METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF MACHINE OPERATION STATE FOR MONITORING PURPOSES

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] In many instances  machines such as for example electric motors  electric generators  internal-combustion engines  jet engines  turbines  and the like  the systems they drive  and processes are actively monitored by various monitoring systems for performance and operational characteristics including for example vibration  heat  noise  electrical characteristics (e.g.  current  voltage  resistance  etc.)  environmental effects  process parameters and the like. Generally  the monitoring systems that monitor these machines and processes are comprised of one or more transducers that are proximate to and associated with the machine or process. The monitoring systems can also include components for signal processing  alarming and display  which may be combined into one device or located in separate components. Recently  wireless transducers are being used in these monitoring systems to facilitate installation and reduce wiring “congestion.” Currently  in some instances wireless transducer systems periodically “wake up” and take one or more readings on some parameter associated with the machine or process with which they are associated. When the sensor wakes up  it is generally done so on a time or periodic basis and in some instances the machine or process may not be running when the sensor becomes active. At worst  capturing monitoring data during times of non-operation of the machine or process can lead to an alarm because the sensor reading is not what is expected  or at least can cause waste of the storage space for the data since if it is not taken while the machine or process is not running then it may not have any value.
[0002] Often data from these types of monitoring systems is provided to an automated system that performs rudimentary data analysis without operator interference. The ability for these automated systems to know the operating state of the machine or process when the data was collected can be very useful to insure data comparisons are under similar operating conditions. Not knowing the operating state of the machine or process when the data was collected can also lead to confusion in data analysis because the viewer of the data has no way of knowing (in many cases) the operating state of the machine or process when the data was collected.
[0003] Previous attempts to address this issue include utilizing a keyphasor or other direct measurement of rotor speed of the machine. While this is a completely robust and well understood solution to defining when a machine is in operation  it is also very expensive because it involves a great deal of installation effort plus the cost of the extra transducer and wiring necessary to power that transducer. Additionally  there have been some efforts to identify the operation mode of machinery by recognizing the signature present in vibration or other signals associated with the motors. While these methods work in some instances  there exists the possibility of false positives and vibration signatures may not be present on smoothly operating machines.
[0004] Therefore  systems and methods that overcome challenges in the art  some of which are described above  are desired. In particular  providing a sure indication of machine or process status would be valuable in addressing the above-described challenges.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Embodiments of the invention described herein use an output of an energy harvester as an indication of an operating state of a machine  device  or process the energy harvester is associated with  wherein the operating state can be indicative of a speed of the machine or whether the machine is stopped  running  running forward  running in reverse  etc.
[0006] In one aspect  a system is described. The system is comprised of at least one of a machine or process  a processor  and an energy harvesting device associated with the machine or process that creates an output from the machine or process. The processor is configured to use the output of the energy harvesting device created by the machine or process to determine an operating state of the machine or process.
[0007] In another aspect  a system is described that is comprised of a machine  a processor  a machine monitoring system  and an energy harvesting device associated with the machine that creates an output from the machine. The output of the energy harvesting device is used by the processor to determine an operating state of the machine. One or more outputs of the machine monitoring system are correlated with the determined operating state of the machine as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device.
[0008] In yet another aspect  a method is described. The method comprises receiving an output from an energy harvesting device associated with at least one of a machine or process. The output is created by the machine or process and is used to determine an operating state of the machine. Further comprising the method is receiving one or more outputs from a machine monitoring system associated with the machine  and correlating  by a processor  the one or more outputs of the machine monitoring system with the determined operating state of the machine as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device.
[0009] Additional advantages will be set forth in part in the description which follows or may be learned by practice. The advantages will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive  as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The accompanying drawings  which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification  illustrate embodiments and together with the description  serve to explain the principles of the methods and systems:
FIG. 1 is block diagram of one embodiment of a system according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of practicing an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary operating environment for performing the disclosed methods; and
FIGS. 4  5 and 6 are exemplary graphs that illustrate selection criteria that can be used to select an energy harvesting device for a machine according to an aspect of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0011] Before the present methods and systems are disclosed and described  it is to be understood that the methods and systems are not limited to specific synthetic methods  specific components  or to particular compositions. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.
