Plant-service data server and service information providing method

• US 20040156311A1
• Filed: 02/03/2004
• Published: 08/12/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukui, Hiroji, Kawamoto, Shinji, Oomori, Kenji, Hirano, Shigeru, Goto, Masanori
• Application Number:
  US10/468,002
• Publication Number:
  US 20040156311A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/217
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4184 characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31323 Database for CIM
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31391 Administration tasks and factory control tasks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

A plant-service data server (9) for providing a manager (2) of a plant (7) with service information useful for management of a plant (7) based on operation data relating to the operation condition of the plant (7). The data server (9) comprises means (18) for receiving operation data from the plant (7) through a communication network (5), operation-data storing means (25) for storing the operation data, service-information-providing item registering means (21) for registering service-information-providing items which are useful for management of the operation of the plant and are provided by a plurality of service information providers (4) that provide service information useful for operation of a plant based on at least part of the operation data, service-information acquiring means for acquiring service information corresponding to service-information-providing items based on the operation data, and means (18) for transmitting the acquired service information to the manager (2) of the plant through the communication network (5).

Claims

1. A plant-service data server for providing a manager of a plant with service information useful for management of the plant based on operation data relating to the operation condition of the plant, the server comprising:

means for receiving operation data from the plant through a communication network;

operation-data storing means for storing the operation data;

service-information-providing item registering means for registering service-information-providing items which are useful for management of the operation of the plant and are provided by a plurality of service information providers that provide service information useful for operation of a plant based on at least part of the operation data;

service-information acquiring means for acquiring service information corresponding to service-information-providing items based on the operation data; and

means for transmitting the acquired service information to the manager of the plant through the communication network.

2. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, wherein:

the server further comprises means for transmitting at least part of the operation data to the plurality of service information providers through the communication network; and

the service-information acquiring means includes means for receiving the service information from the plurality of service information providers through the communication network.

3. The plant-service data server according to claim 2, further comprising storing means for storing the service information received from the plurality of service information providers through the communication network.

4. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, wherein the service-information acquiring means includes means for processing the operation data in the plant-service data server.

5. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, comprising:

means for registering at least one service-information requesting item which the manager of the plant has selected; and

means for providing the manager of the plant with only the service information corresponding to the registered service-information requesting item.

6. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, further comprising:

operation-data storing-condition input means for inputting items, operation data collecting cycles and storing time periods of the operation data in the operation-data storing means; and

means for securing data-storing areas in the operation-data storing means to fit the conditions inputted by the operation-data storing-condition input means.

7. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, further comprising manager-charge calculation means for calculating fee to be charged on the manager of the plant.

8. The plant-service data server according to claim 7, wherein the manager-charge calculation means includes means for calculating the fee to be charged on the manager of the plant, based on at least one selected from a group consisting of volume and time period of the operation data stored by the operation-data storing means.

9. The plant-service data server according to claim 7, wherein the manager-charge calculation means includes means for calculating the fee to be charged on the manager of the plant, based on at least one selected from a group consisting of frequency and time period of the provision of the service information to the manager of the plant.

10. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, further comprising service-information-provider charge calculation means for calculating fee to be charged at least one of the plurality of service providers on the service information provided by the service information provider in respect to the operation management of the plant.

11. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, further comprising transfer-amount calculating means for calculating amount to be transferred, which is part of the amount calculated by the manager-charge calculation means, to the service information provider.

12. The plant-service data server according to claim 1, further comprising:

means for calculating direct-pay amount to be paid directly from the manager to the service information providers as part of the amount calculated by the manager-charge calculation means; and

means for informing the manager and the service information providers, of the direct-pay amount.

13. A method for providing a manager of at least one plant with plant-service information useful for management of the plant, based on operation data relating to operation of the plant, from a data server, the method comprising:

a step of the data server receiving operation data from the plant through a communication network;

an operation-data storing step of storing the operation data;

a service-information-providing item registering step of registering service-information-providing items which are useful for management of the operation of the plant and are provided by the plurality of service information providers that provide service information useful for operation of the plant based on at least part of the operation data;

a service-information acquiring step of the data server acquiring service information corresponding to service-information-providing items based on the operation data; and

a step of transmitting the acquired service information from the data server to the manager of the plant through the communication network.

14. The method for providing plant-service information according to claim 13, wherein:

the method further comprises a step of transmitting at least part of the operation data to the plurality of service information providers through the communication network; and

the service-information acquiring step includes;

a generation step of the service information providers generating the service information, and a step of transmitting the service information generated by the generation step to the data server through the communication network.

15. The method for providing plant-service information according to claim 13, further comprising a manager charging step of charging the manager of the plant on the provision of the service information from the data server.

16. The method for providing plant-service information according to claim 13, wherein:

the at least one plant consists of a plurality of plants, and at least part of the plants have at least one common element;

the method for providing plant-service information further comprises;

an abnormality deciding step of deciding abnormality of the at least one common element based on the operation data; and

an announcing step of announcing status of abnormality to other plants which have the least one common element and their corresponding managers, when abnormality has been decided by the abnormality deciding step.