DEVICE AND METHOD FOR VERIFICATION, CALIBRATION AND/OR ADJUSTMENT OF AN INLINE MEASURING DEVICE

• US 20190323989A1
• Filed: 04/23/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Endress+Hauser Conducta Gesellschaft FUER Mess- und Regeltechnik mbH+Company KG
• Original Assignee: Endress+Hauser Conducta GmbH+Company KG
• Inventors: Gulfirat, Tuncay, Yamamoto, Kazuhiko, Freudenberger, Martin, Ottersten, Bo, Lohmann, Martin, Durm, Oliver
• Granted Patent: US 11,187,673 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/302 pH sensitive, e.g. quinhydron, antimony or hydrogen electrodes ion selective electrodes G01N27/333, glass electrodes G01N27/36
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 27/4165 for pH meters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 for collecting sensor information

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus the for verification, calibration, and/or adjustment of a measuring instrument. The apparatus includes the measuring instrument, a reference measuring instrument, and a smart device. The apparatus performs a measuring operation in which the measuring instrument determines a value of a variable of the medium and the reference instrument determines a reference value of the variable from a sample of the medium. The measuring instrument communicates wirelessly and performs the verification, calibration, and/or adjustment on the basis of the measured value and the associated reference value. The reference measuring instrument is portable and communicates wirelessly with the smart device and the measuring instrument. An application executed on the smart device controls a data transfer between the measuring instrument, the reference measuring device, and/or the device that is required for executing the verification, calibration, and/or adjustment.

Claims

1. An apparatus for the verification, calibration and/or adjustment of an in-line measuring instrument for measuring a measurement variable of a medium present at a measuring point at a location of use, comprising:

the measuring instrument installed at the measuring point; and

a reference measuring instrument for measuring the measurement variable of a sample of the medium taken at the measuring point,

wherein the apparatus is configured to perform a measuring operation in which the measuring instrument determines a measured value of the measurement variable and the reference measuring instrument determines a reference value of the measurement variable of the sample,

wherein the measuring instrument is designed to communicate wirelessly and is configured to perform a verification, calibration and/or adjustment of the measuring instrument on the basis of the measured value and the reference value both obtained in the measuring operation, and

wherein the reference measuring instrument is embodied as a portable, wirelessly communicating reference measuring instrument that is temporarily usable at the location of use for the purpose of the verification, calibration and/or adjustment of the measuring instrument,

the apparatus further comprises;

a smart device which can be used temporarily at the location of use, is integrated in the reference measuring instrument, and communicates wirelessly via the reference measuring device or is formed by a wirelessly communicating smart mobile device, for the purpose of the verification, calibration and/or adjustment of the measuring instrument; and

an application that is executable by the smart device and is installed on the smart device, said application being configured to regulate a data transfer between the measuring instrument, the reference measurement instrument, and/or the smart device that is required for executing the verification, calibration and/or adjustment according to a method sequence stored in the smart device and to document an execution of the method sequence and/or a verification, calibration and/or adjustment result determined by the measuring instrument within the context of the execution.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the smart device is a smart phone or tablet,

wherein the measuring instrument, the reference measuring instrument, and/or the smart device are configured to communicate wirelessly via a local network, via a global network, via a mobile radio network, and/or via Bluetooth,

wherein the measuring instrument includes a communication device which is connected thereto or takes the form of a component of the measuring instrument and is configured to support at least one form of wireless communication that is also supported by the reference measuring instrument and/or by the smart device, and/or

wherein the reference measuring instrument includes a communication device which is connected thereto or takes the form of a component of the reference measuring instrument and is configured to support at least one form of wireless communication which is also supported by the measuring instrument and/or the smart device.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the data transfer for the measuring operation includes the transmission of the reference value from reference measuring instrument to the measuring instrument.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the measuring operation further includes the transmission of data to be documented by the smart device and/or requests, queries, transmission prompts, and/or information required for at least one method flow for the coordination of a method that is executable according to the respective method sequence by the apparatus.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the application is designed to call up and/or document information relating to a user of the apparatus, to the location of use, to the measuring point, to the method sequence to be executed and/or comprehensive data relating to the verification, calibration and/or adjustment to be carried out by the apparatus, to the measuring instrument, and/or to the reference measuring instrument,

