METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MONITORING OPERATION OF EQUIPMENT

• US 20120259585A1
• Filed: 04/07/2011
• Published: 10/11/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GE Digital Holdings LLC (GE Aerospace)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Haynes, Leon Ericson, Tackett, Charles Edgar
• Granted Patent: US 9,053,468 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/182
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/40 Business processes related to the transportation industry shipping G06Q10/083

Abstract

A condition assessment system for use in monitoring the operation of at least one of a plurality of units included within a fleet of substantially similar units is described. The system includes an input device configured to receive a selection of at least one source of data related to the operation of at least one of the plurality of units. The system also includes at least one sensor associated with the at least one source of data and configured to sense data related to the operation of at least one of the plurality of units. The system also includes a condition assessment device configured to receive data from the at least one sensor, sample data associated with at least one data parameter from the received data, and generate a baseline parametric curve from the data associated with the at least one sampled data parameter.

Claims

1. A condition assessment system for monitoring the operation of at least one of a plurality of units included within a fleet of substantially similar units, said system comprising:

an input device configured to receive a selection of at least one source of data related to the operation of at least one of the plurality of units;

at least one sensor associated with the at least one source of data, said at least one sensor configured to sense data related to the operation of at least one of the plurality of units; and

a condition assessment device configured to;

receive data from said at least one sensor;

sample data associated with at least one data parameter from the received data; and

generate a baseline parametric curve from the data associated with the at least one sampled data parameter.

2. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the fleet of substantially similar units includes at least a first unit, a second unit, and a third unit, wherein the first and second units are located in a first region, and wherein said condition assessment device is further configured to at least one of:

receive data from the first unit;

receive data from the plurality of substantially similar units; and

receive data from units located in the first region.

3. A system in accordance with claim 2, wherein said condition assessment device is further configured to store the baseline parametric curve for use in at least one of monitoring operation of the first unit, and monitoring operation of the plurality of substantially similar units.

4. A system in accordance with claim 2, wherein said condition assessment device is further configured to at least one of identify a data acquisition logical flag within the received data that indicates that a change has been made to the first unit, and determine that a change has been made to the first unit.

5. A system in accordance with claim 4, wherein said condition assessment device is further configured to at least one of:

identify a change that exceeds a predefined level in data associated with one of the plurality of data parameters;

identify changes in data associated with more than one of the plurality of data parameters; and

apply a logic rule to the data associated with the plurality of data parameters.

6. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said condition assessment device is further configured to calculate the baseline parametric curve from a stored set of base functions and from the data received from the at least one selected source of data.

7. A system in accordance with claim 1, wherein said condition assessment device is configured to determine whether to generate the baseline parametric curve.

8. A method of maintaining a baseline parametric curve representing normal operation of a first unit, wherein the first unit is one of a plurality of substantially similar units included in an equipment fleet, said method comprising:

receiving a selection of at least one source of data related to the operation of the first unit;

receiving data from the at least one selected source of data;

sampling data associated with at least one data parameter from the received data; and

determining the baseline parametric curve by fitting a curve to the data associated with the at least one sampled data parameter.

9. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein the plurality of substantially similar units included in the fleet includes a second unit and a third unit, wherein the first and second units are located in a first region, and wherein receiving data from the at least one selected source of data comprises at least one of:

receiving data from the first unit;

receiving data from the plurality of substantially similar units; and

receiving data from units located in the first region.

10. A method in accordance with claim 8, further comprising storing the baseline parametric curve for use in at least one of monitoring the operation of the first unit and monitoring the operation of the plurality of substantially similar units.

11. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein determining the baseline parametric curve by fitting a curve to the data associated with the at least one sampled data parameter comprises calculating the baseline parametric curve from a stored set of base functions and from the data received from the at least one selected source of data.

12. A method in accordance with claim 8, further comprising determining whether to generate the baseline parametric curve.

13. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein determining whether to generate the baseline parametric curve comprises at least one of:

identifying a data acquisition logical flag within the received data that indicates that a change has been made to the first unit; and

determining that a change has been made to the first unit.

14. A method in accordance with claim 12, wherein sampling data associated with the at least one data parameter from the received data comprises sampling data associated with a plurality of data parameters from the received data, and wherein determining that a change has been made to the first unit comprises at least one of:

identifying a change that exceeds a predefined level in one of the plurality of data parameters;

identifying changes in more than one of the plurality of data parameters; and

applying a logic rule to the plurality of data parameters.

15. A method in accordance with claim 8, wherein receiving data comprises receiving data representing environmental conditions that the first unit is subject to, data representing a schedule of maintenance performed on the first unit, and data representing usage of the first unit.

16. A condition assessment device for monitoring the operation of at least one of a plurality of units included within a fleet of substantially similar units, said device comprising a processing device configured to store at least one code segment configured to instruct said processing device to:

receive a selection, from an input device, of at least one source of data related to the operation of at least one of the plurality of units;

receive data from at least one sensor associated with the at least one source of data;

sample data associated with at least one data parameter from the received data; and

generate a baseline parametric curve from the data associated with the at least one sampled data parameter.

17. A device in accordance with claim 16, wherein the at least one code segment is configured to instruct said processing device to at least one of:

receive data from a first unit of the plurality of units;

receive data from the plurality of substantially similar units; and

receive data from units located in a first region.

18. A device in accordance with claim 17, wherein the at least one code segment is configured to instruct said processing device to store the baseline parametric curve for use in at least one of monitoring the operation of said first unit, and monitoring the operation of the plurality of substantially similar units.

19. A device in accordance with claim 16, wherein the at least one code segment is configured to instruct said processing device to calculate the baseline parametric curve from a stored set of base functions and from the data received from said at least one selected source of data.

20. A device in accordance with claim 16, wherein the at least one code segment is configured to instruct said processing device to determine whether to generate the baseline parametric curve.