Failure countermeasure supporting system for mobile vehicle

• US 20100174438A1
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Published: 07/08/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Takahashi, Susumu
• Granted Patent: US 8,364,337 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/08 Construction

Abstract

A failure countermeasure support system for efficiently determining upon countermeasures to be executed for remedying a failure of a construction machine, based upon information about the failure. There are provided: a plurality of maintenance databases 2, 3, 4, and 5; a structured information database 100 in which the maintenance information in the maintenance databases 2, 3, 4, and 5 is structured; a structured information search section 13 which searches the structured information database on the basis of failure information about a mobile vehicle, and extracts one or more structured information records; and a display control section 15 which outputs a list of the one or more extracted structured information records. The outputted list includes link information to maintenance information in the maintenance databases 2, 3, 4, and 5, corresponding to structured information records which are included in this list.

Claims

1. A failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle, comprising:

a data conversion means (12) which acquires failure information for a mobile vehicle;

maintenance databases (2, 3, 4, 5) in which are stored items of maintenance information related to maintenance for remedying failures which it is feared may occur with the mobile vehicle;

a structured information database (100) in which is stored structured information for referring to said items of maintenance information stored in said maintenance databases;

a structured information search means (13) which searches said structured information database on the basis of said failure information for said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and extracts one or more structured information records related to said failure information; and

a display control means (15) which outputs a list of said one or more structured information records extracted by said structured information search means;

wherein, in said list outputted by said display control means, link information is included to said maintenance information in said maintenance databases, corresponding to said one or more structured information records which are included in said list.

2. The failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising:

a structured information extraction section (11) which extracts said structured information from said maintenance information stored in said maintenance databases (2, 3, 4, 5), and stores a plurality of said structured information records in said structured information database (100).

3. The failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle according to claim 2, wherein:

said maintenance databases have a plurality of individual databases;

said structured information database (100) has a plurality of structured information tables (210, 220, 230, 240) which respectively correspond to said plurality of individual databases, and a plurality of text files; and

a plurality of said structured information records are included in each of said plurality of structured information tables, and, in each of said structured information records, there is included identification information for one corresponding text file among said plurality of text files.

4. The failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle according to any one of claims 1 through 3, further comprising:

a past example database (6) which stores past example information, relating to countermeasures which have been implemented in order to remedy a failure of said mobile vehicle which has occurred in the past, and which includes, at least, a device type, a model, a failure code, a device name, and a name of the phenomenon that occurred, related to the failure; and

an individual database search means (14) which searches said past example database, and extracts past example information which matches one or more among the device type, the model, the failure code, the device name, and the name of the phenomenon that has occurred, included in the failure information of said mobile vehicle that has been acquired;

wherein, said display control means outputs said past example information related to the result of extraction by said individual database search means, in order of closeness of an operating time period included in said past example information to the operating time period included in said failure information for said mobile vehicle which has been acquired.

5. The failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle according to claim 4, wherein:

said individual database search means;

extracts, as first candidate instances, items of said past example information for which the device type and model, or the device type, match the failure information for said mobile vehicle which has been acquired;

makes decisions, for said first candidate instances, as to whether or not a failure code matches the failure information of said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and, if any of them match, takes those of said first candidate instances which match as second candidate instances, while, if none match, taking said first candidate instances just as they are as second candidate instances;

makes decisions, for said second candidate instances, as to whether or not a device name matches the failure information of said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and, if any of them match, takes those of said second candidate instances which match as third candidate instances, while, if none match, taking said second candidate instances just as they are as third candidate instances;

makes decisions, for said third candidate instances, as to whether or not a name of the phenomenon that occurred matches the failure information of said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and, if any of them match, takes those of said third candidate instances which match as final candidate instances, while, if none match, taking said third candidate instances just as they are as final candidate instances;

and outputs said final candidate instances.

6. The failure countermeasure support system for a mobile vehicle according to claim 1, wherein:

as well as said data conversion means being adapted to acquire said failure information for said mobile vehicle from a moving state management system (8) of said mobile vehicle, also, in said failure information which is acquired, information specifying a water temperature or an oil temperature of said mobile vehicle is included; and

when said water temperature or said oil temperature which is included in said failure information is an anomalous water temperature or an anomalous oil temperature, said individual database search means searches for past example information related to said water temperature or to said oil temperature from said past example database.

7. A failure countermeasure support method for a mobile vehicle, wherein a computer executes:

a step of acquiring failure information for a mobile vehicle;

a step of searching a structured information database (100) in which is stored structured information for referring to maintenance information stored in maintenance databases (2, 3, 4, 5) in which are stored items of said maintenance information related to maintenance for remedying failures which it is feared may occur with the mobile vehicle, on the basis of said failure information for said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and extracting one or more structured information records related to said failure information; and

a step of outputting a list, which is a list of said one or more structured information records which have been extracted, and which includes link information to said maintenance information in said maintenance databases, corresponding to said one or more structured information records included in said list.

8. A computer program to be executed by a computer, for supporting failure countermeasures for a mobile vehicle, comprising:

a step of acquiring failure information for a mobile vehicle;

a step of searching a structured information database (100) in which is stored structured information for referring to maintenance information stored in maintenance databases (2, 3, 4, 5) in which are stored items of said maintenance information related to maintenance for remedying failures which it is feared may occur with the mobile vehicle, on the basis of said failure information for said mobile vehicle which has been acquired, and extracting one or more structured information records related to said failure information; and

a step of outputting a list, which is a list of said one or more structured information records which have been extracted, and which includes link information to said maintenance information in said maintenance databases, corresponding to said one or more structured information records included in said list.