[0012] As used in the specification and the appended claims  the singular forms “a ” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein as from “about” one particular value  and/or to “about” another particular value. When such a range is expressed  another embodiment includes from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value. Similarly  when values are expressed as approximations  by use of the antecedent “about ” it will be understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It will be further understood that the endpoints of each of the ranges are significant both in relation to the other endpoint  and independently of the other endpoint. Further  when examples of ranges are provided herein  it is to be appreciated that the given ranges also include all subranges therebetween  unless specifically stated otherwise.
[0013] “Optional” or “optionally” means that the subsequently described event or circumstance may or may not occur  and that the description includes instances where said event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not.
[0014] Throughout the description and claims of this specification  the word “comprise” and variations of the word  such as “comprising” and “comprises ” means “including but not limited to ” and is not intended to exclude  for example  other additives  components  integers or steps. “Exemplary” means “an example of” and is not intended to convey an indication of a preferred or ideal embodiment. “Such as” is not used in a restrictive sense  but for explanatory purposes.
[0015] Disclosed are components that can be used to perform the disclosed methods and systems. These and other components are disclosed herein  and it is understood that when combinations  subsets  interactions  groups  etc. of these components are disclosed that while specific reference of each various individual and collective combinations and permutation of these may not be explicitly disclosed  each is specifically contemplated and described herein  for all methods and systems. This applies to all aspects of this application including  but not limited to  steps in disclosed methods. Thus  if there are a variety of additional steps that can be performed it is understood that each of these additional steps can be performed with any specific embodiment or combination of embodiments of the disclosed methods.
[0016] The present methods and systems may be understood more readily by reference to the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and the Examples included therein and to the Figures and their previous and following description.
[0017] As described herein  embodiments of the invention comprise the use of an output of an energy harvester as an indication of the operating state of a machine  device  or process the energy harvester is associated with. While energy harvesters have been used for the powering of sensors on rotating equipment such as electric motors  the sensors (and their associated monitoring system) typically do not have an indication of the operating state of the machine or process when the sensors make measurements. Therefore  the technical effect of the described embodiments is to provide the operational status of the machine or process when measurements are made to a monitoring system.
[0018] Several power harvesting techniques directly rely on the operation of an associated machine or process. For example  power harvesting can be performed on an electric motor based on air flow from built-in cooling fans  the flow of process fluids  rotation of the shaft  current flow  thermal differentials  vibration activity  and the like. Power harvesting technology that can be used in various embodiments of the invention includes piezoelectric devices  pyroelectric and thermoelectric devices  micro wind turbines  electrostatic devices  kinetic devices  vibrational devices  and the like as are known to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0019] Most  but not all  energy harvesting methods by their nature harvest energy from the machinery to which they are associated during the times when those machines are in operation. For example  vibration energy harvesters power systems by converting mechanical energy present in the vibrations to electrical energy. The vibration utilized is caused by the rotation of the shaft(s) in the machinery (thus  the machine is in a running operating state). This aspect of the energy harvesting methodologies in use means that whenever the harvesting system is producing energy or providing power  or providing power at or above a defined threshold (i.e.  providing an output)  then the machine is in a running operating state. Information about the output of an energy harvester can be passed along with other data and information in a network such as a wireless monitoring network for indication if the data is being taken on a running machine or not. A simple power detection circuit or element can be used to detect when the energy produced  for example  current flow (or voltage level) from the harvesting device is above a threshold  which can then be used to change the status of a switch or digital register. The switch status or digital register is then used by other systems (e.g.  a monitoring system) to indicate the machine’s operational status.
