U.S. patent application number 11/893139 was filed with the patent office on 2008-02-14 for hand-held computer device and method for interactive data acquisition, analysis and calibration.
Invention is credited to Wayne Clinton Grant, David Kent Johnson, Paulo Raffaelli, Rhonda Laureen Rosales.
Application Number | 20080040449 11/893139 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38607114 |
Filed Date | 2008-02-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080040449 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Grant; Wayne Clinton ; et
al. |
February 14, 2008 |
Hand-held computer device and method for interactive data
acquisition, analysis and calibration
Abstract
Systems and methods for processing data at a handheld device are
described. The handheld device is couplable with a sensor and
includes a data module to process data from the sensor. The
handheld device may also include a display module to display data
on a display of the handheld device and provide a user interface
that allows users of the handheld device to interact with the
handheld device during data acquisition.
Inventors: |
Grant; Wayne Clinton;
(Halfmoon Bay, CA) ; Johnson; David Kent; (San
Francisco, CA) ; Raffaelli; Paulo; (San Francisco,
CA) ; Rosales; Rhonda Laureen; (Los Altos,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BLAKELY SOKOLOFF TAYLOR & ZAFMAN
1279 OAKMEAD PARKWAY
SUNNYVALE
CA
94085-4040
US
|
Family ID: |
38607114 |
Appl. No.: |
11/893139 |
Filed: |
August 14, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
09479031 |
Jan 7, 2000 |
7286894 |
|
|
11893139 |
Aug 14, 2007 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
709/218 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 67/04 20130101;
H04L 67/125 20130101; H04L 67/34 20130101; G06F 15/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/218 |
International
Class: |
G06F 15/16 20060101
G06F015/16 |
Claims
1. A system comprising: a handheld computer device; a data module
in the handheld computer device to process data from a sensor
couplable with the handheld computer device; and a display module
in the handheld computer device to display data on a display of the
handheld computer device and provide a user interface that allows
users of the handheld device to interact with the handheld computer
device.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interface to couple
the sensor with the handheld computer device.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the interface is in the handheld
computer device.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor and the handheld
computer device are coupled with a wireless connection.
5. The system of claim 1, further comprising an interface to couple
the handheld computer device with a host computer.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the data module is to process
data from a plurality of sensors couplable with the handheld
computer device.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the combination of the sensor and
the handheld computer device has a handheld size.
8. The system of claim 2, wherein the combination of the interface
and the handheld computer device has a handheld size.
9. An apparatus comprising: an interface couplable with a sensor
and couplable with a handheld computer device, the interface to
process data acquired from the sensor and provide the processed
data to the handheld computer device for display when the sensor
and the handheld computer device are coupled with the
interface.
10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the interface is a hardware
interface.
11. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the interface is in the
handheld computer device.
12. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the interface is couplable
with a plurality of sensors.
13. A handheld device comprising: a handheld computer device; and a
module couplable with the handheld computer device, the module
couplable with a sensor, the module processing data received from
the sensor and causing the data to be displayed on a display of the
handheld computer device, the sensor to perform data acquisition
when connected to the module, wherein when the module is coupled
with the handheld computer device, a combination of the module and
the handheld computer device has a handheld size.
14. The handheld device of claim 11, wherein the module is
couplable with a plurality of sensors.
15. The handheld device of claim 11, wherein the module is a
hardware interface.
16. A method comprising: acquiring data at a handheld computer
device using a sensor couplable with the handheld computer device;
processing the data at the handheld computer device; allowing users
of the handheld computer device to interact with the handheld
computer device during the data acquisition; and providing results
of the processing to a display on the handheld computer device.
17. The method of claim 14, wherein acquiring data at a handheld
computer device comprises coupling the sensor with the handheld
computer device.
18. The method of claim 14, wherein acquiring data at a handheld
device comprises coupling the sensor with an interface and coupling
the interface with the handheld computer device.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising processing data at
the interface and providing the processed data to the handheld
computer device.
20. The method of claim 14, wherein acquiring data at a handheld
device comprises acquiring data wirelessly.
21. An apparatus comprising: means for acquiring data at a handheld
computer device using a sensor couplable with the handheld computer
device; means for processing the data at the handheld computer
device; means for allowing users of the handheld computer device to
interact with the handheld computer device during data acquisition;
and means for providing results of the processing to a display on
the handheld computer device.
22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the means for acquiring data
with a handheld computer device comprises means for coupling the
sensor with the handheld computer device.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 09/479,031, filed on Jan. 1, 2000, the
entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The scientific method begins with observation, that is, data
acquisition. Sensors extend the reach and refine the precision of a
human observer. For centuries all sensors (from Galileo's telescope
to Hewlett and Packard's oscilloscope) were analog in nature, and
gathered data only in forms that humans could perceive. Then
sensors reached beyond the visible (across the electromagnetic
spectrum, out into the astronomically distant heavens, down into
the infinitesimally small, and eventually reaching within the atom
to observe the operations of the nucleonic forces with the cloud
chambers, radiation meters and scintillographs of physics). Sensors
also have moved from observing static to moving to dynamic to
forever-energetic conditions, until now even the flickering wisps
of perception, thought, and life in the living brain have become
viewable (as shifting colors within the frame of a living skull)
through positive emission tomography. Yet observation alone, no
matter how extended by sensors, is not all that there is to the
scientific method.
[0003] Recording data that had been acquired allowed it to be
transmitted across both distance and time. Allowed the data to be
compared and contrasted, added to, sorted, ordered and re-ordered
and classified. Yet important as the art of Taxonomy was and
remains to progress today, the ancients such as Aristotle and Galen
knew of such--and yet none of the classical scholars, the Greeks of
Athens, the Romans of the Augustan Empire, or the Arabs of Cordoba
used the scientific method. Observations were recorded and
transmitted, but not used. Few made any comparison, or queried
whether such comparisons might mean anything beyond what had been
stated by the preceding authorities. Recording data alone, no
matter how accurate the transcription or honest and skilled the
monk, never lit up the dark age ere the Renaissance.
[0004] Recording enables comparison, and comparison eventually
leads to analysis; and analysis, first to questions, then to
theory, then to testing. Flaws in one attempt at data acquisition
led to a second, improved attempt. Observations and recordings
began to become connected, one set to another. Eventually, a new
process evolved, wherein recital of data one had acquired was no
longer sufficient. Observation, comparison and review of the
process of data acquisition, as well as of the data acquired,
became crucial to the new experimenters. To ensure accuracy,
reproducibility became the watchword: to ensure reproducibility,
observing and commenting upon the process became as much a part of
the dynamic of data acquisition as the observations themselves. The
scientific method may have arisen from data acquisition, but it
depends as much if not more on observation of itself in process, on
the dynamic structure and storage and analysis of process and
result together. It is the interaction of the observer with the
process, the annotation and analysis of the process during the
acquisition, that fully enables the scientific method to reach its
most rapid and useful stage. The scientist could take his
instrument and notebooks into the field with him, make and annotate
his observations synchronously and interactively, and thus remain
thoroughly and directly in control of the overall process to ensure
its most efficient and effective operation.
