Calibration method, calibration device and measurement device

• US 10,302,468 B2
• Filed: 02/07/2013
• Issued: 05/28/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 02/10/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Brandsma, Ewout, Pennings, Maarten Christiaan, Syed, Aly Aamer, van Roermund, Timo
• Primary Examiner(s): Bloss, Stephanie E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peters, Lisa E
• Application Number:
  US13/762,244
• Publication Number:
  US 20130211761A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,301 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 18/00 Testing or calibrating apparatus or arrangements provided for in groups G01D1/00 - G01D15/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 21/00 Measuring or testing not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0423 Input/output
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 17/00 Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00

Abstract

According to an aspect of the invention a method for calibrating a measurement device is conceived wherein: a calibration device is brought into close proximity of the measurement device such that a data communication link is established between the measurement device and the calibration device; wherein the following steps are performed while the calibration device and the measurement device are in close proximity of each other: the calibration device performs a measurement of at least one physical phenomenon; the measurement device performs a measurement of the same physical phenomenon; the result of the measurement by the measurement device is compared with the result of the measurement by the calibration device; and calibration parameters are computed based on a difference between the result of the measurement by the measurement device and the result of the measurement by the calibration device.

Claims

1. A method for calibrating a measurement device wherein:

a calibration device that includes a near-field communication (NFC) interface is brought into close proximity of a measurement device that includes a tag having a memory and an NFC interface such that the calibration device and the measurement device are exposed to the same physical environment wherein the measurement device is a wireless sensor node for use in a control system, such that an NFC communication occurs between the NFC interface of the calibration device and the NFC interface of the measurement device over an NFC data communication link;

wherein the following steps are triggered by the NFC communication between the NFC interface of the calibration device and the NFC interface of the measurement device;

the calibration device reads contact data from the memory of the tag via the NFC data communication link;

while the calibration device is in close proximity to the measurement device, the calibration device performs a measurement of at least one physical phenomenon;

the result of the measurement by the calibration device is communicated over a wireless data communication link to the measurement device from the calibration device, wherein the wireless data communication link is established using the contact data from the memory of the tag and using wireless interfaces that are different from the NFC interface of the measurement device and from the NFC interface of the calibration device;

while the calibration device is in close proximity to the measurement device and in response to receiving the result of the measurement performed by the calibration device, the measurement device performs a measurement of the same physical phenomenon;

at the measurement device, after the result of the measurement by the calibration device is communicated over the wireless data communication link to the measurement device from the calibration device, the result of the measurement by the measurement device is compared with the result of the measurement by the calibration device; and

at the measurement device, calibration parameters are computed based on the comparison between the result of the measurement by the measurement device and the result of the measurement by the calibration device;

at the measurement device, the calibration parameters are stored in a memory of the measurement device that is separate from the memory of the tag.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measurement device comprises a host controller and the tag has a controller, wherein the host controller of the measurement device and the controller of the tag have no wired connection.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the memory of the tag further comprises cryptographic data for enabling secure communication via said wireless data communication link.

4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measurement device and the calibration device comprise respective sensors for measuring said physical phenomenon.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a feedback signal is generated when the calibration has finished or when the calibration is expected to finish.

6. A method as claimed claim 1, wherein an exchange of capability data takes place between the measurement device and the calibration device before the respective measurements of the physical phenomenon are performed.

7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measurement of the physical phenomenon by the calibration device and the measurement of the same physical phenomenon by the measurement device are synchronized in time.

8. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measurement device or the calibration device influences the physical phenomenon in order to at least one of optimize a calibration point and obtain multiple calibration points.

9. A non-transitory computer program product comprising program elements executable by the measurement device or the calibration device, wherein each program element comprises program instructions which, when being executed by the measurement device or the calibration device, respectively, cause said measurement device or calibration device to carry out or control respective steps of a method as claimed in claim 1.

10. A calibration device, for use in a method as claimed in claim 1.

11. A measurement device for use in a method as claimed in claim 1.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag is a sticker that comprises the memory of the tag, a controller, and the NFC interface and wherein the sticker is attached to a housing of the measurement device.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the tag is a sticker that comprises the memory of the tag, a controller, and the NFC interface and wherein the sticker is attached to a housing of the measurement device, and wherein the measurement device comprises a host controller, wherein the host controller of the measurement device and the controller of the tag have no wired connection.

14. A method for calibrating a measurement device, the method comprising:

bringing a calibration device to within a few centimeters of a measurement device, wherein the measurement device is a wireless sensor node for use in a control system that includes a tag attached to a housing of the measurement device, the tag comprising memory, a controller, and a near field communication (NFC) interface, the measurement device also including a sensor, a host controller, and a wireless network interface, wherein the tag is a sticker that comprises the memory of the tag, the controller, and the NFC interface, wherein the sticker is attached to the housing of the measurement device, and wherein the host controller of the measurement device and the controller of the tag have no wired connection, the calibration device including an NFC interface, a wireless network interface, a controller, and a sensor;

while the calibration device is within a few centimeters of the measurement device, detecting the tag and reading contact data from the memory of the tag using the NFC interface of the measurement device and the NFC interface of the calibration device;

while the calibration device is within a few centimeters of the measurement device and in response to detecting the NFC interface of the tag, via the sensor of the calibration device, performing a measurement of a physical phenomenon in the environment;

sending the result of the measurement from the wireless network interface of the calibration device to the wireless network interface of the measurement device using said contact data that was read from the memory of the tag;

while the calibration device is within a few centimeters of the measurement device and in response to receiving the result of the measurement performed by the calibration device, via the sensor of the measurement device, performing a measurement of the same physical phenomenon in the environment;

at the measurement device, comparing the result of the measurement from the calibration device with the result of the measurement from the measurement device and computing a calibration parameter based on the comparison; and

storing the calibration parameter in the memory of the measurement device.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the contact data comprises a network address of the measurement device.