Smart lid for smart bolts and probes

A smart lid for use with a probe having a color indicator for indicating tension, the smart lid comprising:

• a housing adapted for attachment to the probe;
• a color sensor disposed in the housing, the color sensor being configured for producing an electrical signal corresponding to the wavelength of light received from the color indicator of the probe, the housing being adapted for supporting the color sensor above the color indicator;
• a microcontroller disposed in the housing, the microcontroller being electrically connected to the color sensor and receiving the electrical signal from the color sensor, the to microcontroller being configured for comparing the electrical signal against at least one tension limit and providing a digital notification signal when the at least one limit has been exceeded;
• a wireless communication module and an antenna connected to the microcontroller, the wireless communication module wirelessly transmitting the digital notification signal through the antenna.

A smart bolt, comprising:

• a bolt having a head, a shaft, and a tension indicator forming a color dot on the head of the bolt, the color dot changing color to indicate when the bolt is undertorqued, properly torqued, and overtorqued;
• a housing removably capping the head of the bolt;
• a color sensor disposed in the housing, the color sensor being aligned with the color dot when the housing is attached to the head of the bolt, the color sensor generating an electrical signal corresponding to the color of the dot;
• a microcontroller disposed in the housing, the microcontroller being electrically connected to the color sensor and programmed to compare the electrical signal to color levels corresponding to the torquing of the bolt, the microcontroller being programmed to output a digital notification signal when comparison of the electrical signal shows the bolt to be undertorqued or overtorqued;
• and
• a wireless communication module disposed in the housing and an antenna connected to the wireless communication module, the wireless communication module being connected to the microcontroller and configured to transmit the digital notification signal to a remote monitoring site.