Patent Publication Number: US-2022237962-A1

Title: Data transfer system and method for automotive diagnostics and service

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     N/A. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to the field of automotive diagnostics, service, and testing; and more particularly to methods and systems for communicating automotive service and diagnostic data. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     A variety of diagnostic tools and testers are used in the automotive industry for diagnosing fault conditions and testing for safe configuration of vehicles. 
     Such diagnostic tools and testers may connect with vehicles using standardized communication protocols, and some limited methods available for transmitting acquired measurement information from the diagnostic tools and testers for further analysis in other systems, such as service management systems used by vehicle repair shops. However, existing interfacing methods require complex development and integration of wired or wireless connections and may require special development for each tool or device. Therefore, such information is often transmitted manually, if at all. 
     As such, considering the foregoing, it may be appreciated that there continues to be a need for novel and improved devices and methods for communicating automotive service and diagnostic data. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The foregoing needs are met, to a great extent, by the present invention, wherein in aspects of this invention, enhancements are provided to the existing model of diagnostic &amp; testing data transferring. 
     In an aspect, a diagnostic data transfer system can include:
         a) a diagnostic tool or tester, which can include a screen and a plurality of user dialogues for display on the screen; and   b) a diagnostic data transfer device;   wherein the diagnostic data transfer device can be configured to enable a user to capture an image of a selected user dialogue in the plurality of user dialogues, wherein the selected user dialogue can include a plurality of displayed diagnostic data values;   such that the diagnostic data transfer device can be configured to extract the plurality of diagnostic data values from the image and transform the image into an actual measurement data representation.       

     In a related aspect, the diagnostic data transfer device can further include:
         a) a plurality of authored rules, such that each authored rule in the plurality of authored rules can be associated with a user dialogue in the plurality of user dialogues;   wherein the diagnostic data transfer device can extract the plurality of diagnostic data values by using a corresponding authored rule in the plurality of authored rules, wherein the corresponding authored rule can be associated with the selected user dialogue of the diagnostic tool.       

     In another related aspect, the diagnostic data transfer system can further include:
         a) a diagnostic data transfer server, which can be configured to author and store the plurality of authored rules; and receive, store, and transfer actual measurement data representations.       

     In yet another related aspect, the diagnostic data transfer system can further include:
         a) a service management system, wherein the diagnostic data transfer server can be configured to send the actual measurement data representation to the service management system for processing of the actual measurement data representation in the service management system.       

     In a related aspect, a diagnostic data transfer device can further include:
         a) a processor;   b) a non-transitory memory;   c) an input/output;   d) a camera, which can be configured to capture the image;   e) a screen, which can be configured to display the actual measurement data representation;   f) an image interpreter, which can be configured to locate the plurality of diagnostic data values in the image;   g) a data manager, which can be configured to extract the plurality of diagnostic data values from the image; all connected via   h) a data bus;       

     In another related aspect, a diagnostic data transfer server can further include:
         a) a processor;   b) a non-transitory memory;   c) an input/output component;   d) an authoring component, which can create and edit the authored rules that define how the diagnostic data values is to be interpreted once the image is taken;   e) a diagnostic tool database, which can store the plurality of authored rules;   f) data measurement storage, which can store the actual measurement data representations; all connected via   g) a data bus.       