[0005] The final step from abstract reasoning to practical
application of the new scientific method was formalized when merely
theorizing (on the results of the data acquired or on the process
as annotated) no longer proved sufficient: when action based on
such observations became possible even during the process. The
feedback had to operate on both the action and the process itself,
for no one could guarantee ahead of time whether a particular error
might arise from the instrument, the process, or an unexpected
element in the environment.
[0006] A modem scientist, technician, or even methodical
businessman, depends on data collection, analysis, and action to
continually refine, improve, and further his knowledge and
exertions. Armed with analog sensors to seek out data, with means
to record the data, and means to compare and analyze the data, he
yet would be floundering, drowning in a sea of events and
observations beyond human capacities were it not for one further
major innovation; the computer. Mastery (or at least control) of
details in digital form serves as the tool for the human brain, as
the sensor serves as the tool for the human sense. But to bring the
two together, the analog must be converted to the digital, the data
formatted to that which the computer, rather than the human, may
read and recall. Yet it and the results of such analysis must also
be presented back to the user in a form he can comprehend and make
use of with the minimum of special training, to render the feedback
process most effective. Data became digital for faster, more
efficient evaluation. The notebook became the digital computer,
with number-crunching analytical prowess. Early computers were
room-sized; early analog-to-digital converters were suitcase sized.
And as a consequence of this transformation, field observations of
the human observer and the subsequent analysis became once again
separated; the human was displaced in location or time from the
interaction between sensor and environment. Only at the very end of
this century did the potential for reuniting the observer in the
field with the instruments of both observation and analysis once
more become feasible.
[0007] The faster that data can be acquired, or the more remote it
is from purely human capabilities, the more crucial becomes the
ability to use human judgment of context and condition during
acquisition. Testing, observing, reacting, and testing again speeds
up the process, made more accurate the results. The processing
between the ears of the observer was and still is as important as
the processing between the sensor and the data record. And the
demand has been ever-growing for means to bring this method to the
hand and eye of the individual observer and actor at the test-site
and during a session; this reduces the costs and problems which any
removal in time or space can cause to invalidate an experiment. The
more human involvement can be assured, the less robust and rigid
need the pre-designed or pre-made sensors and acting responses be.
The closer the feedback, the more efficient the entire process
becomes. Yet the more that information can be duplicated,
distributed, and opened to external commentary, suggestion,
analysis, or action, the more valuable any given set of
observations may become. One needs data that fits within both the
hand of the user and can be shared globally with colleagues
everywhere, for the best and most powerful application of such
data. And users need tools that fit them (and the environment of
their use), or that can be changed by the user to do so, to make
the best use of the users time and the effort of bringing the tools
to the task and into the field.
[0008] This has led to an easily-stated problem; how can a human
bring tools for his senses and his mind into the field, where the
observations will be taken? People can only carry so much (just as
they can only sense so much or remember so much or compare so
much), at anyone time and in one place. Portability becomes
crucial, for data exists where it exists and not (however much the
pure scientist may wish it) solely and easily within the confines
of a laboratory environment. No mountain will come to Mohammed
should he wish to measure its height with a non-portable laser
altimeter and hundred-kilogram mainframe with full tape decks (to
process the results of each sighting shot)!
[0009] The addition of the digital computer and the mechanical
sensor, though they brought a salutary discipline and stringency to
observations, separated the observer from the instrument, the
records, and the process. Unlike a clipboard, a computer could not
be taken into the field. (And was much more subject to disaster in
any precipitate event--at least after the Bic became common.) In
the thirty to forty years between the Eniac and the Palm Pilot, a
generation of scientists, doctors, Technicians, and others
struggled with a host of problems. A great many technical and
scientific observations must be slightly modified from the original
scheme on the fly due to unexpected, minimal, environmental and
situational circumstances. Reviewing the patents and prior art in
the field emphasizes the need for a reunion between the observer,
the instrument, the records, and the entire process.
[0010] Furthermore, the act of separating the observer, sensor, and
digital computer, however much it offered in accuracy, ease of
recording, and analysis, did so at the expense of the potential to
alter the situation in accordance with instructions, advice, or
guidance from the observer, or from anyone engaged in concurrent
and ongoing analysis. Such interaction could often correct for
flaws which only become perceived in the operating context, as no
projection ever entirely meets the complexity of the real world
environment. Rejoining the observer with both the display and the
process can prevent, among others, a vicious cycle of incorrect
observation/incorrect correction (a variation of `GIGO` or `garbage
in, garbage out`) from arising, which means that runaway feedback
can be readily averted rather than being triggered by a single
out-of-bounds observation. But the solution offered in this
embodiment of the invention has been woefully absent.
[0011] For example, the lightweight, self-contained, programmable
data-acquisition system described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,299 is
entirely dependent upon a remote computer, rather than one located
in the user's hand, for both display and analysis of the data. As
such, it fails to consider the need for a user-interface or unit
controls where the user is located by the sensor, in order to
render the data acquisition, analysis, and action processes
interactive. Moreover, because the display (of the results of the
data acquisition) is separated from the observer, there literally
is no chance for that observer to be aware of or to make meaningful
comments upon the results of the process as they are displayed.
Accordingly, there is little potential for conscious correlation
between corrective or insightful contextual observations and
displayed results. Such potential as there is either requires the
observation to take place where the host computer is located, or
requires secondary analysis that tries to reconnect the time or
context after the fact of any event rather than contemporaneously,
which builds in a source of potential error in the feedback process
and thereby limits its usefulness. Moreover, as the sole source of
commands and configuration arise from the remote computer and
cannot be displayed at the site of the observer and sensor, there
is no chance for the observer to add meaningful interaction or
effect any adaptation by the individual who is present and able to
incorporate his or her own judgment or sense as part of the
adaptive process.
[0012] Another missing element can be seen with U.S. Pat. No.
5,386,360. That invention, though it envisions data acquisition,
analysis, and access that depends on a personal computer, sees as
the sole corrective measure for a faulty sensor, rendering it
inoperative. While this could prevent a vicious cycle from arising,
there is little room left for further corrective measures. No
distinction is made between transient, correctable, or permanently
fatal faults; an out-of-range reading damns a sensor permanently.
Also, unlike the current embodiment of this invention, the observer
using that invention has little opportunity to annotate the process
directly, potentially thereby allowing a later interpretation to
accurately adjust for a localized, temporary, or unpredicted
effect. Furthermore, that invention contains no mention of
re-calibrating the sensor or the analytical process by the
operator. And. while a personal computer can be carried with
greater ease than a mainframe, it (plus the attendant monitor)
lacks a great deal of ease of portability into difficult or
hard-to-reach environments by any save those in good physical
condition, while its power requirements are prodigious enough to
make extended or often-repeated runs impractical. But the greatest
weakness in this patent is that there is no need to limit the data
input to the subset of possible values that can be forced through
the translation of data keystrokes, which constrains potential
digital from analog sensor readings to an artificially-imposed
limitation of some hundred-odd possible signals. While one can
always translate any radio broadcast into text or even into Morse
code, doing so always robs the subtleties of tone, pace, pitch, and
background noise that can be more important than the linear wording
when it comes to conveying proper meaning. (Or greatly increases
the `data density required to translate identical readings; it
takes much less time to say `S.O.S.` than its Morse equivalent.)
