# US 11,112,783 B2 · Method and apparatus for machine monitoring with continuous improvement of a predictive maintenance database

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- Number: US 11,112,783 B2
- Document ID: US11112783B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/663,716
- Filed: 2019-10-25
- Published: 2021-04-29
- Granted: 2021-09-07
- Earliest claimed: 2019-10-25
- Assignees: Computational Systems, Inc.
- Applicants: Computational Systems, Inc.
- Inventors: Anthony J. Hayzen; Christopher G. Hilemon
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11112783B2

## CPC

- G05B 23/0283: {Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] (preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06)}
- G01P 3/48: by measuring frequency of generated current or voltage {(in general G01R23/00)}
- G06Q 10/20: Administration of product repair or maintenance
- G07C 3/00: Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)
- G01P: MEASURING LINEAR OR ANGULAR SPEED, ACCELERATION, DECELERATION, OR SHOCK; INDICATING PRESENCE, ABSENCE, OR DIRECTION, OF MOVEMENT (measuring or recording blood flow A61B5/02, A61B8/06; monitoring speed or deceleration of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L3/00; vehicle lighting systems adapted to indicate speed B60Q1/54; determining position or course in navigation, measuring ground distance in geodesy or surveying G01C; combined measuring devices for measuring two or more variables of movement G01C23/00; measuring velocity of sound G01H; measuring velocity of light G01J7/00; measuring direction or velocity of solid objects by reception or emission of radiowaves or other waves and based on propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effect, propagation time, direction of propagation, G01S; measuring speed of nuclear radiation G01T; measuring acceleration of gravity G01V; {measuring or recording the speed of trains B61L23/00; speed indicators incorporated in motor vehicles B60K35/00; measuring frequency or phase G01R; traffic control G08G})
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G07C: TIME OR ATTENDANCE REGISTERS; REGISTERING OR INDICATING THE WORKING OF MACHINES; GENERATING RANDOM NUMBERS; VOTING OR LOTTERY APPARATUS; ARRANGEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS FOR CHECKING NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE

## Abstract

An apparatus continually monitors predictive maintenance information and analyzes incoming measurements resulting in recommendations for improving setup information, such as machine information and measurement configurations. Smart sensors generate sensor signals corresponding to the parameters of a machine and a transducer converts the sensor signals into digital sensor data, which is stored into memory. An analyzer determines current operating characteristics of each machine and runs an improvement cycle in which it calculates new setup information. For example, the analyzer may calculate a new alert limit, which is a new measurement configuration that may be saved in the database as a new stored measurement configuration replacing an old measurement configuration. The analyzer may also calculate new machine information. For example, the analyzer may identify features in a frequency spectrum that are characteristic of a particular geartrain that is different from the geartrain identity provided in the predictive maintenance database. The analyzer may automatically change the identity of the geartrain in the predictive maintenance database, or it may suggest the change to the operator. The analyzer also runs an analysis cycle during which current operating conditions of each machine are determined and signals are issued based on the current operating conditions.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for collecting predictive maintenance data from machines comprising:
a sensing apparatus having at least one sensor for sensing machine parameters and for generating sensor signals corresponding to the machine parameters, a transducer for converting the sensor signals into digital sensor data, and a memory for storing the digital sensor data; and
an analyzer programmed for:
inputting stored setup information into a predictive maintenance database,
communicating with the sensing apparatus and receiving the digital sensor data,
analyzing the digital sensor data to determine measured machine values,
calculating new setup information based on one or more of the digital sensor data and the measured machine values to produce new setup information, and
selectively storing the new setup information in the predictive maintenance database based on one or more of user input and setup information replacement rules.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the analyzer is programmed for running an analysis cycle for the machine, comprising:
evaluating one or more of the measured machine values against the stored setup information and determining one or more current operating conditions of the machine based thereon, and
issuing one or more signals based on and indicating one or more current operating conditions of the machine.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises machine information including one or more of a physical attribute of the machine and an operating characteristic of the machine.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises machine information including one of more of: a unique identifier for each machine being monitored, a generic description of the machine, a specific description of the machine, make of machine, model of machine, nominal characteristics of a machine, nominal operating speed, nominal horsepower, identity of bearings, a description of bearings, the number of rollers or balls in bearings, the identity of gear trains, a description of gear trains, and the number of teeth on each gear in a gear train.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises a measurement configuration of a machine including one of more of the measurement parameters for a machine and the manner by which the measured machine values are evaluated by the analyzer.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises a measurement configuration of a machine including one of more of: collection information, filters that will be imposed on the measurements, band pass filters, window functions, properties to be measured, vibration, temperature, speed, electrical and magnetic fields, specified frequency spectrums of time domain signals, and an amplitude and a frequency of the maximum amplitude within a specified frequency band.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the analyzer is further programmed for:
determining a frequency spectrum for the machine based on the digital sensor data and stored measurement configurations;
calculating the rotational speeds of the machine based on the digital sensor data to produce a calculated rotational speed for the machine;
analyzing the digital sensor data to determine measured machine values of the machine based on the digital sensor data and the calculated rotational speeds of each machine;
calculating the new setup information based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrum and the calculated rotational speed; and
determining whether the stored setup information should be edited based on one or more of editing rules and user input, and if the stored setup information should be edited, editing the stored setup information based on the new setup information.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises one or more of machine information and measurement configurations.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the stored setup information comprises one or more of alert limits, frequency spectrums to be produced by the analyzer, and a speed parameter to be calculated by the analyzer based on the frequency spectrum.

