System and method of compensating for device mounting and thermal transfer errors

• US 8,311,763 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2008
• Issued: 11/13/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
• Original Assignee: Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company
• Inventors: Schuh, William C., Culberston, David P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cherry, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US12/239,189
• Publication Number:
  US 20090024348A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,509 Days
• Field of Search: 702/99, 702/130, 374/31, 374/133
• US Class Current: 702/130
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 15/00 Testing or calibrating of thermometers
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 7/42 Circuits effecting compensation of thermal inertia; Circuits for predicting the stationary value of a temperature

Abstract

A method of compensating a temperature measurement of a thermal device in a user environment as a function of a thermal transfer of the thermal device in a temperature measurement system. The method includes inputting thermal transfer parameters associated with heat transfer characteristics of the thermal device stored by a thermal transfer indicia. The method further includes measuring a signal of the thermal device during the temperature measurement and compensating the measured thermal device signal as a function of the thermal transfer function based on one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal environments and one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors associated with the thermal device.

Claims

1. A method of compensating a temperature measurement of a thermal device in a user environment as a function of a thermal transfer of the thermal device in a temperature measurement system, the method comprising:

inputting thermal transfer parameters associated with heat transfer characteristics of the thermal device;

obtaining a single temperature measurement of a target thermal source to be measured based on an output of the thermal device that is exposed to the target thermal source during the temperature measurement;

storing the input thermal transfer parameters in a thermal transfer indicia, wherein the thermal transfer indicia is associated with an indicia storage system communicatively linked to the thermal device;

retrieving the thermal transfer indicia from the indicia storage system; and

using the thermal transfer indicia to compensate for measurement errors in the single temperature measurement of the target thermal source to be measured as a function of the thermal transfer function between the thermal device and the user environment based on one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal environments and one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors associated with the thermal device, wherein the plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors are predetermined sensor specific information and are independent of application conditions.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inputting thermal device information associated with the output of the thermal device as a function of the thermal transfer based on a thermal transfer characteristic;

modeling the thermal transfer characteristic to generate the thermal transfer function including thermal transfer parameters; and

storing thermal transfer parameters in a thermal transfer indicia associated with the thermal device.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermal transfer parameters associated with the thermal transfer function are fitted to at least one of a mathematical data coefficient and a statistically generated parameter.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermal transfer parameters are a two dimensional matrix of thermal transfer data representative of the thermal transfer between the thermal device and the user environment.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermal transfer parameters are fitted mathematical data coefficients associated with at least one mathematical functions representative of one or more segments of the thermal transfer function.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermal device includes a thermocouple.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the thermal device is selected from the group consisting of a resistance temperature detector, a thermistor, a diode, and a transistor.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inputting thermal device information associated with the output of the thermal device as a function of the thermal transfer based on a thermal transfer characteristic;

modeling the thermal transfer characteristic to generate the thermal transfer function; and

referencing the thermal transfer parameters in a thermal transfer indicia.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein modeling of the thermal transfer characteristic includes at least one of a conductive thermal model, a convective thermal model, and a radiative thermal model.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising thermally modeling the thermal transfer function, said thermally modeling including:

analyzing a user application, environment inputs, and a thermal device manufacturer'"'"'s mounting characteristics and deriving the thermal transfer function as a function of a relationship of a temperature and a heat transfer characteristic; and

storing thermal transfer parameters associated with the thermal transfer function.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the indicia storage system is selected from the group consisting of an EPROM, an EEPROM, a barcode, an RFID tag, a virtual storage location on a network, a memory device, a computer readable medium, a computer disk, and a storage device operable to communicate information of the thermal transfer related to the thermal device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

generating the thermal transfer indicia associated with the thermal device, said generating including

inputting information related to at least one of the user environment and a user application;

inputting thermal device information associated with the output of the thermal device as a function of a thermal transfer characteristic;

modeling the thermal transfer between the thermal device and the user environment to determine the thermal transfer function; and

storing the thermal transfer parameters in the thermal transfer indicia associated with the thermal device.

13. A method of compensating a temperature measurement of a thermal device in a user environment as a function of a thermal transfer of the thermal device in a temperature measurement system, the method comprising:

inputting thermal transfer parameters associated with heat transfer characteristics of the thermal device;

obtaining a single temperature measurement of a target thermal source to be measured;

storing the input thermal transfer parameters in a thermal transfer indicia, wherein the thermal transfer indicia is associated with an indicia storage system selected from the group consisting of an EPROM, an EEPROM, a barcode, an RFID tag, a virtual storage location on a network, a memory device, a computer readable medium, a computer disk, and a storage device operable to communicate information of the thermal transfer related to the thermal device;

retrieving the thermal transfer indicia from the indicia storage system; and

using the thermal transfer indicia to compensate the single temperature measurement of the target thermal source to be measured as a function of the thermal transfer function between the thermal device and the user environment based on one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal environments and one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors associated with the thermal device,

wherein the plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors are predetermined sensor specific information and are independent of application conditions.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the thermal transfer parameters associated with the thermal transfer function are fitted to at least one of a mathematical data coefficient and a statistically generated parameter.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the thermal transfer parameters are a two dimensional matrix of thermal transfer data representative of the thermal transfer between the thermal device and the user environment.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising thermally modeling of the thermal transfer function, said thermally modeling including:

analyzing a user application, environment inputs, and a thermal device manufacturer'"'"'s mounting characteristics and deriving the thermal transfer function as a function of a relationship of a temperature and a heat transfer characteristic.

17. A method of compensating for sources of error in a measurement system associated with a device in a user environment as a function of a thermal transfer of the device, the method comprising:

inputting thermal transfer parameters associated with characteristics of the device;

obtaining a single temperature measurement of a target thermal source to be measured based on an output of the device that is exposed to the target thermal source;

storing the input thermal transfer parameters in a thermal transfer indicia;

retrieving the thermal transfer indicia; and

using the thermal transfer indicia to compensate for measurement errors in the single temperature measurement of the target thermal source to be measured as a function of the thermal transfer function between the device and the user environment based on one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal environments and one of a plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors associated with the device,

wherein the plurality of predetermined specific thermal errors are predetermined sensor specific information and are independent of application conditions.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the thermal transfer indicia is associated with an indicia storage system selected from the group consisting of an EPROM, an EEPROM, a barcode, an RFID tag, a virtual storage location on a network, a memory device, a computer readable medium, a computer disk, and a storage device operable to communicate information of the thermal transfer related to the device.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein the thermal transfer parameters associated with the thermal transfer function are fitted to at least one of a mathematical data coefficient and a statistically generated parameter.