Moreover, this invention, though it orients a user to the location
and function of the equipment, does not orient the user to the
capabilities, constraints, and dynamics of either the equipment or
the processes invoked in its use or analysis, or action based on
either or both of the preceding. It is a significant advance to
allow the use of graphical icons, perhaps; but there is no mention
of any flexibility in letting the user dictate the interface
according to that which the user finds most serviceable or
appropriate to the environment.
[0013] Environmental data acquisition via remote sensors, as
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,132,968, need not require radio
communication means. There are any number of times or conditions
where such would be difficult or dangerous to employ, or merely
expensive, as that invention requires sensor(s), computer(s), and
user(s) to possess or at least have access to radio communication
means. A user may want to obtain direct readings via technologies
not subject to radio interference, may not want to risk
broadcasting a signal that could be misinterpreted or received by
another unanticipated recipient, and be quite capable of modest
physical effort to bring a hand-held device to the sensors in turn.
Should there be any risk of invoking a blast (e.g. near a
construction site using radio-triggered explosives), or the field
strength of the radio or magnetic signal of the phenomena around
the experiment be crucial, such radio communication means could
readily provide more hazard and less value that the user would
wish. Moreover, this invention fails to include any means for
interacting with the user, fails to include him in the feedback
cycle and allow for annotation of the ongoing process, and never
considers the potential necessity of recalibrating a sensor rather
than abandoning or replacing it. He is reduced, once again, to
somehow pasting on handwritten notes and keeping them linked to the
computer records.
[0014] But focusing on handwritten information alone, as U.S. Pat.
No. 5,227,614 does, misses the power of interacting with
analog-to-digital sensors. That patent is solely and narrowly
focused on capturing handwritten information (subparagraphs (d) and
(e) of the sole independent claim specifically address `means for
digitizing handwritten input information` and `application of
handwritten information to said digitizer input means`), though it
does see some advantage for hand-held data capture within a `shirt
pocket` size (subparagraph (c) of claim one). There are far, far
more analog sensor readings possible than mere handwritten
information can capture in an accurate, timely, and effective
fashion. The specification for that invention, when detailing the
software command set, focuses even more narrowly on capturing
handwritten signatures, with five commands aimed at self-checks
(e.g request version or revision number), six aimed specifically at
signature capture, and four moderating the mode of capture. It does
not address the need for interactivity during data capture to
assess the accuracy thereof, or the need for analysis and
comparison within the hand-held device for on-the-spot action, or
the need for comparison either across multiple data inputs or of a
particular data input against a library and/or remote storage for
decisive reaction to the current circumstances. And the
specification focuses on analog, rather than digital, and
commercial or human-oriented interactivity rather than scientific
or analytical processes as the core of the functions for the
hand-held device. (For example, the specification mentions without
detail input" of existing printed data, e.g. bar codes, text, and
graphical information on p. 11. On page 13, it adds as possible,
associated. input/output devices "a touch keyboard, digitizer
tablet means, printers, laser bar code readers, FR modules, smart
card interfaces, disk systems, full travel keyboards, larger
displays, local area network interfaces, et cetera.") None of these
are considered generally to be suitable for direct digital analysis
or scientific use. In fact, this patent's discussion on "Digital
Signal Processing" is related to barcode reading (pages 17-23).
Unfortunately, the real world is not universally pre-equipped with
Universal Product Codes.
[0015] There are a number of more limited, special-purpose
inventions that are not coincident with this invention, though they
at first glance may seem to interact with particular claims herein.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,351 is a claim to a "portable and
modular electrocardiogram (ECG) medical device." Despite the
language immediately prior to it in the specification, which argued
that the patent should be extended to "any predetermined diagnostic
medical function, the claim explicitly limits it to ECG readings.
In contrast, the present invention is not so limited. Even the
subordinate claims for `medical applications`, that may cover `ECG,
other heart function, and integrated heart-and-nervous system
reading` applications, are not just for isolated. single readings
but involve their storage, analysis, comparison, and the
interactivity with other software-based systems for decisive,
expert interaction based on continuing readings rather than an
individual, or even a series of individual and disconnected
snapshots. Furthermore, the invention in U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,351
specifically requires both a single, particular user control (a
joypad) and dictates the meaning and use of the arrow keys therein,
rather than having the user interface conformable by software to
the user's preferences within the constraints of the application's
functional needs and possibilities. It requires, however, not
merely that the device contain a joypad (which is but one possible
control for a user interface) but specifies precisely the limited
functions which can be invoked by the pairs of keys therein.
Moreover, this invention fails to disclose any means for modifying
the user interface (or even the conception of such a possibility),
means for interacting with the user during the analytical and
action processes after an observation, or engaging in a dynamic
process of continuous or event-driven monitoring, as opposed to
simply taking a single reading (or even a discrete set of single
readings). And. to the extent any heart-monitoring use claim exists
for this invention that does not depend upon incorporation of an
ECG, this patent will neither be limiting nor apply.
[0016] Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,179 makes claims for a
"personal computer card for collection for real-time biological
data." The invention again depends upon an external computer system
which, when the card is added to it, becomes a `powerful diagnostic
instrument`, The problem is, of course, that while the PC card
itself that is the subject of this patent may be lightweight and
portable, the system-as-a-whole which necessarily includes a
personal computer fails such a test, As all the user-interface,
interaction, storage, analysis, display, and interactivity depend
upon the externally-linked personal computer, this patent fails to
comprehend the present invention. Moreover, to the extent that its
claims specifically require the incorporation of at least one, and
in some cases several, particular and specific sensors (including a
pressure transducer), it fails to limit the present invention which
has no such specific requirement for full functionality.
[0017] The claims in U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,141 belie the broader text
of the title and specification, for they require both a wireless
transfer and an external host for what is a `data terminal` rather
than a self-contained unit. Moreover, that patent focuses entirely
on data capture, without any user interactivity concerning the
process. And as the specification makes clear, the focus of the
entire patent is on a generalized claim to a bar-code reader (see
e.g. claim 57's recitation of `removable and replaceable code
scanner module means`), rather than any external
analog-to-digitally based environmental sensor(s).
[0018] The separation stated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,522 not only
focuses on the keyboard port and bus, but also lacks the integrated
performance and package of the current embodiment of this
invention. Instead, its claims recite a clear separation between
peripheral sensor, host computer, and peripheral data acquisition,
monitor, and control device.
[0019] The invention and claims of U.S. Pat. No. 5,587,577 for a
`Modular Scanner with Hand-Held Data Terminal,` not only focus on
the physical aspects of a data acquisition system, but lack any
element or claim as to synergistic operation with the data during
or after its acquisition; for, as the title suggests, the machinery
and process attached to the user is merely for data acquisition by
the machinery, with the human playing little more than the role of
a carrier.
