Control system for construction machines

• US 6,778,893 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2001
• Issued: 08/17/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Murakami, Taku, Taninaga, Tadashi, Murase, Megumi
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US09/951,403
• Publication Number:
  US 20020032511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,068 Days
• Field of Search: 701/29, 701/33, 701/50, 340/438, 340/439, 702/184, 702/58
• US Class Current: 701/50
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

Abnormality can be judged accurately by considering information other than a sensor-detected value. Determination of an abnormality degree, namely an urgency degree, is enabled, and an abnormality can be processed accurately according to the determined result. Only information really useful is given to the side of an administrator, and the communications cost is suppressed. Server unit 11 of manufacturer 10 judges the abnormality degree of a construction machine on the basis of a combination of all or two of first to third construction machine information D1, D2, D3 collected. The server unit 11 of the manufacturer 10 ranks the abnormality degree of the construction machine in respective levels of Rank 1 (Normal), Rank 2 (Warning), Rank 3 (Abnormal) and Rank 4 (Emergency) on the basis of the number of occurred times of error codes collected for the unit time.

Claims

1. A control system for a construction machine which collects information from the construction machine, judges an abnormality of the construction machine on the basis of the collected construction machine information, and processes the abnormality of the construction machine when it is judged abnormal to control the construction machine, comprising:

information collecting means which detects or measures the construction machine information; and

information processing means which compares a detected value or a measured value detected or measured by the information collected means with threshold values for each of a plurality of ranks and ranks an abnormality degree of the construction machine indicated by the detected value or the measured value in a plurality of levels, wherein;

the abnormality of the construction machine is processed on the basis of information indicating the abnormality degree ranked by the information processing means.

2. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein:

the system is applied to control a plurality of construction machines, and

the information processing means set a ranking criterion for each of the construction machines and ranks for every construction machine according to the set criterion.

3. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein:

the construction machine information is time-series data which is variable with the passage of time, and

the information processing means ranks an amount of change to an inclination, an absolute value or an initial value of the time-series data in a plurality of levels.

4. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein:

the construction machine information is an error code indicating an error occurred within the construction machine, and

the information processing means ranks a frequency of occurrence of the error code in a plurality of levels.

5. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 1, wherein:

the construction machine information is a compared result obtained by comparing an actual operating condition with a predicted value of an operating state of the construction machine, and

the information processing means ranks the compared result in a plurality of levels.

6. A control system for a construction machine which collects information from the construction machine, judges an abnormality of the construction machine on the basis of the collected construction machine information, and processes the abnormality of the construction machine when it is judged abnormal to control the construction machine, comprising:

information collecting means which detects or measures the construction machine information; and

a single or plurality of terminal devices which are disposed on the side of an administrator who processes the abnormality of the construction machine, wherein;

the information collecting means, the terminal devices, and a server unit are communicably connected by communications means;

information processing means which compares a detected value or a measured value detected or measured by the information collecting means with threshold values for each of a plurality of ranks and ranks an abnormality degree indicated by the detected value or the measured value in a plurality of levels;

the construction machine information collected by the information collecting means is sent to the server unit through the communications means;

the information processing means of the server unit ranks the abnormality degree of the construction machine in a plurality of levels on the basis of the sent construction machine information; and

the server unit responds to a request from the single or plurality of terminal devices and sends information indicating the ranked abnormality degree to the requested terminal device through the communications means.

7. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

the system is applied to control a plurality of construction machines, and

the information processing means set a ranking criterion for each of the construction machines and ranks for every construction machine according to the set criterion.

8. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

the construction machine information is time-series data which is variable with the passage of time, and

the information processing means ranks an amount of change to an inclination, an absolute value or an initial value of the time-series data in a plurality of levels.

9. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

the construction machine information is an error code indicating an error occurred within the construction machine, and

the information processing means ranks a frequency of occurrence of the error code in a plurality of levels.

10. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 6, wherein:

the construction machine information is a compared result obtained by comparing an actual operating condition with a predicted value of an operating state of the construction machine, and

the information processing means ranks the compared result in a plurality of levels.