     There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, certain embodiments of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof herein may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional embodiments of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
     In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of embodiments in addition to those described and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. In addition, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
     As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram illustrating a diagnostic data transfer system, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 1B  is an illustration of a data flow for a diagnostic data transfer system, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram illustrating a diagnostic data transfer server, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic diagram illustrating a diagnostic data transfer device, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4A  is a schematic diagram illustrating a diagnostic tool database structure, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4B  is a schematic diagram illustrating an actual measurement data representation structure, according to an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a flowchart illustrating steps that may be followed, in accordance with one embodiment of a method or process of diagnostic data transferring. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Before describing the invention in detail, it should be observed that the present invention resides primarily in a novel and non-obvious combination of elements and process steps. So as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will readily be apparent to those skilled in the art, certain conventional elements and steps have been presented with lesser detail, while the drawings and specification describe in greater detail other elements and steps pertinent to understanding the invention. 
     The following embodiments are not intended to define limits as to the structure or method of the invention, but only to provide exemplary constructions. The embodiments are permissive rather than mandatory and illustrative rather than exhaustive. 
     In the following, we describe the structure of an embodiment of a diagnostic data transfer system  100  with reference to  FIG. 1A , in such manner that like reference numerals refer to like components throughout; a convention that we shall employ for the remainder of this specification. 
     In an embodiment a diagnostic data transfer system  100  can include:
         a) a diagnostic tool  112 , which can include a screen  108  and a plurality of user dialogues  113  for display on the screen  108 ; and   b) a diagnostic data transfer device  104 ;   wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to enable a user  180  to capture  140  an image  117  of a selected user dialogue  113  in the plurality of user dialogues  113 , wherein the selected user dialogue  113  can be displayed on the screen  108  of the diagnostic tool  112 , wherein the selected user dialogue  113  can include a plurality of displayed diagnostic data values  114 ;   such that the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to extract the plurality of diagnostic data values  114  from the image  117  and transform the image  117  into an actual measurement data representation  120 , which comprises the plurality of diagnostic data values  114 .       

     In various related embodiments, the diagnostic tool  112  should be interpreted broadly, such that the diagnostic tool  112  can include automotive diagnostic tools (such as scan tools), testers (such as a tire pressure/TPMS or battery testers) and service equipment (such as AC machines or alignment machines). 
     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can further include:
         a) a plurality of authored rules  134 , such that each authored rule  134  in the plurality of authored rules  134  can be associated with a user dialogue  113  in the plurality of user dialogues  113 ;   wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can extract the plurality of diagnostic data values  114  by using a corresponding authored rule  134  in the plurality of authored rules  134 , wherein the corresponding authored rule  134  can be associated with the selected user dialogue  113  of the diagnostic tool  112 .       

     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer system  100  can further include:
         a) a diagnostic data transfer server  102 , which can be configured to author and store the plurality of authored rules  134 ; and receive, store, and transfer actual measurement data representations  120 .       

     In another related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can be used to author rules to interpret images, receive interpreted data for detailed analysis, store results, and communicate with the diagnostic data transfer device  104 . These rules can then be pushed as an update to a local user device  104 . 
     In a further related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can send the actual measurement data representation  120  to the diagnostic data transfer device  104  to be presented locally to the user  180  on a device screen. 
     In yet another related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer system  100  can further include:
         a) a service management system  116 , wherein the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can be configured to send the actual measurement data representation  120  to the service management system  116  for processing of the actual measurement data representation  120  in the service management system  116 .       

     In a related embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 1B , showing a data flow for the diagnostic data transfer system  100 , the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be used to transfer diagnostic data value  114  from a tester or a diagnostic tool  112  by taking an image (e.g. with a phone) of the optical display  113  on the tester or the diagnostic tool  112  or of the whole tester or diagnostic tool  112  itself. Diagnostic data values  114  are interpreted from the image taken using the authored rules  134  and presented as an actual measurement data representation  120  on a device screen and transmitted to a server (such as an automotive service management system  116 ), 3 rd  party application, or printer. 
     In another related embodiment, the displayed diagnostic data values  114  on the selected user dialogue  113  of the diagnostic tool  112  can belong to the automotive industry, such that, for example, the displayed diagnostic data values  114  can include tire pressure measurements  121 ,  122 ,  123 ,  124 ; 
     wherein the actual measurement data representation  120  can represent the tire pressure measurements  121 ,  122 ,  123 ,  124  of four tires on a car, such that each tire pressure measurement  121 ,  122 ,  123 ,  124  in the actual measurement data representation  120  can include an actual measured value, a type, such as Tire  1 , Tire  2 , etc., and a measurement unit, such as pounds per square inch (PSI), as shown in  FIG. 1B . 
     In a related embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 3 , a diagnostic data transfer device  104  can further include:
         a) a processor  302 ;   b) a non-transitory memory  304 ;   c) an input/output  306 ;   d) a camera  115 , which can be configured to capture  140  the image  117 ;   e) a screen  108 , which can be configured to display the actual measurement data representation  120 ;   f) an image interpreter  310 , which can be configured to extract the plurality of diagnostic data values  114  from the image  117 ; all connected via   g) a data bus  320 ;       

