Abstract:
In one embodiment, a data acquisition device comprises a plurality of sensors to detect an environmental condition, a configurable processor coupled to the plurality of sensors, wherein the configurable processor is configured to receive one or more signals from the plurality of sensors and process the one or more signals to generate environmental data representative of the environmental condition, and a first input/output module to transmit the data to a remote device. Other embodiments may be disclosed.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     The subject matter described herein relates to automated monitoring and reporting of environmental data. Complex manufacturing environments may experience a wide variety of conditions that may affect operations of machinery or materials being worked. Existing environmental monitoring systems tend to be integrated into existing machinery and operate using proprietary measurement, processing, and communication protocols. Monitoring systems which are more flexible and which operate according to open standards may find utility in complex manufacturing environments. 
     SUMMARY 
     Embodiments of systems and methods in accordance with the present disclosure may provide improved environmental condition monitoring and reporting. In one embodiment, a data acquisition device comprises a plurality of sensors to detect an environmental condition, a configurable processor coupled to the plurality of sensors, wherein the configurable processor is configured to receive one or more signals from the plurality of sensors, process the one or more signals to generate environmental data representative of the environmental condition, implement a device profile for web services (DPWS) interface, present a graphical representation of the plurality of environment sensors, and make the environmental data available for access by one or more remote devices via the DPWS interface. 
     In another embodiment, a method to monitor environmental conditions comprises detecting, in a plurality of environmental sensors mounted on an electronic device, environmental conditions in a plurality of environmental sensors receiving, in a configurable processor coupled to the plurality of sensors, one or more signals from the plurality of sensors, processing, in the configurable processor, the one or more signals to generate environmental data representative of the environmental condition, and transmitting the data to a remote device. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Embodiments of methods and systems in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the following drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a system for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a device for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of a protocol stack which may be implemented by a controller in a device for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a communication protocol which may be implemented by a device for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 5  is a screen shot which illustrate properties of logical objects in a system for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
         FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of a logical view of a system for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Systems and methods for environmental condition monitoring, reporting, and data analysis are described herein. Specific details of certain embodiments are set forth in the following description and in  FIGS. 1-6  to provide a thorough understanding of such embodiments. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that alternate embodiments may be practiced without several of the details described in the following description. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic illustration of a system for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 1 , in one embodiment the system  100  comprises a plurality of condition monitoring clusters  110 , identified in the drawing as cluster  1  and cluster  2 . Clusters  110  comprise one or more sensor nodes  112 , each of which comprises one or more sensors  114 . Sensor nodes  112  may be communicatively coupled via a network  120  and a router  116 , which provides for communication between the nodes  112  and remote devices. Sensor nodes  112  and sensors  116  will be explained in greater detail below. 
     Clusters  110  may be coupled to one or more external servers by a network  122 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the clusters  110  are coupled to a service integration appliance  130  and a data store appliance  132 . Other external servers may be coupled to clusters  110 . One or more applications  134  may be accessible to the service integration appliance  130  and data store appliance  132  via a network  124 . 
       FIG. 2  is a schematic illustration of a device  210  for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 2 , in some embodiments device  210  comprises one or more environmental condition sensors  230 . Sensors  230  may include a light sensor  232 , which may be embodied as a photodetector, a photodiode, or the like, an accelerometer  234 , a temperature detector  236 , and a humidity detector  238 . Other environmental condition detectors may be integrated into device  210 . By way of example, in some embodiments environmental condition monitoring may include monitoring conditions relevant to the health of a machine and consumables used by the machine. 
     In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2  the detectors  232 ,  234 ,  236  include internal analog to digital (A/D) converters, such that the outputs of the detectors  232 ,  234 ,  236  are in digital format. By contrast, the output of humidity detector  238  is in analog format, and is input into an A/D converter  240  for conversion to a digital format. 
     The outputs of detectors  230  are input into a processor  218 . In some embodiments the processor  218  may be implemented as a configurable processor, e.g., a microprocessor or a field programmable gate array (FPGA). A memory module  216  may be coupled to processor  218  to store logic instructions and/or data generated by the processor  218 . 
     Device  210  may comprise a coprocessor  242  that comprises an internal A/D converter to receive inputs from one or more environmental monitoring devices external to device  210 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2 , device  210  may receive input from external current monitors  272 ,  274 , and one or more accelerometers  276 ,  278 . The coprocessor  242  may also receive inputs from a GPS (Global Positioning System) module  244  and from one or more external sensors  286  via an IIC bus  246 . 
     Device  210  may comprise one or more network interfaces  212 A,  212 B,  212 C, which may be referred to collectively herein by reference numeral  212 . Network interfaces  212  provide a communication interface to one or more external communication networks. By way of example, network interface  212 A may provide an interface to a wired network  260 A such as an Ethernet, while network interfaces  212 B,  212 C provide interfaces to wireless networks  260 B,  260 C, respectively. Wireless networks  260 B,  260 C may be implemented, e.g., as WiFi network which operate pursuant to an IEEE 802.11.x standard, WiMAX networks, or cellular networks. The particular communication standard pursuant to which the wireless networks  260 B,  260 C operate is not critical. 
     Device  210  may further include one or more communication buses to provide communication with external devices  280 , or a host computer  282  or external sensor  284 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 2 , device  210  may comprise one or more buses which operate according to the RS232 protocol, the JTAG (Joint Test Action Group) bus protocol, or the IIC (Inter-Integrated Circuit) protocol. Again, the particular communication standard pursuant to which the respective communication buses operate is not critical. 
