Method and apparatus for measuring component performance data of construction machine

• US 6,542,851 B2
• Filed: 05/26/1999
• Issued: 04/01/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Sugano, Yukio, Hasegawa, Nobuki, Yamamoto, Shigeru
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Barbee, Manuel L.
• Application Number:
  US09/320,157
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103623A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 702/33, 702/35, 702/108, 702/113-115, 702/50, 702/121-123, 702/127, 702/130, 702/138, 702/145, 702/176-178, 702/182-185, 702/188, 701/29, 701/31, 701/32, 701/35
• US Class Current: 702/182
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0825 using optical means
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/0841 Registering performance data recording measured values G01D; information storage G11B

Abstract

Performance data of components of a construction machine is measured by the steps of automatically operating the component mounted to the construction machine so as to satisfy one of a plurality of measurement conditions which are preliminarily set, automatically measuring performance data of the component which is preliminarily set under the above automatically operated state, and successively performing the same steps as those defined above with respect to remaining measurement conditions other than the above-mentioned one measurement condition, thus measuring the performance data of the component with one or more than one measurement conditions.

Claims

1. A method of measuring performance data of components of a construction machine comprising the steps of:

(i) automatically operating selected components of the construction machine so as to satisfy one of a plurality of measurement conditions which are preliminarily set;

(ii) automatically measuring performance data of the selected components while the selected components are automatically operated; and

(iii) successively performing the steps (i) and (ii) with respect to all remaining measurement conditions other than said one measurement condition thereby to measure the performance data of the selected components with one or more than one of the measurement conditions;

wherein the selected components include only components relating to the respective measurement conditions.

2. A method of measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the measured performance data is sent to a remote place apart from the construction machine and an abnormal condition is displayed at the remote place at a time when the measured performance data is different from normal performance data.

3. A method of measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein the measured data of components of one or more than one construction machine are sent to a remote place and the measured performance data of the components of the one or more than one construction machine are processed and stored in the remote place.

4. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine comprising:

detecting means for detecting performance data of the components of the construction machine;

storage means for storing plural sets of measurement signals for enabling the detecting means to detect the performance data of the components, and plural sets of control signals for realizing measurement conditions corresponding to the plural sets of measurement signals;

control means for;

(i) outputting automatically and successively, to selected ones of the components, respective sets of the control signals for creating states for satisfying respective ones of the measurement conditions, (ii) outputting automatically and successively, to the detecting means, respective sets of the measurement signals to enable the detecting means to detect the performance data, and (iii) successively performing the outputting operations (i) and (ii) with respect to all remaining sets of measurement signals and control signals, when a measurement starting signal is inputted into the control means; and

means for inputting the measurement starting signal to the control means;

wherein the selected components to which the control means outputs the control signals include only components relating to the respective measurement conditions.

5. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 4, further comprising communication means for inputting the measurement starting signal to the control means from a remote place apart from the construction machine.

6. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 4, further comprising data processing means judging an abnormality condition in a case where the performance data differs from normal performance data, and notification means for indicating the presence of the abnormality condition when the data processing means judges that the abnormality condition exists.

7. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 4, further comprising:

communication means for transmitting and receiving the performance data to and from a remote place apart from the construction machine;

data processing means for processing the performance data received by the communication means into a form suitable for display;

means for displaying the performance data as processed by the data processing means; and

means arranged in operative association with the data processing means for storing the performance data.

8. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 7, further comprising data processing means judging an abnormality condition in a case where the performance data differs from normal performance data, and notification means for indicating the presence of the abnormality condition when the data processing means judges that the abnormality condition exists.

9. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 7, wherein said communication means for transmitting and receiving the performance data to and from the remote place apart from the construction machine generates transmission data in combination with the performance data and data other than the performance data including at least one of vehicle identification number, measurement year, month, day and time, engine total working time and groups of measured conditions.

10. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 9, wherein said transmission data comprises centralized management data of the construction machine.

11. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 4, wherein said detecting means comprises a plurality of sensors.

12. An apparatus for measuring performance data of components of a construction machine according to claim 11, wherein the respective sets of the measurement signals are output automatically and successively to selected ones of the plurality of sensors.