wherein the measuring instrument is designed to provide automatically or in a response to a request initiated by the application or the user the smart device with measuring instrument data stored in the measuring instrument including:

a measuring instrument identifier, a measuring instrument type, an age, an operating time, and/or a measuring point description of the measuring point, and/or

wherein the reference measuring instrument is designed to provide automatically or in a response to a request initiated by the application or the user the smart device with reference measuring instrument data stored in the reference measuring instrument including;

reference measuring instrument identifier, reference measuring instrument type, reference measuring accuracy, a point in time of a last executed verification, a calibration, and/or an adjustment of the reference measuring instrument, an age, and/or an operating time.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the smart device is designed to determine at least one additional information item and/or is designed to use and/or to document data provided by the user, by the measuring instrument and/or by the reference measuring instrument and/or the additional information and for selecting and/or for carrying out at least one method sequence stored in the smart device.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the smart device is designed to determine its geographic location at the location of use as an additional variable and to use and/or document the geographic location for the selection of a method sequence stored in the smart device and/or for the identification of the location of use and/or the measuring point.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the smart device is designed to determine a time of day, and the application is configured:

to coordinate at least one sub-sequence of at least one method sequence based on the time of day that is executable with mediation by the application by means of the apparatus;

to provide specific measurement results in several successive measuring operations, each having a time stamp derived from the time of day; and

/or to document an execution point in time or time frame of at least one executed verification, calibration and/or adjustment run based on the time of day.

9. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the measuring instrument includes a sensor for measuring an additional variable of the medium and the reference measuring instrument includes a sensor for measuring the additional variable of the sample,

wherein the apparatus is configured such that the additional variables of the medium and of the sample are detected in at least one measuring operation, in several measuring operations, or in each measuring operation, and

wherein the device is designed in such that:

the additional variables are taken into account by the smart device when the method sequence is executed;

the additional variables from the measuring instrument are taken into account in the verification and/or calibration;

on the basis of the additional variables, a compensation of a measuring error, depending on the additional variable, of at least one measured value, and/or at least one reference value is carried out and a correspondingly corrected value is used for verification, calibration and/or adjustment; and

/or

the difference between the additional variables of at least one measuring operation is determined and based on this difference, an error to be expected in the execution of the verification, calibration and/or adjustment is estimated and output, displayed to the user and/or otherwise documented, an error message is output if the difference exceeds a predetermined limit value, the execution of at least one further measuring operation is triggered by the application when the difference exceeds a predetermined limit value, and the method is continued on the basis of the measurement results of the further measuring operations, and/or a correction of a difference between the measured value and the associated reference value within the context of the verification, calibration and/or adjustment is calculated on the basis of the difference between the two additional variables of at least one measuring operation.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring instrument and the reference measuring instrument each include a temperature sensor for measuring the additional variable of temperature.

11. The apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the stored method sequences include a method sequence which includes a sub-sequence, the execution of which is linked to a condition to be fulfilled by a result of a sub-sequence preceding the sub-sequence,

wherein the stored method sequences include a method sequence, according to which a verification is carried out, followed only by a calibration or a calibration with subsequent adjustment if the verification leads to a negative verification result, and/or

wherein the stored method sequences include a method sequence according to which a check is made based on a verification and/or calibration performed by the apparatus as to whether an adjustment is required and the apparatus is designed to then execute a required adjustment only if and/or once the user actively agrees to the execution via the smart device and/or the associated change of at least one calibration value to be effected by the adjustment exceeds a predetermined limit, and/or the apparatus is designed to carry out a required adjustment at a later point in time and/or at a point in time predeterminable by the user via the smart device.

12. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the smart device is designed to record, and indicate to the user, data to be documented via the application for the verification, calibration and/or adjustment executed by the apparatus and/or to store the data in a database provided in the smart device and/or via the internet in a central database or in a database created in a cloud with internet connectivity.

13. The apparatus according to claim 5,

wherein the smart device is designed to record and display data to be documented via the application for the verification, calibration, and/or adjustment and/or to store the data in the local and/or central database, wherein the data to be documented and/or the data storable in the local and/or central database and/or stored data to be documented, in each case comprise:

information relating to the user, to the location of use, to the measuring point, to the measuring point name and/or to the geographic position of the smart device at the location of use;

measuring instrument identifier, measuring instrument type, age and/or operating time of the measuring instrument;

measuring instrument identifier, measuring instrument type, age, operating time, measuring accuracy and/or the point in time of the last performed verification, calibration and/or adjustment of the reference measuring instrument;

an execution point in time or time frame of the executed verification, calibration and/or adjustment;

the number and/or the measurement results of the measuring operations carried out;

the determined additional variables and/or an expected error in verification, calibration and/or adjustment derived therefrom; and

/or

the verification result, the calibration result and/or the adjustment result, and/or

the data are storable or stored in the local and/or central database in such a way, that individual data can be called up by the user in a targeted manner via the smart device.

14. A method for the verification, calibration, and/or adjustment of a measuring instrument installed at a measuring point at a location of use, comprising:

providing a portable reference measuring instrument and a smart device, wherein the smart device is a mobile device or is integrated in the reference measuring instrument;

bringing to the location of use the reference measuring instrument and the smart device;

performing a measuring operation including the measuring instrument determining a measured value of a medium, taking a sample of the medium at the measuring point, the reference measuring instrument determining a reference value of the sample and transmitting the reference value to the measuring instrument;

performing by the measuring instrument the verification, calibration and/or adjustment of the measuring instrument to be carried out according to a method sequence on the basis of the measured value and the reference value; and

documenting by the smart device the execution of the method sequence and/or a verification, calibration and/or adjustment result determined by the measuring instrument within the scope of the execution.

15. The method according to claim 14,

wherein data made available by the measuring instrument, by the reference measuring instrument and/or by a user are acquired and documented by the smart device by the application and/or are used for the selection of one of a plurality of method sequences stored in the smart device,

wherein the application offers the user a plurality of method sequences stored in the smart device for selection, from which the user selects the method sequence(s) to be executed by the apparatus,

wherein the measuring point and/or the location of use of the apparatus is identified based on a geographic position of the smart device determined by the smart device at the location of use, and/or

wherein during at least one measuring operation by the measuring instrument, an additional variable of the medium and, by the reference measuring instrument, the additional variable of the sample is determined, and the additional variables are used, in that on the basis of their difference, an error to be expected in the execution of the verification, the calibration and/or the adjustment is estimated and output, displayed and/or documented to the user, and/or the execution of at least one further measurement process is triggered if said difference exceeds a predetermined limit value, on the basis of the additional variable determined by the measuring instrument, a compensation of a measurement error of the measured value determined in the measuring operation that depends on the additional variable is carried out and a correspondingly corrected measured value is used for the verification, calibration and/or adjustment, based on the additional variable determined by the reference measuring instrument, a compensation of a measurement error of the particular reference value determined in the respective measuring operation that depends on the additional variable is carried out and a correspondingly corrected reference value is used for the verification, calibration and/or adjustment, and/or based on their difference, a correction of a difference between the measured value and the associated reference value of the measuring operation determined in the context of the verification and/or the calibration is determined.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the smart device and/or the reference measuring instrument is/are used in at least one further location of use as a component of an apparatus used there for executing a method for the verification, calibration and/or adjustment of a measuring instrument, and data acquired in this process by the smart device that are to be documented are displayed and/or stored by the smart device in the local and/or central database.