Gauge monitoring methods, devices and systems
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of reading a gauge, comprising:
- identifying a region of interest (ROI) including a plurality of pixels, wherein the ROI overlaps at least a portion of a gauge feature, and wherein the ROI includes a subset of the plurality of pixels;
capturing a digital image of the gauge using a gauge reading device attached to the gauge, the digital image comprising the plurality of pixels;
determining an angle of the gauge feature based on the plurality of pixels in the ROI, wherein the angle is calculated with respect to an anchor point;
converting the angle into a gauge reading, andthe gauge feature comprises a needle; and
determining the angle further includesdetermining an initial angle of the needle from the image pixel locations;
if the initial angle is outside predetermined limits, rotating all the pixel locations in a first direction about the anchor point by a displacement angle, determining a rotated angle of the needle from the rotated image pixel locations, and modifying the rotated angle by the displacement angle to generate the angle of the gauge feature.
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Abstract
A method of reading a gauge may include capturing a digital image of the gauge with a gauge reading device attached to the gauge, the digital image comprising a plurality of pixels; determining an angle of a gauge feature based on positions of predetermined pixels of the digital image; and converting the angle into a gauge reading. Gauge reader devices and network based systems are also disclosed.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of reading a gauge, comprising:
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identifying a region of interest (ROI) including a plurality of pixels, wherein the ROI overlaps at least a portion of a gauge feature, and wherein the ROI includes a subset of the plurality of pixels; capturing a digital image of the gauge using a gauge reading device attached to the gauge, the digital image comprising the plurality of pixels; determining an angle of the gauge feature based on the plurality of pixels in the ROI, wherein the angle is calculated with respect to an anchor point; converting the angle into a gauge reading, and the gauge feature comprises a needle; and determining the angle further includes determining an initial angle of the needle from the image pixel locations; if the initial angle is outside predetermined limits, rotating all the pixel locations in a first direction about the anchor point by a displacement angle, determining a rotated angle of the needle from the rotated image pixel locations, and modifying the rotated angle by the displacement angle to generate the angle of the gauge feature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A gauge reader system, comprising:
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at least one gauge reader device that includes an adapter section that couples to a gauge, at least one image sensor that acquires image data of the gauge, the image data comprising a plurality of pixels, an angle determination section that identifies a region of interest (ROI) that overlaps at least a portion of the gauge feature, determines an angle corresponding to a gauge feature based on a plurality of pixels of the ROI, wherein the angle is calculated with respect to an anchor point, a conversion section that transforms the angle into a gauge reading, and the at least one gauge reader further includes a processor, and the angle determination section comprises an angle determination routine embodied on a machine readable media executable by the processor, including instructions for determining an initial angle of a gauge needle from the image data, if the initial angle is outside of a predetermined range, rotating all the pixel locations in a first direction about a predetermined position by a displacement angle, determining a modified angle for the gauge needle, and determining a gauge needle angle from the modified angle and the displacement angle. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A gauge reading system, comprising:
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at least one gauge reader in communication with a site server, the gauge reader being a self-contained device comprising an image sensor that acquires an image of a corresponding gauge, an image processor that identifies a region of interest (ROI) including a plurality of pixels, wherein the ROI overlaps at least a portion of a gauge needle, and determines an angle of the gauge needle based on the plurality of pixels, wherein the angle is calculated with respect to an anchor point, determining the angle further includes determining an initial angle of the needle from the image pixel locations; if the initial angle is outside predetermined limits, rotating all the pixel locations in a first direction about the anchor point by a displacement angle, determining a rotated angle of the needle from the rotated image pixel locations, and modifying the rotated angle by the displacement angle to generate the angle of the gauge feature; and a central web server coupled to the site server by a communication firewall to receive at least gauge readings from the gauge reader device in response to predetermined requests from the site server. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification