PDA instrument/process calibrator

• US 6,571,188 B1
• Filed: 08/18/2000
• Issued: 05/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Fluke Corporation (Fortive Corp.)
• Inventors: Vandewater, Ken, Wang, Xu-Ming, Tetreault, Tim, Frank, Lewis, Gustafson, Bill, Pantano, Mike, Clarridge, Ron
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Application Number:
  US09/641,797
• Time in Patent Office: 1,012 Days
• Field of Search: 702/85, 702/104, 702/116-117, 709/213-214, 709/216, 709/62, 710/72-74, 379/93.05, 379/93.25, 439/928.1, 439/945-946
• US Class Current: 702/104
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric

Abstract

An instrument or process calibrator includes a housing, a traceable, controllable calibration source in the housing, the calibration source including memory for storing identifying information about the calibration source, a data connector coupled to the calibration source, a removable hand held computer preferably a PDA, attached to the housing, and connected to the data connector, the computer including user input means for receiving a control input user for controlling the calibration source, and output means, preferably graphical output means for displaying the identifying information and calibration results to the user.

Claims

1. A calibrator comprising:

a housing;

a traceable, controllable calibration source in the housing, the calibration source including memory for storing information identifying the calibrator source;

a data connector coupled to the calibration source;

a hand held computer removably attached to the housing and connected to the data connector, the computer including input means for receiving input from a user for controlling the calibration source, and output means for displaying the identifying information to the user; and

a data base storing data identifying an instrument to be calibrated, a calibrator used in making the calibration, and the results of the calibration.

2. The calibrator of claim 1 in which the hand held computer comprises means for creating a new instrument record.

3. The calibrator of claim 1 in which the hand held computer comprises means for creating a new calibrator record.

4. The calibrator of claim 1 in which the hand held computer comprises means for transferring locally created instrument records and calibrator records to a host computer.

5. The calibrator of claim 1 comprising means for transferring instrument records and calibrator records from a host computer to the hand held computer.