Apparatus and method for inspecting assets in a processing or other environment

• US 20080123934A1
• Filed: 11/29/2006
• Published: 05/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Amidi, Soroush
• Granted Patent: US 8,396,280 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/141
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0229 knowledge based, e.g. expert systems; genetic algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/95 structured as a network, e.g. client-server architectures
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 2201/06 Recognition of objects for industrial automation
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00318 with a multi-media apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00347 with another still picture apparatus, e.g. hybrid still picture apparatus circuits or arrangements for control or supervision between image input and image output device H04N1/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/002 Selecting or switching between an image communication channel and a non-image communication channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0022 Selecting or switching between an image communication mode and a non-image communication mode H04N2201/002 takes precedence

Abstract

A portable asset inspection device can be used during the inspection of one or more assets, such as assets in a processing or other environment. A camera in the portable asset inspection device can be used to take digital photographs of assets being inspected. A sound recorder in the portable asset inspection device can be used to record oral notes of a user or other sounds associated with the inspection of the assets. Other data could be collected from the user using the portable asset inspection device. The collected data can be transmitted in either real-time or non-real-time to an external system. The external system could associate photographs, sound recordings, and other data with specific assets, such as by automatically storing the data in records associated with the correct assets. The external system could also use the data in any suitable manner, such as to schedule asset maintenance.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a camera operable to capture an image of an asset;

a sound recorder operable to capture a sound associated with an inspection of the asset; and

an interface operable to transmit the image of the asset and the sound associated with the inspection of the asset.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sound recorder is operable to capture one or more oral notes from a user inspecting the asset.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display operable to present a form to a user; and

one or more controls operable to receive input from the user, the input comprising data associated with the asset;

wherein the interface is further operable to transmit the data provided by the user.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a controller operable to control operation of at least one of:

the camera, the sound recorder, and the interface.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller forms part of at least one of:

the camera and the sound recorder.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the interface comprises a wireless interface.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a detector operable to identify the asset.

8. A method, comprising:

capturing an image of an asset at a portable device;

recording a sound associated with an inspection of the asset at the portable device; and

communicating the image of the asset and the sound associated with the inspection of the asset.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein recording the sound comprises recording one or more oral notes from a user inspecting the asset.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

presenting a form to a user on a display of the portable device; and

receiving input from the user through one or more controls of the portable device, the input comprising data associated with the asset;

wherein communicating the image of the asset and the sound associated with the inspection of the asset comprises communicating the data provided by the user along with the image and the sound.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating the image of the asset and the sound associated with the inspection of the asset comprises communicating the image and the sound after the portable device is inserted into a docking station.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein communicating the image of the asset and the sound associated with the inspection of the asset comprises communicating the image and the sound to a radio frequency receiver.

13. The method of claim 8, further comprising:

identifying the asset at the portable device; and

associating the image and the sound with the identified portable device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein identifying the asset comprises at least one of:

scanning a bar code associated with the asset, receiving a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) signal identifying the asset, and receiving user input identifying an alphanumeric identifier associated with the asset.

15. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium and operable to be executed by a processor, the computer program comprising:

computer readable program code for receiving an image of a specific asset and a sound recording associated with an inspection of the specific asset;

computer readable program code for associating the received image and sound recording with the specific asset; and

computer readable program code for analyzing the image and the sound recording to determine at least one characteristic of the specific asset.

16. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code for associating the received image and sound recording with the specific asset comprises computer readable program code for associating the received image and sound recording with the specific asset using asset identification data received along with the image and the sound recording.

17. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the at least one characteristic of the specific asset comprises a maintenance schedule for the specific asset.

18. The computer program of claim 15, wherein the computer readable program code for receiving the image and the sound recording comprises computer readable program code for receiving the image and the sound recording through at least one of:

a receiver operable to wirelessly receive the image and the sound recording in real-time from a portable device and a host computer operable to receive the image and the sound recording in non-real-time from the portable device.

19. The computer program of claim 15, wherein:

the computer readable program code for receiving the image and the sound recording comprises computer readable program code for receiving multiple images of multiple assets and multiple sound recordings associated with multiple inspections the assets; and

the computer readable program code for associating the received image and sound recording comprises computer readable program code for associating each of the received images and sound recordings with one of the assets.

20. The computer program of claim 19, wherein the computer readable program code for analyzing the image and the sound recording comprises computer readable program code for scheduling maintenance for at least some of the multiple assets.