other areas other than the waveform display area (for example, areas where menus and the like are displayed) The background color may not be transparent.

  In the above embodiment, the waveform output device of the present invention is described as being incorporated in an oscilloscope which is a type of waveform measurement device. However, the waveform output device may be provided in another waveform measurement device other than the oscilloscope. Other waveform measuring devices include waveform measuring devices such as a spectrum analyzer, a serial bus analyzer, a logic analyzer, a chart recorder, and a wattmeter. Furthermore, the waveform output device of the present invention is not limited to the mode incorporated in the waveform measuring device, but can be applied in a mode incorporated in a computer.

It is a front view of a waveform measuring device provided with the waveform output device by one embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the principal part structure of a waveform measuring apparatus provided with the waveform output device by one Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation when image data is output from the waveform measuring apparatus 1. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the image data output from the waveform measuring apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Waveform measuring device 13 Control part 17 Operation part 18 Output part 20 Display part 23 Image conversion part

Claims (6)

In a waveform output device that outputs image data of an image including a waveform in a predetermined format,
A waveform output device comprising: a conversion unit that converts a background color of image data to a transparent color when the format of the image data to be output is a format that can handle a transparent color.   The waveform output apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a setting unit configured to set whether or not the background color of the image data is converted into a transparent color by the conversion unit.   When the setting for outputting binary image data is made, the conversion unit binarizes the image data and converts white of the background color of the image data into a transparent color. The waveform output device according to claim 1 or 2.   3. The waveform output according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts a background color of the image data to a transparent color when the setting for outputting the color image data is made. 4. apparatus.   The conversion unit converts the background color of the image data to a transparent color by setting the background color of the image data to a transparent color in a color palette that manages the color of the image data. The waveform output device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A waveform output method for outputting image data of an image including a waveform in a predetermined format,
A first step of determining whether the format of the image data to be output is a format capable of handling transparent colors;
A second step of converting a background color of the image data into a transparent color when it is determined that the format is a format capable of handling a transparent color in the first step;
And a third step of outputting the image data in which a background color is converted to a transparent color in the second step.

Images