1. A non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium that stores program instructions for configuring a measurement system, wherein the program instructions are executable by at least one processor to implement:
receiving one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the measurement system includes one or more measurement devices, wherein the one or more requirements are received over a wide area network;
determining one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements;
receiving payment information to pay for the one or more software programs; and
providing the one or more software programs to the measurement system over the wide area network;
wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the measurement system to perform at least a portion of the measurement task.
2. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein said determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises retrieving the one or more software programs from a non-transitory computer readable memory medium based on the one or more requirements.
3. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein said determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises automatically generating the one or more software programs in response to the one or more requirements; and
wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating code in the one or more software programs without direct user input specifying the code.
4. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program.
5. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more software programs includes at least one graphical program, wherein the at least one graphical program comprises a plurality of interconnected nodes which visually indicate functionality of the graphical program;
wherein said determining the one or more software programs in response to said one or more requirements comprises:
automatically generating the at least one graphical program in response to the one or more requirements;
wherein said automatically generating comprises automatically generating the at least one graphical program without direct user input specifying the nodes or connections between the nodes.
6. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; and
wherein the at least one measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs.
7. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the measurement system comprises a reconfigurable measurement device; and
wherein the reconfigurable measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs.
8. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and one or more measurement devices coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; and
wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the client computer system to perform the measurement task using the one or more measurement devices.
9. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the measurement system includes a computer system, wherein the one or more measurement devices are coupled to or comprised in the computer system.
10. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system;
wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs;
wherein the at least one measurement device is operable to execute a first one or more software programs to perform a first portion of the measurement task; and
wherein the client computer system is operable to execute a second one or more software programs to perform a second portion of the measurement task.
11. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
determining configuration information in response to said one or more requirements; and
providing the configuration information to the measurement system over the wide area network;
wherein the configuration information is useable to configure the measurement system to perform the measurement task.
12. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the measurement system comprises a programmable hardware element, and wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
determining a hardware configuration program in response to at least a portion of said one or more requirements; and
providing the hardware configuration program to the measurement system over the wide area network; and
wherein the hardware configuration program is usable for configuring the programmable hardware element to perform at least a portion of the measurement task.
13. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
providing a graphical user interface (GUI) to a computer system over the wide area network; and
receiving user input provided to the GUI displayed on a display of the computer system, wherein the user input is received over the wide area network, wherein the user input indicates the one or more requirements for the measurement task.
14. The computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13, wherein the GUI comprises a plurality of panels for display on the display to guide a user of the computer system in providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task.
15. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13,
wherein the GUI iconically illustrates the measurement system;
wherein the GUI comprises one or more device icons corresponding to respective ones of the one or more measurement devices in the measurement system, and connections between the one or more device icons, wherein the displayed connections correspond to couplings between the one or more measurement devices; and
wherein the GUI is configured to receive user input from a user of the client computer system specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs.
16. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 15,
wherein the GUI comprises one or more program icons associated with the one or more software programs; and
wherein the GUI is configured to associate a first program icon with a first device icon in response to user input, wherein the first program icon corresponds to a first program, wherein the first device icon corresponds to a first device, wherein said associating operates to store the first program on the first device.
17. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 16,
wherein the GUI is configured to display the first program icon proximate to the first device icon in response to said associating.
18. The computer-accessible memory medium of claim 13,
wherein the computer system is part of the measurement system.
19. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein the measurement system includes a client computer system, and wherein said receiving the one or more requirements for the measurement task comprises:
receiving the one or more requirements for the measurement task from the client computer system over the wide area network in response to the client computer system receiving user input indicating the one or more requirements for the measurement task.
20. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more software programs is executable by the measurement system to perform the measurement function, wherein the measurement function comprises:
acquiring a signal from a signal source; and
analyzing the signal after said acquiring.
21. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 20, wherein the signal source comprises one or more of a unit under test (UUT), a sensor, and an actuator.
22. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein said receiving payment information comprises receiving the payment information to pay for the one or more software programs.
23. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein said receiving payment information comprises a payment server receiving the payment information to pay for the one or more software programs.
24. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating types of the one or more measurement devices.
25. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating desired operation of the one or more measurement devices.
26. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information regarding two or more of signal type, sampling rate, timing, scaling, analysis function, and display function.
27. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system;
wherein said determining the one or more software programs is further based on the information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system.
28. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 27,
wherein said receiving information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system comprises programmatically determining information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system.
29. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs.
30. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 1,
wherein the one or more measurement devices comprise a plurality of measurement devices;
wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs; and
wherein after deployment of respective ones of the plurality of software programs on respective ones of the plurality of measurement devices, a first measurement device is operable to execute a first one or more software programs to perform a first portion of the measurement task, and a second measurement device is operable to execute a second one or more software programs to perform a second portion of the measurement task.
31. A non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium for configuring a measurement system, wherein the program instructions are executable by at least one processor to implement:
receiving user input indicating one or more requirements for a measurement task to be performed by the measurement system, wherein the measurement system comprises at least one device;
providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task to a server over a wide area network;
receiving one or more software programs over the wide area network in response to said one or more requirements, wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the measurement system to perform at least a portion of the measurement task;
providing payment information over the wide area network to pay for the one or more software programs; and
deploying the one or more software programs to the measurement system, thereby configuring the measurement system to perform the at least a portion of the measurement task.
32. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; and
wherein the at least one measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs.
33. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the measurement system comprises a reconfigurable measurement device; and
wherein the reconfigurable measurement device comprises a processor and memory for executing the one or more software programs.
34. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and one or more measurement devices coupled to or comprised in the client computer system; and
wherein the one or more software programs are executable by the client computer system to perform the measurement task using the one or more measurement devices.
35. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the measurement system comprises a client computer system and at least one measurement device coupled to or comprised in the client computer system;
wherein the one or more software programs comprises a plurality of software programs;
wherein the at least one measurement device is operable to execute a first one or more software programs to perform a first portion of the measurement task; and
wherein the client computer system is operable to execute a second one or more software programs to perform a second portion of the measurement task.
36. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31, wherein the measurement system comprises a programmable hardware element, and wherein at least one of the one or more software programs comprises a hardware configuration program, wherein the hardware configuration program is usable for configuring the programmable hardware element to perform at least a portion of the measurement task.
37. The computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31, wherein the measurement system includes a computer system, wherein the one or more measurement devices are coupled to or comprised in the computer system, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
displaying a graphical user interface (GUI) on a display of the computer system; and
receiving user input to the GUI indicating the one or more requirements for the measurement task, wherein said providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task to a server over a wide area network is performed in response to the user input.
38. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 37, wherein said displaying the GUI comprises displaying a plurality of panels for display on the display to guide a user of the computer system in providing the one or more requirements for the measurement task.
39. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 37,
wherein the GUI iconically illustrates the measurement system; and
wherein said displaying the GUI comprises displaying one or more device icons corresponding to respective ones of the one or more measurement devices in the measurement system, and connections between the one or more device icons, wherein the displayed connections correspond to couplings between the one or more measurement devices, and wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
receiving user input to the GUI specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs.
40. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 39,
wherein the GUI comprises one or more program icons associated with the one or more software programs; and
wherein the GUI is configured to associate a first program icon with a first device icon in response to user input, wherein the first program icon corresponds to a first program, wherein the first device icon corresponds to a first device, wherein said associating operates to store the first program on the first device.
41. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 40,
wherein said displaying the GUI comprises displaying the first program icon proximate to the first device icon in response to said associating.
42. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 37, wherein the program instructions are further executable to implement:
receiving the GUI from the server over the wide area network.
43. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31, wherein at least one of the one or more software programs is executable by the measurement system to perform the measurement function, wherein the measurement function comprises:
acquiring a signal from a signal source; and
analyzing the signal after said acquiring.
44. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 43, wherein the signal source comprises one or more of a unit under test (UUT), a sensor, and an actuator.
45. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31, wherein said providing payment information comprises providing the payment information to the server.
46. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein said providing payment information comprises providing the payment information to a payment server.
47. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating types of the one or more measurement devices.
48. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information indicating desired operation of the one or more measurement devices.
49. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information regarding two or more of signal type, sampling rate, timing, scaling, analysis function, and display function.
50. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31, wherein the program instructions are further executable by at least one processor to implement:
providing information regarding the one or more measurement devices present in the measurement system to the server over the wide area network.
51. The non-transitory computer-accessible memory medium of claim 31,
wherein the one or more requirements comprise information specifying one or more target measurement devices to execute the one or more software programs.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A melt-spun synthetic fiber comprising a fiber-forming synthetic polymer and an additive, wherein the additive is a siloxane-based polyamide with a repeating unit having the formula (I)
wherein n is a number in the range of 1-500 inclusive and specifies the number of repeating units of the siloxane-based polyamide, DP is the average degree of polymerization of the siloxane component of the siloxane-based polyamide and is in the range of 1-700 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-30 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-40 carbon atoms, and each of the R1-R4 groups is selected independently from the group consisting of methyl groups, ethyl groups, propyl groups, isopropyl groups, siloxane chains, phenyl groups, and phenyl groups that have been substituted with 1-3 members of the group consisting of methyl groups and ethyl groups;
wherein the fiber further comprises a compatibilizer;
wherein the compatibilizer is polyethylene glycol;
wherein the fiber comprises 0.01 to 5% by weight of the additive relative to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer; and
wherein the weight of the additive and the compatibilizer together is 0.01 to 5% by weight relative to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
2. A melt-spun synthetic fiber according to claim 1, wherein n is in the range of 1-100 inclusive, DP is in the range of 10-500 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 3-10 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-20 carbon atoms, and R1-R4 are each selected from the group consisting of methyl groups and ethyl groups.
