Intergrated qualitative/quantitative reasoning with enhanced core predictions and extended test procedures for machine failure isolation using qualitative physics
First Claim
1. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
- the processor estimating a time for performance for each of a plurality of machine test procedures by providing a summation, for each test procedure, of estimated times for performing portions of each of said test procedures, wherein portions of said machine test procedures which are unnecessary due to a present test configuration of the machine are not included in said summation;
the processor choosing a particular test procedure from said group of machine test procedures by selecting the one of said machine test procedures having a highest test score, said test score being inversely proportional to said summation;
the processor prompting a user to perform said particular test procedure and provide results thereof to the processor;
the processor generating a plurality of pending hypotheses wherein each hypothesis has associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed;
the processor propagating values indicative of said test results through said confluences to produce a set of predictions for values of confluence variables;
the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions;
the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; and
the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components.
2 Assignments
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Accused Products
Abstract
The presence of particular faults in a machine is determined using constraint suspension and Qualitative Physics by estimating a time for performance for each of a plurality of machine test procedures and providing a summation, for each test procedure, of estimated times for performing portions of each of the test procedures. Portions of the machine test procedures which are unnecessary due to a present test configuration of the machine are not included in the summation. A particular test procedure is chosen from the group of machine test procedures by selecting the one of the machine test procedures having a highest test score where the test score varies inversely to the summation. The test procedure can be a component health assessment and/or an observation of a machine parameter.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
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the processor estimating a time for performance for each of a plurality of machine test procedures by providing a summation, for each test procedure, of estimated times for performing portions of each of said test procedures, wherein portions of said machine test procedures which are unnecessary due to a present test configuration of the machine are not included in said summation; the processor choosing a particular test procedure from said group of machine test procedures by selecting the one of said machine test procedures having a highest test score, said test score being inversely proportional to said summation; the processor prompting a user to perform said particular test procedure and provide results thereof to the processor; the processor generating a plurality of pending hypotheses wherein each hypothesis has associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed; the processor propagating values indicative of said test results through said confluences to produce a set of predictions for values of confluence variables; the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions; the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; and the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
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the processor prompting a user to perform one of a plurality of machine test procedures and provide results thereof to the processor, said test procedure being created by applying a generic template to at least one of;
a specific component and specific parameter;the processor generating a plurality of pending hypotheses having associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed; the processor propagating values indicative of said test results through said confluences to produce a set of predictions for values of confluence variables; the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions; the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; and the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
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the processor receiving machine signals indicative of machine test procedure results; the processor generating a first set of pending hypotheses having associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed; the processor propagating said machine signals through said confluences to produce a set of predictions for values of confluence variables of a particular hypothesis by the steps of;
selecting a subset of said variables, said subset containing unrestricted and partially restricted confluence variables of said hypothesis;
temporarily assigning possible qualitative values to each variable of said subset to determine if one or more of said possible qualitative values results in a consistent set of predictions for said particular hypothesis; and
restricting each variable of said subset to values which produce a consistent set of predictions;the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions; the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; and the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
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the processor receiving machine signals indicative of machine test procedure results; the processor generating a first set of pending hypotheses having associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed; the processor assigning to confluence variables of a particular hypothesis values that correspond to said machine signals; the processor propagating values for fully restricted and partially restricted confluence variables through said confluences to further restrict values of other variables of said confluences; the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions; the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; and the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components.
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19. A method of using a processor to determine the presence of particular faults in a machine, comprising the steps of:
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the processor receiving machine signals indicative of machine test procedure results; the processor generating a first set of pending hypotheses having associated therewith a set of confluences using variables and equations to describe operation of components of the machine which are assumed not to have failed; the processor propagating said machine signals through said confluences to produce a set of predictions for values of confluence variables of a particular hypothesis, wherein at least one of said values is a quantitative value; the processor discarding hypotheses which produce an inconsistent set of predictions; the processor saving hypotheses which produce a consistent set of predictions; the processor indicating the presence of one or more particular machine faults in response to there remaining a single hypothesis corresponding to failure of one or more particular machine components; and the processor accessing a global landmark ordering to correlate quantitative values and qualitative values of said confluence variables.
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Specification