     In a related embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 2 , a diagnostic data transfer server  102  can further include:
         a) a processor  202 ;   b) a non-transitory memory  204 ;   c) an input/output component  206 ;   d) an authoring component  214 , which can create and edit the authored rules  134  that define how the diagnostic data values  114  is to be interpreted once the image is taken;   e) a diagnostic tool database  210 , which stores the plurality of authored rules  134 ;   f) data measurement storage  212 , which stores the actual measurement data representations  120 ; all connected via   g) a data bus  220 .       

     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can further include:
         a) a diagnostic tool database  210 , which can include:
           i. a plurality  130  of rule sets  132 , wherein each rule set  132  can be associated with a diagnostic tool identifier  412 , which corresponds to a corresponding diagnostic tool  112 , wherein each rule set  132  can include:
               a plurality of authored rules  134 , wherein each authored rule  134  can be associated with a user dialogue identifier  413 , which corresponds to a corresponding user dialogue  113  of the corresponding diagnostic tool  112 ;   
               
           wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to identify a selected diagnostic tool  112  and a selected user dialogue  113  of the selected diagnostic tool  112 ;   such that the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to retrieve a corresponding authored rule  134  from the diagnostic tool database  210 , wherein the corresponding authored rule  134  can be associated with the selected user dialogue  113  of the selected diagnostic tool  112 .       

     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to enable a user  180  to manually select a selected diagnostic tool  112  and a selected user dialogue  113  of the selected diagnostic tool  112 , for example by lookup in the diagnostic tool database  210 . 
     In another related embodiment, the image interpreter  310  of the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to recognize the manufacturer make and model of the diagnostic tool  112  and the selected user dialogue  113  in the image using an image recognition algorithm, such that the image recognition algorithm can automatically recognize the diagnostic tool  112  and the user dialogue  113  in the image by comparing to a diagnostic tool database  210  comprising reference diagnostic tool images and associated user dialogues, such that the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can correspondingly automate the selection of the corresponding authored rule  134  in the diagnostic tool database  210 . 
     In a further related embodiment, the image recognition algorithm can be provided by an image processing API/runtime library (which can be provided by a third-party provider), such as for example IOS VISION™ or IOS VISIONKIT™. 
     In a related embodiment, each authored rule  134  in the diagnostic tool database  210  can include:
         a) a plurality of template fields  430 , such that each template field  430  can include:
           i. a field location  431 , which specifies a region  162  of the screen wherein the diagnostic data value  114  can be located;   ii. a field data type  432 , which can include a category, industrial field, or object captured by the diagnostic tool  112 ; and   iii. a field measurement unit  433 ;   iv. a field name  436  (which can also be called a field title or field header); and   v. a plurality  438  of field synonyms  439 , which are each associated with the field name  436  (i.e., are synonyms of the field name  436 ).   
           wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to optically scan a corresponding field location  431  on an image  117  of a corresponding user dialogue  113  on a screen  108 , to extract a corresponding diagnostic data value  114 .       

