Automatically Displaying Measurement Data Acquired by a Measurement System on a Mobile Device

Abstract

A system and method for displaying measurement data on a mobile device are disclosed. As a user carrying the mobile device moves between different measurement systems, software executing on the mobile device may monitor the proximity of the mobile device to the measurement systems. When the user moves proximal to a particular measurement system the software may automatically configure and display a graphical user interface for viewing the measurement data acquired by the measurement system.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A non-transitory memory medium storing program instructions executable by a mobile device to:
 automatically detect that the mobile device has moved to a first location proximal to a measurement system;   in response to said automatically detecting, display on a display of the mobile device a graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the measurement system;   receive measurement data from the measurement system via wireless transmission; and   display the received measurement data in the graphical user interface on the display of the mobile device.   
     
     
         2 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein said automatically detecting that the mobile device has moved to the first location proximal to the measurement system comprises automatically detecting that the mobile device has moved to a location within a threshold distance of the measurement system.   
     
     
         3 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the measurement system is configured to produce a plurality of measurement data sources;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to receive information from the measurement system specifying each of the measurement data sources;   wherein in receiving the measurement data from the measurement system, the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to receive a respective set of measurement data from each of the measurement data sources;   wherein in displaying the graphical user interface, the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to display a plurality of output indicators, wherein each of the output indicators corresponds to a respective one of the measurement data sources; and   wherein in displaying the received measurement data, the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to display each respective set of measurement data in the output indicator corresponding to the measurement data source from which the respective set of measurement data was received.   
     
     
         4 . The memory medium of  claim 3 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to automatically determine a first layout for the plurality of output indicators, wherein the first layout specifies a respective position on the display of the mobile device for each of the output indicators, wherein said displaying the plurality of output indicators comprises positioning each respective output indicator on the display of the mobile device at its respective position specified by the first layout.   
     
     
         5 . The memory medium of  claim 4 ,
 wherein the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to automatically determine the first layout for the plurality of output indicators without receiving user input specifying the first layout;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 receive user input specifying a change to the first layout, wherein the user input specifies a second layout for the plurality of output indicators; and 
 in response to the user input, re-position one or more of the output indicators on the display of the mobile device according to the second layout. 
   
     
     
         6 . The memory medium of  claim 5 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to store information specifying the second layout for the plurality of output indicators in response to the user input;   wherein said detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system comprises detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system at a first time prior to said storing the information specifying the second layout;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 in response to detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system at a second time subsequent to said storing the information specifying the second layout, retrieve the stored information specifying the second layout, and automatically display the plurality of output indicators on the display of the mobile device according to the second layout. 
   
     
     
         7 . The memory medium of  claim 3 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 automatically determine a plurality of possible layouts for the plurality of output indicators; 
 display information indicating the possible layouts; and 
 receive user input selecting a particular layout from the possible layouts; 
   wherein said displaying the plurality of output indicators comprises positioning each respective output indicator on the display of the mobile device at a respective position specified by the selected layout.   
     
     
         8 . The memory medium of  claim 3 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to automatically select an output indicator type for each of the plurality of output indicators based on the received information specifying the measurement data sources, wherein the output indicator types for the plurality of output indicators include two or more different output indicator types;   wherein said displaying the plurality of output indicators comprises displaying the selected output indicator type for each of the output indicators.   
     
     
         9 . The memory medium of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the plurality of output indicators includes a first output indicator;   wherein the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to automatically select one of the following output type indicators for the first output indicator:   a chart indicator type;   a graph indicator type;   a gauge indicator type; or   a thermometer indicator type.   
     
     
         10 . The memory medium of  claim 8 ,
 wherein the plurality of output indicators includes a first output indicator, wherein the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to automatically select a first output indicator type for the first output indicator without receiving user input specifying the first output indicator type;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 receive user input requesting to change the first output indicator to a second output indicator type; and 
 in response to the user input, re-display the first output indicator as an output indicator of the second output indicator type. 
   
     
     
         11 . The memory medium of  claim 10 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to store information specifying the second output indicator type for the first output indicator in response to the user input;   wherein said detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system comprises detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system at a first time prior to said storing the information specifying the second output indicator type for the first output indicator;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 in response to detecting that the mobile device has moved proximal to the measurement system at a second time subsequent to said storing the information specifying the second output indicator type for the first output indicator, retrieve the stored information specifying the second output indicator type for the first output indicator, and automatically display the first output indicator on the display of the mobile device as an output indicator of the second output indicator type. 
   
     
     
         12 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the measurement system is a first measurement system;   wherein the graphical user interface is a first graphical user interface;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 automatically detect that the mobile device has moved away from the first location to a second location proximal to a second measurement system; 
 in response to said automatically detecting that the mobile device has moved away from the first location to the second location, automatically replace the first graphical user interface with a second graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the second measurement system. 
   
     
     
         13 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the measurement system is a first measurement system;   wherein the graphical user interface is a first graphical user interface;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 in response to automatically detecting that a rotational orientation of the mobile device has moved away from the first measurement system and toward a second measurement system, automatically replace the first graphical user interface with a second graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the second measurement system. 
   
     
     
         14 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the measurement system is a first measurement system;   wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to:
 automatically detect that at the first location the mobile device is also proximal to a second measurement system; 
 prompt for user input selecting a particular measurement system for which to display measurement data, wherein said prompting includes displaying information indicating both the first measurement system and the second measurement system in response to determining that at the first location the mobile device is proximal to both the first measurement system and the second measurement system; and 
 receive user input selecting the first measurement system from the displayed information; 
   wherein the program instructions are executable by the mobile device to display the graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the first measurement system in response to the user input selecting the first measurement system.   
     
     
         15 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to wirelessly communicate with the measurement system to cause the measurement system to perform a measurement in response to said detecting that the mobile device has moved to the first location proximal to the measurement system.   
     
     
         16 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to wirelessly communicate with the measurement system to configure the measurement system in response to said detecting that the mobile device has moved to the first location proximal to the measurement system.   
     
     
         17 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to wirelessly communicate with the measurement system to obtain status information indicating a status of the measurement system in response to said detecting that the mobile device has moved to the first location proximal to the measurement system.   
     
     
         18 . The memory medium of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the program instructions are further executable by the mobile device to wirelessly communicate with the measurement system to cause the measurement system to change a type of measurement being performed in response to said detecting that the mobile device has moved to the first location proximal to the measurement system.   
     
     
         19 . A system comprising:
 a mobile device, wherein the mobile device includes one or more processors and memory storing program instructions, wherein the program instructions are executable by the one or more processors to:
 automatically detect that the mobile device has moved to a first location proximal to a measurement system; 
 in response to said automatically detecting, display on a display of the mobile device a graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the measurement system; 
 receive measurement data from the measurement system via wireless transmission; and 
 display the received measurement data in the graphical user interface on the display of the mobile device. 
   
     
     
         20 . A method comprising:
 a mobile device automatically detecting that the mobile device has moved to a first location proximal to a measurement system;   in response to said automatically detecting, the mobile device displaying on a display of the mobile device a graphical user interface for viewing measurement data acquired by the measurement system;   the mobile device receiving measurement data from the measurement system via wireless transmission; and   the mobile device displaying the received measurement data in the graphical user interface on the display of the mobile device.