{
  "patent_number": "US 11126171",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "AI System for Diagnosing Machines and Managing Data in Factories",
  "original_title": "Methods and systems of diagnosing machine components using neural networks and having bandwidth allocation",
  "summary": "This patent describes a system that uses artificial intelligence to detect problems in industrial machines while smartly adjusting how much data it collects and sends to avoid overwhelming the network.",
  "what_it_does": "The system collects data from various sensors connected to industrial machines, like a robot's vibration sensors or a factory line's temperature gauges. A 'data collector' gathers this information from a selected group of these sensors, called 'input channels,' based on a specific routine (Claim 1). An 'expert system analysis circuit' then uses a type of artificial intelligence called a 'neural network' (which could be probabilistic, time delay, or convolutional, as per Claim 1) to analyze these data streams and identify 'fault conditions' or problems with the machine components (Claim 1). Crucially, the system also monitors the total amount of data being collected, called the 'aggregate rate' (Claim 1). If this rate goes over the network's current capacity, known as the 'bandwidth allocation rate,' the system automatically asks the network for more bandwidth (Claim 1). Until more bandwidth is available, it can temporarily increase data storage capacity (Claim 1), or it might reduce the data by eliminating some collected information (Claim 2), deactivating monitoring points (Claim 4), or reducing how often data is sampled or its detail level (Claim 6). For example, it could detect an unusual vibration pattern in a motor and, if the network is busy, temporarily reduce the sampling rate of less critical sensors to ensure the critical vibration data gets through.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover systems that diagnose machine faults without using a neural network as part of their expert system analysis circuit.",
    "Does not cover general data collection systems that do not dynamically monitor and request changes to network bandwidth allocation rates.",
    "Does not cover systems that only detect faults but do not implement specific data reduction strategies like eliminating data, deactivating monitoring points, or modifying sampling parameters when bandwidth is exceeded.",
    "Does not cover systems operating outside of an industrial environment or not focused on machine components.",
    "Does not cover systems that simply drop data without first attempting to increase bandwidth allocation or manage data capacity."
  ],
  "filed": "2018-12-21",
  "granted": "2021-09-21",
  "expires": "2038-12-21",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Strong Force IoT Portfolio 2016",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/strong-force-iot-portfolio-2016",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Gerald William Duffy, JR.",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/gerald-william-duffy-jr"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jeffrey P. McGuckin",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/jeffrey-p-mcguckin"
    },
    {
      "name": "Charles Howard Cella",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/charles-howard-cella"
    },
    {
      "name": "Mehul Desai",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/mehul-desai"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 3,
  "tags": [
    "industrial_iot",
    "ai_ml",
    "telecommunications",
    "manufacturing",
    "software",
    "consumer_electronics"
  ],
  "abstract": "Systems and methods for data collection in an industrial environment are disclosed. A system may include a data collector to collect data from a subset of a plurality of input channels based on a selected data collection routine, and a data acquisition and analysis circuit for receiving the collected data and analyzing the collected data using an expert system analysis circuit to determine an occurrence of an anomalous condition for a machine component based on an analysis. The expert system analysis circuit may utilize a neural network. The data analysis circuit may determine an aggregate rate of data being collected and, if the aggregate rate exceeds a current bandwidth allocation rate associated with the network infrastructure, request an increase to the current bandwidth allocation rate from the network infrastructure.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11126171/methods-and-systems-of-diagnosing-machine-components-using-neural-networks-and-h",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11126171/methods-and-systems-of-diagnosing-machine-components-using-neural-networks-and-h/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11126171",
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