### Claim 10 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein running an analysis cycle further comprises:
evaluating the measured machine values against stored machine fault conditions and determining whether the machine is operating in a fault condition, and
issuing the machine fault signal if the machine is operating in a fault condition.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the analyzer comprises one or more of a central analyzer, a portable analyzer, a data collector, and a smart sensor.

### Claim 12

An apparatus for collecting predictive maintenance data from a defined set of machines, and for storing the predictive maintenance data in athe predictive maintenance database that includes stored machine information, stored measurement configurations that include alert limits, and measured machine values for each machine, the apparatus comprising:
a sensing apparatus having:
at least one sensor for sensing machine parameters of the machines and for generating sensor signals corresponding to the machine parameters,
a transducer for converting the sensor signals into digital sensor data, and
a memory for storing the digital sensor data; and
an analyzer programmed for:
inputting stored machine information and stored measurement configurations into the predictive maintenance database,
communicating with the sensing apparatus and receiving the digital sensor data,
determining a frequency spectrum for each machine based on the digital sensor data and stored measurement configurations for each machine,
calculating the rotational speeds of the machines based on the digital sensor data to produce a calculated rotational speed for each machine,
calculating new measured machine values for each of the machines being monitored based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speeds, and storing the new measured machine values in the predictive maintenance database,
for each machine, calculating new machine information based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speeds to produce new machine information for each machine,
for each machine, determining whether the stored machine information should be edited based on one or more of editing rules and user input, and if so, editing the stored machine information based on the new machine information,
for each machine, producing calculated new measurement configurations based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speeds, the new measurement configurations including one or more of alert limits and waveform acquisition settings, and
for each machine, determining whether the stored measurement configurations should be updated based on one or more of comparison rules and user input, and if so, editing the stored measurement configurations based on the new measurement configurations.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the analyzer is further programmed for running an analysis cycle comprising:
for each machine, evaluating the measured machine values against alert limits in the stored measurement configurations, and issuing an alert signal if one or more of the measured machine values exceeds one of the alert limits,
for each machine determining the presence of machine faults based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums, the measured machine values and the calculated rotational speeds, and if the presence of a machine fault is detected, issuing a machine fault recommendation,
accepting or rejecting the machine fault recommendation based on user input or stored measurement configurations that require automatic acceptance of machine fault recommendations, and
if the machine fault recommendation is accepted, issuing a signal based on the machine fault recommendation.

### Claim 14

A method for collecting machine data comprising:
sensing machine parameters of a machine and generating sensor signals corresponding to the machine parameters;
converting the sensor signals into digital sensor data and storing the digital sensor data in a memory;
inputting stored setup information into a predictive maintenance database in a machine analyzer;
analyzing the digital sensor data to determine measured machine values of the machine;
calculating new setup information based on one or more of the digital sensor data and the measured machine values to produce new setup information; and
selectively storing the new setup information in the predictive maintenance database based on one or more of user input and setup information replacement rules.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14 further comprising:
running an analysis cycle for the machine, comprising:
evaluating one or more of the measured machine values against the stored setup information and determining one or more current operating conditions of the machine based thereon, and
issuing one or more signals based on and indicating one or more current operating conditions of the machine.

### Claim 16 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14 further comprising:
determining a frequency spectrum for the machine based on the digital sensor data and stored measurement configurations;
calculating the rotational speeds of the machine based on the digital sensor data to produce a calculated rotational speed for the machine; and
analyzing the digital sensor data to determine measured machine values of the machine based on the digital sensor data and the calculated rotational speeds of each machine.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16 further comprising:
calculating new setup information based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrum and the calculated rotational speed to produce new setup information for each machine, and
determining whether the stored setup information should be edited based on one or more of editing rules and user input, and if the stored setup information should be edited, editing the stored setup information based on the new setup information.

### Claim 18 (depends on 14)

The method of claim 14 wherein the step of analyzing the digital sensor data to determine measured machine values of the machine further comprises:
determining a frequency spectrum for the machine based on the digital sensor data and stored measurement configurations for the machine;
calculating the rotational speed of the machine based on the digital sensor data to produce a calculated rotational speed for the machine; and
calculating new measured machine values for the machine based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speed, and storing the new measured machine values in the predictive maintenance database.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18 wherein the steps of calculating and storing the new setup information comprise:
calculating new machine information based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speed to produce new machine information,
determining whether the stored machine information should be edited based on one or more of editing rules and user input, and if so, editing the stored machine information based on the new machine information,
producing calculated new measurement configurations based on one or more of the digital sensor data, the frequency spectrums and the calculated rotational speeds, the new measurement configurations including one or more of alert limits and waveform acquisition settings, and
determining whether the stored measurement configurations should be updated based on one or more of comparison rules and user input, and if so, editing the stored measurement configurations based on the new measurement configurations.