Method and apparatus for capture and logging of food safety data

Abstract

A probe interface component for a probe that measures an environmental condition. The probe interface component may comprise a first interface configured to removably receive a probe, and a second interface configured to removably connect to an input interface of a mobile computer. The probe interface component may be configured to obtain a value from the probe based on the measurement of the environmental condition, and generate a signal representative of the value in a format compatible with the input interface of the mobile computer. The first interface, the second interface, and/or the input interface may comprise a wireless interface. The environmental condition may comprise a temperature, a humidity, a pressure, a water quality, a gas indication, a radiation level, an indication of contamination, and/or an appearance.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 .- 34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . A handheld computer comprising:
 a recording device on the handheld computer;   at least one processor configured to:
 receive, from the recording device, information relating to a measurement of an environmental condition made by a user of the handheld computer using a probe, wherein the measurement is made using the probe, wherein the measurement comprises a temperature, a humidity, a pressure, a water quality, a gas indication, a radiation level, or an indication of contamination; and 
 in response to determining, based on the information, that at least one action by the user with the probe includes at least one deviating action by the user from a stored monitoring protocol, guide the user to perform a corrective action to correct the at least one deviating action by the user. 
   
     
     
         36 . The handheld computer of  claim 35 , wherein:
 the protocol identifies at least one of:
 an item at each of a plurality of locations of measurements, 
 a type of measurement that the measurement should be, 
 a type of probe to be used in making the measurement, 
 the frequency of measurements, 
 allowable range or allowable variation in measured values, 
 actions to be taken when a deviation from the protocol is detected, and 
 monitoring data to be stored in connection with the measurement. 
   
     
     
         37 . The handheld computer of  claim 35 , wherein:
 the at least one processor is configured to:
 determine whether the probe is being used improperly based on the information. 
   
     
     
         38 . The handheld computer of  claim 35 , wherein:
 the handheld computer is configured to record a signal representative of a value from the probe based on the measurement of the environmental condition.   
     
     
         39 . The handheld computer of  claim 38 , wherein:
 the handheld computer is configured to record, in association with the signal, the information, wherein the information is available via one or more components of the handheld computer including the recording device.   
     
     
         40 . The handheld computer of  claim 39 , wherein:
 the information comprises video and/or audio of the measurement being determined, wherein the video and/or the audio is configured to provide:
 a record of the measurement being determined. 
   
     
     
         41 . A method of operating a handheld computer comprising a recording device, the method comprising:
 processing information from the recording device to determine:
 whether the information depicts a measurement, made using a probe, of an environmental condition, wherein the measurement comprises a temperature, a humidity, a pressure, a water quality, a gas indication, a radiation level, or an indication of contamination; and 
 whether the measurement using the probe is performed according to a stored monitoring protocol; and 
   storing the information.   
     
     
         42 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the method comprises:
 guiding a user of the handheld computer to perform at least one action according to the protocol.   
     
     
         43 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the method comprises:
 recording a signal representative of a value from the probe based on the measurement of the environmental condition.   
     
     
         44 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the method comprises:
 comparing the measurement using the probe to the protocol; and   if the measurement using the probe does not satisfy the protocol, logging that the measurement using the probe does not satisfy the protocol.   
     
     
         45 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein:
 the information is configured to provide:
 supplemental information about an object measured, a region measured, and/or conditions of the measurement. 
   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 41 , wherein the method comprises:
 based on determining that the measurement using the probe was not performed according to the stored monitoring protocol, guiding the user to perform a corrective action.   
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein:
 the corrective action comprises changing at least one condition affecting recording of the information by the recording device.   
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 46 , wherein:
 the information is configured to provide:
 supplemental information about an object measured, a region measured, and/or conditions of the measurement. 
   
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 48 , further comprising:
 detecting a trigger event;   identifying a start time for recording by the recording device;   determining whether the recording is proper;   if the recording is determined to be proper, continuing the recording; and   upon detecting removal of the probe, identifying a stop time for the recording and stopping the recording at the stop time.   
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising:
 selectively generating a message and/or a report based on results of the processing.   
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 41 , further comprising:
 guiding the user to perform a corrective action by providing an additional opportunity to perform the measurement using the probe.   
     
     
         52 . The method of  claim 51 , wherein:
 the corrective action comprises changing at least one condition affecting recording of the information by the recording device.   
     
     
         53 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium encoded with computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause a handheld computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
 guiding a user of the handheld computer according to a stored monitoring protocol to perform at least one action using a probe, wherein the action comprises taking a measurement comprising a temperature, a humidity, a pressure, a water quality, a gas indication, a radiation level, or an indication of contamination; and   based on determining that the at least one action was performed according to the stored monitoring protocol, storing a recording using a recording device on the handheld computer depicting the at least one action.   
     
     
         54 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 53 , wherein the method further comprises:
 based on determining that the at least one action was not performed according to the stored monitoring protocol, guiding the user to perform a corrective action to correct at least one deviating action from the stored monitoring protocol.