System, method, computer program, and recording medium for machine-management

• US 7,065,570 B2
• Filed: 07/09/2001
• Issued: 06/20/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 07/11/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Yamazaki, Osamu, Watanabe, Masatomo, Fukushima, Hidetada, Kakihara, Masaru, Moritoki, Hisashi, Kawada, Iwaharu, Arashima, Nobuyuki, Fuchiwaki, Tomio, Kusayanagi, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): SALAD, ABDULLAHI ELMI
• Application Number:
  US09/900,490
• Publication Number:
  US 20020046048A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,807 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224, 709/223, 700108-109, 702/184, 714/47, 705/8
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0283 Predictive maintenance, e.g. involving the monitoring of a system and, based on the monitoring results, taking decisions on the maintenance schedule of the monitored system; Estimating remaining useful life [RUL] preventive maintenance, i.e. planning maintenance according to the available resources without monitoring the system G06Q10/06
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A management system of a machine equipped with a driving-power source reads out maintenance conditions from a storage means of maintenance management information when data and conditions, concerned about a maintenance management of a machine, the features of the machine, and so on, including the maintenance conditions, are inputted from the input means. Then, information about predicted maintenance management under a certain operation time of the machine is predicted with reference to the maintenance conditions. Subsequently, the information about the predicted maintenance management is represented on a display means. Furthermore, a maintenance predicted value is previously stored in a data base or the like with respect to the maintenance within an operation time under the contract or within a contract term for each of a plurality of contract ranks. A maintenance actual result value of the machine being entered is accumulatively stored. After a termination of the maintenance contract of the machine, the maintenance predicted value that corresponds to a model and a contract rank of the machine is read out, and simultaneously the maintenance actual result value of the machine is read out, followed by making a judgment whether the maintenance actual result value is larger or smaller than the maintenance contract predicted value.

Claims

1. A management system of a machine, comprising:

a maintenance rank table organized by model that stores a maintenance prediction value with respect to a maintenance within a contract term for two or more contract ranks for each of one or more models;

a means for inputting a model of machine that makes a maintenance contract, a contract rank, and a maintenance actual result value;

a means for storing a maintenance actual result value, where the maintenance actual result value of the machine is accumulatively stored; and

a means for determining whether a maintenance actual result value is larger than a maintenance prediction value corresponding to the machine'"'"'s model and

wherein the contract rank is read out of the maintenance rank table organized by model and the maintenance result value of the machine is read out of the means for storing the maintenance actual result value after an expiration of the contract of the machine.

2. A management system of a machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the means for determining includes a means to calculate a dividend when the maintenance actual value is lower than the maintenance predicted value and the difference between the maintenance actual value and the maintenance predicted value is higher than a predetermined value.

3. A management system of a machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein:

the contract rank of the maintenance rank table organized by model is defined on the basis of usage conditions and operating conditions of the machine.

4. A management system of a machine, comprising:

a client terminal and a server that connects to the client terminal through a network, wherein

the client server includes an input means for entering a model of machine under a maintenance contract, a contract rank, and a maintenance actual result value, a display means, and a control means that requests data from the server and represents the data transmitted from the server on the display means; and

the server includes a maintenance rank table organized by model that stores a maintenance predicted value with respect to a maintenance of each machine'"'"'s model within a contract time for two or more contract ranks for each of one or more models, a means for storing a maintenance actual result value, which accumulatively stores the maintenance actual result value of the machine entered from the client terminal, and a means for determining whether the maintenance actual result value is larger than the maintenance predicted value after an expiration of the contract of the machine,

wherein the maintenance predicted value, which corresponds to the machine'"'"'s model and the contract rank, is read out from the maintenance rank table and the maintenance actual result value is read out from the means for storing the maintenance actual value.

5. A management method of a machine, comprising the steps of:

storing a maintenance predicted value with respect to a maintenance in a maintenance rank table organized by model in a contract time period for two or more contract ranks for each of one or more models;

storing the model of a machine under maintenance contract, contract rank, and maintenance actual result value, where the maintenance actual result value of the machine is accumulatively stored in a means for storing the maintenance actual result,

reading the maintenance actual result value out of the means for storing the maintenance actual result value and reading a maintenance predicted value out of the machine maintenance rank table organized by model, where the maintenance predicted value corresponds to the machine'"'"'s model and the contract rank after an expiration of the contract of the machine; and

determining whether the maintenance actual result value is larger than the maintenance predicted value.

6. A management method of claim 5, wherein

when the maintenance actual result value is smaller than the maintenance predicted value and a difference between these values is larger than a predetermined value, a dividend is calculated and paid.

7. A management method of claim 5, wherein

the contract rank of the maintenance rank table organized by model is reconsidered when the difference between the maintenance actual result value and the maintenance predicted value is larger than a predetermined value, and a new contract rank is obtained by the reconsideration at the time of making a following maintenance contract, followed by using the new contract rank in the following maintenance contract.

8. A management method of claim 7, wherein

when the contract rank in the maintenance rank table organized by model is reconsidered, usage conditions and operating conditions of the machine are considered in the process of reconsideration.