Abstract:
One embodiment provides a method for capturing information from a measuring instrument, including: capturing, using an image capture device, an image of information displayed on the measuring instrument; analyzing, using a processor, the information; detecting, based on the analyzing, a plurality of elements within the information; wherein the plurality of elements comprise: identification data associated with the measuring instrument and measurement data, the identification data being coded within a tag element; wherein the tag element is at least one of a quick response code, a two dimensional barcode, a barcode, and a service identification tag; the identification data comprising data relating to at least one of: unit type, notation type, device type, device identification, device location, device vendor, device manufacturer, and current user; extracting, using a processor, the plurality of elements from the image; and storing, in a storage device, the plurality of elements in a formatted file. Other aspects are described and claimed.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
       [0001]    Some existing instrumentation does not have an electronic communication capability. Thus, such instruments cannot automatically transfer results, e.g., transmit measurements or readings to another device. Other instrumentation has an electronic communication capability, but may be difficult to utilize for other reasons. For example, some instrumentation is difficult or impossible to take into the field. This has led to a situation where results (measurements, readings, etc.) are written down manually and then transferred into another electronic device, e.g., computer. This in turn leads to transcription errors. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0002]    In summary, an embodiment provides a method for capturing information from a measuring instrument, comprising: capturing, using an image capture device, an image of information displayed on the measuring instrument; analyzing, using a processor, the information; detecting, based on the analyzing, a plurality of elements within the information; wherein the plurality of elements comprise: identification data associated with the measuring instrument and measurement data, the identification data being coded within a tag element; wherein the tag element is at least one of a quick response code, a two dimensional barcode, a barcode, and a service identification tag; the identification data comprising data relating to at least one of: unit type, notation type, device type, device identification, device location, device vendor, device manufacturer, and current user; extracting, using a processor, the plurality of elements from the image; and storing, in a storage device, the plurality of elements in a formatted file. 
         [0003]    Additionally, an embodiment provides an information handling device for capturing information from a measuring instrument, comprising: a processor; an image capture device; a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to: capture, using the image capture device, an image of information displayed on the measuring instrument; analyze, using the processor, the information; detect, based on the analyzing, a plurality of elements within the information; wherein the plurality of elements comprise: identification data associated with the measuring instrument and measurement data, the identification data being coded within a tag element; wherein the tag element is at least one of a quick response code, a two dimensional barcode, a barcode, and a service identification tag; the identification data comprising data relating to at least one of: unit type, notation type, device type, device identification, device location, device vendor, device manufacturer, and current user; extracting, using the processor, the plurality of elements from the image; and storing, in a storage device, the plurality of elements in a formatted file. 
         [0004]    Further, an embodiment provides a product for capturing analysis information from a measuring instrument, comprising: a storage device having code stored therewith, the code being executable by a processor and comprising: code that captures, using an image capture device, an image of information displayed on the measuring instrument; code that analyzes the information; code that detects, based on the analyzing, a plurality of elements within the information; wherein the plurality of elements comprise: identification data associated with the measuring instrument and measurement data, the identification data being coded within a tag element; wherein the tag element is at least one of a quick response code, a two dimensional barcode, a barcode, and a service identification tag; the identification data comprising data relating to at least one of: unit type, notation type, device type, device identification, device location, device vendor, device manufacturer, and current user; code that extracts the plurality of elements from the image; and code that stores, in a storage device, the plurality of elements in a formatted file. 
         [0005]    The foregoing is a summary and thus may contain simplifications, generalizations, and omissions of detail; consequently, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. 
         [0006]    For a better understanding of the embodiments, together with other and further features and advantages thereof, reference is made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  illustrates an overview of an example system for legacy instrument data transfer. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  illustrates an example method of legacy instrument data transfer. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  illustrates an example of computer circuitry. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0010]    It will be readily understood that the components of the embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, may be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations in addition to the described example embodiments. Thus, the following more detailed description of the example embodiments, as represented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the embodiments, as claimed, but is merely representative of example embodiments. 
         [0011]    Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” (or the like) means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment” or “in an embodiment” or the like in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. 
         [0012]    Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided to give a thorough understanding of embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the various embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, et cetera. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments. 