     In some embodiments the processor  218  executes logic instructions which establish a web-based interface to the various sensors  230  on the device  210 . By way of example, the processor  218  may implement a Device(s) Profile for Web Services (DPWS) interface to provide for discovery and communication capabilities for the various sensors  230  on device  210 .  FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of a protocol stack which may be implemented by a controller in a device for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 3 , in some embodiments the protocol provides for communication via an internet protocol (IP) layer  310 . A packet management layer such as a UDP service  312  or HTTP/TCP services  316   314  utilize the services of IP layer  310 . A messaging framework layer  318  implements a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) service. A web services security (WS-Security) layer  320  provides security services over the SOAP interface. A WS-Discovery service  322 , WS-Eventing service  324 , and a WS-Metadata Exchange/Transfer service  326  operate over the WS-Security layer  320 . One or more application specific protocols  330  may operate on top of the WS protocols. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of a communication protocol that may be implemented by a device for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. In some embodiments, the DPWS protocol implements a client-server model  400  pursuant to which a DPWS client can initiate a discover request  410  to discover one or more WS-enabled devices on a network. In response to a discovery request, a DPWS server may publish  412  information about one or more DPWS enabled devices managed by the DPWS server. The DPWS client may initiate a subscribe request  414  to subscribe to information feeds or other services from the DPWS server. The DPWS server may provide control messages  416  and event messages  418  to the DPWS client. The DPWS client may store data collected from the DPWS server in a data store  430 . 
     As mentioned above, in practice, the processor  218  may implement a DPWS protocol module to provide DPWS functionality. Thus, in operation, the device  210  may function as a DPWS server to provide web-based access to services and information provided by sensors  230  on the device  210  and information collected from external devices such as current sensors  272 ,  274 , accelerometers  276 ,  278 , and other external devices  270 . Aspects of the DPWS interface will be explained with reference to  FIG. 5 , which is a screen shot that illustrates properties of logical objects in a system for environmental condition monitoring And reporting according to embodiments. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , when sensor nodes  112  are connected to a network, the server nodes  112  can automatically be discovered by a DPWS client device that is coupled to the network. In some embodiments the DPWS interface includes a graphical user interface (GUI)  500  that presents a listing  510  of the various devices discovered by the DPWS client. The interface  500  further includes a window  520  in which logical objects representing selected discovered devices may be presented and managed by the DPWS client device. As mentioned above, a DPWS client device can subscribe to data feeds from discovered sensors. The window  520  presents an object-oriented view of the discovered sensors and the associated data feeds. Logical operations may be performed on data collected from the sensors by dragging and dropping selected sensors onto the window  520  and connecting the outputs of the logical objects to logical operators. Thus, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the outputs of temperatures sensor identified as Temperature Sensor  3 , Temperature Sensor  4 , and Temperature  5  may be input to Database  1  and to a Data Average logical operator, which averages the temperature readings from the sensors. The output of the data average operator may also be input to Database  1 . In addition, the Data Average logical operator may comprise one or more internal logical operators that generate a signal if the temperature reading meets a criterion. The signal may be output to a warning device, e.g., a light emitting diode identified on the screen shot by LED  1 .  FIG. 5  also depicts the output of an accelerometer sensor connected to an LED identified as LED  2  and a GSM module depicted as GSM  5 . 
     One skilled in the art will recognize that the interface  500  enables a user to discover networked devices and capabilities thereof, and to collect and manipulate data from the sensors without possessing specific knowledge of operational characteristics of the device or communication protocols pursuant to which the device operates. Data may be collected, processed and stored using simple drag and drop techniques that present a pictorial model of the data processing environment. The graphical depiction of the window  520  may be stored in a storage medium. 
       FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of a logical view of a system for environmental condition monitoring and reporting according to embodiments. Referring to  FIG. 6 , a plurality of sensor nodes  612  may be distributed in locations around a manufacturing environment. By way of example, sensors  612  may be placed proximate working tools or at important locations on an assembly line. The sensors may be distributed at various locations in a manufacturing facility or may be geographically distributed in different facilities. 
     Sensor nodes  612  are communicatively coupled to a directory service module  620 . In some embodiments directory service module  620  discovers and maintains a directory of networked devices on sensor nodes  612 . The directory is made accessible to clients  662 . An application composition GUI  630  is communicatively coupled to directory service  620  and provides a service to permit users to construct applications, e.g., using the graphical techniques described with reference to  FIG. 5 . The application composition GUI  630  may utilize inputs from the sensor nodes  612 , one or more functions or logic modules  632 , and inputs from one or more web services, email, and database endpoint/connectors  634 . The graphical constructs generated by the application composition GUI  630  are input to a model/code generator  640 , which converts the graphical constructs into an application which may executed on a processing device. In some embodiments the application may be stored in an algorithm repository  642  and may also be passed to an application platform translator/publisher module  660 , which publishes the application for use by a client  662 . Applications may also be published for use by the processor(s)  218  in the sensor nodes. 
     In the foregoing discussion, specific implementations of exemplary processes have been described, however, it should be understood that in alternate implementation, certain acts need not be performed in the order described above. In alternate embodiments, some acts may be modified, performed in a different order, or may be omitted entirely, depending on the circumstances. Moreover, in various alternate implementations, the acts described may be implemented by a computer, controller, processor, programmable device, firmware, or any other suitable device, and may be based on instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media or otherwise stored or programmed into such devices (e.g. including transmitting computer-readable instructions in real time to such devices). In the context of software, the acts described above may represent computer instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, perform the recited operations. In the event that computer-readable media are used, the computer-readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a device to implement the instructions stored thereon. 
     While various embodiments have been described, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made without departing from the present disclosure. The examples illustrate the various embodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior art.