Method and system for administering automatic door apparatus, and automatic door apparatus

• US 7,181,369 B2
• Filed: 09/10/2003
• Issued: 02/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nabco Ltd. (Nabtesco Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nabco Ltd. (Nabtesco Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Hiroyuki, Iriba, Toru, Kanki, Hisayuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow; John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Washburn; Douglas N.
• Application Number:
  US10/658,893
• Publication Number:
  US 20040049319A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 340/3.1, 700/1, 700/9, 700/65, 700/108, 700/275, 700/277, 700301-306, 702/127, 702/188, 702/182
• US Class Current: 702/188
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0243 model based detection method, e.g. first-principles knowledge model
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0272 Presentation of monitored results, e.g. selection of status reports to be displayed; Filtering information to the user
• 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

Abstract

Disclosed is a system for monitoring automatic door apparatuses installed at different sites by centrally administering maintenance service contents and contents regarding actual repair to compile a database and by rendering personnel in sales agents or maintenance service agents accessible to the database. The system has a multitude of automatic door apparatus each having a communications function, and an administration center communicatively connected with the respective automatic door apparatuses via a communication medium. Each of the automatic door apparatuses sends, to the administration center, operating information of its own with apparatus identification information attached thereto. The administration center is operative to classify the operating information of each door apparatus into a number of categories based on the apparatus identification information for storage, and to output the operating information in response to a calling.

Claims

1. A method for administering a number of automatic door apparatuses installed at different sites, comprising the steps of:

allowing a number of automatic door apparatuses to send their respective opening information to an administration center with apparatus identification information attached thereto, the operating information including a result on self-diagnosis of the automatic door apparatus regarding abnormality thereof;

classifying the respective operating information in accordance with the apparatus identification information;

storing classified operating information;

outputting the stored operating information of a required condition;

predicting a possible malfunction of the automatic door apparatus based on the stored operating information; and

outputting a result of prediction regarding the possible malfunction.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the administration center is communicatively connected with an information terminal device provided in a maintenance station which is assigned to carry out maintenance service of the automatic door apparatus, and wherein part or all of the stored operating information is transmittable to the maintenance station in response to a request of reading out the operating information from the information terminal device.

3. A system for administering a number of automatic door apparatuses, comprising:

a sender which is provided on each of a number of door apparatus to send operating information of its own apparatus with identification information attached thereto; and

an administration center which receives the sent operating information and the identification information of each automatic door apparatus, and classifies the operating information in accordance with the apparatus identification information, and stores the classified operating information for output of the stored operating information in response to a request;

wherein the administration center is operative to predict a possible malfunction in the requested door apparatus based on the stored operating information, and the administration center includes a malfunction predicting section for outputting a result of prediction regarding the possible malfunction.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the administration center includes a search section for making a search relating to the stored operating information under a designated condition.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the automatic door apparatus includes a device for self-diagnosing abnormality of the automatic door apparatus, and the sender is operative to send, to the administration center, a result of the self-diagnosis with information relating to occurrence of the abnormality attached thereto when the result of the self-diagnosis includes the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality.

6. The system according to claim 5, further comprising maintenance stations, each of which includes an information terminal device communicatively connected with the administration center, each of the maintenance stations being adapted to carry out maintenance service for at least one of the automatic door apparatuses, and the administration center being operative to receive from the automatic door apparatuses and send to a designated one of maintenance stations the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto, the designated maintenance station being designated in advance based on the apparatus identification information for the automatic door apparatus that sends the administration center information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto.

7. A system for administering a number of automatic door apparatuses, comprising:

a sender which is provided on each of the number of door apparatuses to send operating information of its own apparatus with identification information attached thereto; and

an administration center which receives the sent operating information and the identification information of each automatic door apparatus, and classifies the operating information in accordance with the apparatus identification information, and stores the classified operating information for output of the stored operating information in response to a request;

the automatic door apparatus including a device for self-diagnosing abnormality of the automatic door apparatus, and the sender being operative to send, to the administration center, a result on the self-diagnosis with information relating to occurrence of the abnormality attached thereto when the result on the self-diagnosis includes the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality, the administration center being communicatively connected with an information terminal device of a maintenance station which is assigned to carry out maintenance service of the automatic door apparatus, and the administration center being operative to send the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto to the information terminal device of the maintenance station which is designated in advance based on the apparatus identification information for the automatic door apparatus that sends the administration center the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto; and

wherein the information terminal device of the maintenance station is operative to visibly alert occurrence of the abnormality on a display section of the information terminal device along with contents of the abnormality when the maintenance station receives the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein at least one of client contact information and maintenance station contact information is displayed in terms of link or guidance on the display section.

