Location confirmation method and location display system of construction machine and such construction machine

• US 20040210371A1
• Filed: 01/07/2004
• Published: 10/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Shibamori, Kazuhiro, Watanabe, Hiroshi, Shibata, Koichi, Sugiyama, Genroku, Komatsu, Hideki, Adachi, Hiroyuki
• Granted Patent: US 7,643,938 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/304 Boats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2045 Guiding machines along a predetermined path for graders E02F3/841; machines for construction of roads E01C19/004
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/205 Remotely operated machines, e.g. unmanned vehicles E02F3/8866 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A hydraulic excavator periodically measures its current location at predetermined time intervals by the GPS device in an inoperative state where its engine key is in the off position and sends the current location data and time data to a management server by a main controller and communicator. The management server receives the periodically sent location data at its communicator and successively stores it in its memory. The current location data and the measurement time data to provide a location confirmation service by a location information provider. Changes in location can be confirmed on a map, the movement of the hydraulic excavator can be tracked, and assistance can be given for confirmation of location and prevention of theft.

Claims

1. A location confirmation method of a construction machine of the present invention applied to a system comprised of a construction machine provided with a controller, a locator, and a first communicator and a center server provided with a second communicator, a memory, and a location information provider,

said location confirmation method of a construction machine characterized in that:

said construction machine periodically measures its current location by said locator at predetermined time intervals in a non-operative state and sends current location data and measurement time data to said center server by said controller and said first communicator and

said center server receives said current location data and said measurement time data periodically sent from said construction machine at said second communicator and successively stores them in said memory and provides a location confirmation service by said location information provider using said current location data and said measurement time data.

2. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said center server is provided with map data and marks the location based on said current location data and said measurement time data on a map showing an area including a work site of said construction machine so as to provide said location confirmation service.

3. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 2, characterized in that, in providing said location confirmation service, the map shows the state of movement of said construction machine as a discontinuous path of location marks based on said current location data and said measurement time data.

4. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said location confirmation service prepared at said location information provider is provided to an interested party of said construction machine through a communications line.

5. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that information relating to the provision of said location confirmation service is sent to a terminal of said interested party by e-mail.

6. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 4, characterized in that said interested party accesses said location information provider of said center server from its terminal through the Internet and confirms provision of said location confirmation service based on an advance notification from said center server to said interested party.

7. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that the data sent from said construction machine to said center server includes data relating to a schedule of movement of said construction machine and a change in the current location of said construction machine is judged to be normal or abnormal based on the data relating to the schedule of movement.

8. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said locator is a GPS device utilizing GPS satellites to measure the current location.

9. A location confirmation method of a construction machine as set forth in claim 1, characterized in that said time intervals set in said construction machine are variable in accordance with a change in the situation.

10. A location display system of a construction machine applied to a system comprised of a construction machine provided with a controller, a locator, and a first communicator and a center server provided with a second communicator, a memory, and a location information provider,

said location display system of a construction machine characterized in that:

said construction machine periodically measures its current location at predetermined time intervals by said locator in a non-operative state and sends current location data and measurement time data to said center server by said controller and said first communicator and

said center server receives said current location data and said measurement time data periodically sent from said construction machine at said second communicator, successively stores them in said memory, and marks the current location on a map using said current location data and said measurement time data by said location information provider.

11. A location display system of a construction machine as set forth in claim 10, characterized in that the marks relating to said current location is designed so that the state of movement of said construction machine is displayed on a map as a discontinuous path of location marks based on said current location data and said measurement time data.

12. A location display system of a construction machine as set forth in claim 10, characterized in that the marks relating to said current location prepared at said location information provider are provided to an interested party of said construction machine (1) through a communications line.

13. A location display system of a construction machine as set forth in claim 10, characterized in that information on the marks according to said current location is sent to a terminal of said interested party by e-mail as an attached file.

14. A location display system of a construction machine as set forth in claim 10, characterized in that the data sent from said construction machine to said center server includes data relating to a schedule of movement of said construction machine, and a change in the current location of said construction machine is judged to be normal or abnormal based on the data relating to the schedule of movement.

15. A construction machine characterized in that:

it is provided with a controller for controlling operations as a whole, a locator for measuring a current location, and a communicator for communicating with an external base station and

it periodically measures its current location at preset time intervals by said locator in an inoperative state where a power key is in the off position and sends current location data and measurement time data to the base station side by said controller and said communicator.

16. A construction machine as set forth in claim 15, characterized in that said locator is comprised of a GPS device utilizing GPS satellites to measure its current location.

17. A construction machine as set forth in claim 15, characterized in that said time intervals are variable in accordance with changes in the situation.

18. A construction machine as set forth in claim 15, characterized in that the data sent to said base station side includes data relating to a schedule of movement and in that a change in current location is judged to be normal or abnormal based on the data relating to the schedule of movement.