Remote maintenance system

• US 20020045976A1
• Filed: 03/19/2001
• Published: 04/18/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Kodama, Ryuichiro
• Granted Patent: US 6,721,685 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23162 Display real time or time already elapsed or rest time for program
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/23335 History, log of program modifications
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24048 Remote test, monitoring, diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25196 Radio link, transponder
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25249 Counter, timer plus microprocessor for real time, jitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/00 Arrangements for maintenance, administration or management of data switching networks, e.g. of packet switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks

Abstract

A maintenance monitor mechanism 300 comprises of a maintenance control section 310 that controls and carries out remote maintenance of an apparatus-to-be-maintained, a maintenance history storage unit 320 that records maintenance history, and a display unit 350. The maintenance control section 310 acquires the date and time of the maintenance last carried out from the maintenance history storage unit 320 and displays “Maintenance Not Problematic” the difference between the last maintenance date and time and the present date and time does not exceed a required maintenance interval or displays “Maintenance Problematic” if the difference exceeds the interval.

With said arrangement, it is possible to provide a remote maintenance system that informs the personnel in charge as to whether maintenance has been carried out surely and correctly and to definitely judge whether the apparatus is really in a usable condition.

Claims

1. A remote maintenance system in which a maintenance center in charge of remote maintenance is connected to an apparatus-to-be-maintained by a communication channel and a maintenance monitor mechanism is installed in the apparatus-to-be-maintained or on the communication channel;

wherein

the maintenance monitor mechanism comprises of

a maintenance control section that controls and carries out remote maintenance of the apparatus-to-be-maintained,

a maintenance history storage unit that records maintenance history, and

a display unit; and

the remote maintenance system acquires the date and time of the maintenance last carried out from the maintenance history storage unit and displays “

Maintenance Not Problematic”

if the difference between the date and time of the maintenance and the current date and time does not exceed a required maintenance interval or displays “

Maintenance Problematic”

if the difference exceeds the interval.

2. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the date and time of the last maintenance out of those that were carried out with no problem found concerning utilization of the apparatus is used instead of the date and time of the maintenance last carried out.

3. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system contains different required maintenance intervals dependent upon the type of maintenance controlled by the maintenance control section, and switches the required maintenance interval corresponding to each type of maintenance and displays “

Maintenance Problematic/Not Problematic”

.

4. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system displays restrictions concerning utilization of the apparatus in case of “

Maintenance Problematic”

.

5. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system displays current status if maintenance activity is being carried out in case of “

Maintenance Problematic”

.

6. A remote maintenance system according to claim 5, wherein, if any restriction concerning utilization of the apparatus is caused, the system displays the restriction.

7. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein, at the request of an operator, the system judges whether the difference exceeds the required maintenance interval and displays accordingly.

8. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system judges whether the battery in the maintenance monitor mechanism or in the apparatus-to-be-maintained has run down and displays the result of the judgment.

9. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system judges whether the current date and time of the timer in the maintenance monitor mechanism or in the apparatus-to-be-maintained is correct and displays the result of the judgment.

10. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) installed inside a mobile vehicle in charge of maintenance activity, and transmits and displays the current position data of the mobile vehicle from the GPS to the display unit via the communication channel.

11. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system calculates the hours required until the arrival of the mobile vehicle at the location of the apparatus-to-be-maintained, and transmits and displays the required hours on the display unit.

12. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein

the system is equipped with a maintenance history storage unit installed in the maintenance center, and,

when the communication channel between the maintenance center and the apparatus-to-be-maintained is connected, compares the maintenance history recorded in the maintenance history storage unit in the maintenance center at the last connection of the communication channel to the maintenance history recorded in the maintenance history storage unit in the maintenance monitor mechanism, and carries out remote maintenance if the two records agree with each other or shuts down the communication channel if not.

13. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system displays the maintenance histories in the maintenance history storage unit on the display unit.

14. A remote maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the system displays the required maintenance interval, current time of the timer, and maintenance history in the maintenance history storage unit, either in strings of numeric numbers of the frequency distribution calculated per specified unit time or in a form of distribution histogram charting the strings of numeric numbers in time series, on the display unit.