Method and system for managing construction machine, and arithmetic processing apparatus

• US 20030115020A1
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Published: 06/19/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Sato, Atsushi, Shibata, Koichi, Sugiyama, Genroku, Komatsu, Hideki, Mitsuya, Koji, Miura, Shuichi, Sait, Yoshiaki, Watanabe, Hiroshi, Adachi, Hiroyuki, Hirata, Toichi
• Granted Patent: US 6,907,384 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/184
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/205 Remotely operated machines, e.g. unmanned vehicles E02F3/8866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2225 using pressure-compensating valves
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2239 using two or more pumps with cross-assistance
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/226 Safety arrangements, e.g. hydraulic driven fans, preventing cavitation, leakage, overheating
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2292 Systems with two or more pumps
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2296 Systems with a variable displacement pump
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/267 Diagnosing or detecting failure of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24001 Maintenance, repair
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24055 Trace, store a working, operation history
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

A working time for each of an engine 32, a front 15, a swing body 13, and a travel body 12 of a hydraulic excavator 1 working in fields is measured. Measured data is stored in a memory of a controller 2 and then transferred to a base station computer 3 via satellite communication, an FD, etc. to be stored in a database 100. At each repair/replacement of a part in each hydraulic excavator, the base station computer 3 calculates, based on the operation data, a replacement time interval of the part on the basis of the working time per section to which the part belongs, and then stores and accumulates it. The base station computer also reads the stored data for each hydraulic excavator, determines, for each part, a replacement rate of the part having the substantially equal replacement time interval, and calculates a target replacement time interval of the part in accordance with the replacement time interval corresponding to a maximum replacement rate. Thus, the appropriate target replacement time interval can be decided and the appropriate scheduled replacement timing can be determined even for parts belong to a plurality of sections that differ in working time from each other.

Claims

1. A method for managing a construction machine, comprising the steps of statistically processing an actual repair/replacement time interval for each of parts of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c), comparing the statistically processed data with operation information of a particular construction machine, and deciding a scheduled repair/replacement timing of a corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

13. A method for managing a construction machine according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein said construction machine is a hydraulic excavator (1), and said sections include a front (15), a swing body (13), a travel body (12), an engine (32), and a hydraulic pump (21a, 21b) of the hydraulic excavator.

2. A method for managing a construction machine, the method comprising:

a first step (S9-14, S20-24, S30-32) of measuring a working time for each of sections (12, 13, 15, 21a, 21b, 32) in each of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c), and storing and accumulating the measured working time as operation data for each construction machine in a database (100);

a second step (S50-54) of determining, based on repair/replacement data for each part of the construction machine and said operation data, an actual repair/replacement time interval of each part on the basis of the working time per section to which the relevant part belongs; and

a third step (S56) of statistically processing the actual repair/replacement time interval and setting a target repair/replacement time interval of the relevant part using the statistically processed data.

3. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 2, further comprising:

a fourth step (S36) of determining, based on the operation data accumulated in said first step, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of a particular construction machine, comparing the determined working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, and deciding a scheduled repair/replacement timing of the corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

4. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 2, wherein:

said third step (S300-308) includes steps of determining a relationship between the actual repair/replacement time interval of a part determined in said second step and the number of times of repairs/-replacements of said part, determining a repair/replacement time interval corresponding to a maximum number of times of repairs/replacements from said relationship, and deciding the target repair/replacement time interval of said part based on the determined repair/replacement time interval.

5. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 4, wherein:

further comprising a fourth step (S60-82) of determining, based on the operation data accumulated in said first procedure, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, and comparing the determined working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

6. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 2, wherein:

said first step (S89-94, S230-234, S242) includes steps of measuring and collecting a load for each section in addition to the working time for each section, and storing and accumulating the measured working time and load for each section as the operation data for each construction machine in said database (100); and

said third step includes a fourth step (S50-58) of statistically processing the actual repair/replacement time interval of the part and the load both determined in said second step, and a fifth step (S410-422) of determining said target repair/replacement time interval, as a value modified depending on loads, based on the operation data of the particular construction machine and the statistically processed data.

7. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

said fourth step (S400-408) includes steps of calculating, for each actual repair/replacement time interval of the part, a load factor of the relevant part and determining correlation between the load factor and the repair/replacement time interval; and

said fifth step (S410-422) includes steps of determining a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, calculating a load factor during the determined working time, and referring the calculated load factor to said correlation to determine a corresponding repair/replacement time interval as said target repair/replacement time interval.

8. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 7, wherein:

further comprising a sixth step (S410-416) of determining, based on the operation data accumulated in said first step, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, and comparing the determined working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

9. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

said fourth step (S50A-S56B) includes steps of modifying the actual repair/replacement time interval of the part depending on loads, collecting the repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, and setting a load-dependent modification index value for the target repair/replacement time interval; and

said fifth step (S430B-444B) includes the steps of calculating a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, modifying the calculated working time depending on loads, and comparing the working time modified depending on loads with said load-dependent modification index value, thereby determining said target repair/replacement time interval.

10. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 9, wherein:

said fourth step (S400B-408B) includes steps of determining an average value of the collected data of the repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, and setting the average value as said load-dependent modification index value.

11. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 9,

further comprising a sixth step (S446B) of comparing the working time of the corresponding part of the particular construction machine determined in said fifth step with the target repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

12. A method for managing a construction machine according to claim 2, wherein:

said first step (S89-94, S230-234, S242) includes steps of measuring and collecting a load for each section in addition to the working time for each section, and storing and accumulating the measured working time and load for each section as the operation data for each construction machine in said database (100); and

the method further comprises a fourth step (S430-446) of determining, based on the operation data accumulated in said first procedure, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of a particular construction machine, determining a load factor during the determined working time, modifying the determined working time in accordance with the load factor, and comparing the modified working time with a preset target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

14. A system for managing a construction machine, the system comprising means (2, 40-46, 3, 50, 51, S306, 308) for statistically processing an actual repair/replacement time interval for each of parts of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c), and means (3, 50, S36) for comparing the statistically processed data with operation information of a particular construction machine, and deciding a scheduled repair/replacement timing of a corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

26. A system for managing a construction machine according to any one of claims 14 to 25, wherein said construction machine is a hydraulic excavator (1), and said sections include a front (15), a swing body (13), a travel body (12), an engine (32), and a hydraulic pump (21a, 21b) of the hydraulic excavator.

15. A system for managing a construction machine, the system comprising:

operation data measuring and collecting means (2, 4046) for measuring and collecting a working time for each of sections (12, 13, 15, 21a, 21b, 32) in each of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c)); and

a base station computer (3) installed in a base station and having a database (100) for storing and accumulating, as operation data, the working time measured and collected for each section,

said base station computer comprising first means (51, S50-54) for determining, based on repair/replacement data for each part of the construction machine and said operation data, an actual repair/replacement time interval of each part on the basis of the working time per section to which the relevant part belongs; and

second means (51, S56) for statistically processing the actual repair/replacement time interval and setting a target repair/replacement time interval of the relevant part using the statistically processed data.

16. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 15, wherein:

said base station computer (3) further comprises third means (50, S36) for determining, based on said accumulated operation data, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of a particular construction machine, comparing the determined working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, and deciding a scheduled repair/replacement timing of the corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

17. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 15, wherein:

said second means (51, S300-308) determines a relationship between the actual repair/replacement time interval of a part determined by said first means and the number of times of repairs/replacements of said part, determines a repair/replacement time interval corresponding to a maximum number of times of repairs/replacements from said relationship, and decides the target repair/replacement time interval of said part based on the determined repair/replacement time interval.

18. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 17, wherein:

said base station computer (3) further comprises third means (51, S60-82) for determining, based on said accumulated operation data, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, and comparing the calculated working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

19. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 15, wherein:

said operation data measuring and collecting means (2, 40-46) measures and collects a load for each section in addition to the working time for each section;

said base station computer (3, 50) stores and accumulates the measured working time and load for each section as the operation data in said database (100); and

said second means includes third means (51, S50-58) for statistically processing the actual repair/replacement time interval of the part and the load both determined by said first means, and fourth means (51, S410-422) for determining said target repair/replacement time interval, as a value modified depending on loads, based on the operation data of the particular construction machine and the statistically processed data.

20. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 19, wherein:

said third means (51, S400-408) calculates, for each actual repair/replacement time interval of the part, a load factor of the relevant part and determines correlation between the load factor and the repair/replacement time interval; and

said fourth means (51, S410-422) determines a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, calculates a load factor during the determined working time, and refers to said correlation using the calculated load factor to determine a corresponding repair/replacement time interval which is set as said target repair/replacement time interval.

21. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 20, wherein:

said base station computer (3) further comprises fifth means (51, S410-416) for determining, based on said accumulated operation data, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, and comparing the determined working time with said target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

22. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 19, wherein:

said third means (51, S50A-S56B) modifies the actual repair/replacement time interval of the part depending on loads, collects the repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, and sets a load-dependent modification index value for the target repair/replacement time interval; and

said fourth means (51, S430B-444B) calculates a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of the particular construction machine, modifies the calculated working time depending on loads, and compares the working time modified depending on loads with said load-dependent modification index value, thereby determining said target repair/replacement time interval.

23. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 22, wherein:

said third means (51, S400B-408B) determines an average value of the collected data of the repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, and setting the average value as said load-dependent modification index value for the target repair/replacement time interval.

24. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 22,

said base station computer (3) further comprises fifth means (50, S446B) for comparing the working time of the corresponding part of the particular construction machine determined by said fourth means with the target repair/replacement time interval modified depending on loads, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

25. A system for managing a construction machine according to claim 15, wherein:

said operation data measuring and collecting means (2, 40-46) measures and collects a load for each section in addition to the working time for each section;

said base station computer (3) stores and accumulates the measured working time and load for each section as the operation data in said database (100); and

said base station computer (3) further comprises third means (51, S430-446) for determining, based on said accumulated operation data, a working time of a corresponding part on the basis of the working time per section of a particular construction machine, determining a load factor during the determined working time, modifying the determined working time in accordance with the load factor, and comparing the modified working time with a preset target repair/replacement time interval, thereby calculating a remaining time up to next repair/replacement of the relevant part.

27. A processing apparatus (3) which statistically processes an actual repair/replacement time interval for each of parts of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c), compares the statistically processed data with operation information of a particular construction machine, and decides a scheduled repair/replacement timing of a corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

28. A processing apparatus (3) which stores and accumulates, as operation data, a working time for each of sections (12, 13, 15, 21a, 21b, 32) in each of a plurality of construction machines (1, 1a, 1b, 1c), determines, based on repair/replacement data for each part of the construction machine and said operation data, an actual repair/replacement time interval of each part on the basis of the working time per section to which the relevant part belongs, statistically processes the actual repair/replacement time interval, and sets a target repair/replacement time interval of the relevant part using the statistically processed data.

29. A processing apparatus (3) according to claim 28, which further determines the operation data of a particular construction machine from said accumulated operation data, compares the determined operation data with said target repair/replacement time interval, and calculates a scheduled repair/replacement timing of a corresponding part of the particular construction machine.

30. A processing apparatus (3) according to claim 28, which further stores and accumulates, as the operation data, a load for each section in addition to the working time for each section, statistically processes the actual repair/replacement time interval of the part and the load, and determines said target repair/replacement time interval, as a value modified depending on loads, based on the operation data of the particular construction machine and the statistically processed data.