Patent Application
20150350553
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to non-destructive inspection. Specifically, the subject matter described below relates to systems and methods for performing non-destructive testing via menu directed inspection (MDI).
Certain devices may be used to inspect a variety of systems and facilities, such as power generation equipment and facilities, oil and gas equipment and facilities, aircraft equipment and facilities, manufacturing equipment and facilities, and the like. The inspection equipment may include various non-destructive inspection or non-destructive testing (NDT) devices. For example, video borescopes, portable eddy current inspection devices, portable X-ray inspection devices, and the like, may be used to observe or otherwise inspect the system and facilities using non-destructive inspection techniques. The NDT devices may include graphical user interfaces useful in enabling users to perform various monitoring functions. It would be beneficial to improve the graphical user interfaces for NDT inspection.
Certain embodiments commensurate in scope with the originally claimed invention are summarized below. These embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claimed invention, but rather these embodiments are intended only to provide a brief summary of possible forms of the invention. Indeed, the invention may encompass a variety of forms that may be similar to or different from the embodiments set forth below.
In a first embodiment, a non-destructive testing (NDT) device includes a processor operatively coupled to a camera and to a display. The processor is configured to navigate a graphical tree model of an inspection. The graphical tree model includes a plurality of nodes that each correspond to an inspection point of the inspection. The processor is also configured to display at least one of the plurality of nodes; the display of a node includes an icon indicative of the presence of a flagged image, a flagged video, or a combination thereof associated with the node. Further, the processor is configured to receive a user selection of at least one of the plurality of nodes, receive a user input to acquire an image or video, associate the image or video with the selected one of the plurality of nodes, and update the display of the selected one of the plurality of nodes.
In a second embodiment, a non-transitory tangible computer-readable medium includes executable code having instructions. The instructions are configured to navigate a tree model of an inspection. The tree model includes a plurality of nodes that each correspond to an inspection point of the inspection. The instructions are also configured to display each of the plurality of nodes; the display of a node includes an icon indicative of the presence of a flagged image, a flagged video, or a combination thereof associated with the node. Further, the instructions are configured to receive a user selection of one of the plurality of nodes, receive a first user input to acquire an image or video, associate the image or video with the selected one of the plurality of nodes, update the display of the selected one of the plurality of nodes, and generate a document that includes the images associated with the plurality of nodes. The non-transitory computer-readable medium is part of a non-destructive testing (NDT) device having a processor configured to execute the executable code.
In a third embodiment, a method of performing non-destructive testing (NDT) includes navigating a tree model of an inspection. The tree model has a plurality of nodes that each correspond to an inspection point of the inspection. The method also includes displaying each of the plurality of nodes; displaying a node includes displaying an icon indicative of the presence of a flagged image, a flagged video, or a combination thereof associated with the node. Further, the method includes receiving a user selection of one of the plurality of nodes, receiving a user input to acquire an image or video, associating the image or video with the selected one of the plurality of nodes, and updating the display of the selected one of the plurality of nodes.
These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood when the following detailed description is read with reference to the accompanying drawings in which like characters represent like parts throughout the drawings, wherein:
One or more specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In an effort to provide a concise description of these embodiments, all features of an actual implementation may not be described in the specification. It should be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, as in any engineering or design project, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve the developers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related and business-related constraints, which may vary from one implementation to another. Moreover, it should be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of design, fabrication, and manufacture for those of ordinary skill having the benefit of this disclosure.
When introducing elements of various embodiments of the present invention, the articles “a,” “an,” “the,” and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” are intended to be inclusive and mean that there may be additional elements other than the listed elements.
Present embodiments are generally directed towards systems for performing non-destructive inspections of industrial equipment, using, for example, a variety of portable non-destructive testing (NDT) devices described in more detail below. Specifically, the embodiments described herein relate to a graphical user interface (GUI) providing for a menu-driven inspection (MDI) technique. An MDI structure may model the inspection areas and points as an inspection point tree. An NDT device operator may then navigate through the inspection point tree to acquire images and videos of the specified inspection areas and points. By following the inspection point tree, the operator may quickly and efficiently inspect the equipment and obtain improved testing coverage of the equipment. Further, the MDI structure may automatically associate the acquired images and videos with the corresponding inspection areas and points, which may improve equipment and facilities inspection, for example, when compared to not using the MDI techniques disclosed herein. The MDI GUI may also allow the operator to flag an image or video if he or she suspects or observes a defect within a particular inspection point or area. The GUI may then presents in tandem an icon that indicates if any images and videos for an inspection point or area are flagged. Additionally, the GUI may include an interactive marker that displays the current path traversed through the inspection point tree and may be used to navigate to different nodes of the inspection point tree.