[0020] Remote acquisition is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,977,
"Data Acquisition from a Remote Instrument Via the Internet." The
invention requires a host and remote system. However, and lacks any
personal portability. The separation between display, analysis, and
sensing subjects the user to all the uncertainties of a
less-than-stable internet, which means that failures from mere
communication mishaps now are added to the existing environmental
uncertainties.
[0021] This embodiment of the invention focuses on bringing the
human observer back into the heart of the process, making it
feasible for him (or her) to interact with the data observation,
analysis, and consequent action. Because the invention can be
readily carried, and linked to any of a number of types of sensors
(any that can be governed by analog-to-digital conversion, that
is), its applications are not limited to a particular field.
Because software governs the translation of the digital signals,
the operation of the hand-held device itself, and the display of
the results (or of the analysis, or even the guidance to the user),
the inflexible limitations of hardware are overset; rather than
being limited to a specific-purpose device or instrument, the
observer has the set of potential instruments (or the set of
potential reading).
SUMMARY
[0022] This invention generally relates to a device and method for
data acquisition, comparison, and analysis that comprises a
hand-held computer device with an attachable module having its own
associated analog sensor, and having stored software suited or
adaptable to the sensor, the attachable module, and that particular
user for that particular use. The invention includes hardware and
software that lets the human interact with computer and sensor
combinations, that permits event--rather than clock--driven
observations, that allows human senses, capabilities, and judgment
to serve as an extension to the computer and digital processing
synergistically with the computer's and sensor's capabilities,
thereby most readily and flexibly extending that of the human. A
further extension of the invention specifically allows the
annotation of both the process and environmental context of the
data acquisition beyond the limitations of the particular sensor
and attachable module, capturing the `between the ears` processing
of the human observer, which can be as critical to ensure that the
meaning is correctly ascribable to the results of the process as
the data observations themselves are. A still further extension of
the invention specifically allows interaction with the hand-held
computer and associated attachable module with its sensor in order
to calibrate and examine the combination, creating the potential
for correctly evaluating the entire environment including the
sensor and the process on which the data acquisition and analysis
depends. And a still-further extension of the invention allows the
interaction between the external conditions and the computer or the
human or both together, thereby creating the opportunities for
feedback loops and dynamic adaptation in real time. Once the
data-acquisition dynamic is thus made available to the hand-held
computer's user, because there is the potential for further linkage
to additional, externally-based resources (such as an external
computer. additional memory, further sensor, or additional
programming), the flexibility and adaptability become limited only
by what the communication channels can bear or the human user can
manage, operate, handle, or is carrying to which the hand-held can
be also adapted or modified to process and control. (No claim is
made for using additional human observers in the data acquisition,
comparison, or analysis; the use of trainees or graduate student
assistants is already well-known, however imperfectly
practised.)
[0023] For example, a human user could carry the hand-held computer
device with an associated attachable module and sensor attached
thereof for testing soil pH into the field to track and trace a
suspected spill from an underground pipeline of an
environmentally-hazardous substance. By calibrating the sensitivity
to match the current environmental conditions, ranging from the
day's temperature to the mix of soils subject to being tested, the
most useful range of readings may be assured. Simultaneously, the
user can be adding annotations as to smells, or sights, which the
analog sensor and hand-held computer are not currently equipped to
detect yet which may add or explain significance of readings, such
as noting a `discoloration` on the surface of the soil or indeed on
the probe when withdrawn from the soil. The user could also
correctly annotate the calibration process such that conversion
from one set of records to the next could be accurately made. And,
by using the connection to a network, the user might even be able
to order the shutdown of the nearest valves to the greatest
concentration of the spill and the opening of all those
`downstream` in the pipeline, thereby allowing the maximum safe
drainage and minimizing the total extent of the spill. What
previously may have required teams of workers, fields of sensors,
repeated runs of sensor placements, test-runs, and off-site
analysis, taking hours or days or weeks, can now become a single
interactive process that combines the best of both human and
digital capabilities in a portable, flexible, synergistic
format.
[0024] It is this combination of capabilities that makes the
difference from prior inventions in this field. Most leave out the
human operator or human element, leaving themselves vulnerable to
any internal failure in the sensor or the system, leaving
themselves blind and deaf to elements of the environment forming
the context for their data acquisition that may affect the process
and the results, separating themselves from the human-based
capabilities and skills and therefore having to repeat or re-run or
re-evaluate the data acquisition results when problems or concerns
or questions about the process arise, rather than solving them on
the spot at the time. Many leave out the capability to act in
real-time and on the spot as a consequence of immediate analysis,
thereby abandoning all potential for a feedback-based interactive
process. Also left out are the capabilities (1) to annotate the
process and observations on a real-time basis by the in-the-field
user or operator of the device; and (2) to calibrate the
device/sensor/software combination for each particular context,
whose absence either requires blind faith in the perfectibility of
human-driven data acquisition and computer-monitored analog
sensing, or risks creating an unreviewable and irreproducible (and
hence, unusable) recording lacking contemporaneous evaluation of
its accuracy, validity, and completeness.
[0025] As the user's input is a crucial portion of this invention,
there are many formats which may be known by or familiar to a
particular user. A user interface that can be customized by an
individual user to that format which is most suitable for his
current need (for sometimes accuracy, sometimes a more general
summary, and sometimes the merest of assurances, are needed for the
annotative, analytical, and active phases of the entire feedback
process; but a user who cannot chose which is most appropriate at
the moment will find his capacity limited by the harshly imposed
process constraints of the system. Accordingly, an aspect of this
invention is the deliberate capacity for flexibly altering the user
interface according to the particular needs of the user as
determined by the context and time of his interaction with the
entire process.
[0026] The combination of human and computer capabilities
synergistically permits adaptation to and awareness of contextual
events, giving the user and the system a flexibility not feasible
otherwise. Most data collection can be more readily made duplicable
and analyzable if first digitized, yet the process of collection
and digitization may require supervision or calibration to cope
with differences between expectations and real-world conditions.
Transitory or unpredictable conditions that otherwise may create
tremendous difficulties for computer handling, or which may
otherwise require invalidation of an entire run due to concerns
over sensor or digitization flaws, can be annotated by a user or
subjected to immediate re-evaluation. Analysis that suggests
intervention or alteration can be performed by the human user who
is on the spot, or signaled by or through him to handle problems
beyond the scope of a particular specialized computer program or
hardware. Both digitized analog sensors taking readings and human
actions can be controlled either by the hand-held computer or user,
while supported by a computer or networks worth of specialized
records, programming, and actions. The capability to sense,
evaluate, compare analyze, and act based on contextual cues from
sensors not present or currently activated in the hand-held
computer, or from machine-based sensor readings not otherwise
accessible to a human user, allows immediate context-based feedback
on both the process and the results. Experimental corrections can
be made that incorporate local or remote judgment and analysis
without delay or separation between the observer and the actor
through the intermediary of the hand-held device with the
appropriate attachable module and associated sensors.
