Method and system for detection of machine operation state for monitoring purposes

• US 8,793,103 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2010
• Issued: 07/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Baker Hughes Holdings LLC (Baker Hughes Company)
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Jensen, Raymond Verle
• Primary Examiner(s): Charioui, Mohamed
• Application Number:
  US12/956,456
• Publication Number:
  US 20120136627A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,337 Days
• Field of Search: 702/57, 702/58, 702/64, 702/182, 702/183, 702/188, 702/189
• US Class Current: 702/182
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/50185 Monitoring, detect failures, control of efficiency of machine, tool life
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0221 Preprocessing measurements, e.g. data collection rate adjustment; Standardization of measurements; Time series or signal analysis, e.g. frequency analysis or wavelets; Trustworthiness of measurements; Indexes therefor; Measurements using easily measured parameters to estimate parameters difficult to measure; Virtual sensor creation; De-noising; Sensor fusion; Unconventional preprocessing inherently present in specific fault detection methods like PCA-based methods
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention described herein use an output of an energy harvester as an indication of the operating state of the machine, device, or process the energy harvester is associated with. In one aspect, a system is described. The system is comprised of at least one of a machine or process, a processor, and an energy harvesting device associated with the machine or process. The processor is configured to use an output of the energy harvesting device created by the machine or process to determine whether the machine or process is in a first operating state or a second operating state.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor;

an energy harvesting device configured to harvest an energy from a machine or process and generate an output, wherein the processor is configured to use the output of the energy harvesting device to determine an operating state of the machine or process; and

a monitoring system configured to monitor the machine or process, wherein the processor is configured to correlate one or more outputs of the monitoring system with the operating state of the machine or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system were produced during a first time period that the machine or process was in a first operating state or during a second time period that the machine or process was in a second operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the monitoring system includes a condition monitoring system, a vibration monitoring system, a thermal monitoring system, a noise monitoring system, an electrical parameters monitoring system, a performance monitoring system, an environmental monitoring system, or a process monitoring system, or any combination thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the energy harvesting device comprises a piezoelectric device, a pyroelectric device, a thermoelectric device, a micro wind turbine, an electrostatic device, a kinetic device, or a vibrational device, or any combination thereof.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one machine or process comprises an electric motor, an electric generator, an internal-combustion engine, a jet engine, or a turbine, or any combination thereof.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the output of the energy harvesting device used to determine the operating state of the machine or process comprises a voltage output.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the output of the energy harvesting device used to determine the operating state of the machine or process comprises a current output.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the energy harvesting device is configured to harvest the energy to generate power to operate one or more devices of the system.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the energy harvesting device comprises a thermal energy harvester, or a fluid flow energy harvester configured to harvest the energy from a fluid flow, or a combination thereof.

9. A method comprising:

receiving an output from an energy harvesting device associated with at least one of a machine or process, wherein the energy harvesting device is configured to harvest an energy from the machine or process, and the output is used to determine an operating state of the machine or process;

receiving one or more outputs from a monitoring system associated with the machine or process; and

correlating, by a processor, the one or more outputs of the monitoring system with the operating state of the machine or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device, wherein correlating comprises determining whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system were produced during a first time period that the machine or process was in a first operating state or during a second time period that the machine or process was in a second operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the monitoring system comprises one or more of a condition monitoring system, a vibration monitoring system, a thermal monitoring system, a noise monitoring system, an electrical parameters monitoring system, a performance monitoring system, an environmental monitoring system, or a process monitoring system, or any combination thereof.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the energy harvesting device comprises a piezoelectric device, a pyroelectric device, a thermoelectric device, a micro wind turbine, an electrostatic device, a kinetic device, or a vibrational device, or any combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the machine comprises an electric motor, an electric generator, an internal-combustion engine, a jet engine, or a turbine, or any combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the output used to determine the operating state of the machine or process comprises a voltage output.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the output used to determine the operating state of the machine or process comprises a current output.

15. A system, comprising:

a machine;

a processor;

a monitoring system configured to monitor the machine and

an energy harvesting device configured to harvest an energy from the machine and generate an output, wherein the processor is configured to use the output of the energy harvesting device to determine an operating state of the machine, and one or more outputs of the monitoring system are correlated with the operating state of the machine as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device, wherein the processor is configured to determine whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system were produced during a first time period that the machine was in a first operating state or during a second time period that the machine was in a second operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the energy harvesting device is configured to harvest the energy to generate power to operate one or more devices of the system.