[0020] FIG. 1 is block diagram of one embodiment of a system according to the present invention. The exemplary system is comprised of a machine 102. For example  the machine 102 can be an electric motor  an electric generator  an internal-combustion engine  a jet engine  a turbine  and the like. In one aspect  the machine 102 can be used in a process such as  for example  a manufacturing process. Further comprising the embodiment of a system is an energy harvesting device 104 associated with the machine 102. The energy harvesting device 104 can be for example a piezoelectric device  a pyroelectric device  a thermoelectric device  a micro wind turbine  an electrostatic device  a kinetic device  a vibrational device  and the like  as are known to one of ordinary skill in the art. In one aspect  the energy harvesting device 104 is attached to the machine 102. In another aspect  the energy harvesting device 104 is proximate to the machine 102. In one aspect  the energy harvesting device 104 can be associated with a process that comprises the machine 102. For example  the energy harvesting device 104 can be a thermal energy harvesting device and be associated with a liquid that is heated or mixed by the machine 102. The energy harvesting device 104 is selected such that it provides an output in accordance with an operating state of the machine 102 or process. For example  if the machine 102 were an electric motor  then the energy harvesting device 104 can be vibrational energy harvesting device that produces energy from the vibrations caused by the rotor of the electric motor  or the energy harvesting device 104 can be a micro wind turbine that produces energy from the cooling air flow of the motor or motion of the process fluid as in a ventilation fan  or the energy harvesting device 104 can be a electrostatic device that produces energy from the magnetic field created by the motor or the current in the power feed to the motor. The output or output signal produced by the energy harvesting device 104 can be for example a voltage output  a current output  amplitude  frequency or any energy produced or power output by the energy harvesting device 104 or any measurement thereof. In one aspect  if the output exceeds a predefined threshold  this can be an indication that the associated machine 102 is in a specific operating state (i.e.  running  running at or above a certain speed  running in a forward direction  running in a reverse direction  etc.). Similarly  if the output is less than a predefined threshold  this can also be an indication of the operating state of the associated machine 102 (i.e.  not running  running below a certain speed  etc.). For example  in one instance power detection circuit or element as known to one of ordinary skill in the art can be used to detect when the energy produced (e.g.  current flow  voltage level  etc.) from the harvesting device is above a threshold  which can then be used to change the status of a switch or digital register. Alternatively  values that decrease when the machine 102 is in an operating state can be used to signal the operational state of the machine 102. Furthermore  determination of the operating state can be based on content of the output as well as a threshold. For example  the operating state can be based on the presence (or absence) of a certain frequency in the output.
[0021] Further comprising the embodiment of a system shown in FIG. 1 is a monitoring system 106. A monitoring system 106 can be for example a condition monitoring system  a vibration monitoring system  a thermal monitoring system  a noise monitoring system  an electrical parameters monitoring system  a performance monitoring system  an environmental monitoring system  and the like. Furthermore  the monitoring system 106 can be for process measurements such as flows  temperatures  steam quality  humidity of the process itself  and the like. Such systems are available from  for example  General Electric Company (Schenectady  NY)  and The Timken Company (Canton  OH)  among others. Transducers and sensors that comprise the monitoring system 106 provide one or more outputs about various conditions of the machine 102 or process. In some instances  transducers or sensors of such systems 106 do not constantly monitor the associated machine 102 or process. In some instances  the monitoring systems wake up and monitor the machine or process on a time or periodic basis. For example  the transducers may be programmed to take a reading every five minutes  every fifteen minutes  every hour  etc.. In other instances  the transducers may be configured to wake up and take a reading at 8:00 a.m.  8:30 a.m.  9:00 a.m.  etc. Generally  such readings are provided to a processor 108 through a network 110. In various instances  the network 110 can be wired  wireless or a combination of wired and wireless. In one aspect  the processor 108 is part of a computer  as described in more detail herein. Similarly  the energy harvesting device 104 can provide its output signal to the processor 108 through the network 110. In some instances  the monitoring system 106 does not have an indication of the operating state of the machine 102 or process when the transducers and sensors that comprise the system 106 take their readings. Therefore  in one aspect  the one or more outputs of the monitoring system 106 can be correlated by the processor 108 with the operating state of the machine 102 or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device 104. In one aspect  the processor 108 correlating the one or more outputs of the monitoring system 106 with the operating state of the machine 102 or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device 104 comprises the processor 108 determining whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system 106 were produced during a time period that the machine 102 or process was in a running operating state or during a time period that the machine 102 or process was in the non-running operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device 104. Examples of operating states that can be determined include stopped  running  running at or above a certain speed  running in a forward direction  running in a reverse direction  and the like.
[0022] FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of practicing an embodiment of the present invention. At step 202  an output is received from an energy harvesting device associated with a machine or process. The output of the energy harvesting device is created by the associated machine or process. For example  the power harvesting device can create an output from an electric motor based on air flow from built-in cooling fans  the flow of process fluids  rotation of the shaft  current flow  thermal differentials  vibration activity  and the like. At step 204  the output from the energy harvesting device is used to determine the operating state of the machine or process. For example  if the value of the output is below a threshold value  then the machine can be in a stopped or slow-speed state. If the value of the output is at or above the threshold value  then the machine or process can be in a running or full-speed state. Alternatively  if the value of the output is below a threshold value  then the machine or process can be in a running operating state  and if the value of the output is at or above the threshold value  then the machine or process can be in a stopped operating state. At step 206  one or more outputs from a machine monitoring system associated with the machine are correlated with the operating state of the machine or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device. Therefore  an operating state of the machine or process can be determined when the one or more outputs from the monitoring system were produced.
