Remote monitoring and diagnostics system with automated problem notification

• US 20060133283A1
• Filed: 12/17/2004
• Published: 06/22/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Avinash, Gopal B., Weiner, Allison Leigh
• Granted Patent: US 8,422,377 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/241
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/40 for the management of medical equipment or devices, e.g. scheduling maintenance or upgrades
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/16 using machine learning or artificial intelligence

Abstract

A technique is disclosed for servicing complex systems. Upon detection of a serviceable condition, a system snapshot is made and stored. The snapshot may include a range of data then available on the system, particularly hardware configuration data, such as components then installed, peripherals installed, their states, and so forth. The snapshot may include data available prior to the detection of an indicator, at the time of detection and following detection, facilitating evaluation of the condition and potential responses to it.

Claims

1. A method for operationally servicing systems comprising:

detecting an indicator of a serviceable condition in a system;

automatically storing snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the serviced system upon detection of the indicator;

automatically generating a request for service of the serviceable condition in the system;

transmitting the service request and the snapshot data to a service provider;

accessing a knowledge base including system data defining operational performance parameters of a plurality of serviced systems, service data defining known serviceable conditions for the serviced systems and potential indicators of the condition based upon the performance parameters, and response data defining a plurality of responses to the serviceable conditions; and

automatically generating a response to the service request based upon the snapshot data and the response data.

2. A method for operationally servicing systems comprising:

detecting an indicator of a serviceable condition in a system; and

automatically storing snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of the indicator, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of system components installed in the system and peripherals coupled to the serviced system upon detection of the indicator.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the snapshot data is stored in the system.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the snapshot data includes data collected at a desired time based upon a time of detection of the indicator.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the snapshot data includes data representative of an error present in the system upon detection of the indicator.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein system configuration includes at least one of software, hardware, firmware, network, location, and customer data.

7. The method of claim 2, further comprising automatically generating a request for service of the serviceable condition in the serviced system, and transmitting the service request and the snapshot data to a service provider.

8. A method for operationally servicing systems comprising:

detecting an indicator of a serviceable condition in a serviced system;

automatically storing snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of the indicator, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of system components installed in the system and peripherals coupled to the system upon detection of the indicator;

automatically generating a request for service of the serviceable condition in the serviced system; and

transmitting the service request and the snapshot data to a service provider.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the snapshot data is stored in the system.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the snapshot data includes data collected at a desired time based upon a time of detection of the indicator.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the snapshot data includes data representative of an error present in the serviced system upon detection of the indicator.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein system configuration includes at least one of hardware, firmware, network, location, and customer data.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of at least one of peripherals coupled to the system and system components installed in the system upon detection of the indicator.

14. A method for operationally servicing systems comprising:

receiving a request for service of a serviceable condition in a serviced system, the request including snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of an indicator of the serviceable condition, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of system components installed in the system and peripherals coupled to the system upon detection of the indicator;

accessing a knowledge base including system data defining operational performance parameters of a plurality of serviced systems, service data defining known serviceable conditions for the serviced systems and indicators of potential malfunction based upon the performance parameters, and response data defining a plurality of responses to the serviceable conditions; and

automatically generating a response to the service request based upon the snapshot data and the response data.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the snapshot data includes data representative of a time of detection of the indicator.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein the snapshot data includes data representative of an error present in the serviced system upon detection of the indicator.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein system configuration includes at least one of software, hardware, firmware, network, location, and customer data.

18. A computer program for operationally servicing systems comprising:

at least one machine readable medium;

computer code stored on the at least one machine readable medium including code for detecting an indicator of a serviceable condition in a system, automatically storing snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of the indicator, automatically generating a request for service of the serviceable condition in the serviced system, transmitting the service request and the snapshot data to a service provider, accessing a knowledge base including system data defining operational performance parameters of a plurality of serviced systems, service data defining known serviceable conditions for the serviced systems and potential indicators of the condition based upon the performance parameters, and response data defining a plurality of responses to the serviceable conditions, and automatically generating a response to the service request based upon the snapshot data and the response data.

19. A computer program for operationally servicing systems comprising:

at least one machine readable medium;

computer code stored on the at least one machine readable medium including code for detecting an indicator of a serviceable condition in a system, and automatically storing snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of the indicator, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of system components installed in the system and peripherals coupled to the serviced system upon detection of the indicator.

20. A computer program for operationally servicing systems comprising:

at least one machine readable medium;

computer code stored on the at least one machine readable medium including code for receiving a request for service of a serviceable condition in a system, the request including snapshot data representative of a system configuration of the system upon detection of an indicator of the serviceable condition, wherein the system configuration includes data indicative of system components installed in the system and peripherals coupled to the system upon detection of the indicator, accessing a knowledge base including system data defining operational performance parameters of a plurality of serviced systems, service data defining known serviceable conditions for the serviced systems and indicators of potential malfunction based upon the performance parameters, and response data defining a plurality of responses to the serviceable conditions, and automatically generating a response to the service request based upon the snapshot data and the response data.