By way of introduction,
The depicted NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 include respective processors 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, and 32 and memory 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, and 44. The NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 may additionally include a communications system suitable for communicating with other NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 and with external systems such as “cloud” based systems, servers, computing devices (e.g., tablets, workstations, laptops, notebooks, etc.) and the like. The memory 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, and 44 may include tangible non-transitory storage suitable for storing computer code or instructions implementing the various techniques described herein and executable via the respective processors 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, and 34. The devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 may also include respective displays useful in visualizing the techniques described herein. In operation, an operator 46 may utilize the NDT system 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 to inspect facilities 48, including facilities that may have oil and gas equipment 50, and may include locations such as the interior of pipes or conduits 52, underwater (or underfluid) locations 54, and difficult to observe locations such as pipes or conduits having curves or bends 56. Other systems 58 may also be inspected, such as aircraft systems, power generation systems (e.g., gas turbines, steam turbines, wind turbines, hydroturbines, combustion engines, generators, electric motors, etc.), machinery (e.g., compressors, expanders, valves, actuators, etc.) and the like, that may include conduits 60, various surfaces 62 and 64, and may be used to find undesired cracks 66 or to visualize parts 68, among many other uses. Accordingly, it may be possible to enhance the visual observation of various equipment, such as an aircraft system 58 and facilities 48, with x-ray observation modalities, ultrasonic observation modalities, and eddy current observation modalities. For example, the interior and the walls of pipes 52, 56, and 60 may be inspected for corrosion and erosion. Likewise, obstructions or undesired growth inside of the pipes 52, 56, and 60 may be detected by using the devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20. Similarly, fissures or cracks disposed inside of certain ferrous or non-ferrous material 62 and 64 may be observed. Additionally, the disposition and viability of parts 68 inserted inside of components may be verified. Indeed, using the techniques described herein may improve inspection of the facilities 48 and systems 58.
The NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, and 18 utilize a menu-driven inspection (MDI) GUI to enable the operator 46 to inspect facilities 48 and systems 58. MDI, as described herein, is a technique for NDT inspection that utilizes graphical “menus” with certain visual components (e.g., icons, textual components, numeric components, and so on) to aid the operator 46 in navigating the device (e.g., NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20) to different location within and around the facilities 48 and systems 58 to acquire images and videos. The MDI program on the NDT devices 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 utilize a GUI 70, as shown in
Turning now to
Each tile 74 may include a label or title 76 used to identify the inspection, the name 78 of a folder containing the data related to the inspection, and a date 80 corresponding to the last date on which the inspection was performed, as shown in
The home screen 72 may also include several buttons (e.g., virtual buttons) representing actions that the operator 46 may take with regards to the inspections, as depicted in
The operator 46 may also select any of the tiles 74 and then activate a “generate report” button 90 that creates a shell document for a report that includes the images associated with the corresponding inspection. The “generate report” button 90 and its associated features are described in more detail below. Further, the operator may select any of the tiles 74 and activate a “manage” menu 92 to access options related to managing the corresponding inspection.
When the operator 46 selects a new inspection, such as the “Craft” inspection depicted in
Once the information has been entered into the inspection details screen 94, the operator 46 may then begin the inspection. In one embodiment, the inspection may be modeled by using an inspection point tree data structure, which, as shown in
Turning now to
The inspection point screen 104 may include child nodes 107 of the current node (e.g., the root in the depicted embodiment). For instance, the inspection point screen 104 in
The inspection point screen 104 may also include an interactive label or marker 118 that shows the current path traversed through the inspection point tree 106. For example, since
The inspection point screen 104 may further include a “stop” button 120 that, when activated, saves and exits the inspection. For example, the last node navigated through may be saved at a current inspection state. Additionally, the inspection point screen 104 may include an “up” button 122 that, when selected, will navigate to an inspection point screen 104 for the parent node of the current node. As will be appreciated, the “up” button 122 may be an alternative to using the interactive marker 118 to navigate through the inspection point tree. The inspection point screen 104 may also include a “reference material” button 124, that when selected, will prompt a display of reference materials associated with the current node. The “reference material” button 124 is described in further detail below. Finally, the inspection point screen 104 may include a “generate report” button 90. It is to be noted that, in some embodiments, the background of the inspection point screen 104 may be the current view of the sensor (e.g., camera), as shown in
As described above, the inspection point screen 104 of
If the operator 46 suspects or observes a defect (e.g., a crack 66) based on an image or video, he or she can flag the image or video. As mentioned above, the color strip icon 116 updates as necessary to indicate if an image or video associated with an inspection point node is flagged. For example, in
In addition to flagging images and videos, the operator 46 may also add comments. Some common comments, such as “conduit needs to be flushed” may be pre-saved options that the operator 46 can select to add to an image or video. Further, in certain embodiments, the operator 46 may also record voice annotations during the inspection of a particular child node 107.
As mentioned above, the inspection point screen 104 depicted in
The inspection point screen 104 of
The operator 46 may have some control over the format of the shell document. For instance, selecting the “generate report” button 90 may prompt a report settings screen 126 similar to the one in
Referring back to
Technical effects of the present embodiments include systems for performing remote visual inspection of industrial equipment. Certain embodiments may increase the efficiency and efficacy of inspections. For example, the present embodiments include an GUI for an MDI process that guides users through inspection areas and points based on an inspection point tree. For example, an operator may traverse the tree to acquire images and videos of the specified inspection areas and points. By following the inspection point tree, the operator may quickly and efficiently inspect the equipment while still obtaining sufficient coverage of the equipment. Further, the present GUI may automatically associate the acquired images and videos with the corresponding inspection areas and points, which improves on a manual process of associating images and videos with inspection areas and points. It should be noted that the embodiments described in the specification may have other technical effects and can solve other technical problems.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.
