Measurement application probe, measurement application device, and measurement application system

1 . A measurement application probe comprising:

an automotive connector configured to couple to an in-vehicle connector for receiving analog waveforms provided via the in-vehicle connector, the automotive connector includes a plurality of electrical contacts each one configured to electrically couple to a respective counterpart contact of the in-vehicle connector;

at least one measurement application device connector, coupled to the automotive connector and configured to couple the measurement application probe to a respective measurement application device; and

a switching unit coupled to the automotive connector and to the at least one measurement application device connector,

wherein the switching unit is configured to controllably couple at least one of the measurement application device connectors electrically with a selected one of the electrical contacts of the automotive connector.

2 . The measurement application probe according to claim 1 , wherein the automotive connector comprises at least one of:

a vehicle diagnostic connector configured to couple to a diagnostic in-vehicle connector of a vehicle; and

an intermediate adapter connector configured to couple between an in-vehicle plug and a respective in-vehicle connector of a vehicle wiring harness.

3 . The measurement application probe according to claim 1 , wherein the automotive connector comprises a differential measurement input for at least one of the measurement application device connectors.

4 . The measurement application probe according to claim 1 , wherein the switching unit comprises a manually actuated switching element.

5 . The measurement application probe according to claim 1 , further comprising:

a control interface coupled to the switching unit.

6 . The measurement application probe according to claim 5 , wherein the switching unit comprises an electrically controlled switching element.

7 . The measurement application probe according to claim 6 , wherein the control interface is configured to receive control signals, and

wherein the switching unit is configured to couple a signal conductor of at least one of the measurement application device connectors electrically with a selected one of the electrical contacts of the automotive connector based on the received control signals.

8 . The measurement application probe according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement application device connector comprises a coaxial connector.

9 . A measurement application device comprising:

at least one measurement interface configured to couple to a measurement application probe for coupling the measurement application device to an in-vehicle connector, and to a acquire an analog measurement signal from the measurement application probe, the measurement signals including analog waveforms provided via the in-vehicle connector; and

a protocol decoder coupled to the measurement interface, and configured to decode the received at least one measurement signal according to a predefined communication protocol,

wherein the measurement application device shows the acquired measurement signal to a user in analog form, and in digital form as at least one of the decoded data, and bus messages in linear or tabular form.

10 . The measurement application device according to claim 9 , further comprising a control interface configured to couple to a control interface of the measurement application probe, and to retrieve probe identification data from the measurement application probe.

11 . The measurement application device according to claim 10 , further comprising a user interface configured to present contact selection information to a user based on the identification data, and to receive a user input regarding a selection of at least one electrical contact of the measurement application probe, and

wherein the control interface is further configured to transmit a control signal to the measurement application probe for controlling the measurement application probe to couple the selected at least one electrical contact in the measurement application probe to a respective one of the measurement interfaces based on the received user input.

12 . A measurement application system comprising:

a measurement application probe comprising:

an automotive connector configured to couple to an in-vehicle connector for receiving analog waveforms provided via the in-vehicle connector, the automotive connector including a plurality of electrical contacts each configured to electrically couple to a respective counterpart contact of the in-vehicle connector; and

at least one measurement application device connector coupled to the automotive connector; and

the measurement application system further comprising a measurement application device coupled to the at least one measurement application device connector, the measurement application device comprising:

at least one measurement interface coupled to a respective measurement application device connector of the measurement application probe, and configured to acquire an analog measurement signal from the measurement application probe, the analog measurement signal including analog waveforms provided via the in-vehicle connector; and

a protocol decoder coupled to the measurement interface, and configured to decode the received at least one measurement signal according to a predefined communication protocol.

13 . The measurement application system according to claim 12 , wherein the automotive connector of the measurement application probe comprises at least one of:

a vehicle diagnostic connector configured to couple to a diagnostic in-vehicle connector of a vehicle; and

an intermediate adapter connector configured to couple between an in-vehicle connector and a respective in-vehicle plug.

14 . The measurement application system according to claim 12 , wherein the automotive connector of the measurement application probe comprises a differential measurement input for every measurement application device connector.

15 . The measurement application system according to claim 12 , wherein the automotive connector of the measurement application probe comprises a plurality of electrical contacts each one configured to electrically couple to a respective counterpart contact of the in-vehicle connector.

16 . The measurement application system according to claim 15 , wherein the measurement application probe further comprises:

a switching unit coupled to the automotive connector of the measurement application probe, and the at least one measurement application device connector of the measurement application probe,

wherein the switching unit is configured to controllably couple at least one of the measurement application device connectors of the measurement application probe electrically with a selected one of the electrical contacts of the automotive connector of the measurement application probe.

17 . The measurement application system according to claim 16 , wherein the switching unit of the measurement application probe comprises a manually actuated switching element.

18 . The measurement application system according to claim 16 , wherein:

the measurement application probe comprises a probe control interface; and

the measurement application device further comprises a device control interface configured to couple to the probe control interface of the measurement application probe, and to retrieve probe identification data from the measurement application probe.

19 . The measurement application system according to claim 18 , wherein the switching unit of the measurement application probe comprises an electrically controlled switching element, and wherein the probe control interface is coupled to the switching unit of the measurement application probe.

20 . The measurement application system according to claim 19 , wherein the measurement application device further comprises a user interface configured to present contact selection information to a user based on the identification data, and to receive a user input regarding a selection of at least one electrical contact of the measurement application probe,

wherein the device control interface is further configured to transmit a control signal to the measurement application probe based on the received user input,

wherein the probe control interface of the measurement application probe is configured to receive the control signal, and

wherein the switching unit of the measurement application probe is configured to couple a signal conductor of at least one of the measurement application device connectors of the measurement application probe electrically with a selected one of the electrical contacts of the automotive connector of the measurement application probe based on the received control signals.

21 . The measurement application system according to claim 12 , wherein the measurement application device connector of the measurement application probe comprises a coaxial connector, and

wherein the at least one measurement interface of the measurement application device comprises a coaxial connector.