[0023] The above system has been described above as comprised of units (e.g.  the monitoring system 106  the network 110  etc.). One skilled in the art will appreciate that this is a functional description and that software  hardware  or a combination of software and hardware can perform the respective functions. A unit  such as the monitoring system 106 and the network 110 can be software  hardware  or a combination of software and hardware. The units can comprise the correlation software 306 as illustrated in FIG. 3 and described below. In one exemplary aspect  the units can comprise a computer 301 as illustrated in FIG. 3 and described below.
[0024] FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary operating environment for performing the disclosed methods. This exemplary operating environment is only an example of an operating environment and is not intended to suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of operating environment architecture. Neither should the operating environment be interpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any one or combination of components illustrated in the exemplary operating environment.
[0025] The present methods and systems can be operational with numerous other general purpose or special purpose computing system environments or configurations. Examples of well known computing systems  environments  and/or configurations that can be suitable for use with the systems and methods comprise  but are not limited to  personal computers  server computers  laptop devices  and multiprocessor systems. Additional examples comprise machine monitoring systems  programmable consumer electronics  network PCs  minicomputers  mainframe computers  smart meters  smart-grid components  distributed computing environments that comprise any of the above systems or devices  and the like.
[0026] The processing of the disclosed methods and systems can be performed by software components. The disclosed systems and methods can be described in the general context of computer-executable instructions  such as program modules  being executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally  program modules comprise computer code  routines  programs  objects  components  data structures  etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The disclosed methods can also be practiced in grid-based and distributed computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communications network. In a distributed computing environment  program modules can be located in both local and remote computer storage media including memory storage devices.
[0027] Further  one skilled in the art will appreciate that the systems and methods disclosed herein can be implemented via a general-purpose computing device in the form of a computer 301. The components of the computer 301 can comprise  but are not limited to  one or more processors or processing units 303  a system memory 312  and a system bus 313 that couples various system components including the processor 303 to the system memory 312. In the case of multiple processing units 303  the system can utilize parallel computing.
[0028] The system bus 313 represents one or more of several possible types of bus structures  including a memory bus or memory controller  a peripheral bus  an accelerated graphics port  and a processor or local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. By way of example  such architectures can comprise an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus  a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus  an Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus  a Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus  an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) bus  and a Peripheral Component Interconnects (PCI)  a PCI-Express bus  a Personal Computer Memory Card Industry Association (PCMCIA)  Universal Serial Bus (USB) and the like. The bus 313  and all buses specified in this description can also be implemented over a wired or wireless network connection and each of the subsystems  including the processor 303  a mass storage device 304  an operating system 305  correlation software 306  monitoring data 307  a network adapter 308  system memory 312  an Input/Output Interface 310  a display adapter 309  a display device 311  and a human machine interface 302  can be contained within one or more remote computing devices or clients 314a b c at physically separate locations  connected through buses of this form  in effect implementing a fully distributed system or distributed architecture.
[0029] The computer 301 typically comprises a variety of computer readable media. Exemplary readable media can be any available media that is non-transitory and accessible by the computer 301 and comprises  for example and not meant to be limiting  both volatile and non-volatile media  removable and non-removable media. The system memory 312 comprises computer readable media in the form of volatile memory  such as random access memory (RAM)  and/or non-volatile memory  such as read only memory (ROM). The system memory 312 typically contains data such as monitoring data 307 and/or program modules such as operating system 305 and appliance update software 306 that are immediately accessible to and/or are presently operated on by the processing unit 303.
[0030] In another aspect  the computer 301 can also comprise other non-transitory  removable/non-removable  volatile/non-volatile computer storage media. By way of example  FIG. 3 illustrates a mass storage device 304 that can provide non-volatile storage of computer code  computer readable instructions  data structures  program modules  and other data for the computer 301. For example and not meant to be limiting  a mass storage device 304 can be a hard disk  a removable magnetic disk  a removable optical disk  magnetic cassettes or other magnetic storage devices  flash memory cards  CD-ROM  digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage  random access memories (RAM)  read only memories (ROM)  electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM)  and the like.
