Method for maintaining an object, and a maintenance system

• US 6,675,132 B2
• Filed: 10/17/2001
• Issued: 01/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Vataja, Timo
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US09/981,554
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049567A1
• Time in Patent Office: 811 Days
• Field of Search: 702/188, 702/35, 702/36, 702/58, 702/59, 702/63, 702/150, 702/183, 702/185, 714/25, 714/26, 701/300
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/08 Registering or indicating the production of the machine either with or without registering working or idle time

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for maintaining an object (1), and a maintenance system. At the object (1), the operation is monitored to report the situation prevailing at the object (1) to on-call duty personnel (14). In the method, at least one transmission step is taken, in which at least one notice message is formed, and at least one formed notice message is transmitted by short-range communication means (4). If, within the range of the short-range wireless communication means (4), at least one device (10), equipped with means (5) for receiving said at least one transmitted notice message, detects the transmitted notice message, at least a receiving step to receive the transmitted notice message and a sorting step are further taken in said device (10). At the sorting step, it is sorted out, whether information about the prevailing situation is to be transmitted to the on-call duty personnel, wherein if the transmission can be performed, information about the prevailing situation is transmitted to the on-call duty personnel (14).

Claims

1. A method for maintaining an object (1), in which the operation of the object (1) is monitored to report the prevailing situation at the object (1) to on-call duty personnel (14), characterized in that in the method, at least a transmission step is taken, in which:

at least one notice message is formed, and

at least one formed notice message is transmitted by short-range wireless communication means (4),

wherein if, within the range of the short-range wireless communication means (4), at least one device (10), equipped with means (5) for receiving said at least one transmitted notice message, detects the transmitted notice message, at least the following steps are further taken in said device (10);

a receiving step for receiving the transmitted notice message, and

a sorting step to sort out whether information about the received notice message can be transmitted from the device (10) to the on-call duty personnel (14),

wherein if the transmission can be performed, information about the prevailing situation is transmitted to the on-call duty personnel.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the method, in addition to said sorting step, a storing step is taken to store the notice message in the memory (15) of the device (10), if it was sorted out at the sorting step that the transmission cannot be performed, wherein a retransmission is attempted later.

3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the device (10) that received the notice message, the user of said device is informed about the received notice message, wherein at said sorting step, the user of the device (10) that received the notice message elects whether information about the notice is to be transmitted to the on-call duty personnel (14).

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that for transmitting information about the notice message, a data transmission connection is set up from said device (10) to the on-call duty personnel (14).

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that in the method, also an acknowledgement step is taken, in which an acknowledgement is transmitted from said device (10) about the transmission of the notice message to the on-call duty personnel (14), wherein said acknowledgement is received at the object (1) and the notice is recorded as having been transmitted.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that in the method, the transmission of said notice message is repeated at intervals, wherein retransmissions of the notice message are discontinued, if said acknowledgement is received at the object (1).

7. A system for maintaining an object (1), the object (1) having means (2a, 2b, 2c) for monitoring its operation, and the system further comprising reporting means (16) for reporting the prevailing situation to on-call duty personnel (14), characterized in that the system further comprises at least means for generating at least one notice message on the prevailing situation, short-range wireless communication means (4a) for transmitting said notice message, a device (10) comprising receiving means (5b) for receiving said at least one transmitted notice message, and sorting means (11, 12, 13) to sort out whether information about the received notice message can be transmitted from the device (10) to the on-call duty personnel, wherein the notice means comprise transmitting means (16) for transmitting information about the prevailing situation to the on-call duty personnel.

8. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the device (10) comprises means (12) for notifying the user of said device about the received notice message, wherein said sorting means comprise election means (13) for electing whether information about the notice shall be transmitted to the on-call duty personnel (14).

9. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that it further comprises means (16) for setting up a data transmission connection to the on-call duty personnel (14).

10. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that it also comprises means (11, 15) for generating an acknowledgement message, means (5a) for transmitting the acknowledgement from said device (10), wherein the object (1) comprises means (4b) for receiving said acknowledgement message, and means (6, 9) for recording the notice message as having been transmitted.

11. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that the means (2a, 2b, 2c) for monitoring the operation comprise means for measuring the temperature and/or means for measuring the power.

12. The system according to claim 7, characterized in that it comprises means (14) for storing at least data about the person who transmitted information about the notice message, data about the moment of receiving the notice message in the device (10), and/or data about the moment of transmission of information about the notice message to on-call duty personnel (14).

13. A wireless communication device arranged to be used in a system for maintaining an object (1), at which object (1) monitoring of its operation is arranged to be performed to notify the situation prevailing at the object (1) to on-call duty personnel (14), characterized in that the wireless communication device (10) comprises at least receiving means (5b) for receiving at least one notice message generated on the situation prevailing at the object (1) and transmitted by short-range wireless communication means (4a), and that the wireless communication device (10) further comprises at least sorting means (11, 12, 13) to sort out whether information about the received notice message can be transmitted from the device (10) to the on-call duty personnel, and transmitting means (16) for transmitting information about the prevailing situation to the on-call duty personnel.