Patent Application
20160119055
1. Technical Field
The invention relates to metrology systems, and more particularly to a measurement transmission system for wirelessly transmitting measurement data from a handheld measuring device to a remote system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various handheld measuring devices are currently available. One example of such a handheld measuring device is a displacement measuring instrument, such as an electronic caliper which can be used for making precise measurements of physical dimensions of objects (e.g., measuring machined parts to ensure that they are meeting tolerance requirements). Exemplary electronic calipers are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. RE37,490, 5,574,381, and 5,973,494, each of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
It is obvious that the less power such calipers or other handheld measuring devices use, the fewer batteries (or other power sources) they will require and the longer they will operate before the batteries (or other power sources) need to be replaced or replenished. However, reducing the power requirements of such devices beyond current “micro watt” levels is a complex task. Such devices are required to make highly accurate measurements, and the complex signal processing techniques that have been developed for such devices tend to complicate the process of designing circuitry that will both accomplish the desired accuracy and operate at low voltage and power levels. In addition, in comparison to the basic operating and measuring requirements, certain functions (e.g., wireless transmission of measurement data) may require significant energy resources. In addition to the power requirements for such functions, the reliability or predictability of the measurements may be affected by various factors (e.g., accidental movement of the jaws of the caliper while the function is being performed). A need exists for improving the ability to perform functions such as the wireless transmission of measurement data in a manner that ensures that desirable measurement data is transmitted while minimizing the drain on the handheld measuring device's power source.
This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to identify key features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.
A measurement transmission system is provided for wirelessly transmitting measurement data from a handheld measuring device to a remote system. In various implementations, the handheld measuring device may be one of a caliper or micrometer, and the measurement data may be related to a physical dimension of a measured object. The measurement transmission system may include at least a device-side data connection portion, an output-side wireless transmission portion and a transmission activation portion. The device-side data connection portion may be configured to couple to the handheld measuring device and receive measurement data from the handheld measuring device. The output-side wireless transmission portion may be configured to wirelessly transmit measurement data to the remote system. The transmission activation portion may include a transmission actuator that may be operated manually by a user for triggering the measurement transmission system to perform operations including a transmission cycle of operations comprising wirelessly transmitting the measurement data to the remote system.
In various implementations, the measurement transmission system may include an energy generation portion that converts work done by a user (e.g., operating an energy generation actuator such as a button, slide, lever, etc.) into electrical energy for wirelessly transmitting the measurement data to the remote system. In one implementation, one transmission cycle of operations may consume a first amount of energy and the energy generation portion may be configured such that a single actuation cycle of the energy generation actuator generates a second amount of electrical energy that is greater than the first amount of energy. It will be appreciated that the wireless transmission of measurement data may otherwise utilize significant battery resources in handheld precision measuring devices, and that the utilization of a separate energy generation portion to power the wireless transmission may reduce such drains on the main battery.
In various implementations, the measurement transmission system may additionally or alternatively include a data hold actuator that may be operated manually by a user for triggering operations that initiate a data holding state that freezes a set of measurement data to be used for subsequent wireless transmission to the remote system. It will be appreciated that a data holding state may provide various advantages, such as allowing a user to temporarily save the measurement data and verify on a display that the measurement value is as expected (e.g., in case the caliper jaws are accidentally moved when the energy generation and/or transmission actuators or other elements are operated by the user).
In various implementations, once the measurement data is successfully received, the remote system may wirelessly transmit a successful transmission signal back to the measurement transmission system. In various implementations, once a successful transmission signal is received, or once the success of the transmission is otherwise determined, the measurement transmission system may perform various operations (e.g., performing transmission cycle termination operations to cease wireless transmission, performing data holding release operations to terminate a data holding state, providing a notification to a user on a display that indicates that the transmission was successful, etc.).
In various implementations, the measurement transmission system may be housed in a body portion to form a measurement transmission module which exposes at least one actuator (e.g., a transmission actuator, an energy generation actuator and/or a data hold actuator) to the user. In an alternative implementation, the measurement transmission system may be housed in the handheld measuring device. In various implementations, a single actuator (e.g., a button, slide, lever, etc.) may provide functions as a transmission actuator, an energy generation actuator and/or a data hold actuator. Alternatively, one or more additional actuators may be included for providing one or more of these functions.
