Wireless data logging system and method

• US 7,690,569 B2
• Filed: 05/16/2007
• Issued: 04/06/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Datafleet, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Datafleet, Inc.
• Inventors: Roy, Rudrava, Swanson, Gregory
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): ELLIS, SUEZU Y
• Application Number:
  US11/749,746
• Publication Number:
  US 20070268128A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,056 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 235/440
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/10 using a centralized architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/30 using a wired architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/40 using a wireless architecture
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/75 by polling or interrogating the sub-stations
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/823 where the data is sent when the measured values exceed a threshold, e.g. sending an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom

Abstract

A data acquisition system including a first sensor, a second sensor, and an electronic data acquisition device. The sensors can assume a variety of forms, such as analog, digital, bus, GPS, etc., and have disparate information formats. The data acquisition unit is electronically coupled to the sensors, and includes a processor, an aggregator module and a communication device. The processor processes information from the sensors. The aggregator module correlates signaled information from the first sensor with signaled information from the second sensor based on time. Finally, the communication device is adapted to transmit information generated by the aggregator module to a location remote of the housing.

Claims

1. A data acquisition system comprising:

an electronic data acquisition unit including;

a housing,

a first input port maintained by the housing and adapted for electrical connection to, and for receiving a first data signal generated by, a first sensor,

a second input port maintained by the housing and adapted for electrical connection to and for receiving a second data signal generated by, a second sensor,

a processor maintained by the housing and electronically connected to the first and second input ports such that the processor receives the first data signal and the second data signal from the first and second input ports, respectively,

an aggregator module maintained by the housing and in electronic communication with the processor, the aggregator module programmed to correlate information of the first data signal as received from the first input port with information of the second data signal as received from the second input port based on time under circumstances in which a format of the first data signal differs from a format of the second data signal, including operating a filter function in which the aggregator module reduces content of the first data signal as received at the first input port,

a communication device maintained by the housing and adapted to transmit information generated by the aggregator module to a location remote of the housing.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the system further includes the first sensor and the second sensor, and further wherein the first sensor is an analog sensor and the second sensor is selected from the group consisting of a digital sensor, a common area network bus, a UART serial bus, and a GPS sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the aggregator module is programmed to operate the filter function when a sampling rate of the first data signal differs from a sampling rate of the second data signal.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein under a condition where the sampling rate of the first data signal from the first input port is faster than the sampling rate of the second data signal from the second input port, the aggregator module is programmed to:

group information in the first data signal based upon a designated interval.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the designated interval corresponds with the sampling rate of the second data signal.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein the aggregator module is further capable of:

assigning a common time basis to the grouped information of the first data signal and the information of the second data signal for each of consecutively occurring ones of the designated intervals.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the system further includes the first sensor, the second sensor, and a third sensor, and further wherein each of the first, second and third sensors is electronically coupled to the data acquisition unit, and further wherein the aggregator module is capable of assigning the common time basis to a respective group of information from each of the first, second, and third sensors.

8. The system of claim 4, wherein the grouped information is a summary of information contained in the first data signal over the designated interval.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein information contained in the first data signal over the designated interval includes a multiplicity of data points, and further wherein the summary of information includes a maximum data point, a minimum data point and an average of the multiplicity of data points.

10. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a memory electronically coupled to the aggregator module for storing information generated by the aggregator module.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising an event module electronically coupled to the processor and the memory, the event module programmed to:

detect occurrence of a predetermined event in the first data signal; and

prompt the processor to store an entirety of the first data signal in the memory over an event window time period.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the predetermined event is defined by a user.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein event module is programmed to designate occurrence of a predetermined event upon determining that information embodied by the first data signal is outside of threshold limits.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the event module is further programmed to determine the threshold limits based upon a trend analysis of information embodied by the first data signal.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the processor is programmed to send a message via the communication device identifying the detected occurrence of the predetermined event.

16. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a data server located remote of the data acquisition unit and including a receiver adapted to interface with the communication device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the receiver and the communication device are adapted to wirelessly interface.

18. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a user interface located remote of the data acquisition unit, the user interface adapted to interface with the communication device and to generate user-created commands relating to operation of the data acquisition unit.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the system is configured such that a user can remotely program an acquisition unit operational parameter selected from the group consisting of sensor sampling rate, threshold limit, aggregation rate, and sensor configuration via the user interface unit.

20. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor includes a personal computer operating system.

21. The system of claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit is configured to be installed to a vehicle and at least the first sensor is provided with the vehicle.

22. The system of claim 1, wherein the first input port is an analog port adapted to receive an analog signal, the second input port is a non-analog port adapted to receive a non-analog signal, and further wherein the aggregator module is programmed to correlate analog and non-analog signaled information received at the first and second input ports, respectively.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the aggregator module is programmed to continuously correlate data received at the first input port with data received at the second input port under conditions in which a rate of data delivery to the first input port is faster than a rate of data delivery to the second input port.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit further includes:

a memory maintained by the housing for storing information of the first and second data signals as acquired data;

wherein the processor is programmed to automatically clear the acquired data from the memory following successful transmission of the acquired data to a location remote of the housing via the communication device.

25. The system of claim 24, wherein the processor is further programmed to confirm data transfer to the location remote of the housing before clearing the acquired data from the memory.

26. A data acquisition system comprising:

an electronic data acquisition unit including;

a housing,

a first input port maintained by the housing and adapted for electrical connection to, and for receiving a first data signal generated by, a first sensor,

a second input port maintained by the housing and adapted for electrical connection to, and for receiving a second data signal generated by, a second sensor,

a processor maintained by the housing and electronically connected to the first and second input ports such that the processor receives the first and second data signals from the first and second input ports, respectively,

an aggregator module maintained by the housing and in electronic communication with the processor, the aggregator module programmed to;

reduce a multiplicity of data points in the first data signal over a designated interval to a maximum data point, a minimum data point and an average,

correlate the reduced multiplicity of data points with information of the second data signal based on time,

a communication device maintained by the housing and adapted to transmit information generated by the aggregator module to a location remote of the housing.

27. The system of claim 26, further comprising:

the first sensor connected to the first input port; and

the second sensor connected to the second input port.