Audio-conditioned acoustics-based diagnostics

• US 20040136539A1
• Filed: 01/09/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 01/09/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Uhi, William Walter, Nelson, James R., Terry, James P.
• Application Number:
  US10/339,445
• Publication Number:
  US 20040136539A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 381/56
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00002 Diagnosis, testing or measuring; Detecting, analysing or monitoring not otherwise provided for error detection, error correction or monitoring in digital computers or digital computer components G06F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00029 Diagnosis, i.e. identifying a problem by comparison with a normal state
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0005 in service, i.e. during normal operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00058 using a separate apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00061 using a remote apparatus H04N1/00066 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00068 Calculating or estimating
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00079 remotely
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 29/001 for loudspeakers H04R29/007 takes precedence

Abstract

Described herein is a technology for facilitating diagnosis of the operation of devices or machines based, at least in part, upon the acoustics of such.

Claims

1. A system facilitating acoustics-based diagnosis, the system comprising:

a sound-gatherer configured to gather sound from a device to produce a sound-representative signal;

a sound-signal-conditioner configured to produce a conditioned sound-representative signal by shifting a first range of frequencies of the sound-representative signal that are outside a defined bandwidth to a different corresponding second range of frequencies that are within that defined bandwidth;

a sound-producer configured to produce audio sound based upon the conditioned sound-representative signal, wherein the produced audio sound has frequencies within the defined bandwidth.

2. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is within the human hearing range.

3. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is a range of sound-representative signals typically transmitted over the telephonic network infrastructure.

4. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first range of frequencies is below approximately 400 Hz.

5. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first range of frequencies is above approximately 3400 Hz.

6. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first range of frequencies is below the second range.

7. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the first range of frequencies is above the second range.

8. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the sound-gatherer is selected from a group consisting of a microphone, a contact microphone, and a vibration transducer.

9. A system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a digital sound storer configured to digitize the conditioned sound and store it in a storage medium.

10. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the audio-conditioner is selected from a group consisting of an integrated circuit, electronic components, ASIC, and a software module.

11. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the audio-conditioner is further configured to:

enhance the low frequencies of the sound-representative signal which is representative of the gathered sound;

mix the enhanced low frequencies with a carrier frequency;

filter the frequencies of the mixed signal; and

output the filtered mixed signal to the sound-producer.

12. A system as recited in claim 1, wherein the audio-conditioner is further configured to:

enhance the high frequencies of the sound-representative signal which is representative of the gathered sound;

mix the enhanced high frequencies with a carrier frequency;

filter the frequencies of the mixed signal; and

output the filtered mixed signal to the sound-producer.

13. A mechanical device comprising:

one or more components that produce sound;

the system as recited in claim 1.

14. An office machine comprising:

one or more components that produce sound;

the system as recited in claim 1.

15. A method facilitating acoustics-based diagnosis, the method comprising:

gathering sound from a device and producing a signal representative of the gathered sound;

conditioning the signal representative of the gathered sound by shifting a first range of frequencies of the sound-representative signal that are outside a defined bandwidth to a different corresponding second range of frequencies that are within that defined bandwidth;

producing audio sound based upon the conditioned sound-representative signal resulting from the conditioning, wherein the produced audio sound has frequencies within the defined bandwidth.

16. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the producing further comprises digitizing the conditioned sound-representative signal and sending it over a communication medium.

17. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the producing further comprises digitizing the conditioned sound-representative signal and storing it in a storage medium.

18. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the conditioning further comprises:

enhancing the low frequencies of the sound-representative signal which is representative of the gathered sound;

mixing the enhanced low frequencies with a carrier frequency; and

filtering the frequencies of the mixed signal.

19. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the conditioning further comprises:

enhancing the high frequencies of the sound-representative signal which is representative of the gathered sound;

mixing the enhanced high frequencies with a carrier frequency; and

filtering the frequencies of the mixed signal.

20. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is within the human hearing range.

21. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is a range of sound-representative signals typically transmitted over the telephonic network infrastructure.

22. A method as recited in claim 15, wherein the first range of frequencies is below approximately 400 Hz or above approximately 3400 Hz.

23. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs a method for facilitating acoustics-based diagnosis, the method comprising:

obtaining a signal representative of a conditioned sound, wherein its frequencies fall within a defined sound bandwidth;

de-conditioning the signal representative of a conditioned sound so that frequencies within the defined sound bandwidth are shifted outside of that bandwidth;

acquiring one or more acoustics-based fault-signatures associated with the device;

analyzing the de-conditioned sound-representative signal based upon the one or more acquired fault-signatures.

24. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the method further comprises presenting the results of the analyzing.

25. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the method further comprises generating a fault-condition indication based upon the results of the analyzing.

26. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the method further comprises determining a likelihood of fault conditions based upon the results of the analyzing.

27. A medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the fault condition is a present fault condition.

28. A medium as recited in claim 26, wherein the fault condition is a future fault condition.

29. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is within the human hearing range.

30. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the defined sound bandwidth is a range of sound-representative signals typically transmitted over the telephonic network infrastructure.

31. A medium as recited in claim 23, wherein the first range of frequencies is below approximately 400 Hz or above approximately 3400 Hz.

32. A method for facilitating acoustics-based diagnosis, the method comprising:

obtaining a signal representative of a conditioned sound, wherein its frequencies fall within a defined sound bandwidth;

de-conditioning the signal representative of a conditioned sound so that frequencies outside the defined sound bandwidth are shifted inside of that bandwidth;

acquiring one or more acoustics-based fault-signatures associated with the device;

analyzing the de-conditioned sound-representative signal based upon the one or more acquired fault-signatures.

33. A method as recited in claim 32 further comprising presenting the results of the analyzing.

34. A method as recited in claim 32 further comprising generating a fault-condition indication based upon the results of the analyzing.

35. A method as recited in claim 32 further comprising determining a likelihood of fault conditions based upon the results of the analyzing.

36. A method as recited in claim 35, wherein the fault condition is a present fault condition.

37. A method as recited in claim 35, wherein the fault condition is a future fault condition.

38. An acoustics-based diagnostics architecture comprising:

a sound-gatherer configured to gather sound produced by the operation of a device and convert the gathered sound into a sound-representative signal;

a sound-signal-conditioner configured to produce a conditioned sound-representative signal by shifting a first range of frequencies of the sound-representative signal that are outside a defined bandwidth to a different corresponding second range of frequencies that are within that defined bandwidth;

a sound-deconditioner configured to de-condition the signal representative of a conditioned sound so that frequencies outside the defined sound bandwidth are shifted inside of that bandwidth;

a sound-analyzer configured to analyze the signal representative of the de-conditioned sound and determine likelihood of one or more fault conditions of the device;

a fault-signature database interface configured to interface and acquire one or more fault-signatures associated with the device from a database of such;

wherein the analysis of the signal representative of the de-conditioned sound by the sound-analyzer is based upon the one or more fault-signatures acquired from the database.

39. An architecture as recited in claim 38, further comprising a presenter configured to present the results of the analysis of the sound-analyzer.

40. An architecture as recited in claim 38, wherein the fault condition is a present fault condition.

41. An architecture as recited in claim 38, wherein the fault condition is a future fault condition.