The measurement transmission system 150 may include an antenna 161 for wirelessly transmitting the measurement data and the remote system 180 may include an antenna 181 for receiving the transmitted measurement data TMD1. In various implementations, once the transmitted measurement data TMD1 is successfully received, the remote system 180 may utilize the antenna 181 to wirelessly transmit a successful transmission signal STS1, which may be received at the antenna 161 of the measurement transmission system 150. As will be described in more detail below, in various implementations once a successful transmission signal STS1 is received, or once a successful transmission is otherwise verified, the measurement transmission system 150 may perform various operations (e.g., performing transmission cycle termination operations to cease wireless transmission, performing data holding release operations to terminate a data holding state, providing a notification on a display that indicates that the transmission was successful, etc.).
As will also be described in more detail below, in various implementations the measurement transmission system 150 may include an energy generation portion that converts work done by a user (e.g., operating an energy generation actuator such as a button, slide, lever, etc.) into electrical energy for wirelessly transmitting the measurement data to the remote system 180. It will be appreciated that wireless transmission of data may otherwise utilize significant battery resources in handheld precision measuring devices, and that by powering the wireless transmission with a separate energy generation portion such significant drains on the main battery may be avoided. In various implementations, the measurement transmission system 180 may additionally or alternatively include a data hold actuator that may be operated manually by a user for triggering operations that initiate a data holding state that freezes a set of measurement data to be used for subsequent wireless transmission to the remote system 180. It will be appreciated that a data holding state may provide various advantages, such as allowing a user to temporarily save the measurement data and verify on a display (e.g., of the measurement transmission system and/or the display 109) that the measurement value is as expected (e.g., in case the caliper jaws are accidentally moved when the energy generation and/or transmission actuators or other elements are operated by the user).
In various implementations, the first actuator 255 may be part of a transmission activation portion TAP2 and/or an energy generation portion EGP2. For example, as illustrated in
As further illustrated in
In one implementation, one transmission cycle of operations of the transmission activation portion TAP2 may consume a first amount of energy, and the energy generation portion EGP2 may be configured such that a single actuation cycle of the energy generation actuator 255 generates a second amount of electrical energy that is greater than the first amount of energy. In other words, in the implementation of
In various implementations, the first actuator 255 may also or alternatively provide functions as a data hold actuator. In such implementations, the first actuator 255 may be operated manually by a user for triggering operations that initiate a data holding state that freezes a set of measurement data to be used for subsequent wireless transmission to the remote system. In one implementation, the handheld measuring device 201 may include a measurement display 209 and a hold mode of operation which includes freezing a current measurement value on the measurement display 209. In such an implementation, the operations that initiate a data holding state that freezes a set of measurement data may include triggering the hold mode of operation of the handheld measuring device 201 through a device-side data connection portion DCP2 (e.g., including a female connector 219), as will be described in more detail below. In an alternative implementation, the operations that initiate a data holding state that freezes a set of measurement data may include temporarily storing the set of measurement data in a memory MEM of the circuitry 253A of the measurement transmission system 250 for subsequent wireless transmission to the remote system.
In one implementation, the transmission cycle of operations may further include data holding release operations, which are performed subsequently to successfully transmitting the measurement data and which terminate the data holding state. For example, as described above with respect to
In one implementation, the transmission cycle of operations may further include transmission cycle termination operations, which are performed subsequently to successfully transmitting the measurement data and which terminate at least some operations of the measurement transmission system 250 until an actuator (e.g., actuator 255) of the measurement transmission system 250 is again operated manually by a user. Energy consumption and computational capacity may be conserved through such termination operations. The measurement transmission system 250 may also in addition to the wireless transmission portion WTP be designated as including a wireless receiver portion WRP (e.g., including the antenna 261 and portions of the circuitry 253B), wherein the transmission cycle termination operations may be performed subsequently to receiving a successful transmission signal STS1 from the remote system 180, as described above. The measurement transmission system may also or alternatively be enabled to provide an error message to a user if the transmission of the measurement data is not successful (e.g., if a successful transmission signal is not received from the remote system within a certain amount of time after the initiation of the wireless measurement data transmission).