3. A melt-spun synthetic fiber according to claim 2, wherein n is in the range of 4-25 inclusive, DP is in the range of 15-45 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 5-10 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 2-6 carbon atoms, and R1-R4 are methyl groups.
4. A melt-spun fiber according to claim 1, wherein the fiber is a polyamide.
5. A melt-spun fiber according to claim 1, wherein the fiber-forming synthetic polymer is nylon-6,6.
6. A process for producing a melt-spun synthetic fiber comprising a fiber-forming synthetic polymer and an additive, comprising
adding an additive and a compatibilizer, wherein the compatibilizer is polyethylene glycol
(a) during production of the fiber-forming synthetic polymer, or
(b) to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer before or after melting, wherein the additive is a siloxane-based polyamide with a repeating unit having the formula (I)
wherein n is a number in the range of 1-500 inclusive and specifies the number of repeating units of the siloxane-based polyamide, DP is the average degree of polymerization of the siloxane component of the siloxane-based polyamide and is in the range of 1-700 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-30 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-40 carbon atoms, and each of the R1-R4 groups is selected independently from the group consisting of methyl groups, ethyl groups, propyl groups, isopropyl groups, siloxane chains, phenyl groups, and phenyl groups that have been substituted with 1-3 members of the group consisting of methyl groups and ethyl groups; and
melt-spinning the;
wherein the fiber comprises 0.01 to 5% by weight of the additive relative to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer; and
wherein the weight of the additive and the compatibilizer together is 0.01 to 5% by weight relative to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
7. A process according to claim 6, wherein n is in the range of 1-100 inclusive, DP is in the range of 10-500 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 3-10 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 1-20 carbon atoms, and R1-R4 are each selected from the group consisting of methyl groups and ethyl groups.
8. A process according to claim 7, wherein n is in the range of 4-25 inclusive, DP is in the range of 15-45 inclusive, X is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 5-10 carbon atoms, Y is selected from the group consisting of linear and branched alkylene chains having 2-6 carbon atoms, and R1-R4 are methyl groups.
9. A process according to claim 6, wherein the fiber is a polyamide.
10. A process according to claim 6, wherein the fiber-forming synthetic polymer is nylon-6,6.
11. A process according to claim 6, wherein the additive is added during the production of the fiber-forming synthetic polymer and the additive is in the form of an aqueous dispersion.
12. A process according to claim 6, wherein the additive and a compatibilizer are added during the production of the fiber-forming synthetic polymer and the additive and the compatibilizer are in the form of an aqueous dispersion.
13. A process according to claim 6, wherein granules of fiber-forming synthetic polymer are mixed with granules of the additive and fed to an extruder prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
14. A process according to claim 6, wherein granules of fiber-forming synthetic polymer are mixed with a powder of the additive and fed to an extruder prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
15. A process according to claim 6, wherein granules of fiber-forming synthetic polymer are mixed with granules of the additive and of the compatibilizer and fed to an extruder prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
16. A process according to claim 6, wherein granules of fiber-forming synthetic polymer are mixed with a powder of the additive and of the compatibilizer and fed to an extruder prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
17. A process according to claim 6, wherein an aqueous dispersion of the additive is applied to granules of the fiber-forming synthetic polymer, and the granules are dried and fed to an extruder, prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
18. A process according to claim 6, wherein an aqueous dispersion of the additive and the compatibilizer is applied to granules of the fiber-forming synthetic polymer, and the granules are dried and fed to an extruder, prior to melting the fiber-forming synthetic polymer.
19. A process according to claim 6, wherein the additive is added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer after melting.
20. A process according to claim 19, wherein the additive is added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer as granules.
21. A process according to claim 19, wherein the additive is added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer in the molten state.
22. A process according to claim 6, wherein the additive and the compatibilizer are added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer after melting.
23. A process according to claim 22, wherein the additive and the compatibilizer are added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer as granules.
24. A process according to claim 22, wherein the additive and the compatibilizer are added to the fiber-forming synthetic polymer in the molten state.