         [0013]    In an embodiment, an electronic device is operated to capture an image of information displayed on an instrument. This information includes, by way of example, digital or analog result data that is displayed by an instrument. Because the instrument may be a legacy instrument, e.g., lacking an electronic communication capability, the instrument will not be able to transmit the results to another location electronically. This may lead to transcription errors whereby a user or operator records inaccurate results data. Moreover, this adds to the time and cost of transferring the results data to other locations, even if recorded accurately. 
         [0014]    An embodiment may include an electronic device having a camera to capture an image of the results, e.g., as displayed on an instrument display panel. Additionally, in an embodiment, the instrument may include a bar code (or like coded data, e.g., QR code, 3D bar code, etc.). The bar code may be displayed by the instrument, e.g., on an instrument display panel, or the bar code may be provided via a label attached to the instrument. In any case, the bar code (or like coded data) may be used to indicate certain information, e.g., bar code metadata such as instrument serial number, instrument type, additional data regarding the results data (e.g., calibration information, other quality assurance data, etc.). Additional information may likewise be included. For example, in a location where conventional location services (e.g., GPS location services) are unavailable or unreliable (e.g., indoors, outdoor areas with overhead obstructions, etc.), the bar code or like coded data may include location information. 
         [0015]    The image that is captured may be processed to identify the results. By way of example, an image of an instrument results display may be processed, for example, using an optical character recognition (OCR) or like processing to identify one or more of numbers, letters, symbols, etc., in the image data. For example, OCR may be applied to the image data in order to retrieve measurement results from an instrument having an LCD display or analog dial, etc. Thus, image processing techniques may be applied to the results displayed on a non-graphics instrument display. 
         [0016]    Combined information from bar code data and/or OCR processing may be used to enhance the accuracy of the image processing and to create a data record in electronic format. The image processing may be improved by the bar code by informing the image processing as to what data is expected, e.g., based on instrument identification. Once the electronic record is formed, the result data record is contained in the electronic device and thus may be transmitted to other devices, e.g., over a network connection such as the Internet. The electronic device may also attach related data (e.g., user or operator, time of day, date, an image file, etc.) to the data record. 
         [0017]    The illustrated example embodiments will be best understood by reference to the figures. The following description is intended only by way of example, and simply illustrates certain example embodiments. 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  provides a general overview of an embodiment. As shown, an instrument  100  (e.g., a legacy instrument) may include one or more result displays  101 . By way of example, the result displays  101  may include an alphanumeric LCD type display and/or may include an analog display. In the example illustrated, if either of the result displays  101  have current readings that a user wishes to transfer, e.g., to another device, the user must record the results manually, as the instrument  100  does not include an electronic communication capability. 
         [0019]    According to an embodiment, the user may operate an electronic device  110 , e.g., a smart phone, tablet computing device, etc., to capture an image of either or both of the result displays  101 . A user may take picture of the result displays  101  such that an image processing application, as further described herein, may analyze and extract the result values from the image and place them into an electronic record. This permits the result data of the result displays  101  to be stored in a transmissible format. 
         [0020]    The image processing may take place locally at device  110  and/or may take place at a remote device, e.g., cloud service device  120 . After the image is captured and analyzed, the extracted results data may be transmitted to other devices, e.g., from device  110  to device  120  and/or device  130 . This facilitates quick and accurate recordation of data provided by result displays  101 , even if the instrument  100  is a legacy instrument incapable of transmitting its own results data. 
         [0021]    An embodiment may include providing a bar code  102  (or like coded data) to at the instrument  100 . This bar code  102  allows for the inclusion of additional data that may be of use in terms of image processing, results processing, or both. By way of example, bar code  102  may include an instrument ID, which informs device  110  of the instrument type, model, etc., such that image processing (e.g., identification of relevant results data in a captured image) is facilitated. Moreover, bar code  102  may include location information, time information, or other ancillary or metadata of interest, e.g., calibration history of the instrument  100 . 
         [0022]    As may be appreciated, bar code  102  (or like coded data) may be captured in an image and identified/read. By way of example, the bar code  102  may be captured in the same image as the image containing the result displays  101 . In contrast, a separate image of the bar code  102  may be obtained and related to an image of the result displays  101 . If two (or more) images are captured, these may be associated to one another, for example via metadata or forming of a composite image. Likewise, device  110  may include a separate bar code reader (or like reader if bar code  102  is another type of coded information, e.g., RFID, near field data, etc.). 