     In a related embodiment, the region specified by the field location  431  can be defined by a at least one vector  164 ,  166 , which defines at least one vector position  164 ,  166 , such that the vector position  164 ,  166  can be a set of coordinates along a set of axes that relate to the length and width of the screen of the diagnostic tool  112 , wherein the vector positions  164 ,  166  can be scaled to the image; 
     wherein at least two opposing vectors  164 ,  166  can define a rectangular region  162  in which a diagnostic data value  114  is located; whereby, for example, a bottom left vector  164  positioned to the bottom left of a diagnostic data value  114  and a top right vector positioned to the top right of a diagnostic data value  114  can define a starting and an ending location for a rectangular region in which the diagnostic data value  114  is located. 
     In a further related embodiment, the image interpreter  310  of the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to optically scan a corresponding field location  431  for each field  430  to extract the corresponding diagnostic data value  114  using an optical character recognition (OCR) algorithm, such that the OCR algorithm can convert the image containing the diagnostic data values  114  into machine-readable data. The OCR algorithm can come from a 3rd party provider (such as providers in OCR libraries from Apple™ and Google™). 
     In yet another related embodiment, the OCR algorithm can take as input an image  117  and output textual data in arrays of lines, such that the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can map the values to the sequence of information returned from an OCR library, wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can then analyze the arrays to find target keywords  436  and their corresponding values, such that if the target keyword is not found, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can find the next index in the array based on target keywords. The dictionary matching can also be performed, such that, for example, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can find ‘Wheel’ (i.e., Synonym  439 ) or ‘Tyre’ (i.e., Synonym  439 ) instead of ‘Tire’ (i.e., Name/Tire/Header  436 ). Additionally, any special characters can be removed to normalize the data. 
     In a further related embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1A and 3 , the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to process the image  115  using an optical character recognition algorithm  118  to generate a dialogue text  119 ; wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  is configured to search for a matching string  312  in the dialogue text  119 , wherein the matching string  312  matches the field name  436  or a corresponding synonym  439  in the plurality  438  of synonyms  439  (i.e. the matching string  312  is a member of the union of the field name  436  and the plurality  438  of synonyms  439 ); 
     wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  is configured to extract a corresponding diagnostic data value  114  from a text portion  314  following the matching string in the dialogue text  119 . 
     In a further related embodiment, the data captured by the OCR algorithm  118  can be augmented, such that, for example, if ‘psi’ was not found, but ‘Tire’ was found, the device could offer augmented ‘units’ to the user based on the make/model of the diagnostic tool  112 . 
     In yet another related embodiment, topics such as dictionary matching, key pairs, and expected ranges can be authored in the diagnostic tool database  210 , as part of the authored rules  134 . 
     In a related embodiment, a specification alert can be provided where a value is highlighted if the value is not specified in the authored rules, such that the user  180  can correctly identify the value. 
     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can include an authoring component  214 , which can be web based, wherein the authoring component  214  can be used to create and edit authored rules  134  for diagnostic tools  112 ; 
     wherein the authoring component  214  can be configured to insert more diagnostic tools  112  into the diagnostic tool database  210 , such that each new diagnostic tool  112  can have a new tool ID  412  and associated authored rules  134 ;
 
whereby the authoring component  214  can enable users to quickly support new diagnostic tools  112  by creating the rules online and making them available to the diagnostic data transfer device  104 .
 
     In a related embodiment, each actual measurement data representation  120  can include:
         a) a plurality of measurement fields  440 , wherein each measurement field  440  can include:
           i. an actual measured value  441 ;   ii. an actual data type  442 , which can include a category, industrial field, or object measured by the diagnostic tool  112 ;   iii. an actual measurement unit  443 ; and   iv. a timestamp  444 , such that the timestamp  444  can represent the time that the actual measured value  441  was extracted;   
           wherein the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to store a corresponding measurement field  440 , wherein:
           the actual measured value  441  can be set to the corresponding diagnostic data value  114 ;   the actual data type  442  can be set to the field data type  432 ;   the actual measurement unit  443  can be set to the field measurement unit  433 ; and   the timestamp  444  can be set to a current date and time.   
               

     In an embodiment, as illustrated in  FIG. 5 , a method for diagnostic data transfer  500 , can include:
         a) Identifying a selected diagnostic tool  112  and a selected user dialogue  502  of the selected diagnostic tool  112 ;   b) retrieving a corresponding authored rule  504  from a diagnostic tool database  210 , wherein the corresponding authored rule  134  can be associated with the selected user dialogue  113  of the selected diagnostic tool  112 ;   c) capturing an image  506  of a selected user dialogue  113  in a plurality of user dialogues  113 , wherein the selected user dialogue  113  can be displayed on a screen of a diagnostic tool  112 , wherein the selected user dialogue  113  can include a plurality of displayed diagnostic data values  114 ;   d) extracting the plurality of diagnostic data values  508  from the image and transforming the plurality of diagnostic data values  114  into an actual measurement data representation  120 ; wherein extracting the plurality of diagnostic data values  508  can include for each template field  430  in the corresponding authored rule  134 :
           i. optically scanning  510  a field location  431  of the image and extracting a corresponding diagnostic data value  114  from the field location  431 ; and   ii. storing a corresponding measurement field  512  of the actual measurement data representation  120  with a corresponding measured value  441  set to the corresponding diagnostic data value  114 .   
               

