Method and apparatus for communication of data between NDT/NDI instrument and an external network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10979336-B2
Application number	US-201916371108-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2019
Priority date	Mar 25, 2019
Publication date	Apr 13, 2021
Grant date	Apr 13, 2021

Abstract

A non-destructive testing and inspection (NDT/NDI) system having a communication gateway removably secured to an existing NDT/NDI instrument by a clip-on clasp. The gateway comprises a processor, a network interface, a housing configured to be removably secured onto the NDT/NDI instrument, an interconnect configured to be communicatively coupled with and to carry data to or from the NDT/NDI instrument, and memory storing computer readable code which, when executed on the processor, causes the processor to communicate data with an external network over the network interface. The data includes inspection data which can be any one of the following: ultrasonic scans of A, B, C or S, eddy current strip charts.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A communication gateway for use with a non-destructive testing and inspection (NDT/NDI) instrument, the communication gateway comprising:
a processor;
a network interface;
a housing of the communication gateway configured to be physically attached with an attachment element to the NDT/NDI instrument;
an interconnect of the housing configured to be communicatively coupled with and to carry, data between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway;
memory storing computer readable code which, when executed on the processor, causes the processor to communicate the data between the communication gateway and an external network over the network interface; and
a gateway user interface configured for operating the communication gateway, the
communication gateway being configured to:
provide a provisioning code or bar code to a computing device, the computing device forming a connection to a certification service over the Internet, wherein the computing device requests certification of the gateway from the certification service using the provisioning code or bar code; and
conduct handshaking with the certification service over the Internet to obtain a certification key, the certification service confirming certification of the gateway as having an established communication hardware identity with the certification key.

2. The communication gateway of claim 1 , wherein the housing of the communication gateway is physically and removably attached to a back portion of the NDT/NDI instrument, and wherein the data includes at least one of the following: ultrasonic A-scan data and an eddy current strip chart.

3. The communication gateway of claim 1 , wherein the network interface is selected from a group consisting of: a Wireless LAN interface, a Bluetooth® interface and a wireless cellular network interface.

4. The communication gateway of claim 1 wherein the communication gateway is removably secured to the NDT/NDI instrument using the attachment element that comprises at least one of a clasp, a latch, a buckle, or a strap.

5. The communication gateway of claim 1 , wherein the memory further comprises computer readable code which when executed on the processor, causes the processor to:
establish a data connection with the NDT/NDI instrument;
receive data from the NDT/NDI instrument;
establish a communication channel with an external network; and
send the data to the external network.

6. A method of communicating data between a non-destructive testing and inspection (NDT/NDI) instrument and an external network by a communication gateway, comprising:
establishing a data connection between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway, the communication gateway being configured to be physically attached with an attachment element to the NDT/NDI instrument, the communication gateway comprising an interconnect configured to carry data between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway;
establishing a communication channel between the gateway and the external network over a network interface;
receiving the data from the instrument at the gateway;
transferring the data from the gateway to the external network;
providing a provisioning code or bar code to a computing device, the computing device forming a connection to a certification service over the Internet, wherein the computing device requests certification of the gateway from the certification service using the provisioning code or bar code; and
conducting handshaking with the certification service over the Internet to obtain a certification key, the certification service confirming certification of the gateway as having an established communication hardware identity with the certification key.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein receiving the data comprises receiving ultrasonic A-scan or eddy current strip chart; wherein the communication gateway is physically and removably attached to a back portion of the NDT/NDI instrument.

8. The method of claim 6 further comprising:
receiving an inspection plan from the external network at the communication gateway; and
transferring the inspection plan from the communication gateway to the NDT/NDI instrument via the interconnect.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein establishing a communication channel comprises selecting a communication channel from a group consisting of: a Wireless LAN channel, a Bluetooth® channel and a wireless cellular channel.

10. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:
establish a data connection between a communication gateway and a non-destructive testing/inspection (NDT/NDI) instrument, the communication gateway being configured to be physically attached with an attachment element to the NDT/NDI instrument, the communication gateway comprising an interconnect configured to carry data between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway;
receive data from the NDT/NDI instrument;
establish a communication channel with an external network;
send the data to the external network;
provide a provisioning code or bar code to a computing device, the computing device forming a connection to a certification service over the Internet, wherein the computing device requests certification of the gateway from the certification service using the provisioning code or bar code; and
conduct handshaking with the certification service over the Internet to obtain a certification key, the certification service confirming certification of the gateway as having an established communication hardware identity with the certification key.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10 , wherein the data comprises at least one of ultrasonic A-scan data and an eddy current strip chart.

12. A non-destructive inspection and testing (NDT/NDI) system comprising:
an NDT/NDI instrument configured for conducting NDT/NDI measurement; and
a communication gateway configured to communicate data with an external network, the communication gateway being configured to be physically attached with an attachment element to the NDT/NDI instrument, the communication gateway comprising a data connector configured to carry data between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway, the communication gateway configured to provide a provisioning code or bar code to a computing device, the computing device forming a connection to a certification service over the Internet, wherein the computing device requests certification of the gateway from the certification service using the provisioning code or bar code; and conduct handshaking with the certification service over the Internet to obtain a certification key, the certification service confirming certification of the gateway as having an established communication hardware identity with the certification key.

13. The NDT/NDI system of claim 12 , wherein the communication gateway comprises:
a processor;
a network interface:
memory storing computer readable code which, when executed on the processor, causes the processor to communicate data with the external network over the network interface; and
an interconnect configured to be communicatively coupled with and to carry data between the NDT/NDI instrument and the communication gateway.

14. The NDT/NDI system of claim 13 , wherein the network interface is selected from a group consisting of a Wireless LAN interface, a Bluetooth® interface and a wireless cellular network interface.

15. The NDT/NDI system of claim 12 , wherein the communication gatew

Assignees

• Olympus Scientific Solutions Tech Inc
• Olympus Scient Solutions Americas Inc

Inventors

• Ghabour Ehab

Classifications

• G01N29/04

  Analysing solids (using acoustic emission techniques G01N29/14) · CPC title

• H04W88/16

  Gateway arrangements · CPC title

• H04W88/06

  adapted for operation in multiple networks {or having at least two operational modes}, e.g. multi-mode terminals · CPC title

• G01N29/2481 Primary

  Wireless probes, e.g. with transponders or radio links · CPC title

• G01N29/0645

  Display representation or displayed parameters, e.g. A-, B- or C-Scan · CPC title