Use of a Transponder for Servicing Work on an Installation Component

• US 20100090808A1
• Filed: 10/13/2009
• Published: 04/15/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/13/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Steag Energy Services GmbH (KSBG Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH & Company KG)
• Original Assignee: Steag Energy Services GmbH (KSBG Kommunale Beteiligungsgesellschaft GmbH & Company KG)
• Inventors: Stephan, Martin, Offermann, Wolfgang
• Granted Patent: US 8,451,100 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/10.6
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07703 the interface being visual
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card

Abstract

Described is the use of a transponder in a commercial installation, particularly a power plant, which allows problems and dangerous situations existing in this context to be avoided and the attainable occupational safety in a commercial installation, particularly a power plant, to be increased. The transponder includes a reception element, a transmission element, a visual display unit and a memory element and also a control element which is operatively connected to these, in a commercial installation, particularly a power plant, in an arrangement or positioning on or in proximity to a component or at a switching or measuring point associated with the component for the purpose of visually displaying an operating state for the component or the switching or measuring point associated therewith using the visual display unit of the transponder.

Claims

1. Use of a transponder (2), which has a reception element (7), a transmission element (8), a visual display unit (6) and a memory unit (10) and also a control element (9) which is operatively connected to these, in a commercial installation, particularly a power plant, in an arrangement or positioning on or in proximity to a component or at a switching or measuring point associated with said component for the purpose of visually displaying an operating state for the component or the switching or measuring point associated therewith using the visual display unit (6) of the transponder (2).

2. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1 for producing a communication system comprising a read/write unit (3).

3. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1 for producing an information system comprising an EDP system.

4. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1 within the context of maintenance, servicing and/or repair work on the component and/or the commercial installation.

5. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized by a fixed arrangement for the transponder (2) on the component.

6. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the memory element (10) permanently stores a transponder identification information unit and is used to store at least one state/operational information unit which relates to a component associated with the transponder (2),

wherein the transponder identification information unit and the at least one state/operational information unit are read from the memory element (10) via the transmission element (8), and the at least one state/operational information unit is supplied to the memory element (10) via the reception element (7),

and wherein the transponder (2) is designed such that at least one portion of the information contained in the state/operational information units is displayed on the visual display unit (6).

7. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the visual display unit (6) visually displays only the number of state/operational information units, but not the state/operational information unit itself.

8. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that a warning signal is shown on the visual display unit (6) by means of the control element (9) when the number of state/operational information units is greater than zero.

9. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the state/operational information units which can be stored in the memory element (10) each comprise a piece of information regarding a connection or disconnection state of the component and/or recently performed servicing on the component and/or a recently performed official examination of the component and/or recently performed measured value recording for the component.

10. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 1, characterized in that the visual display unit (6) is a display based on electronic ink with bistable display elements and/or the transponder (2) is an RFID transponder.

11. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 2, characterized in that the read/write unit (3) stores at least one state/operational information unit and at least one identification information unit, wherein each identification information unit has at least one associated state/operational information unit, the read/write unit (3) can read a transponder identification information unit from the memory element (10) of the transponder (2), and the read/write unit (3) takes the read transponder identification information unit as a basis for transmitting at least one state/operational information unit from the read/write unit (3) to the transponder (2).

12. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 11, characterized in that the content of at the least one state/operational information unit which is stored in the read/write unit (3) can be altered by a user of the read/write unit (3) prior to the transmission to the transponder (2) and/or in that the read/write unit (3) is designed to compare the transponder identification information unit read from the transponder (2) with the at least one identification information unit stored in the read/write unit (3).

13. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 11, characterized in that if the content of the transponder identification information unit and of an identification information unit matches then the read/write unit (3) reads state/operational information units stored in the transponder (2) and/or transmits a state/operational information unit which is associated with at least the identification information unit and which is stored in the read/write unit (3) from the read/write unit (3) to the transponder (2) and/or in that if the content of the transponder identification information unit and of an identification information unit matches then the read/write unit (3) sends a control signal to the transponder (2), which control signal prompts the control element (9) to erase a state/operational information unit stored in the memory element (10).

14. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one of the state/operational information units stored in a read/write unit (3) is read from the read/write unit (3) by the central EDP system (4), and state/operational information units which are to be stored in the read/write unit (3) are transmitted from the central EDP system (4) to the read/write unit (3).

15. Use of a transponder (2) according to claim 14, characterized in that the central EDP system (4) is designed to process state/operational information units read by the read/write unit (3), particularly to compare them with state/operational information units stored in the EDP system (4).

18. Commercial installation, particularly a power plant, characterized in that it is equipped with a transponder (2) used in accordance with claim 1.

16. Method for performing maintenance, servicing and/or repair work on a component and/or on a switching or measuring point associated with said component in a commercial installation, particularly a power plant, characterized in that a transponder (2), which has a reception element (7), a transmission element (8), a visual display unit (6) and a memory element (10) and also a control element (9) which is operatively connected to these, is arranged on or in proximity to the component or at the switching or measuring point associated with said component, and the visual display unit (6) of the transponder (2) is used to visually display an operating state for the component or the switching or measuring point associated therewith on said visual display unit.

17. Method according to claim 16, characterized in that use of the transponder (2) according to claim 2 is performed.