Autonomous fitness for service assessment

• US 8,086,425 B2
• Filed: 06/27/2007
• Issued: 12/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/14/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stylwan IP Holding LLC
• Original Assignee: Stylianos Papadimitriou, Wanda G. Papadimitriou
• Inventors: Papadimitriou, Wanda G., Papadimitriou, Stylianos
• Primary Examiner(s): WACHSMAN, HAL D
• Application Number:
  US11/769,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20080004882A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,644 Days
• Field of Search: 702/185, 702/34, 702/35, 702 38- 40
• US Class Current: 702/185
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 17/00 Speaker identification or verification techniques

Abstract

Autonomous fitness for continuing service assessment equipment interacts with the operator through natural speech, voice and sound and provides active failure prevention through automatic and/or continuous fitness for service assessment of a material under evaluation. The equipment comprises at least one computer and a material features acquisition system operable to detect a plurality of material features. The features are then evaluated according to rules that capture the multidiscipline knowledge of experts and are already inputted into the computer. The computer iterations are processed until an acceptable conclusion is made regarding the condition of the material under evaluation.

Claims

1. A material evaluation system comprising:

at least one computer;

a material features acquisition system operable to detect a plurality of material features in a material under evaluation for a service comprising at least one sensor with an output, said output comprising of signals indicative of said plurality of material features from said material under evaluation;

at least one sensor interface for said at least one computer;

at least one database comprising material features recognition equations;

at least one program being executed on said at least one computer to utilize said material features recognition equations for identifying said plurality of material features;

said at least one database further comprising a plurality of fitness for service assessment paths wherein different ones of said plurality of fitness for service assessment paths are used in response to said identifying of said plurality of material features by said at least one computer;

wherein

said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer evaluating said material features detected in said material under evaluation by selecting one or more of said plurality of fitness for service assessment paths from said at least one database to make a determination of whether said material is fit for use in said service or should be removed from use in said service.

2. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising at least one of fingerprint, voiceprint, iris scan, face recognition and other biometric identification capability to recognize an operator.

3. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein operator recognition is partially controlled by data inputted into said at least one computer from a camera in communication with said at least one computer.

4. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising a speech synthesizer and at least one of loudspeaker and/or earphone, wherein said at least one computer requests input from an operator through natural speech regarding system operation.

5. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising a speech recognition engine and at least one microphone, wherein data is inputted regarding system operation at least in part into said at least one computer by an operator through natural speech.

6. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising a sound recognition engine and at least one microphone, wherein data regarding system operation is obtained at least in part from said sound recognition engine.

7. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said plurality of material features is partially obtained and inputted into said at least one computer from a camera in communication with said at least one computer.

8. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said material features acquisition system is operable for an induction of an excitation into said material under evaluation and detecting said output in response to said excitation.

9. The material evaluation system of claim 8 wherein said material features acquisition system is operable for controlling said excitation, at least in part, by said at least one computer and wherein an excitation response characteristic is stored in a memory storage.

10. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said material features recognition equations further comprise at least one of coefficients, rules, knowledge and data developed and inputted into said at least one computer.

11. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one sensor further comprises a memory storage, and wherein at least one of said at least one database, an excitation response characteristic and digital signals can be stored and accessed by said at least one computer.

12. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said material features acquisition system can be adapted to operate a data acquisition system.

13. The material evaluation system of claim 12, wherein material historical data is obtained at least in part from said data acquisition system.

14. The material evaluation system of claim 12, wherein at least one of a material geometry feature and a material evaluation speed is obtained at least in part from said data acquisition system.

15. The material evaluation system of claim 12, wherein at least one of said at least one database and said signals are stored in a memory storage in a material length sequence said material length sequence being obtained at least in part from said data acquisition system.

16. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to recognize a first material feature detected by said at least one sensor.

17. The material evaluation system of claim 16, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to recognize a second material feature detected by said at least one sensor.

18. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to determine an effect that a second material feature has upon a first material feature.

19. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one database further comprises at least one of material selected use equations, coefficients, rules, and knowledge.

20. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one database further comprises at least one of equations, knowledge and rules and coefficients from a group comprising of bending, buckling, compression, cyclic loading, deflection, deformation, dynamic linking, dynamic loading, eccentricity, eccentric loading, elastic deformation, energy absorption, feature growth, feature morphology migration, feature propagation, impulse, loading, misalignment, moments, offset, oscillation, plastic deformation, propagation, shear, static loading, strain, stress, tension, thermal loading, torsion, twisting, vibration, and a combination thereof.

21. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer utilizes said at least one database to evaluate a first of said plurality of material features to make said determination.

22. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer to calculate at least one of a difference, a rate of change, a coverage change and a morphology shift of a first material feature over time.

23. The material evaluation system of claim 1, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to recommend a fitness for service remedial path for said material.

24. The material evaluation system of claim 23, wherein said fitness for service remedial path comprises at least one of utilization, redeployment and alteration to a shape of at least one material feature of said material.

25. The material evaluation system of claim 24, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to recommend a new shape for said alteration to said shape of said at least one material feature.

26. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising a timing mechanism, wherein signals produced by said material features acquisition system are stored in said at least one database with reference to a time when said signals were produced.

27. The material evaluation system of claim 26, wherein said signals and said time are indicative of a productivity.

28. The material evaluation system of claim 1 further comprising a communication link between a storage device affixed on said material under evaluation and said at least one computer.

29. The material evaluation system of claim 28, wherein said communication link with said storage device affixed on said material under evaluation is operable for reading and writing into said storage device.

30. The material evaluation system of claim 29, wherein said storage device is operable to store at least one of a material identification, a material geometry and a material historical data.

31. The material evaluation system of claim 29, wherein said communication link is operable for writing into said storage device at least one of a material identification, a material geometry and a material historical data.

32. The material evaluation system of claim 1, said at least one program further comprising of a finite element analysis program, said finite element analysis program being executed on said at least one computer to produce a finite element analysis of said material under evaluation based on signals produced by said identified plurality of material features.

33. The material evaluation system of claim 32, wherein said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer further comprises a data conversion program to change said signals into a data format for use by said finite element analysis program.

34. The material evaluation system of claim 33, further comprising an expert program stored in said at least one computer to capture a set of knowledge of at least one expert to thereby utilize said finite element analysis program in making said determination of whether said material is fit for use in said service or should be removed from use in said service.

35. The material evaluation system of claim 33, wherein said at least one database comprises captured knowledge of at least one expert in finite element analysis.

36. The material evaluation system of claim 1, further comprising a sound synthesizer and at least one of loudspeaker and earphone, wherein said at least one computer converts said determination into audible sound.

37. A material evaluation system comprising:

at least one computer;

a material features acquisition system operable to detect a plurality of material features in a material under evaluation;

at least one database comprising at least one of material features recognition equations and material historical data;

at least one program being executed on said at least one computer to recognize said plurality of material features and to convert said plurality of material features into a data format for use by a finite element analysis program;

whereby

said at least one program further comprises said finite element analysis program, said finite element analysis program being executed on by said at least one computer to make a determination of whether said material is fit for use for a service or should be removed from use in said service.

38. The material evaluation system of claim 37 further comprising:

at least one sensor with an output, said output comprising of signals indicative of plurality of features from the material under evaluation, in a time-varying electrical form;

a sensor interface for said at least one computer, wherein said output is in communication with said at least one computer and wherein said at least one computer converts said signals to a digital format, producing digital signals;

said at least one database further comprising at least one of material features recognition equations and said material historical data;

a memory storage for said at least one computer, wherein said at least one database and said digital signals can be stored; and

said at least one program being executed on said at least one computer, said at least one computer is being guided by said at least one database to utilize said digital signals for identifying said plurality of material features detected by said at least one sensor.

39. The material evaluation system of claim 38, being operable to induce an excitation into said material under evaluation wherein said induction of excitation is controlled, at least in part, by said at least one computer and wherein an excitation response characteristic is stored in said memory storage.

40. The material evaluation system of claim 37 wherein said conversion of recognized plurality of material features into said data format for use by said finite element analysis program converts said recognized plurality of material features into an as-is material operational model, said as-is material operational model being operated by said at least one computer, said operation guided by said at least one database to make a determination of whether said as-is material is functional as-designed and fit for use for a service or should be removed from use in said service.

41. The material evaluation system of claim 37, further comprising a speech synthesizer and at least one of loudspeaker and earphone, wherein said at least one computer requests input of at least one of said material features recognition equations and said material historical data from an operator through natural speech.

42. The material evaluation system of claim 37, further comprising a speech recognition engine and at least one microphone, wherein at least one of said material features recognition equations and said material historical data is inputted at least in part into said at least one computer by an operator through natural speech.

43. The material evaluation system of claim 37, further comprising a sound recognition engine and at least one microphone, wherein at least one of said material features recognition equations and said material historical data is obtained at least in part from said sound recognition engine.

