Portable, palm-sized data acquisition system for use in internal combustion engines and industry

• US 7,991,535 B2
• Filed: 02/08/2009
• Issued: 08/02/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/08/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Robert J. Gittere
• Original Assignee: Robert J. Gittere
• Inventors: Gittere, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Kwon; John T
• Assistant Examiner(s): Hoang; Johnny H
• Application Number:
  US12/367,536
• Publication Number:
  US 20090204310A1
• Time in Patent Office: 905 Days
• Field of Search: 701101-103, 701/108, 701/110, 701/114
• US Class Current: 701/102
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2205/02 using a vehicle scan tool
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A portable, palm-sized, Data Acquisition System including an apparatus to measure engine thermo-events, a wiring harness having signals for collecting, recording, and transmitting engine performance data and identifying the engine being monitored, and an acquisition server (DAS) for collecting and transmitting data from the thermo-measuring apparatus and wiring harness, is taught. There also is a Web-server, an Ethernet network interface, software, an SPI bus interface requiring only three signals for communication, and a software system that records, stores, processes, transmits, displays, and analyzes data pertaining to any combustion engine performance and other industrial engine applications. The use of fiber optic cable for electronic communication provides for the DAS to be installed a distance from the engine. The DAS is share-able between several engines, is user friendly, is low cost to manufacture, affordable, and has a flexible signaling feature that works with systems that use, and do not use, telemetry.

Claims

1. A data acquisition system, comprising:

components communicatively connected to form a data acquisition system, said components comprising;

at least one apparatus for obtaining exhaust parameters of an engine,

at least one wiring harness for obtaining real-time performance parameters of the engine,

at least one data acquisition server (DAS) detachably attachable to a selected mounting location,

said DAS electronically coupled and detachably attachable to said apparatus for obtaining exhaust parameters and to said wiring harness,

said wiring harness capable of identifying the engine to said DAS, and

a fiber optic cable communicatively connecting said DAS and said means for collecting engine exhaust parameters,

said components are communicatively connected to a SPI BUS having a master device and multiple SPI slave devices,

said SPI Bus having only a three-signal connection that supports said one master device and several connected slave devices, and

said SPI Bus having bus signals chip select and clock out, where said signals chip select and clock out are combined through a logical “

AND”

function providing for a SPI bus gated clock signal to be active only when the SPI bus master'"'"'s chip select and clock out signals are active.

2. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 1, said components each further configured to be a receiver and a transmitter.

3. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 1, wherein said DAS is sized to fit into the palm of a hand.

4. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 1, wherein said wiring harness has a plurality of wires each having one end electrically connected to a signal source for obtaining the performance data and the other end electrically connected to said wiring harness.

5. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 4, wherein each of said wires electrical connections are identified by a first identifying code, a second identifying code, and a third identifying code.

6. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 4, wherein a select number of said signals identify the engine to which said wiring harness is connected via said DAS.

7. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 4, wherein a select number of said wires provide an LED light signal.

8. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 4, wherein a select number of channels to which said sensors are connected are programmable through a web-server as digital input or output signals, analog input signals, or as regulated current source outputs.

9. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 1, wherein said communicatively connecting fiber optic cable may be up to 30 feet in length.

10. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 1, wherein said gated SPI clock signal is connected to a single SPI bus slave device.

11. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 10, wherein said connected SPI bus slave device receives a clock signal selecting it as the only active SPI slave device.

12. The data acquisition system, as recited in claim 11, wherein said connected SPI bus signal master-in requires a tri-state buffer with a logic control signal to be placed between each SPI bus master and slave device, said tri-state buffer output signal is connected to said SPI bus master-in signal, and said tri-state logic control signal is activated by the corresponding SPI bus chip select signal forming a multiplexer allowing only the selected SPI bus master-in signal to be routed to the SPI bus master device.