Inspection Probe Data Logging Decoupling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing data logging methods for inspection probes connected to computing devices, especially mobile devices, are limited by slow data transfer rates and bandwidth constraints, making it difficult to log data at faster rates or when connected to devices with limited processing power.
Innovation Solution
An electronic inspection apparatus with a probe, sensor, memory unit, and controller that senses conditions and stores data at a high bit rate, allowing for separate data logging and transfer periods, enabling faster data acquisition and transfer by decoupling the logging period from the transmit period using a memory unit as a data queue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If data is logged at high bit rate to overcome bandwidth limitations, then data acquisition speed is improved, but the computing device's processing power becomes insufficient to handle the data transfer
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a memory unit as an intermediary component between the inspection probe and the computing device. This memory unit temporarily stores the high-rate data stream from the probe, allowing the computing device to process data at its own slower pace without being overwhelmed by the probe's high data generation rate, thus resolving the contradiction between fast data acquisition and limited processing power
Solution Approach 2:
The memory unit performs preliminary data storage and buffering before the computing device processes the data. By pre-storing data in the memory unit, the system prepares data for future processing without requiring the computing device to be ready in real-time, enabling high-speed data capture while accommodating slow processing capabilities
2Productivity
If data transfer rate is increased to match logging rate, then data logging efficiency is improved, but the bandwidth of the connection becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The memory unit serves as a mediator that decouples the data logging rate from the data transfer rate. It accepts data from the probe at high speed and transfers it to the computing device at the maximum bandwidth capacity of the connection, optimizing both data acquisition efficiency and bandwidth utilization without requiring the transfer rate to match the logging rate
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the data flow into two independent streams: data logging to memory and data transfer to computing device. This segmentation allows each stream to operate at its optimal rate independently, with the memory unit buffering the difference between the high logging rate and the lower bandwidth-constrained transfer rate, thereby improving overall productivity without exceeding bandwidth limits
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic inspection apparatus includes a probe, a sensor, a memory unit, and a controller. The apparatus senses a condition, and stores data representative of the sensed condition at a high bit rate. The inspection apparatus transfers the sensed data to a computing device or database via a lower bit rate. In one embodiment, a data queue or memory unit of a temperature probe temporarily stores data before transmitting the data to a computing device (e.g., a mobile device). The method of the present invention provides two separate data logging parameters: (1) how fast to read and log data which determines a data logging period and (2) how fast to send the data to the mobile device which determines a data transmit period. Thus, the data transfer period is isolated or decoupled from the data logging period.