         [0023]    Turning now to  FIG. 2 , an example method of result data transfer according to an embodiment is illustrated. In an example method, an image capture device (e.g., a camera) is operated at  201  to capture an image of information displayed on a measuring instrument, e.g., instrument  100  of  FIG. 1 . The image is then analyzed at  202 , e.g., using a processor of a local device such as device  110  of  FIG. 1  and/or a processor of a remote device, e.g., device  120  or  130  of  FIG. 1 , to detect a plurality of elements within the information. By way of example, the image information may be analyzed at  202  to determine if the image contains alphanumeric results data from the instrument in question. As described herein, the instrument in question may be identified by a bar code or like coded data. 
         [0024]    If the analysis of the image at  202  indicates that results data is included in the image, an embodiment extracts the results from the image at  203 . Thus, the user may be apprised of the results of the image analysis at  204 , such as by way of providing a display of the extracted results on a display of the local device, e.g., device  110  of  FIG. 1 . A user may be asked to confirm the results of the image analysis, e.g., as illustrated at  205 . If the results are accurate, i.e., the results displayed at  204  match the results displayed by the instrument, the results may be stored in electronic form at  206 , e.g., stored locally and/or transmitted to a remote device, e.g., device  120  and/or  130  of  FIG. 1 . 
         [0025]    An embodiment therefore includes an application to capture images of instruments such that the results displayed by the instruments may be conveniently converted into electronic format. This permits easier transfer of the result data to other devices and reduces the amount of error in data recordation, e.g., due to transcription errors. It will be appreciated by one having ordinary skill in the art that certain of the features of the described example embodiments may be omitted, whereas certain of the features of the example embodiments may also be combined or consolidated without departing from the scope and sprit of the disclosure. By way of example, the application, e.g., running on a device such as a smart phone or tablet computing device, may include menu options for identifying the instrument, in which case the use of a bar code or like coded data to identify the instrument may be unnecessary. 
         [0026]    An embodiment may be implemented on a wide variety of devices. Examples of suitable devices may include a smart phone or a tablet computing device having a camera and a network communication capability. 
         [0027]    While various other circuits, circuitry or components may be utilized in such devices, with regard to smart phone and/or tablet circuitry  300 , an example illustrated in  FIG. 3  includes a system on a chip design found for example in tablet or other mobile computing platforms. Software and processor(s) are combined in a single chip  310 . Internal busses and the like depend on different vendors, but essentially all the peripheral devices ( 320 ) may attach to a single chip  310 . The circuitry  300  combines the processor, memory control, and I/O controller hub all into a single chip  310 . Also, systems  300  of this type do not typically use SATA or PCI or LPC. Common interfaces, for example, include SDIO and I2C. 
         [0028]    There are power management chip(s)  330 , e.g., a battery management unit, BMU, which manage power as supplied, for example, via a rechargeable battery  340 , which may be recharged by a connection to a power source (not shown). In at least one design, a single chip, such as  310 , is used to supply BIOS like functionality and DRAM memory. 
         [0029]    System  300  typically includes one or more of a WWAN transceiver  350  and a WLAN transceiver  360  for connecting to various networks, such as telecommunications networks and wireless Internet devices, e.g., access points. Additionally, devices  320  are commonly included, e.g., an image capture device such as a camera or a bar code reader, as further described herein. System  300  often includes a touch screen  370  for data input and display/rendering. System  300  also typically includes various memory devices, for example flash memory  180  and SDRAM  390 . 
         [0030]    It can be appreciated from the foregoing that electronic components of one or more systems or devices may include, but are not limited to, at least one processing unit, a memory, and a communication bus or communication means that couples various components including the memory to the processing unit(s). A system or device may include or have access to a variety of device readable media. System memory may include device readable storage media in the form of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/or random access memory (RAM). By way of example, and not limitation, system memory may also include an operating system, application programs, other program modules, and program data. 
         [0031]    Embodiments may be implemented as a system, method or program product. Accordingly, an embodiment may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, or an embodiment including software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,” “module” or “system.” Furthermore, embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in at least one device readable medium having device readable program code embodied thereon. 
         [0032]    A combination of device readable storage medium(s) may be utilized. In the context of this document, a device readable storage medium (“storage medium”) may be any tangible, non-signal medium that can contain or store a program comprised of program code configured for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device. For the purpose of this disclosure, a storage medium or device is to be construed as non-transitory, i.e., not inclusive of signals or propagating media. 
         [0033]    This disclosure has been presented for purposes of illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain principles and practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosure for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.