Communication system for working machines

• US 7,171,188 B1
• Filed: 05/22/2000
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi Construction Machinery Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Hiroshi, Komatsu, Hideki, Adachi, Hiroyuki, Hirata, Toichi, Shibata, Koichi, Ochiai, Yasushi, Sugiyama, Genroku
• Primary Examiner(s): Anderson; Matthew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Pan; Yuwen
• Application Number:
  US10/048,007
• Time in Patent Office: 2,444 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.1, 455/404.2, 455/412.2, 455/414.4, 455/419, 455/423, 455/66.1, 340/441, 340/459, 340/461, 701/29, 701/31, 701/35, 702/184, 702/34, 702/179
• US Class Current: 455/404.1
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 3/30 with a dipper-arm pivoted on a cantilever beam , i.e. boom
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/2025 Particular purposes of control systems not otherwise provided for E02F3/16, E02F3/26, sub-groups of E02F3/43, E02F3/651, sub-groups of E02F3/84, E02F3/907, E02F5/145 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4185 characterised by the network communication
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31365 Send message to most appropriate operator as function of kind of error
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0285 using signals transmitted via a public communication network, e.g. GSM network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/00 User-to-user messaging in packet-switching networks, transmitted according to store-and-forward or real-time protocols, e.g. e-mail
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/222 using geographical location information, e.g. messages transmitted or received in proximity of a certain spot or area
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Provided is a communication system for working machines, which makes it possible to transmit desired messages from sites, where the working machines are arranged, to their corresponding work administration centers at timings as needed. When a mail switch 10 arranged on a working machine 7 is operated to send information to a server 1, a terminal user-company identification unit 14 identifies, on the basis of a terminal information database 18, a user to which the information so received is to be sent. A user-company-dependent mail selection unit 15 selects customer information 19a on the user from a customer database 19. At a transmission mail creation unit 16, a corresponding new message 16a is created. The mail is then transmitted from a mail output unit 17. In this manner, a desired message can be sent from each working machine 7 at a remote location to the corresponding user at a timing as needed.

Claims

1. A communication system for working machines, said system comprising:

controllers arranged on said working machines, respectively, for transmitting predetermined information from said respective working machines,

a control station arranged at a remote location and connected to said controllers via radiocommunication such that said predetermined information outputted from each of said controllers is inputted in said control station, and

a plurality of user stations connected to said control station via a network, wherein;

each of said working machines is provided with a transmission device operated by an operator thereof which instructs a respective controller to transmit the corresponding predetermined information to the control station; and

said control station is provided with a terminal information database in which terminal information is stored, a customer information database in which a plurality of mail texts having desired content individually set as desired by each user station customer are stored, a terminal identification module to identify from said corresponding predetermined information and from said terminal information a corresponding one of the user stations to which the corresponding text having the desired content is to be transmitted, a selection module by which the text having the desired content is selected from the customer information database, and a transmitter providing output to said corresponding one of the user stations identified by said terminal identification module.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said predetermined information from said respective working machines includes identification information specific to said working machine.

3. The communication system according to claim 2, wherein information on all the working machines and all user station customers is stored in said terminal information database.

4. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein an individual working machine administration center is specified by said terminal information database on a basis of corresponding identification information stored therein.

5. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein said control station is provided with a selector to select the text corresponding to a specified administration center from said customer information database.

6. The communication system according to claim 5, wherein said specified administration center can rewrite, from the corresponding user station, said text stored in said customer information database.

7. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein each of said working machines is provided with a position detecting means for detecting a current location of said working machine, and said predetermined information includes information on said location.

8. The communication system according to claim 7, wherein said information on said current location is included in said information transmitted by said transmitter.