Engine Starting System Monitoring for Early Degradation Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing engine starting systems often fail unexpectedly due to degradation of components like batteries and starter motors, which can be unpredictable and lead to equipment failure without timely servicing.
Innovation Solution
A system that monitors engine starting characteristics, such as battery voltage and ambient temperature, using machine learning to generate a health score and alert operators to potential degradation, allowing for proactive servicing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional monitoring methods are used, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to unexpected failures
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary monitoring of engine starting characteristics and battery parameters before actual failure occurs. By continuously tracking voltage, temperature, and starting cycle data, the system identifies degradation trends early and generates maintenance alerts, preventing unexpected failures and enabling proactive servicing.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by comparing real-time engine starting characteristics against historical data and thresholds. When parameters deviate from normal ranges, the system generates alerts that feed back to operators, creating a closed-loop monitoring system that continuously improves reliability through informed maintenance decisions.
2Reliability
If comprehensive monitoring is implemented, then reliability improves through early degradation detection, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring system is designed to serve multiple functions: tracking battery voltage, measuring engine starting characteristics, storing historical data, generating maintenance alerts, and providing wireless communications. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single multi-functional system, the patent reduces overall complexity while maintaining comprehensive monitoring capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges data collection, historical storage, analysis, and alert generation into an integrated monitoring platform. By combining previously separate functions into one unified system with centralized control, the patent simplifies the monitoring architecture while achieving comprehensive component degradation detection.
3Loss of time
If continuous monitoring is performed, then loss of time is reduced through timely maintenance, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs monitoring and data collection at periodic intervals during engine starting cycles rather than continuously. By sampling key parameters (voltage, temperature, starting duration) at specific moments in the engine start process, the system reduces energy consumption while still capturing sufficient data to detect degradation trends and generate timely maintenance alerts.
Data Source
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AI summary
Methods, apparatus, systems, and articles of manufacture are disclosed to monitor engine starting systems. An example apparatus includes processor circuitry to execute instructions to measure engine starting system data from a machine; determine a total starting crank time and an ambient air temperature for the machine from the engine starting system data; compare the engine starting system data using a machine learning model; model a relationship between the ambient air temperature and the total starting crank time; generate a score of an engine starting system from the machine learning model; determine comparison result from the relationship between the ambient air temperature and the total starting crank time; and display an alert to a user based on at least one of the score of the engine starting system or the comparison result from the relationship between the ambient air temperature and the total starting crank time.