In an implementation where the first actuator 255 provides multiple functions as a transmission actuator, an energy generation actuator and/or a data hold actuator, state-dependent operations may be utilized. For example, in one implementation state-dependent operations may indicate that a user will operate the actuator 255 (e.g., press the button 255) once to trigger operations that initiate the data holding state, and then operate the actuator 255 again to trigger the set of operations that includes the transmission cycle of operations and/or to generate energy for performing the data transmission. In such an implementation, the first press of the button 255 may freeze the measurement data (e.g., for which the user could verify the accuracy of the measurement on a display and further movement of components of the handheld measuring device 201 would not accidentally alter the measurement), after which the second press of the button 255 would wirelessly transmit the frozen/verified measurement data to the remote system 180. As described above, in one implementation a successful transmission signal STS1 received back from the remote system 180 may then trigger an unfreezing of the data holding state and/or a providing of an indication on a display that the transmission was successful. Thereafter, another measurement may be taken and transmitted, following the same procedure of starting with a first press of the button 255 to freeze the new measurement data, after which the second press of the button 255 may trigger the wireless transmission of the new measurement data.
In various implementations, a second actuator 257 may alternatively be provided for providing functions as the transmission actuator and/or the data hold actuator. For example, while the first actuator 255 with the associated work conversion element WCE may be utilized for converting work into electrical energy, the second actuator 257 as coupled to the circuitry 253A may be utilized in one implementation to perform a switching function to act as the transmission actuator and/or the data hold actuator. In an implementation where the second actuator 257 performs functions as the transmission actuator, in one configuration a user may first operate the first actuator 255 to generate electrical energy for powering the wireless transmission, and then may operate the second actuator 257 to trigger the wireless transmission of the measurement data. In an implementation where the second actuator 257 performs functions as the data hold actuator, in one configuration a user may first operate the second actuator 257 to freeze the measurement data, and then may operate the first actuator 255 to trigger the transmission cycle of operations and/or to generate energy for powering the wireless data transmission.
As will be described in more detail below, in various implementations the measurement transmission system 250 may include a transmission activation portion TAP2 and data hold functionality without an energy generation portion EGP2. For example, the measurement transmission system 250 may be made to include a separate battery and/or may be coupled to utilize electricity from a power supply of the handheld measuring device 201. In one such implementation, a single actuator may be utilized to provide the functions of the data hold actuator and the transmission actuator. For example, in one configuration a user may operate the actuator a first time to freeze the measurement data, and then may operate the actuator a second time to trigger the transmission cycle of operations, which are powered by a power source (e.g., a battery) of the handheld measuring device 201 or of the measurement transmission system 250. Alternatively, in one configuration a user may operate the actuator a single time to both freeze the measurement data and to trigger the transmission cycle of operations (e.g., for which the user could verify the accuracy of the measurement data that is being transmitted on a display, and for which the frozen state may be used to indicate that the transmission process has not yet been successfully completed, as described in the above examples).
In the example of
In the example of
As shown in
The outer surface of the slider 206 is provided with an inside measurement jaw 207 and an outside measurement jaw 208 respectively formed on the upper and lower periphery on the base end and a digital display 209 formed on the front surface thereof. Further, a clamp screw 210 for fixing the position of the slider 206 is screwed thereto. A feed roller 211 to be in contact with the longitudinal portion of the main scale 202 to move the slider 206 by rotation thereof is provided on the outer surface of the slider 206.