     In various related embodiments, the diagnostic data transfer system  100  can be employed for service &amp; diagnostics in the automotive industry, such that the diagnostic data transfer system  100  can quickly and accurately transfer data from a tester or diagnostic tool by simply taking a picture of the display or the entire tool, using a portable device  104  with camera  115 . The diagnostic data transfer system  100  thereby removes the need for hard coding to proprietary tool interfaces using wired or wireless connections, making the process quick and low cost. The diagnostic data transfer system  100  also makes interfacing substantially easier to maintain and adapt by virtue of the authored rules. 
     In related embodiments, the diagnostic data transfer system  100  can be implemented using various implementation approaches, which can include:
         a) Client device  104  (e.g. phone) takes the picture of display of tester or diagnostic tool, applies the interpretation rules received from the server, extracts the data and presents to user or sends to the server;   b) Client device  104  (e.g. phone) takes the picture of display of tester or diagnostic tool, extracts all possible data from the image and sends to the server. The server applies the interpretation rules and sends the results to the client; and   c) Client device  104  (e.g. phone) takes the picture of display of tester or diagnostic tool, and sends the image to the server for interpretation and analysis. Once the data is extracted, the data is sent to the client for presentation or next steps.       

     In a related embodiment, server-side API and server-side logic can support the above three scenarios of analyzing the data gathered from the image and sending the data back to the client. 
     In related embodiments, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can include configurations as:
         a) A web application, executing in a Web browser;   b) A tablet app, executing on a tablet device, such as for example an ANDROID™ or IOS™ tablet device;   c) A mobile app, executing on a mobile device, such as for example an ANDROID™ phone or IPHONE™, or any wearable mobile device;   d) A desktop application, executing on a personal computer, or similar device; and/or   e) An embedded application, executing on a processing device, such as for example a smart TV, a game console or other system.       

