Facility management system and facility management method

• US 6,917,859 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2002
• Issued: 07/12/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2002
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Takata, Shigeo, Ando, Masafumi, Ikeda, Takashi, Hattori, Shinji, Masui, Hirotaka, Hayakawa, Hidesuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Picard, Leo
• Assistant Examiner(s): ORTIZ RODRIGUEZ, CARLOS R
• Application Number:
  US10/330,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20030144872A1
• Time in Patent Office: 925 Days
• Field of Search: 700/9, 700/22, 700/108, 700/286, 700/203, 705/7, 717/127
• US Class Current: 700/286
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

An owner concludes with a facility maintenance company a contract for maintenance of electric facilities and an operation control monitor device installed in a building of the owner. The electric facility manufacturer gives the company permission to access the device from a terminal through the Internet as a communication network. The company receives continuous monitor data items of the electric facilities collected by the device. The manufacturer accesses the device from a terminal through the network and also receives the continuous monitor data items of the electric facilities.

Claims

1. A facility management system, comprising:

a building having electric facilities and an operation control monitor device installed therein; and

a facility maintenance company configured to maintain the electric facilities installed in the building using the operation control monitor device installed in the building for controlling and monitoring operation of the electric facilities, wherein

the facility maintenance company is configured to receive monitor data of the electric facilities in the building collected by the operation control monitor device through a terminal of the facility maintenance company connected to a communication network, after receiving permission from an electric facility manufacturer to access the operation control monitor device, and the terminal of the electric facility manufacturer is communicatively coupled to the communication network.

2. The facility management system according to claim 1, wherein the facility maintenance company transmits information of an abnormality to the operation control monitor device from the terminal of the facility maintenance company through the communication network when the monitor data received indicates an occurrence of the abnormality.

3. The facility management system according to claim 1, wherein the facility maintenance company is configured to control the operation of the electric facilities using the terminal of the facility maintenance company through the communication network and the operation control monitor device.

4. The facility management system according to claim 1, wherein:

the operation control monitor device is configured to convert a communication protocol for use in the electric facilities to a general-purpose communication protocol that is commonly used in the communication network, and

the facility maintenance company uses a general-purpose personal computer as the terminal installed therein.

5. The facility management system according to claim 1, wherein the facility maintenance company receives through the terminal of the facility maintenance company, (1) setting data to operate the electric facilities, and (2) operation data obtained during the operation of the electric facilities, as the monitor data.

6. The facility management system according to claim 1, wherein the facility maintenance company is configured (1) to access the operation control monitor device through the communication network to obtain the monitor data of the electric facilities, (2) to display the monitor data on the terminal of the facility maintenance company, and (3) to obtain the permission to access the operation control monitor device after the facility maintenance company purchases from an electric facility manufacturer, a recording medium storing a monitor program for judging whether the monitor data received are normal or abnormal.

7. The facility management system according to claim 6, wherein the facility maintenance company receives the permission to access an individual operation control monitor device after obtaining a password stored in the purchased recording medium, wherein the password corresponds to information stored in the individual operation control monitor device.

8. The facility management system according to claim 7, wherein, before transmitting data including the password to verify the password with the information stored in the corresponding operation control monitor device, the facility maintenance company encodes the data including the password to be transmitted to prohibit access of the operation control monitor device by others without the permission.

9. The facility management system according to claim 6, wherein a remote control program is stored in the recording medium purchased by the facility maintenance company, the remote control program being configured to remotely control the electric facilities through the communication network and the operation control monitor device.

10. The facility management system according to claim 6, wherein the recording medium purchased by the facility maintenance company stores an operation manual, a maintenance manual, and a repairing manual for the electric facilities.

11. A facility management system, comprising:

a building having electric facilities and an operation control monitor device installed therein; and

a facility maintenance company configured to maintain the electric facilities installed in the building using the operation control monitor device installed in the building for controlling and monitoring operation of the electric facilities, wherein

an electric facility manufacturer gives permission to access the operation control monitor device to the facility maintenance company by a first terminal installed in the facility maintenance company through a communication network, so that the facility maintenance company receives monitor data of the electric facilities collected by the operation control monitor device through the communication network, and

the electric facility manufacturer accesses the operation control monitor device by a second terminal installed in the electric facility manufacturer and receives the monitor data of the electric facilities collected by the operation control monitor device through the communication network.

12. The facility management system according to claim 11, wherein the electric facility manufacturer controls the operation of the electric facilities by the second terminal through the communication network and the operation control monitor device.

13. The facility management system according to claim 11, wherein the operation control monitor device is configured to convert a communication protocol for use in the electric facilities to a general-purpose communication protocol to be used in the communication network, and the electric facility manufacturer uses a general-purpose personal computer as the second terminal installed therein.

14. The facility management system according to claim 11, wherein the electric facility manufacturer receives setting data for use in the operation of the electric facilities and operation data during the operation as the monitor data by the second terminal installed therein.

15. The facility management system according to claim 11, wherein, in order to give the permission data to access the operation control monitor device, the electric facility manufacturer sells to the facility maintenance company a recording medium storing a monitor program for (1) accessing the operation control monitor device through the communication network, (2) receiving and displaying the monitor data of the electric facilities, and (3) judging whether the monitor data received are normal or abnormal.

16. The facility management system according to claim 15, wherein the electric facility manufacturer inserts into the recording medium to be sold to the facility maintenance company a password corresponding to an individual operation control monitor device, so that the facility maintenance company that purchases the recording medium obtains the permission to access the corresponding individual operation control monitor device.

17. The facility management system according to claim 15, wherein the electric facility manufacturer sells to the facility maintenance company a recording medium corresponding to a type of the monitor data received by the facility maintenance company.

18. The facility management system according to claim 15, wherein the electric facility manufacturer sells the recording medium having stored therein a remote control program for remotely controlling the electric facilities through the operation control monitor device and the communication network.

19. The facility management system according to claim 15, wherein the electric facility manufacturer sells the recording medium having stored therein an operation manual, a maintenance manual, and a repairing manual for the electric facilities.

20. A facility management system, comprising:

a building having electric facilities and an operation control monitor device installed therein; and

a facility maintenance company configured to maintain the electric facilities installed in the building using the operation control monitor device installed in the building for controlling and monitoring operation of the electric facilities, wherein

an electric manufacturer gives permission to access the operation control monitor device to the facility maintenance company by a first terminal installed in the facility maintenance company through a communication network,

the facility maintenance company receives monitor data of the electric facilities collected by the operation control monitor device from the first terminal through the communication network, and

the electric facility manufacturer is configured to access the operation control monitor device by a second terminal installed therein through the communication network, and to receive the monitor data of the electric facilities collected by the operation control monitor device.