During measurement operations, the slider 206 is moved by the feed roller 211 so that the measurement jaw 207 or 208 is in contact with a target portion of a workpiece WP together with the measurement jaw 203 or 204. At this time, the displacement of the slider 206 is detected by the scale 205 provided on the longitudinal portion of the main scale 202 and the detection head of the slider 206. The detected measurement signal which is represented as a measured dimension MD2 of the workpiece WP is processed as measurement data by a circuit board (not shown) to be displayed as a displayed measurement DM2 on the digital display 209 at the front side of the slider 206 and/or to be wirelessly transmitted by the measurement transmission system 250 to a remote system (e.g., the remote system 180 of
In various implementations, the actuator 355 may provide functions as an energy generation actuator, a transmission actuator and/or a data hold actuator, similar to the operations described above for the actuator 255 of
As shown in
In one implementation, the recessed portion 410 has dimensions such that when the measurement transmission system 450 is secured within the recessed portion 410 by the interlock fasteners 465, the body portion BP4 of the measurement transmission system 450 is relatively flush with and does not significantly protrude from the surface of the handheld measuring device 401. When a new handheld measuring device 401 includes such a recessed portion 410, then it is convenient that the measurement transmission system 450 may be fit to it as an integrated portion, without disturbing the ideal ergonomics of the handheld measuring device 401. Alternatively, the measurement transmission system 450 may be left off to reduce the cost, and purchased and added at a later time if desired. Furthermore, an older model of a handheld measuring device (e.g., the handheld measuring device 301 of
In various implementations, the display 459 may be utilized to provide various types of information to a user regarding the operations of the measurement transmission system 450. For example, rather than utilizing the display 209 of the measuring device 201, the display 459 may alternatively provide an indication to the user of when a successful transmission signal is received from the remote system 180 or when the transmission is otherwise determined to have been successful. For example, as illustrated in
In the example of
Due to the integration of the measurement transmission system 550 in the handheld measuring device 501, in one implementation a power source (e.g., a battery) of the measuring device 501 may be utilized to provide some or all of the energy required for the measurement data transmission. Alternatively, in one implementation an energy generation portion may still be included in the measurement transmission system 550 for providing the energy for the wireless transmission, so as to avoid draining the main battery of the measuring device 501 when the wireless transmission is activated. In various implementations, due to the integration of the measurement transmission system, the main display 209 and memory of the measuring device 501 may generally be utilized for any data hold operations (e.g., storing and displaying the frozen measurement data, as well as providing any indications to a user when the measurement data transmission has been successfully completed). In an alternative implementation, separate indicators may be provided on a separate display or otherwise on the outer surface of the measurement transmission system 550.
In various implementations, the signal processing portion 688 may optionally be included, and may provide various formatting or other functions for converting the raw signals received by the receiver circuit 690 into a format for being processed by the measurement data application program 692. As one example, a protocol may be utilized to convert the raw measurement data that is received into measurement values that may be processed by the measurement data application program 692 (e.g., for being inserted in a spreadsheet, etc.). In one implementation, the signal processing component 688 may remove or otherwise process extraneous information (e.g., header information) from the signals received by the receiver circuit 690 (e.g., in particular for extraneous information that is not applicable or needed by the measurement data application program 692). As an alternative to the inclusion of a separate signal processing portion 688, the measurement data application program 692 may be configured to directly process the raw measurement data, identification, etc., signals that are received by the receiver circuit 690.
In various implementations, the measurement data application program 692 may be designated to be utilized with one or more specific handheld measuring devices 601 by a manufacturer, vendor, etc. In one implementation, the measurement data application program 692 may include a statistical process control program for receiving measurement data from a handheld measuring device 601, and may include a spreadsheet or other program into which the measurement values represented by the measurement data may be input.
The status and/or control operations 694 may determine and/or otherwise receive signals from the measurement data application program 692 which indicate the status of the processing of recently received measurement data. The data confirmation operation status/release operation 696 may utilize the determined status and indicate when a confirmation and/or release signal should be sent by the status and/or control operations 694 to the signal processing portion 688 for being transmitted back to the measurement transmission system 650. For example, as described above, in one implementation once the transmitted measurement data has been successfully received, the remote system 680 may send a successful transmission signal back to the measurement transmission system 650.
As also illustrated in
The energy generation/transmission activation portion 652 may in various implementations include a single actuator (e.g., actuator 255) or may include multiple actuators with different separated circuit portions for the energy generation portion and the transmission activation portion. The power management circuit 654 regulates the operation of the circuitry of the measurement transmission system 650 according to the amount of available energy. In various implementations, the power management circuit 654 may accomplish its functions utilizing various voltage regulation and/or voltage detection circuitry for monitoring the remaining energy. For example, in one specific example implementation, the power management circuit 654 may monitor the amount of energy available from an actuation of the energy generation portion 652, and may dictate that the low power micro controller/memory 656 cease operation once the available energy level falls below a certain threshold. Such functions may prevent the micro controller 656 from continuing to attempt to operate when energy levels are critically low, which may result in errors. In general, the limited energy produced by one cycle of operation of the energy generation portion 652 may dictate a limited amount of time for which the measurement transmission system 650 may remain active to wait for a successful transmission signal back from the remote system 680 (e.g., in one specific example implementation approximately ten seconds or less).