[0027] The process of effectively transforming data or observations
into knowledge, and then putting knowledge into action, works best
when the three interrelated activities (acquiring observations,
monitoring the data-acquisition process, and acting upon an
analysis arising from that data) are integrated, allowing direct,
immediate, and localized feedback.
[0028] Errors can arise in perception, in analysis, and in action
Anyone of these, if not immediately subject to review and
correction, can turn feedback from a virtuous to a vicious cycle.
The closer and more accessible the process is to a human observer,
the more opportunity for immediate correction or reaction to
prevent such a problem from arising. The greater the separation in
either time or space between the sensor, the computer, and the
human observer, the less efficient and effective the scientific
method becomes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0029] Embodiments of the invention are described by way of example
with reference to drawings, in which:
[0030] [copy from other spec-no claims]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0031] FIG. 1 shows a hand-held computer device (1) with a display
screen (2), a set of hardware controls (3), an attachable module
(4) that has means for communicating with the hand-held computer
device (5) and its own hardware control (12). The absolute size of
this hand-held computer device may vary, as may its weight, but it
is designed to fit within the comfortable ergonomic limitations and
positions of its human user and. more specifically, to that which
can be carried about and used with a single hand. The operating
system and application software are, of course, not visible.
[0032] FIG. 2 shows the attachable module (4), from a different
perspective from which both the means for connection to an external
sensor (6) and an optional second peripheral connection means
(which can go to a power source or other peripheral, including but
not limited to a second sensor, of the same type or different from
the first). The attachable module is of such a size and weight that
either it alone, or it when combined with the hand-held computer
device, will still fit within the comfortable ergonomic limitations
and positions of its human user and, more specifically, to that
which can be carried about and used with a single hand.
[0033] FIG. 3 shows the entire hand-held computer device (1), with
attachable module (4) and an attached digital sensor that plugs
into the attachable module at one end (7A) and contains the sensor
at the other (7B). The physical details of the potential sensors
are so varied that the entire combination may no longer fit within
the comfortable ergonomic limitations and positions of its human
user, at least, to that which can be carried about and used with a
single hand, or even two hands (even though. as this drawing
indicates, such is the preferred embodiment of this invention).
[0034] FIG. 4 shows the hand-held computer device (1), with
attachable module (4) and an attached digital sensor that plugs
into the attachable module at one end (7A) and contains the sensor
at the other (7B), using its internal means for connecting (8) to
an external computer (9) to communicate either from the hand-held
computer device to the external computer or from the external
computer to the hand-held computer device. This connection could be
by a physical wire (RS-232, serial, parallel, SCSI, Ethernet,
Coaxial, even optical fiber) or through non-physical means
(electromagnetic, from radio through infrared or beyond), as long
as such communicating means are capable of carrying a digital
signal between the hand-held computer device and the external
computer.
[0035] FIG. 5 shows the attachable module (4) through the means for
connection to an external sensor (6), can connect to an external
sensor that has a plurality of actual sensing elements (1 IA &
11B).
[0036] FIG. 6 shows the display screen (2) is used not just to
display the data acquired, but to control the process of data
acquisition, in this case by using a stylus (14) to interact with
the application means governing said interactive data acquisition
as they are displayed on the display screen. The displayed
controls, dialog boxes, and other elements are governed by the
application software means for configuring those controls, which
may also govern the meaning and effect of the hardware controls at
the bottom of the hand-held computer device.
[0037] FIG. 7 shows an internal circuit board (23) for the
attachable module (4), including the means for connection to an
external sensor (6), means for communicating with the hand-held
computer device (5), internal power supply connections (21),
analog-to-digital converter (15), optional on-board memory (17)
that can be read-only programmable, or reprogrammable to enable
down loading application-specific software from either the
hand-held computer device or an external computer and onboard
memory for acquired data (19) prior to communication with the
hand-held computer device.
[0038] FIGS. 8A and 8B outline the method of using the hand-held
computer device, application software, attachable module, and
external sensor. On FIG. 8A, on starting to use the hand-held
computer device (50), the user may elect to review existing data
acquisitions (54), begin a new investigation (56), or view existing
sensors (52, which lead to FIG. 8B). Upon starting a new
investigation the user may either add a new trial (70) or view
existing trial settings (72) and saved data (80). If starting a new
trial, the user sets the data collection parameters (78),
optionally previews the display format for the data to be acquired
(84), and begins acquiring data (86). If the user needs to set the
collection parameters, he may add or replace or calibrate a sensor
(92, 94, 98, 100) before returning to the preview. After
collection, the user saves the data (96) and may begin a new run by
returning to the start (50).
[0039] FIG. 8B shows the steps of reviewing existing or new
sensors. The user views the list of existing sensors and
calibrations thereof (102), and then may view an existing sensor
(106) or add a new sensor (104). If adding a sensor (110) the user
may then optionally add a new calibration (118), possibly by
calibrating by equation (126) or by reference (124) if allowed. If
viewing an existing sensor (112) the user may also optionally view
the existing calibration (120).
[0040] Both 8A and 86 show that at many steps in the process, the
user may interleave annotations (60, 68, 74, 76, 82, 88, 108, 114,
116, 122) which may refer to that step or to conditions outside the
process.
[0041] FIG. 8C displays the additional complexity when the
additional steps of data analysis (not shown) and interaction with
a peripheral control (128) are added. A feedback loop between
observation, analysis, and interaction with the peripheral control
now can be created (128 goes to 50, 80, and 90).
[0042] FIGS. 9A and 9B are a more detailed flowchart of the
decisions and operations involved in the method disclosed in this
embodiment of the invention. From start (FIG. 9A, 130), the user
decides whether or not a link between the hand-held computer device
and an external computer, or a network of external computers and
devices, should be established (132) and. if it is, whether the
hand-held computer device is to retain control of the process
(136). Before beginning the data acquisition-analysis-interaction
cycle, the user checks that the necessary hardware elements are
present (138 & 142), adding a sensor as needed (140); checks
that the necessary application software is present (146),
optionally downloading it from an external source as needed (148);
once assured that all necessary elements (hardware, software, and
sensor) are present, the user begins the cycle with data
acquisition (144). If annotation is advisable, it can be added
(150, 152); and, once data is available, it can be further
processed, or the data acquisition redone (154).
[0043] FIG. 9B starts with the data having been acquired (156, from
FIG. 9A), and analysis begins (158). The first determination is
whether the data readings are correct (162); if not, then the
sensor can be checked (160), and if it is not reading right (164),
then it can be calibrated (170), optionally to known conditions
(174) or to a known preexisting dataset (172) with an offsetting
equation as needed. Again the user may annotate the analysis (166)
and, depending upon the results, perform a further action (178).
This action may require the user to take particular steps, which
the hand-held computer device can instruct him in (182), or require
a peripheral device to be affected (184).