44. The material evaluation system of claim 37, wherein said material features is partially obtained and inputted into said at least one computer from a camera in communication with said at least one computer.

45. The material evaluation system of claim 37, whereby a boundary for said finite element analysis program is obtained at least in part from at least one of a speech recognition engine, a sound recognition engine and a camera.

46. The material evaluation system of claim 37 further comprising a communication link between a storage device affixed on said material under evaluation and said at least one computer.

47. The material evaluation system of claim 46, wherein said communication link further communicates with a remote location computer.

48. The material evaluation system of claim 47, wherein said remote location computer is operated by at least one expert.

49. The material evaluation system of claim 46, wherein said communication link with said storage device affixed on said material under evaluation is operable for reading and writing into said storage device.

50. The material evaluation system of claim 49, wherein said communication link is operable for reading from said storage device at least one of a material identification, a material geometry and a material historical data.

51. The material evaluation system of claim 49, wherein said communication link is operable for writing into said storage device comprising at least one of a material identification, a material geometry and a material historical data.

52. The material evaluation system of claim 37, further comprising an expert program stored in said at least one computer to capture a set of knowledge of at least one expert to thereby utilize said finite element analysis in making said determination of whether said material is fit for continued use in said service or should be removed from use in said service.

53. The material evaluation system of claim 37, wherein said at least one database comprises captured knowledge of at least one expert in finite element analysis.

54. The material evaluation system of claim 37, wherein said at least one database further comprises at least one of equations, knowledge and rules and coefficients from a group comprising of bending, buckling, compression, cyclic loading, deflection, deformation, dynamic linking, dynamic loading, eccentricity, eccentric loading, elastic deformation, energy absorption, feature growth, feature morphology migration, feature propagation, impulse, loading, misalignment, moments, offset, oscillation, plastic deformation, propagation, shear, static loading, strain, stress, tension, thermal loading, torsion, twisting, vibration, and a combination thereof.

55. A method to evaluate material comprising:

detecting an output of at least one sensor, said output comprising signals indicative of features from a material under evaluation for use in a service, in a time-varying electrical form;

converting said signals to a digital format producing digital signals;

recognizing a material feature by utilizing at least one computer programmed with material features recognition equations to analyze said digital signals;

evaluating an impact of said recognized material feature upon said material under evaluation and selecting from a plurality of fitness for service assessment paths utilizing said at least one computer; and

utilizing said at least one computer programmed with a selected one of said plurality of fitness for service assessment paths for said recognized material feature to make a quantitative fitness for service determination, wherein said quantitative fitness for service determination at least shows whether said material is fit for use in said service or should be removed from use in said service.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising the step of inducing excitation into said material.

57. The method of claim 55, further comprising the step of decomposing in frequency said digital signals by a mathematical transform in the digital domain, wherein said mathematical transform in the digital domain comprises Fourier transform, and/or wavelets, and/or coiflets.

58. A method to calibrate a fitness for service evaluation system comprising:

providing at least one material sample comprising at least one feature that affects a determination of whether said at least one material is fit for use in said service or should be removed from use in said service and whereby an outcome of said determination for said at least one material sample is known;

evaluating said at least one material sample with said fitness for service evaluation system;

adjusting said fitness for service evaluation system such that material features recognition equations used in said fitness for service evaluation system are adjusted to produce at least one fitness for service number which is in accord with said outcome of said determination for said at least one material sample.

59. The method of claim 58, whereby said at least one material sample comprises a plurality of features impacting the material fitness for service and whereby a fitness for service evaluation outcome of said at least one material sample is known.

60. The method of claim 58, whereby said at least one material sample feature comprises two or more coexisting features impacting the material fitness for service and whereby a fitness for service evaluation outcome of said at least one material sample is known.

61. A method to evaluate material comprising:

detecting an output of at least one sensor, said output comprising signals indicative of features from the material under evaluation, in a time-varying electrical form;

converting said signals to a digital format producing digital signals;

recognizing a material feature by utilizing at least one computer programmed with material features recognition equations to analyze said digital signals;

detecting at least one parameter that affects a fitness for service of said material;

utilizing said at least one computer which is programmed to select from a plurality of fitness for service assessment paths based on said at least one parameter and make a quantitative fitness for service determination, wherein said quantitative fitness for service determination at least shows whether said material is fit for use in a service or should be removed from use in said service, and

storing said at least one parameter and said digital signals in a file utilizing said at least one computer.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising the step of inducing excitation into said material.