Maintenance monitoring system

• US 5,231,594 A
• Filed: 01/10/1991
• Issued: 07/27/1993
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Ernst Knibiehler, Henrik Nielander
• Original Assignee: Ernst Knibiehler, Henrik Nielander
• Inventors: Nielander, Henrik, Knibiehler, Ernst
• Primary Examiner(s): Cosimano, Edward R.
• Application Number:
  US07/613,791
• Time in Patent Office: 929 Days
• Field of Search: 364/550, 364/551.01, 364/551.02, 377/15, 377/16
• US Class Current: 702/177
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/04 using counting means or digital clocks

Abstract

In order to oversee and plan, at overall shop level, the execution of maintenance work on several installations (1), each having monitoring equipment (3) which monitors the intervals at which maintenance should be carried out on the installations, it is proposed that the outputs (A₃) from the monitoring equipment (3) be fed to a processing unit (27) which produces maintenance status reports (53) for the whole shop. Registers, which store certain maintenance intervals, are reset only upon recognition of maintenance personnel at the site of the installation by manual input and recognition of the condition at the processing unit by a remote input.

Claims

1. A maintenance monitoring system for a plurality of independent unrelated distinguished installations where each installation may comprise one or more devices requiring maintenance at which individually after expiration of maintenance time intervals different types of maintenance work must be performed, comprising:

a monitoring maintenance device arranged at every installation, each maintenance device including means responsive to operation of an associated installation to measure the elapsed time the installation is operating, means responsive to said means to measure for registering predetermined maintenance relevant operation time intervals of the associated installation and means responsive to expiration of maintenance time intervals for emitting a respective signal specific to each predetermined maintenance time interval to an associated output, and

the outputs of the maintenance monitoring devices being led through a common link to a central evaluation unit for evaluating the output signals of the maintenance monitoring devices, said unit including means for displaying an overview of the state of the maintenance of all installations.

2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising at least one monitoring device for monitoring at least one of the conditions including fire, gas, radioactivity, and temperature of the installation being monitored is coupled to the central evaluation unit.

3. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the central evaluation unit is connected by way of a network system to further data processing plants.

4. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a display occurs at least at the central evaluation unit which is provided with a screen unit.

5. A system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein at least a part of the transmission connections inside of the plant and outwards transmission connections comprise long distance transmission connection means such as wire-bound via the telephone network, or wireless via the television network.

6. A system according to claim 1 wherein the outputs of said monitoring maintenance devices are all connected in common to said evaluation unit;

each monitoring maintenance device comprising memory means for for storing data identifying the installation requiring maintenance and means for transmitting the respective signals and the data in said memory means to said evaluation unit.

7. A system according to claim 1 further comprising logic means responsive to a manual input entered to indicate that maintenance on the machine has been performed and to an acknowledgement input generated by the evaluation unit for resetting said means for registering.

8. A system according to claim 1 wherein at least selected ones of said maintenance devices provide measurements of a plurality of elapsed times, the outputs of said selected ones of said maintenance monitoring devices being transmitted to said central evaluation unit each time an elapsed time condition occurs.

9. A system according to claim 1 wherein said evaluation unit further comprises:

storage means for storing data corresponding to the maintenance operation to be performed for each maintenance interval; and

means responsive to the maintenance interval signal received from a monitoring maintenance device means for outputting the data stored in said storage means to the central evaluation unit.

10. A system according to claim 9 wherein display means are provided for displaying the maintenance data received by said central evaluation unit.

11. A system according to claim 1 wherein each monitoring maintenance device means for measuring further comprises means responsive to activation of the associated installation for generating timing pulses;

means for counting said timing pulses; and

means responsive to predetermined counts of said timing pulses for transmitting a signal specific to a maintenance time interval to said evaluation unit.

12. A system according to claim 11 further comprising means for transmitting a code identifying the installation transmitting a signal specific to the maintenance time interval and stored in a memory means each time a signal specific to the maintenance time interval is generated.

13. A system according to claim 12 wherein said means for registering stores a condition indicating that an associated predetermined count has been reached by said counting means.

14. A system according to claim 13 further comprising means responsive to a manual input operated when a maintenance operation associated with a predetermined storage means is performed and when a check signal at the evaluation unit is generated for resetting the means for registering to clear the condition stored therein.

15. A maintenance monitoring system for a plurality of unrelated installations of various different types, individually put into operation independently of one another, comprising:

each installation (1) having a monitoring maintenance device (3), each monitoring maintenance device including;

means (29) for acknowledging maintenance operations performed at the associated installation,

means (9) responsive to operation of an installation for measuring the time span the associated installation has been in operation,

means (13) responsive to said means (9) for measuring and to said means for acknowledging (29) and monitoring predetermined maintenance time intervals departing from respective acknowledgements of maintenance operations performed by said means for acknowledging and for emitting signals indicative of said monitored maintenance time intervals,

said maintenance monitoring system further comprising;

a central evaluation unit (27);

means at each installation for coupling said signals of each of said means for monitoring maintenance time intervals to said central evaluation unit; and

said central evaluation unit including means (53) for displaying an overview of the state of said monitored maintenance time intervals of all said installations (1).

16. A system according to claim 15 wherein said central evaluation unit includes means for generating an acknowledge signal for acknowledging the monitored maintenance time interval associated with a predetermined installation;

and

said means for acknowledging maintenance operations including means responsive to at least the acknowledge signal of said central evaluation unit to clear a signal indicative of the monitored maintenance time interval.

17. A system according to claim 16 wherein said means for acknowledging maintenance operations further includes means for clearing said signal indicative of a monitored maintenance time interval upon receipt of both an acknowledgement signal from said central evaluation unit and a local acknowledgement signal produced upon completion of the maintenance operation associated with the monitored maintenance time interval.