[0044] Because the application software expands the flexibility of
the hand-held computer device, by allowing the set of physical
controls to he configured to the needs of the application and the
user, and by allowing interactive controls to exist within the
display, a series of drawings indicating the type, nature, and
effects of the software are included. These, are not meant to be
exhaustive as their nature depends upon the particular application
and sensor.
[0045] FIG. 10 shows the entry of an annotation identifying the
investigation as a whole (N). At the bottom, on the left and right,
are standard Palm Operating System controls. In the middle are
typical radio button controls (`Investigations`, `New Trial`, and
`Notes`, with the dark highlighting indicating that `New Trial` is
currently operating). The user could select the radio button by key
entry, direct contact if the display screen is touch-sensitive, the
use of a special marking stylus, or other means. If the hand-held
computer device has an on-board clock it may provide, as in this
Figure, a date and time of the Trial.
[0046] FIG. 11 shows the process of entering the Trial Name, with a
cursor (ordinarily blinking, but static in this frozen shot of the
display) at the end of the text string `Stream Temp.` The text
could be entered through a keyboard attached to the hand-held
computer device, by shorthand graffiti for alphabet entries (which
is part of the standard Palm Operating System), or many other
means. At the left side are a set of radio buttons (N/1) which
indicate the condition of the trial before it has begun. Note that
the bottom still has the standard Palm Operating System
controls.
[0047] FIG. 12 shows the use of a hierarchical menu (N+4) for
selecting the sensor type and calibration (light for example, is
calibrated in Lux, while Temperature is calibrated in degrees
Celsius, in this figure). A sliding bar control on the right hand
side (N+3) allows the user to move up and down within the
hierarchical menu.
[0048] A different display is shown in FIG. 13, where a pop-up menu
(N+5) has appeared, displaying the time intervals between samples
which can be chosen. The user may use key entry, joypad, or direct
stylus interaction to make a selection, depending on the
application software capabilities and user's preferences.
[0049] FIG. 14 shows the same style of control (pop-up menu) in
(N+6), but used this time to select the sampling rate (samples per
time unit). The arrow at the bottom of the pop-up menu indicates
more choices than currently displayed exist presumably with
increasing numbers, though this is subject to the application
software and user's decision (a popup menu can be `circular` where
the top and bottom are connected).
[0050] FIG. 15 shows that the user can select whether samples will
be taken subject to manual control, at intervals, or according to a
schedule (N+7). As the `Interval` choice is highlighted,
immediately below it an interval appears of `1 mm 00 sec`. This
value could be, dependent upon the previous entry, runs,
application software, and user, a default, pre-existing,
unalterable, or user-determined value.
[0051] FIG. 16 shows an alternative selection from that displayed
in FIG. 15; here the user has chosen the `Schedule` radio button.
The start and stop times are displayed (N+8), with the stop time,
shown as currently selected through the dark highlighting,
displayed both in one line (N+8) and adjustable (N+9) formats.
Other alternatives (not shown) that the application software could
use could be clock faces with moving hands, calendars, or moving
bar intervals.
[0052] FIG. 17 shows a display of data that has been acquired in a
graphical format (N/10) and in a textual format for a selected
reading (N+11). Beneath the graph can be seen a pop-up control for
resetting the Y-Axis range. In FIG. 17 the range is currently from
0 to 100 C, but the pop-up control indicates that the user is about
to change this, narrowing it to a range from 10 to 40 C.
[0053] FIG. 18 shows the result of the alteration indicated in FIG.
17. The slope of the line on the graph is much more visible. A new
display has also appeared, showing the current state of the sensor
battery (N+12), which may affect how the user pursues the data
acquisition, analysis, and annotation.
[0054] FIG. 19 shows an alternative temperature display; this one
is a display of data that has been acquired in a tabular format. On
the left side is the temperature in degrees C. (N+13), while on the
right side is the time when that temperature was taken (N+14). At
the lower, middle left is another figure which could be a current
reading, a goal, or an average from a prior run (depending again
upon the user. application, and context).
[0055] FIG. 20 shows the display of the acquired data in a
graphical format, with the current selection indicated by where the
intermediate vertical line crosses the declining horizontal line
(N+15). Underneath the graph is a single value for the data at that
selection, letting a user have a more precise reading (of `23.45
C`) than might be obtained from the more dynamically-oriented
graphical display.
[0056] In one embodiment, a hand-held computer device includes a
display screen, an operating system, a central processing unit,
memory for storage of programs and data (both dynamic and static),
means for connecting itself to an external computer, a set of
controls for user interaction, means for interactive data
acquisition, and an attachable module for data acquisition which
includes an analog sensor an analog-to-digital converter, and means
for communication with the hand-held computer device.
[0057] The hand-held computer device (also referred to as a
`shirt-pocket` computer device) contains in one compact and
lightweight package the entirety of the operating
system/input/display/recording/programmable and long-term memory
features of any general-purpose and interactive computer that, with
the loading and operation of the appropriate application software,
can become any of an expandable set of specific-purpose tools. As
the hand-held computer device is both readily portable and fully
functional, it combines into one exceedingly useful and accessible
package the heretofore separated
sensor/computer/display/input-output functional elements that allow
the mixing of the best of human adaptivity and computer precision.
It can be carried where a laptop cannot. And, because it has such a
minimalist weight and bulk penalty, it will be carried when
heavier, bulkier, more exhausting and more awkward combinations are
left behind.
[0058] Because this embodiment of the invention has a display
screen, the user/observer of the hand-held computer device has a
view into the ongoing process, whether that be of data acquisition
or analysis of the results. Without such a `window` (presumably the
generic term is still within the public domain) on the process,
none of the benefits of synergy or interactivity are possible. The
display, moreover, is one that is modified by the software which is
discussed in further detail below.
[0059] Because this embodiment of the invention has an operating
system, central processing unit, and memory for storage of programs
and data, it can do more than one particular task, and retain the
results for more than one observational run. Moreover the hand-held
computer device can use application software to compare and analyze
observational records. These processes, and the results, can be
displayed as they occur via the already-mentioned display screen;
which can mean that an intelligent human observer may be able to
perceive patterns or trends in ways that the computer has not yet
been programmed to do, even in the middle of a series of
observations; which, in turn, can lead to on-the-spot decisions
that benefit the observer, the record, and the process. For
example, a human observer might note that soil pH readings link
with a particular flora in the Amazon rainforest, and actively seek
out or avoid areas with a higher density of such plants. Or a
disturbing trend in chemical analysis, though it has not yet led to
a disruptive event, may alert the observer to the potential for a
crisis before it erupts, allowing him to either leave or intervene
to prevent it in the first place.
[0060] Because the hand-held computer device has means for
connecting itself to either an external (but, please note, not
necessarily a host) computer, or a network (which in turn may
include multiple computers, peripherals, or other hand-held
computer devices), two major advantages ensue. First, the
flexibility of the hand-held computer device is not limited to its
memory capacity, as the desired application software can be
transferred from outside.
