Patent Number: 059638842
Section: summary

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field The present invention generally relates to a predictive maintenance system and, more particularly, to a predictive maintenance system using a local area network (LAN) to control, to acquire, and to analyze data from a plurality of remote data acquisition nodes. 2. Description of Related Art Various systems are known for analyzing vibration signatures of machines. One such prior art system uses a portable data collector having sensors which are connectable by a technician to a machine at one or more points to collect vibration data. The vibration signatures thus collected are downloaded to a personal computer, for example, which includes software for analyzing the vibration data. The software uses artificial intelligence, for example, to diagnose the risk of machine breakdown by first comparing the vibration signatures to earlier baseline signatures and then comparing any changes to a database of machine health-related characteristics and a knowledge base containing fault related scenarios. Since tiny changes in vibration data can indicate a machine fault, the software can predict the risk of breakdown. Such predictions can be used to shut down and/or effect repairs to machines before a catastrophic breakdown occurs, possibly resulting in reduced plant operations or, in some instances, plant shutdown. Also known are predictive maintenance systems which do not require a technician to walk through a plant or facility to collect data. Such systems use permanently mounted sensors which are connected to a system controller for collecting vibration data. However, while such so-called "on-line" data collection systems are available, they generally function to collect data only and cannot perform automatic real-time expert analysis as part of the system's functionality. In addition, such systems often have complicated architectures. Still further, these systems generally have a text and menu driven interface, making it difficult for a user to configure and use the system. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a predictive maintenance system for informing a user of the operating characteristics of machines. The system utilizes a local area network to control, to acquire, and to analyze data from remote data acquisition nodes applied to predictive maintenance. The local area network, as applied, conforms to industry standard and local area network protocols. The present invention provides an on-line data acquisition system which has greater responsiveness and speed than prior art on-line systems and provides for an almost unlimited size of highway, running at the speed of the data acquisition process for the slowest of the remote data stations. The network of the present invention also provides for parallel data acquisition on an almost unlimited number of data acquisition devices providing for a plurality (e.g., sixteen) sensor inputs from each device. The system of the present invention also includes a graphical interface that manages not only the navigation, but also the storing, retrieval, and analysis of machine information. This interface is constructed using graphical images obtained, for example, using digital cameras, photographic scanners, and/or software applications for creating graphical images. The interface uses these intuitive graphical images to help a user navigate through a complex system. The process of constructing the interface is performed entirely within the functionality of the system without the need to use external devices, external applications, or tools. A user may configure his/her own graphical interface by interfacing with a digital camera, scanner, or graphics software package. On-screen tools are used to customize the user's interface. At the time of constructing the interface, the data acquisition, storage, and analysis structure of the system are also created. The system of the present invention utilizes an expert system to interpret machinery data as it is collected and presents conclusions to the user based on the application of a knowledge base in a real-time manner without affecting the data acquisition cycle time. Part of the analysis is to perform data quality assessment and to return conclusions of both the data quality and data analysis processes. The features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood from a reading of the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.