Method and apparatus for management of calibration data

1. An electronic measurement apparatus comprising:

an instrument requiring at least one periodic calibration, the instrument having a local instrument processor and local instrument memory, and

instructions configured to be executable on said local instrument processor for accepting and storing calibration verification data related to the at least one periodic calibration in the local instrument memory.

2. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 1 and further comprising instructions configured to be executable on said local instrument processor for interactive definition of said at least one periodic calibration.

3. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 1 and further comprising instructions configured to be executable on said local instrument processor for identifying and storing a calibration invalidation condition and a resolution thereof in the local instrument memory.

4. An apparatus as recited in claim 1 and further comprising accepting and storing calibration data related to at least two different periodic calibration types.

5. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said interactive definition permits establishment of at least two different calibration types.

6. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 2 wherein said interactive definition permits establishment of at least one calibration alert selected from a group of alerts including an icon, a logo, an LED, and an email message.

7. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein an alert is defined for each of said at least two periodic calibrations.

8. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said instrument also includes a display and said alert is presented on the display of said instrument.

9. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein said instrument also includes LEDs and said alert is presented on said LEDs.

10. An electronic measurement apparatus as recited in claim 4 wherein the instrument is connected to a communications network and said alert comprises a message sent over said communications network.

11. A method for managing calibration comprising the steps of:

providing a calibration component in an instrument for local storage and retrieval of a calibration history in local instrument memory,

calibrating the instrument with an external calibration system, and

updating the calibration history in the local instrument memory with calibration verification data relating to the step of calibrating.

12. A method as recited in claim 11 wherein the calibration verification data is a type of data selected from the group consisting of a calibration trace number, calibration data, and an electronic copy of a calibration certificate.

13. A method as recited in claim 11 the calibration component monitoring a current status of at least one periodic calibration of the instrument and displaying a calibration alert when said calibration expires.

14. A method as recited in claim 12 and further comprising defining first and second calibration types, wherein each calibration type is associated with a respective calibration history.

15. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein the alert comprises a message sent over a communications network.

16. A method as recited in claim 15 and further comprising receiving said message and scheduling a calibration for said instrument.

17. An apparatus comprising:

an instrument subject to at least two different periodic calibration types, the instrument having a local instrument processor, and

instructions configured to be executable on the local instrument processor for monitoring and providing an alert regarding a status of each respective periodic calibration type.