US 12,556,458 B1Granted

Industrial equipment diagnostic system

AssigneeNorfolk Southern Corporation

InventorsIngrid Crafford, Nhut Doan, Dennis Quinn, Jeremy Laskos

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Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for industrial equipment diagnostics are disclosed. Specifically, a bus controller operatively connected to a processor is physically connected to two or more controller area network (CAN) buses, wherein each CAN bus operates according to a different protocol. The bus controller is configured to control the rate at which messages are received on certain buses by adjusting parameters such as a baud rate and sample rate. The bus controller is further configured to filter or mask certain CAN bus messages based on identifiers within the messages. The bus controller is operatively connected to a remote processing system for processing the CAN bus messages from their raw data format into a useable format. The remote processing system performs diagnostic analysis on the processed CAN bus messages, and furthermore performs predictive analytics on the processed CAN bus messages to identify patterns or discrete events indicative of future system failures.

Claims33

Dependent claims

A system comprising:

a wireless communication device;
and
one or more controller devices operatively connected to the wireless communication device, wherein:
the one or more controller devices are connected to each controller area network (CAN) bus of a plurality of CAN buses, the plurality of CAN buses comprising a first CAN bus having a first communication protocol and a second CAN bus having a second communication protocol that is different from, and incompatible with, the first communication protocol, each of the first and second protocols being configured to transmit CAN messages along the first and second CAN buses, respectively;
and
at least one of the one or more controller devices being configured to:
receive a first CAN message from a first CAN device transmitted along the first CAN bus, wherein the first CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to the first communication protocol;
receive a second CAN message from a second CAN device transmitted along the second CAN bus, wherein the second CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to the second communication protocol, wherein the at least one of the one or more controller devices is configured to concurrently receive the first CAN message and the second CAN message;
convert the sequences of the raw hexadecimal and binary digits corresponding to the first CAN message and the second CAN message into a first processed CAN device message and a second processed CAN device message, respectively;
and
execute diagnostics on at least one processed CAN device message, the at least one processed CAN device message comprising the first processed CAN device message or the second processed CAN device message.

8 more elements

A method, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at one or more controller devices connected to each controller area network (CAN) bus of a plurality of CAN buses, a first CAN message from a first CAN device transmitted along a first CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the first CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a first CAN protocol;
receiving a second CAN message from a second CAN device transmitted along a second CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the second CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a second CAN protocol, and wherein the second CAN protocol is different from and incompatible with the first CAN protocol, wherein the at least one of the one or more controller devices is configured to concurrently receive the first CAN message and the second CAN message;
converting the sequences of the raw hexadecimal and binary digits corresponding to the first CAN message and the second CAN message into a first processed CAN device message and a second processed CAN device message, respectively;
and
executing diagnostics on at least one processed CAN device message, the at least one processed CAN device message comprising the first processed CAN device message or the second processed CAN device message.

2 more elements

A method, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at one or more controller devices connected to each controller area network (CAN) bus of a plurality of CAN buses, a first CAN message from a first CAN device transmitted along a first CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the first CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a first CAN protocol;
receiving a second CAN message from a second CAN device transmitted along a second CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the second CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a second CAN protocol, and wherein the second CAN protocol is different from and incompatible with the first CAN protocol;
executing a mask to prevent the one or more controller devices from receiving one or more transmitted CAN messages that comprise at least one of one or more predetermined undesirable message characteristics;
converting the sequences of the raw hexadecimal and binary digits corresponding to the first CAN message and the second CAN message into a first processed CAN device message and a second processed CAN device message, respectively;
and
executing diagnostics on at least one processed CAN device message, the at least one processed CAN device message comprising the first processed CAN device message or the second processed CAN device message, wherein executing the diagnostics on the at least one processed CAN device message comprises determining a running average of a total time required for a device to perform a particular task, the device being associated with the at least one processed CAN device message and the running average being based at least in part on the at least one processed CAN device message and historical CAN device messages.

3 more elements

A method, comprising the steps of:

receiving, at one or more controller devices connected to each controller area network (CAN) bus of a plurality of CAN buses, a first CAN message from a first CAN device transmitted along a first CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the first CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a first CAN protocol;
receiving a second CAN message from a second CAN device transmitted along a second CAN bus of the plurality of CAN buses, wherein the second CAN message comprises a sequence of raw hexadecimal and binary digits formatted according to a second CAN protocol, and wherein the second CAN protocol is different from and incompatible with the first CAN protocol;
executing a mask to prevent the one or more controller devices from receiving one or more transmitted CAN messages that comprise at least one of one or more predetermined undesirable message characteristics;
converting the sequences of the raw hexadecimal and binary digits corresponding to the first CAN message and the second CAN message into a first processed CAN device message and a second processed CAN device message, respectively;
executing diagnostics on at least one processed CAN device message, the at least one processed CAN device message comprising the first processed CAN device message or the second processed CAN device message;
storing, in at least one database, the first CAN message and the second CAN message according to their respective sequences of raw hexadecimal and binary digits;
and
processing the first CAN message and the second CAN message according to predetermined mapping logic determined based on identification information extracted from the first CAN message and the second CAN message, wherein the predetermined mapping logic comprises bitwise scaling and offsetting calculations for converting the first CAN message and the second CAN message into a first CAN message expected value and a second CAN message expected value, respectively, represented in one or more real-world formats corresponding to the first CAN device and the second CAN device.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/524,508Filed 30 Nov 2023 · continuation
Priority: 24 Jun 2022
Granted: 17 Feb 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification10 codes

H04L 12/417
With decentralised control: with deterministic access, e.g. token passing
H04L 41/149
Network analysis or design: for prediction of maintenance
H04L 12/40
Characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]: bus networks
H04L 41/145
Network analysis or design: involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network