[0031] Optionally  any number of program modules can be stored on the mass storage device 304  including by way of example  an operating system 305 and appliance update software 306. Each of the operating system 305 and correlation software 306 (or some combination thereof) can comprise elements of the programming and the correlation software 1006. Monitoring data 307 can also be stored on the mass storage device 304. Monitoring data 307 can be stored in any of one or more databases known in the art. Examples of such databases comprise  DB2®  Microsoft® Access  Microsoft® SQL Server  Oracle®  mySQL  PostgreSQL  and the like. The databases can be centralized or distributed across multiple systems.
[0032] In another aspect  the user can enter commands and information into the computer 301 via an input device (not shown). Examples of such input devices comprise  but are not limited to  a keyboard  pointing device (e.g.  a “mouse”)  a microphone  a joystick  a scanner  tactile input devices such as gloves  and other body coverings  and the like These and other input devices can be connected to the processing unit 303 via a human machine interface 302 that is coupled to the system bus 313  but can be connected by other interface and bus structures  such as a parallel port  game port  an IEEE 1394 Port (also known as a Firewire port)  a serial port  or a universal serial bus (USB).
[0033] In yet another aspect  a display device 311 can also be connected to the system bus 313 via an interface  such as a display adapter 309. It is contemplated that the computer 301 can have more than one display adapter 309 and the computer 301 can have more than one display device 311. For example  a display device can be a monitor  an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)  or a projector. In addition to the display device 311  other output peripheral devices can comprise components such as speakers (not shown) and a printer (not shown)  which can be connected to the computer 301 via Input/Output Interface 310. Further comprising components that can be connected to the computer 301 through the Input/Output Interface 310 or by other means includes sensors or transducers 316 such as for example vibration sensors  heat sensors  and the like. Any step and/or result of the methods can be output in any form to an output device. Such output can be any form of visual representation  including  but not limited to  textual  graphical  animation  audio  tactile  and the like.
[0034] The computer 301 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computing devices or clients 314a b c. By way of example  a remote computing device 314 can be a personal computer  portable computer  a server  a router  a network computer  a smart meter  a vendor or manufacture’s computing device  smart grid components  a peer device or other common network node  and so on. Logical connections between the computer 301 and a remote computing device or client 314a b c can be made via a local area network (LAN) and a general wide area network (WAN). Such network connections can be through a network adapter 308. A network adapter 308 can be implemented in both wired and wireless environments. Such networking environments are conventional and commonplace in offices  enterprise-wide computer networks  intranets  and other networks 315 such as the Internet.
[0035] For purposes of illustration  application programs and other executable program components such as the operating system 305 are illustrated herein as discrete blocks  although it is recognized that such programs and components reside at various times in different storage components of the computing device 301  and are executed by the data processor(s) of the computer. An implementation of correlation software 306 can be stored on or transmitted across some form of computer readable media. Any of the disclosed methods can be performed by computer readable instructions embodied on computer readable media. Computer readable media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not meant to be limiting  computer readable media can comprise “computer storage media” and “communications media.” “Computer storage media” comprise volatile and non-volatile  removable and non-removable media implemented in any methods or technology for storage of information such as computer readable instructions  data structures  program modules  or other data. Exemplary computer storage media comprises  but is not limited to  RAM  ROM  EEPROM  flash memory or other memory technology  CD-ROM  digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage  magnetic cassettes  magnetic tape  magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices  or any other medium which can be used to store the desired information and which can be accessed by a computer.
[0036] The methods and systems can employ Artificial Intelligence techniques such as machine learning and iterative learning. Examples of such techniques include  but are not limited to  expert systems  case based reasoning  Bayesian networks  behavior based AI  neural networks  fuzzy systems  evolutionary computation (e.g. genetic algorithms)  swarm intelligence (e.g. ant algorithms)  and hybrid intelligent systems (e.g. Expert inference rules generated through a neural network or production rules from statistical learning).
[0037] The following examples are put forth so as to provide those of ordinary skill in the art with a complete disclosure and description of how the systems  articles  devices and/or methods claimed herein are made and evaluated  and are intended to be purely exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the methods and systems. Efforts have been made to ensure accuracy with respect to numbers  but some errors and deviations should be accounted for.