In various implementations, the low power micro controller/memory 656 may operate as the central controller for the measurement transmission system 650. In various implementations, the functions of the low power micro controller/memory 656 may include processing the measurement data from the handheld measuring device 601 (e.g., as connected through a data port or connection lines), formatting the measurement data for transmission, appending any commands or identifiers to the measurement data as appropriate, outputting the measurement data to the low power transmitter/receiver circuit 660 for transmission to the remote system 680, etc. The handheld measuring device data and/or status/control operations 657 may be utilized to facilitate communications between the handheld measuring device 601 and the low power micro controller/memory 656. For example, when a data hold function is required, the handheld measuring device data and/or status/control operations portion 657 may be utilized to determine the proper control signal to be sent to the handheld measuring device processing and control portion 612 for triggering the hold function.
The low power micro controller/memory 656 also interacts with the controller routines portion 658 for performing various operations. The controller routines portion 658 is shown to include actuator operations 671, hold/queue operations 672, transmit operations 674, signal reception operations 676 and identification link operations 678. In various implementations, the actuator operations 671 may be utilized for determining when an actuator has been operated by a user and/or various state dependent operations as described above with respect to
The hold/queue operations 672 may be utilized to implement various data hold functions. For example, the hold/queue operations 672 may be utilized to cause the low power micro controller/memory 656 to store the measurement data internally when a data hold actuator is operated by a user and/or may transmit instructions to the handheld measuring device processing and control portion 612 for storing the measurement data as part of a hold operation that is internal to the handheld device 601. As another example of the hold/queue operations 672, when data holding release operations are to be implemented (e.g., as a result of a successful transmission signal being received from the remote system 680), a signal may be sent by the low power micro controller 656 to the handheld measuring device processing and control portion 612 for terminating the data holding state.
The transmit operations 674 may be utilized for serialization, appending additional information to the measurement data (e.g., device identification, etc.), and/or various formatting or commands for assisting the operation of the measurement data application program 692 of the remote system 680. As one specific example, when the measurement data is being input into a spreadsheet of the measurement data application program 692, the transmit operations 674 may include an “enter” command at the end of the measurement data that is being transmitted. In this manner, the “enter” command may cause the spreadsheet application to move to the next cell after the measurement data is entered, so as to be ready to receive the next transmitted measurement data.
The signal reception operations 676 may be utilized in various implementations for processing signals that are received from the remote system 680 or other systems. For example, as described above, in one implementation the remote system 680 may send a successful transmission signal back to the measurement transmission system 650 once the measurement data has been successfully received by the remote system 680. The signal reception operations 676 may be utilized for decoding or otherwise processing the format of such signals as they may be received from the remote system 680. In addition, in an implementation where the measurement transmission system 650 is required to switch between transmitting and receiving modes, the signal reception operations 676 may assist with the coordination for determining when a transmitting mode and a receiving mode should be active.
The identification link operations 678 may be utilized to include information with the transmitted measurement data that allows the remote system 680 to determine which type of device and/or which of several devices the measurement data is being received from. For example, a remote system 680 may have several handheld measuring devices sending measuring data to it within a given time frame, for which it may be desirable for the remote system 680 to be able to determine which of the handheld measuring devices a current set of measuring data has been received from. In addition, different types of handheld measuring devices may be enabled for sending measuring data (e.g., different types of calipers, gauges, etc.) for which the measuring data may be interpreted or processed differently, for which proper identification of the measuring devices may be needed.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrated circuit portions of the measurement system 600 may generally consist of or be embodied in any types of computing systems or devices. Such computing systems or devices may include one or more processors that execute software to perform the functions described herein. Processors include programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors, programmable controllers, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), or the like, or a combination of such devices. Software may be stored in memory, such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, or the like, or a combination of such components. Software may also be stored in one or more storage devices, such as magnetic or optical-based disks, flash memory devices, or any other type of non-volatile storage medium for storing data. Software may include one or more program modules that include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, and so on that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. In distributed computing environments, the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed across multiple computing systems or devices and accessed via service calls, either in a wired or wireless configuration.
While preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been illustrated and described, numerous variations in the illustrated and described arrangements of features and sequences of operations will be apparent to one skilled in the art based on this disclosure. Various alternative shapes and forms may be used to implement the principles disclosed herein. In addition, the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents and U.S. patent applications referred to in this specification are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents and applications to provide yet further embodiments.
These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
