METHOD OF DIAGNOSING AN APPLIANCE FAULT
First Claim
1. A method of diagnosing a fault in an appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on an article, wherein the appliance is configured to communicate by electronic message, the method comprising:
- providing at least one fault tree having a plurality of entry points associated with fault symptoms, wherein the fault tree comprises an ordered collection of steps,communicating with the appliance by electronic message to obtain information about components associated with the appliance,ascertaining one of the plurality of entry points in the at least one fault tree based on the information, andperforming the ordered collection of steps in the fault tree starting at the ascertained entry point,whereby to expedite diagnosing the appliance.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided to diagnose a fault in an appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on an article. The appliance must also be configured to communicate by electronic message. The method includes providing a fault tree having a plurality of entry points associated with fault symptoms where the fault tree includes an ordered collection of steps. The method continues with communicating with the appliance by electronic message to obtain information about components associated with the appliance, ascertaining an entry point the fault tree from the plurality in based on the information, and performing the ordered collection of steps in the fault tree starting at the ascertained entry point. Using this method results in expediting the diagnosis of the appliance.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of diagnosing a fault in an appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on an article, wherein the appliance is configured to communicate by electronic message, the method comprising:
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providing at least one fault tree having a plurality of entry points associated with fault symptoms, wherein the fault tree comprises an ordered collection of steps, communicating with the appliance by electronic message to obtain information about components associated with the appliance, ascertaining one of the plurality of entry points in the at least one fault tree based on the information, and performing the ordered collection of steps in the fault tree starting at the ascertained entry point, whereby to expedite diagnosing the appliance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 32)
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8. The method of claim 8 wherein the service accessory is one of a PC, a local data collector, and a central data collector.
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21. A method of diagnosing a fault in an appliance configured to perform a cycle of operation on an article, wherein the appliance is configured to communicate by electronic message, the method comprising:
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providing at least one fault tree having a plurality of entry points, communicating with the appliance by electronic message to obtain information about components associated with the appliance, ascertaining one of the plurality of entry points in the at least one fault tree based on the information, and automatically reducing the number of steps from the ascertained entry point in the fault tree needed to diagnose a fault based on the information. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33)
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Specification