[0038] FIGS. 4  5 and 6 are exemplary graphs that illustrate selection criteria that can be used to select an energy harvesting device for a machine or process according to an aspect of the present invention.
[0039] FIG. 4 illustrates exemplary graphs for determining whether a vibrational-type energy harvesting device can be used to determine the operational state of an associated machine or process. The upper graph as shown in FIG. 4 shows the operational state of the associated machine or process. As shown  the machine or process is in an “off” operating state until time t. After time t  the machine or process is in an “on” operating state. While the machine or process is in the “off” operating state  a certain amount  a  of vibration is recorded  as shown in the lower graph of FIG. 4. The vibration while the machine or process is in an “off” operating state can be caused by  for example  ambient vibration from other machines operating in the proximity of the machine or process being monitored. After time t (i.e.  after the machine or process is in an “on” operating state)  the vibration increases to level b. Therefore  in this instance  a vibrational-type energy harvesting device can be used to determine whether the machine or process is in an operating or non-operating state. The threshold for the energy harvesting device can be set at a signal level (i.e.  energy produced) that would be produced by the device at vibration level b  or at a level between a and b.
[0040] FIG. 5 is another illustration of exemplary graphs for determining whether a vibrational-type energy harvesting device can be used to determine the operational state of an associated machine or process. The upper graph as shown in FIG. 5 shows the operational state of the associated machine or process. As shown  the machine or process is in an “off” operating state until time t. After time t  the machine or process is in an “on” operating state. While the machine or process is in the “off” operating state  a certain amount  a  of vibration is recorded  as shown in the lower graph of FIG. 5. The vibration while the machine or process is in an “off” operating state can be caused by  for example  ambient vibration from other machines operating in the proximity of the machine or process being monitored. After time t (i.e.  after the machine or process is in an “on” operating state)  the vibration stays the same as it was before time t. This can be caused by a very smooth operating machine or process  or by the machine or process having vibration that is out of phase with the ambient vibration thereby having a dampening effect on the total vibration. Therefore  in this instance  a vibrational-type energy harvesting device should not be used to determine the operating state of the machine or process is in an “on” operating state or an “off” operating state.
[0041] FIG. 6 is yet another illustration of exemplary graphs for determining whether a vibrational-type energy harvesting device can be used to determine the operational state of an associated machine or process. The upper graph as shown in FIG. 6 shows the operational state of the associated machine or process. As shown  the machine or process is in an “off” operating state until time t. After time t  the machine or process is in an “on” operating state. While the machine or process is in the “off” operating state  a certain amount  a  of vibration is recorded  as shown in the lower graph of FIG. 6. The vibration while the machine is in the “off” operating state can be caused by  for example  ambient vibration from other machines or processes operating in the proximity of the machine or process being monitored. After time t (i.e.  after the machine is in an “on” operating state)  the vibration decreases from level a to level b. This can be caused by  for example  the machine or process having vibration that is out of phase with the ambient vibration thereby having a dampening effect on the total vibration. Therefore  in this instance  a vibrational-type energy harvesting device can be used to determine whether the machine or process is in an “on” operating state or an “off” operating state. In other words  the threshold for the energy harvesting device can be set at a signal level that would be produced by the device when total vibration decreased to vibration level b  or to a level between a and b.
[0042] As described above and as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art  embodiments of the present invention may be configured as a system  method  or computer program product. Accordingly  embodiments of the present invention may be comprised of various means including entirely of hardware  entirely of software  or any combination of software and hardware. Furthermore  embodiments of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program instructions (e.g.  computer software) embodied in the storage medium. Any suitable non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be utilized including hard disks  CD-ROMs  optical storage devices  or magnetic storage devices.
[0043] Embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods  apparatuses (i.e.  systems) and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations  and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations  respectively  can be implemented by various means including computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer  special purpose computer  or other programmable data processing apparatus  such as the one or more processors 303 discussed above with reference to FIG. 3  to produce a machine  such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus create a means for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
[0044] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a non-transitory computer-readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus (e.g.  one or more processors 303 of FIG. 3) to function in a particular manner  such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture including computer-readable instructions for implementing the function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.
[0045] Accordingly  blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations support combinations of means for performing the specified functions  combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and program instruction means for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that each block of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations  and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations  can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems that perform the specified functions or steps  or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
[0046] Unless otherwise expressly stated  it is in no way intended that any method set forth herein be construed as requiring that its steps be performed in a specific order. Accordingly  where a method claim does not actually recite an order to be followed by its steps or it is not otherwise specifically stated in the claims or descriptions that the steps are to be limited to a specific order  it is no way intended that an order be inferred  in any respect. This holds for any possible non-express basis for interpretation  including: matters of logic with respect to arrangement of steps or operational flow; plain meaning derived from grammatical organization or punctuation; the number or type of embodiments described in the specification.
[0047] Throughout this application  various publications may be referenced. The disclosures of these publications in their entireties are hereby incorporated by reference into this application in order to more fully describe the state of the art to which the methods and systems pertain.
[0048] Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these embodiments of the invention pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore  it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover  although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe exemplary embodiments in the context of certain exemplary combinations of elements and/or functions  it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard  for example  different combinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein  they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

WE CLAIM :

1. A system comprised of:
at least one of a machine (102) or process;
a processor (108); and
an energy harvesting device (104) associated with the machine (102) or process that creates an output from the machine (102) or process  wherein the processor (108) is configured to use the output of the energy harvesting device (104) to determine an operating state of the machine (102) or process.

2. The system of Claim 1 further comprised of a monitoring system (106)  wherein one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) are correlated by the processor (108) with the operating state of the machine (102) or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device (104)  and wherein the monitoring system (106) includes one or more of a condition monitoring system  a vibration monitoring system  a thermal monitoring system  a noise monitoring system  an electrical parameters monitoring system  a performance monitoring system  an environmental monitoring system  a process monitoring system  and combinations thereof.

3. The system of Claim 2  wherein the processor (108) correlating the one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) with the operating state of the machine (102) or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device (104) comprises the processor (108) determining whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) were produced during a time period that the machine (102) or process was in a first operating state or during a time period that the machine (102) or process was in a second operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device (104).

4. The system of any of Claims 1 through 3  wherein the energy harvesting device (104) is selected from the group consisting of a piezoelectric device  a pyroelectric device  a thermoelectric device  a micro wind turbine  an electrostatic device  a kinetic device  and a vibrational device.

5. The system of any of Claims 1 through 4  wherein the at least one machine (102) or process is selected from the group consisting of an electric motor  an electric generator  an internal-combustion engine  a jet engine and a turbine.

6. The system of any of Claims 1 through 5  wherein the output of the energy harvesting device (104) used to determine the operating state of the machine (102) or process comprises a voltage output or a current output.

7. A method comprising:
receiving  from an energy harvesting device (104) associated with at least one of a machine (102) or process  an output from the energy harvesting device (104) created by the machine (102) or process  wherein said output is used to determine an operating state of the machine (102) or process;
receiving  from a monitoring system (106) associated with the machine (102) or process  one or more outputs from the monitoring system (106); and
correlating  by a processor (108)  the one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) with the operating state of the machine (102) or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device (104).

8. The method of Claim 7  wherein receiving  from a monitoring system (106) associated with the machine (102) or process  one or more outputs from the monitoring system (106) comprises receiving the one or more outputs from one or more of a condition monitoring system  a vibration monitoring system  a thermal monitoring system  a noise monitoring system  an electrical parameters monitoring system  a performance monitoring system  an environmental monitoring system  a process monitoring system  or a combination thereof.

9. The method of Claim 7  wherein correlating  by the processor (108)  the one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) with the operating state of the machine (102) or process as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device comprises determining whether the one or more outputs of the monitoring system (106) were produced during a time period that the machine (102) or process was in a first operating state or during a time period that the machine (102) or process was in a second operating state as determined by the output of the energy harvesting device (104).

10. The method of Claim 7  wherein receiving  from an energy harvesting device (104) associated with a machine (102) or process  an output comprises receiving the output from a energy harvesting device (104) selected from the group consisting of a piezoelectric device  a pyroelectric device  a thermoelectric device  a micro wind turbine  an electrostatic device  a kinetic device  and a vibrational device  and wherein receiving  from an energy harvesting device (104) associated with a machine (102) or process  an output  comprises receiving the output from an energy harvesting device (104) associated with a machine (102) selected from the group consisting of an electric motor  an electric generator  an internal-combustion engine  a jet engine and a turbine.