     It shall be understood that an executing instance of an embodiment of the diagnostic data transfer system  100 , as shown in  FIG. 1A , can include a plurality of diagnostic data transfer devices  104 , which are each tied to one or more users  180 . 
     An executing instance of an embodiment of the system for diagnostic data transfer  100 , as shown in  FIG. 1A , can similarly include a plurality of diagnostic data transfer servers  102 . 
       FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, 3 and 4  are block diagrams and flowcharts, methods, devices, systems, apparatuses, and computer program products according to various embodiments of the present invention. It shall be understood that each block or step of the block diagram, flowchart and control flow illustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagram, flowchart and control flow illustrations, can be implemented by computer program instructions or other means. Although computer program instructions are discussed, an apparatus or system according to the present invention can include other means, such as hardware or some combination of hardware and software, including one or more processors or controllers, for performing the disclosed functions. 
     In this regard,  FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2, and 3  depict the computer devices of various embodiments, each containing several of the key components of a general-purpose computer by which an embodiment of the present invention may be implemented. Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that a computer can include many components. However, it is not necessary that all of these generally conventional components be shown in order to disclose an illustrative embodiment for practicing the invention. The general-purpose computer can include a processing unit and a system memory, which may include various forms of non-transitory storage media such as random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM). The computer also may include nonvolatile storage memory, such as a hard disk drive, where additional data can be stored. 
       FIG. 1A  shows a depiction of an embodiment of the system diagnostic data transfer  100 , including the diagnostic data transfer server  102 , and the diagnostic data transfer device  104 . In this relation, a server shall be understood to represent a general computing capability that can be physically manifested as one, two, or a plurality of individual physical computing devices, located at one or several physical locations. A server can for example be manifested as a shared computational use of one single desktop computer, a dedicated server, a cluster of rack-mounted physical servers, a datacenter, or network of datacenters, each such datacenter containing a plurality of physical servers, or a computing cloud, such as AMAZON EC2™ or MICROSOFT AZURE™. 
     It shall be understood that the above-mentioned components of the . . . server  102  and the diagnostic data transfer device  104  are to be interpreted in the most general manner. 
     For example, the processors  202 ,  302  can each respectively include a single physical microprocessor or microcontroller, a cluster of processors, a datacenter or a cluster of datacenters, a computing cloud service, and the like. 
     In a further example, the non-transitory memory  204  and the non-transitory memory  304  can each respectively include various forms of non-transitory storage media, including random access memory and other forms of dynamic storage, and hard disks, hard disk clusters, cloud storage services, and other forms of long-term storage. Similarly, the input/output  206  and the input/output  306  can each respectively include a plurality of well-known input/output devices, such as screens, keyboards, pointing devices, motion trackers, communication ports, and so forth. 
     Furthermore, it shall be understood that the diagnostic data transfer server  102  and the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can each respectively include a number of other components that are well known in the art of general computer devices, and therefore shall not be further described herein. This can include system access to common functions and hardware, such as for example via operating system layers such as WINDOWS™, LINUX™, and similar operating system software, but can also include configurations wherein application services are executing directly on server hardware or via a hardware abstraction layer other than a complete operating system. 
     An embodiment of the present invention can also include one or more input or output components, such as a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and the like. A display can be provided for viewing text and graphical data, as well as a user interface to allow a user to request specific operations. Furthermore, an embodiment of the present invention may be connected to one or more remote computers via a network interface. The connection may be over a local area network (LAN) wide area network (WAN), and can include all of the necessary circuitry for such a connection. 
     In a related embodiment, the diagnostic data transfer device  104  communicates with the diagnostic data transfer server  102  over a network  106 , which can include the general Internet, a Wide Area Network or a Local Area Network, or another form of communication network, transmitted on wired or wireless connections. Wireless networks can for example include Ethernet, Wi-Fi, BLUETOOTH™, ZIGBEE™, and NFC. The communication can be transferred via a secure, encrypted communication protocol. 
     Typically, computer program instructions may be loaded onto the computer or other general-purpose programmable machine to produce a specialized machine, such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable machine create means for implementing the functions specified in the block diagrams, schematic diagrams or flowcharts. Such computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that when loaded into a computer or other programmable machine can direct the machine to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the function specified in the block diagrams, schematic diagrams or flowcharts. 
     In addition, the computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable machine to cause a series of operational steps to be performed by the computer or other programmable machine to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable machine provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the block diagram, schematic diagram, flowchart block or step. 
     Accordingly, blocks or steps of the block diagram, flowchart or control flow illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions, combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block or step of the block diagrams, schematic diagrams or flowcharts, as well as combinations of blocks or steps, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions, that perform the specified functions or steps. 
     As an example, provided for purposes of illustration only, a data input software tool of a search engine application can be a representative means for receiving a query including one or more search terms. Similar software tools of applications, or implementations of embodiments of the present invention, can be means for performing the specified functions. For example, an embodiment of the present invention may include computer software for interfacing a processing element with a user-controlled input device, such as a mouse, keyboard, touch screen display, scanner, or the like. Similarly, an output of an embodiment of the present invention may include, for example, a combination of display software, video card hardware, and display hardware. A processing element may include, for example, a controller or microprocessor, such as a central processing unit (CPU), arithmetic logic unit (ALU), or control unit. 
     Here has thus been described a multitude of embodiments of the diagnostic data transfer device  104 , the diagnostic data transfer system  100 , and methods related thereto, which can be employed in numerous modes of usage. 
     The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification, and thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention, which fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 
     For example, alternative embodiments can reconfigure or combine the components of the diagnostic data transfer server  102  and the diagnostic data transfer device  104 . The components of the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can be distributed over a plurality of physical, logical, or virtual servers. Parts or all of the components of the diagnostic data transfer device  104  can be configured to operate in the diagnostic data transfer server  102 , whereby the diagnostic data transfer device  104  for example can function as a thin client, performing only graphical user interface presentation and input/output functions. Alternatively, parts or all of the components of the diagnostic data transfer server  102  can be configured to operate in the diagnostic data transfer device  104 . 
     Many such alternative configurations are readily apparent, and should be considered fully included in this specification and the claims appended hereto. Accordingly, since numerous modifications and variations will readily occur to those skilled in the art, the invention is not limited to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and thus, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.