Image processing of apparatus condition
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring and detecting in real-time a fault of a monitored apparatus comprising:
- collecting a reference image fault database by taking fault images of a reference apparatus when the reference apparatus experiences a fault, the reference apparatus being substantially similar to the monitored apparatus;
monitoring the monitored apparatus by taking a real-time image of the monitored apparatus with at least one camera;
communicating the real-time image of the monitored apparatus from the at least one camera to at least one computer processing unit;
detecting a real-time fault of the monitored apparatus using said at least one computer processing unit using a software program by comparing the real-time image of the monitored apparatus to said fault images of said reference apparatus to determine whether the monitored apparatus has a fault; and
communicating via the computer processing unit the detected fault of the monitored apparatus to a user interface and alerting a user as to what corrective action is required.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In one embodiment, a method of continually monitoring and detecting in real-time a condition of an apparatus is detailed. In one step, an apparatus is continually monitored in real-time using continual real-time images of the apparatus taken by at least one camera. In another step, the continual real-time images of the apparatus from the at least one camera are communicated to at least one computer processing unit. In still another step, the continual real-time images of the apparatus are processed using at least one software program embedded in the at least one computer processing unit in order to monitor and detect in real-time a condition of the apparatus.
26 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring and detecting in real-time a fault of a monitored apparatus comprising:
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collecting a reference image fault database by taking fault images of a reference apparatus when the reference apparatus experiences a fault, the reference apparatus being substantially similar to the monitored apparatus; monitoring the monitored apparatus by taking a real-time image of the monitored apparatus with at least one camera; communicating the real-time image of the monitored apparatus from the at least one camera to at least one computer processing unit; detecting a real-time fault of the monitored apparatus using said at least one computer processing unit using a software program by comparing the real-time image of the monitored apparatus to said fault images of said reference apparatus to determine whether the monitored apparatus has a fault; and communicating via the computer processing unit the detected fault of the monitored apparatus to a user interface and alerting a user as to what corrective action is required. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 19, 20)
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12. A system for monitoring and detecting in real-time a fault of a monitored apparatus comprising:
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at least one camera for taking a real-time image of the monitored apparatus; at least one computer processing unit for processing the real-time image of the monitored apparatus taken by the at least one camera; a reference image fault database in communication with the at least one computer processing unit, said reference image fault database containing fault images of a reference apparatus which were taken when the reference apparatus experienced a fault, the reference apparatus being substantially similar to the monitored apparatus; programming code in communication with the at least one computer processing unit configured to detect a real-time fault of the monitored apparatus by comparing the real-time image of the monitored apparatus taken by the at least one camera with the fault images of the reference apparatus contained in the reference image fault database; and a user interface in communication with the computer processing unit, wherein the computer processing unit communicates the detected fault of the monitored apparatus to the user interface and alerts a user as to what corrective action is required. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification