Patent ID: 6240372
Filing Date: 2001-05-29
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A method of testing a process and/or a data set for determining a particular condition thereof, comprising the steps of:collecting data from at least a first source of data and a second source of data to redundantly detect at least one variable of the process and/or the data set to provide a first signal from said at least a first source of data and a second signal from said at least a second source of data, each of said signals being characteristic of the at least one variable;providing frequency domain transformation data for each of said first and second signals at a given time;obtaining a frequency domain difference function characteristic of the difference pairwise for the given time between said frequency domain transformed first signal and said frequency domain transformed second signal;operating on the frequency domain difference function using computer means for applying a statistical analysis technique to determine a combined statistical frequency spectrum data set for the process and/or the data set;repeating the steps for a new incremental time position of providing frequency domain transformation data, obtaining a frequency domain difference function and operating on the frequency domain difference function by applying said statistical analysis technique until generation of a three-dimensional surface characteristic of a combined frequency and time domain function for a particular condition of the process and/or the data set; andestablishing an alarm condition by observing a characteristic interconnected point geometry along a plane intersecting points of said three-dimensional surface.