[0061] A crucial distinction between this embodiment of the
invention and several others disclosed above is that the hand-held
computer device, as it has the general flexibility of any computer,
can and does use the software to modify its controls to the needs
of the application and the user. The display on the display screen
can similarly be modified by internal software fitted to the user's
need. As these controls include any software-configurable input (or
output) means, the device is no longer a Procrustean bed that
forces the user to its limitations; but, rather, a user-friendly
and adaptive tool that can be modified to meet the needs of the
user at the moment.
[0062] For example, one user may feel most comfortable using a
stylus and alphabetic listing to activate an iconic software
control or to `pick out` annotative notes. Another may wish to use
a particular stylus-driven alphabetic shorthand (or even the aged
Gregg shorthand, depending only on finding a software
implementation thereof). A third may wish to use layered menu
choices, while a fourth may prefer a hierarchical tree of possible
interactions.
[0063] Some users may wish the controls or the process (as opposed
to the controls for, say altering the scale of the display) to be
displayed on the screen for direct interaction. This embodiment of
the invention permits that; moreover, it would allow (as long as
the enabling software has been loaded) a user to specify which
controls appear on the left, right, top, bottom, or center of the
display screen. Not everyone wants the `trash can` at the bottom
right corner of their display! Enabling that flexibility of the
user interface and surpassing the physical limitations of any
device's hardware is a significant aspect of this embodiment of the
invention. Others may want the controls to be linked in a
particular fashion to the hardware controls available on the
handheld computer device. Others may want to change the alphabet,
or even the language--and again, as long as the enabling software
has been loaded onto the hand-held computer device, they may get
what they want or need.
[0064] Furthermore, the controls needed will depend in part on the
task(s) to be performed. Taking a series of temperature readings?
Do you want the results to be displayed in Celsius, Kelvin, or
Fahrenheit? Do you want readings every second, every tenth of a
second, or every 10 seconds? Do you want a bar graph, a linear
graph, or a maximum/minimum range over the total observations
displayed? Because there are means for interactive data
acquisition, the user and the use together determine the set of
controls, their layout, and their usage and effect. Change the
task, however (soil pH, or blood glucose level, or light
intensity), and the controls and interactions may need alteration
as well--alteration which is driven by the application software,
running within the limitations of the hand-held computer device's
operating system and hardware controls.
[0065] Because the hand-held computer device also includes means
for interactive data acquisition by its user, the user of the
hand-held computer device is also the observer (due to the display
screen. central processing unit, and memory) of the data
acquisition process, able to interact with the process (thanks to
the set of controls), and can use the entirety for any of a wide
variety of specific purposed when combined with the appropriate
attachable module and application software, as detailed below. Once
again his actions, decisions, and observations become part of the
entire process. Rather than having analog sensor, digital
recording, computer analysis, human contextual observation all
separated, this embodiment of the invention joins them all together
in a process of synergistic, context-sensitive interaction that
uses the best strengths of both humans and computers.
[0066] Because a particular attachable module can be configured to
a particular task, while a wide variety of possible observations
and interactions can be enabled through the appropriate set of
attachable modules, this embodiment of the invention maintains the
flexibility and adaptivity of the general-purpose computer. As the
attachable module contains both an analog sensor and an
analog-to-digital converter, and means to communicate with the
hand-held computer device, the entire combination retains its
adaptivity subject solely to the potential software limitations of
the particular hardware. No longer would a technician necessarily
have to carry three different sensors with varying levels of
sensitivity, if a software filter can be devised to adapt the raw
analog data to the appropriate digital output. One sensor can be
set to detect, for example, a range of lumens from 1 to 1,000,
while the same sensor can be programmed on the next run to detect a
range of lumens from 500 to 5.000. Any sensor that measures within
the limitations of the hand-held computer device's and attachable
module's hardware and software (in the best embodiment these are
from 0 to 5 volts with power requirements not exceeding 200 mA) can
be attached, and these already include at least the following:
accelerometer, barometer, biology gas pressure sensor, colonmeter,
C02 gas sensor, conductivity probe, current and voltage probe,
dissolved Oxygen probe, EKG sensor, flow rate sensor, heart rate
sensor, light (presence, intensity), magnetic field, pH, pressure,
relative humidity, respiration, force, thermocouple, and voltage
sensor.
[0067] In one embodiment, the hand-held computer device further
includes an internal on-board clock which the operating system and
application software can integrate into an application, to allow a
user to view time-based observations or to enter as part of
user-driven annotation. This allows the data acquisition to be
driven by relative time (intervals of length.times.between
observations) or by absolute time (readings to be taken at time X
GMT). The hand-held computer device also has an on-board battery
rendering it independent of external power sources, and can obtain
power from and provide power to external connections, including the
capability of providing power to the attachable module, which in
turn can provide power to the attached sensor within certain
ranges.
[0068] As the hand-held computer device has both the capabilities
of its internal memory, cpu, and display, and can communicate with
an external computer, this embodiment of the invention is capable
of running an expert system software program that can guide the
user or data analysis interactions, with the location of the
software depending upon that program's memory or that communication
means' transmission limitations.
[0069] When carried into the field by the user, the hand-held
computer device (in the best embodiment, a Palm-based operating
system hand-held computer such as the Palm Pilot or Handspring
Visor), attachable module, and external analog sensor are combined
with the appropriate application software, so the user had the
means for data capture, analysis, annotation, and calibration (of
the sensor or analog-to-digital translation) as necessary for
immediate, interactive, and synergistic observation, analysis,
annotation, and action. Data readings are taken in a one or more
trials (or experiment runs). As the observations progress the user
is able to annotate the process, the results, or even the actions
taken both within and without the hand-held device's limitations.
The user may choose to control the data acquisition process
manually, with inputs being taken each time he activates
the--sensor; or he may set up a series of observations which will
then be run by the hand-held computer device. The interval between
observations, the scale of measurement, the sampling rate, and the
measurement units may be selected by the user through the controls
physically present in the hand-held computer device or as virtually
present through the display screen if it has been made
interactive.
[0070] Additionally, the user may view the data as it is acquired,
changing the display on the display screen to meet his needs. He
can alter the scale, select an individual reading or set of
readings, move the time interval displayed (forward or backward),
or even change the trial currently being displayed. Annotations may
be entered linked to particular observations, to a trial, or to the
process as a whole, which allows the user to add to the
observations of the data observations on the process, and to add to
the analysis observations on the analysis, the results, or the
process. Anyone of the annotations may include elements within the
power of the human user that are not within the existing
limitations of the hardware and software he is using. Light sensors
may be affected by clouds or by the temporary shadow of a moving
object in the environment (such as a jetliner flying overhead)
which was not predicted when the trial was first proposed; yet by
annotating the event otherwise anomalous or difficult data readings
may be accounted for.
[0071] Furthermore, if there is a need for more than a particular
sensor (more than an individual sensor, or more than one type of
sensor) to jointly cooperate and interact, this embodiment of the
invention allows them to be conjoined via any network. The network
in turn could be monitored or driven by any particular hand-held
computer device or by any intermediary computer; alternatively, the
intermediary computer or other hand-held computer devices could be
used to provide additional processing power or memory under the
direction and control of the single hosting hand-held computer
device. Therefore this embodiment of the invention includes the
method of using a human plus a hand-held computer device with an
attachable module with the appropriate sensor and application
software to take necessary scientific, technical, or other
instrument readings in one or a series of observations, and then,
in a further extension, in using the same human plus computer
combination to interact with the environment under the direction of
any software-based or human-based advice communicable through the
network to the individual human on-the-spot where the readings are
being taken. For example, a low-level medical technician may use a
hand-held computer device with the attachable module with its
sensor, and application software, to track the blood glucose level
of a borderline diabetic patient. Upon receiving a reading which is
out-of-bounds (too high or too low), the technician could be
alerted through the hand-held computer device to administer the
appropriate corrective treatment.
[0072] Additionally, if the attachable module and application
software are properly configured (which may be done by downloading
from an external computer the appropriate software) the hand-held
computer device and attachable module may be used to drive a direct
interaction with a further peripheral connected to the outlet(s) of
either the attachable module or the hand-held computer device
itself. For example, a small group of technicians may be sent along
a stream in which a pollution trace must be followed, which runs
parallel to a pipeline. Upon finding the greatest concentration of
the pollutant with the upstream not being polluted, that individual
can be directed to the pipeline where, either through expert-system
advice communicated through the hand-held computer device or,
through software empowering an attachable module that can be linked
to the pipeline controls directly, the closest upstream valve to
the pipeline can be closed to shut down the leak causing the
pollution.
[0073] In some embodiments, the hand-held computer device includes
central processing, memory, and a display unit from a commonly
available platform such as the Palm Pilot (available from 3Com
Corporation) or the Visor (available from Handspring Corporation),
either of which uses the Palm Operating System for its basic
operating system software. These also permit communication with
external computers through ASCII text and browsable HTML files, and
link with such commonly available external computers as
PC-compatible. Windows OS based (95/98 or NT) personal computers of
Macintosh (Mac OS 7.5.3 or greater) personal computers, commonly
available.
[0074] There are a number of analog-to-digital sensors that have
already been created and available on the marketplace from a
variety of vendors. Any sensor that measures in the range of 0 to 5
volts, with power requirements that do not exceed 200 mA, or have
their own power source, and provides an input signal as specified
by the application software or Palm Operating System, can be used.
These sensors should have 2 input channels, a modular `telephone
jack` connector (DIN5 adapters are commonly available), permit user
configurable sampling rates of up to 400 samples per second for 1
sensor or 200 samples per second for 2 sensors, have a 12 bit
resolution, and an input voltage range of 0 to 5 volts, single
ended. A sample of the governing software for translating
analog-to-digital signals from a sensor to the hand-held computer
device can be found in an article published by Gary T. Derosiers,
"Pilot Hardware Add-Ons," Handheld Systems 6.4, July/August
1998.
[0075] Among the specific embodiments and examples are the use of a
Palm Pilot, a sensor, and an attachable module and application
software for detecting the pH of a liquid sample to assess water
quality and trace variations through a stream; the use of a Palm
Pilot, a sensor, and an attachable module and application software
for detecting heartbeats for monitoring, athletic activity; the use
of a Palm Pilot, a sensor, and an attachable module and application
software for detecting acceleration changes during rides (thereby
allowing assessment of curves and possible metal stresses); the use
of a Palm Pilot, a sensor, and an attachable module and application
software for detecting light to evaluate photographic conditions,
light leaks, or office cubicle conditions; and the use of a Palm
Pilot, a sensor, and an attachable module and application software
for detecting temperature to assess the efficiency of particular
insulation and radiation placements in design of an office or
home.
[0076] Although the present invention has been described in
considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions
thereof, other versions are possible. As long as analog readings
from an external sensor can be converted to digital signals, the
combination of hardware and software in the appropriate attachable
module for that sensor makes the entire combination with the
hand-held computer device feasible. One could add to the list of
sensors above, for example, radiation monitors, particular chemical
sensors, biological sensors (DNA or gene-fragment
presence/absence), weight, bar code, inventory tag, infrared,
motion--if the attachable module can be created and then the sensor
plus module joined to the hand-held computer device, the observer
can bring the strength of computer analysis to the flexibility of
human contextual assessment together in an interactive fashion,
using this embodiment of the invention. Therefore, the spirit and
scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the
description of the preferred versions contained herein.
[0077] Disclosed in this invention is a hand-held computer device
which accommodates and communicates with a variety of attachable
modules for data acquisition (each module having an
analog-to-digital converter and at least one connection for an
associated analog sensor), wherein said hand-held computer device
includes hardware controls and application software for
interactive, synergistic, and real-time annotation by the user of
the device during the data acquisition process, and wherein said
hand-held computer device can communicate with another computer or
network of computers for greater processing power, memory, or
embedded programs. A further modification of the device disclosed
herein allows calibration of the sensor readings to accommodate
environmental or sensor-hardware variations that might otherwise
complicate or even invalidate the data acquisition, or limit its
utility. The hand-held computer device can be used by an individual
to acquire data, annotate the process, calibrate the process, and
analyze and act upon the results, thereby allowing an interactive,
synergistic, real-time and event-driven approach to applications in
the real world, including many specific uses in the fields of
scientific inquiry, medical evaluation and treatment, lifestyle and
health management, technical and inventory control, and security
endeavors. Further disclosed are both the device and method for
immediate analysis, feedback, and interaction action amongst the
user, the hand-held computer device, a remote computer or network,
or any combination thereof, whether such action is to correct
failings in the sensors, the conversion process, the software, or
the data acquisition process as a whole, or to put the analysis
performed into immediate effect. Also disclosed are means for
adapting the user-interface of the hand-held computer, whether such
adaptation be to adapt to the preferences or needs of the user, the
particular attachable module, the current or expected data
acquisition process, or the method used to annotate, analyze, or
act upon the results of data acquisition, analysis, or to
communicate with a remote computer or network. Also disclosed is
the use of more than one hand-held computer with a attachable
module and associated sensor(s) (whether the combination of each
particular hand-held computer and attachable module and associated
sensor(s) is identical or complementary), to gain greater real-time
and context-based knowledge of and control over the environmental
conditions and process than can be managed by a single point of
static or dynamic reference. Finally, also disclosed are methods to
use each of the above interactively, allowing synergistic
adaptation on a real-time, real-world basis of computer and human
sensing, evaluation, and action driven by a contextual awareness of
both the environment and the process, which grants a flexibility
that is impossible to obtain by any of automatic, remote, or manual
methods acting separately.
[0078] The reader's attention is directed to all papers and
documents which are filed concurrently with this specification and
which are open to public inspection with this specification, and
the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated
herein by reference.
[0079] All the features disclosed in this specification (including
any accompanying claims, abstract, and drawings) may be replaced by
alternative features using the same, equivalent or similar purpose,
unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated
otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic
series of equivalent or similar features.
* * * * *