11. A control system for a construction machine which collects information from the construction machine, judges an abnormality of the construction machine on the basis of the collected construction machine information, and processes the abnormality of the construction machine when it is judged abnormal to control the construction machine, comprising:

information collecting means which detects or measures the construction machine information; and

a plurality of terminal devices which are disposed on the side of an administrator who processes the abnormality of the construction machine, wherein;

the information collecting means, the plurality of terminal devices and a server unit are communicably connected by communications means;

information processing means, which compares a detected value or a measured value detected or measured by the information collecting means with threshold values for each of a plurality of ranks and ranks an abnormality degree of the construction machine indicated by the detected value or the measured value in a plurality of levels and associates a rank of the abnormality degree to be sent with the plurality of terminal devices, is disposed on the server unit;

the construction machine information collected by the information collecting means is sent to the server unit through the communications means;

the information processing means of the server unit ranks the abnormality degree of the construction machine in a plurality of levels on the basis of the sent construction machine information and associates a rank of the abnormality degree to be sent with the plurality of terminal devices; and

the server unit responds to a request from the terminal device and sends abnormality degree information of a corresponding rank to the requested terminal device through the communications means.

12. A control system for a construction machine which collects information from the construction machine, judges an abnormality of the construction machine on the basis of the collected construction machine information, and processes the abnormality of the construction machine when it is judged abnormal to control the construction machine, comprising:

information collecting means which detects or measures the construction machine information; and

a plurality of terminal devices which are disposed on the side of an administrator who processes the abnormality of the construction machine, wherein;

the information collecting means, the terminal devices and a server unit are communicably connected by communications means;

the server unit is provided with information processing means which compares a detected value or a measured value detected or measured by the information collecting means with threshold values for each of a plurality of ranks and ranks an abnormality degree of the construction machine indicated by the detected value or the measured value in a plurality of levels and stores the ranked results in a storage means;

the construction machine information collected by the information collecting means is sent to the server unit through the communications means;

the information processing means of the server unit ranks the abnormality degree of the construction machine in a plurality of levels on the basis of the sent construction machine information;

the ranks of the abnormality degree made by the information processing means are reranked, and the reranked results are stored in the storage means; and

the server unit sends information indicating the reranked abnormality degree to the respective terminal devices through the communications means.

13. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 12, wherein:

the plurality of terminal devices are ranked in a plurality of levels;

the abnormality degree ranked by the information processing means of the server unit is reranked according to the levels of the terminal devices; and

the server unit sends the information about the reranked abnormality degree according to the levels of the terminal devices to the corresponding terminal device through the communications means.

14. A control system for a construction machine which collects information from the construction machine, judges an abnormality of the construction machine on the basis of the collected construction machine information, and processes the abnormality of the construction machine when it is judged abnormal to control the construction machine, comprising:

information collecting means which collect the construction machine information; and

a plurality of terminal devices which are disposed on the side of an administrator who processes the abnormality of the construction machine, wherein;

the information collecting means, the terminal devices and a server unit are communicably connected by communications means;

the server unit is provided with information processing means which ranks an abnormality degree in a plurality of levels on the basis of the construction machine information;

the construction machine information collected by the information collecting means is sent to the server unit through the communications means;

the information processing means of the server unit ranks the abnormality degree of the construction machine in a plurality of levels on the basis of the sent construction machine information;

the server unit sends information indicating the ranked abnormality degree to a particular terminal device through the communications means;

the particular terminal device reranks the ranked abnormality degree for the sent information and sends to the server unit; and

the server unit sends information indicating the reranked abnormality degree to the respective terminal devices through the communications means.

15. The control system for a construction machine according to claim 14, wherein:

the plurality of terminal devices are ranked in a plurality of levels;

the abnormality degree ranked by the information processing means of the server unit is reranked according to the levels of the terminal devices; and

the server unit sends the information about the reranked abnormality degree according to the levels of the terminal devices to the corresponding terminal device through the communications means.