9. The system according to claim 7, wherein a history of repairs that have been carried out against abnormalities is visibly displayed on the display section.

10. A system according for administering a number of automatic door apparatuses, comprising:

a sender which is provided on each of the number of door apparatuses to send operating information of its own apparatus with identification information attached thereto; and

an administration center which receives the sent operating information and the identification information of each automatic door apparatuses, and classifies the operating information in accordance with the apparatus identification information, and stores the classified operating information for output of the stored operating information in response to a request;

the automatic door apparatus including a device for self-diagnosing abnormality of the automatic door apparatus, and the sender being operative to send, to the administration center, a result on the self-diagnosis with information relating to occurrence of the abnormality attached thereto when the result on the self-diagnosis includes the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality, the administration center being communicatively connected with an information terminal device of a maintenance station which is assigned to carry out maintenance service of the automatic door apparatus, and the administration center being operative to send the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto to the information terminal device of the maintenance station which is designated in advance based on the apparatus identification information for the automatic door apparatus that sends the administration center the information relating to occurrence of the abnormality and the self-diagnosis result attached thereto; and

wherein part or all of the stored operating information, or a result on prediction of a possible malfunction is transmittable through the information terminal device of the maintenance station to the maintenance station in response to a request for reading out the operating information or outputting the result of prediction of the possible malfunction.

11. An automatic door apparatus comprising:

a door operating mechanism having a motor for opening and closing a door;

a sensor for detecting presence of an object;

a controller for driving the motor of the door operating mechanism based on a signal outputted from the sensor to open and close the door;

an operating information extractor which extracts repeatedly at predetermined time intervals, from the controller, operating information of the automatic door apparatus including sensor state information indicating a detected state of the sensor and door state information indicating an open/close control state of the door, the door state information being cooperatively associated with the sensor state information; and

a memory device which time-sequentially stores the operating information repeatedly extracted by the extractor, the operating information being stored in an order of extracted time from a current time back for a predetermined period.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the operating information includes signal information which is communicable between the controller and an external apparatus electrically connected with the controller.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the automatic door apparatus function of self-diagnosing malfunction or abnormality of the automatic door apparatus with the sensor or its equivalent while storing a result of the self-diagnosis in a memory, and the extractor is operative to extract the self-diagnosis result from the memory as the operating information for storing the self-diagnosis result in the memory device in time-series.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, further includes a monitor which monitors a malfunction, and the extractor extracts an operation history of the automatic door apparatus from the controller for storage in the memory device.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the extractor extracts an altered designated value when the designated value set in the automatic door apparatus is altered for storage in the memory device.

16. An automatic door apparatus comprising:

a door open/close mechanism having a motor for opening and closing a door;

a sensor for detecting an object;

a controller for driving the motor of the door open/close mechanism based on a signal outputted from the sensor to open and close the door;

an operating information extractor which extracts, from the controller, a sensor state information indicating a detected state of the sensor and a door state information indicating an open/close control state of the door, as operating information of the automatic door apparatus, the door state information being cooperatively associated with the sensor state information; and

a memory device which sequentially stores the operating information extracted by the extractor in time-series, wherein the extractor updates contents stored in the memory device at a predetermined cycle.

17. An automatic door apparatus comprising:

a door open/close mechanism having a motor for opening and closing a door;

a sensor for detecting an object;

a controller for driving the motor of the door open/close mechanism based on a signal outputted from the sensor to open and close the door;

an operating information extractor which extracts, from the controller, a sensor state information indicating a detected state of the sensor and a door state information indicating an open/close control state of the door, as operating information of the automatic door apparatus, the door state information being cooperatively associated with the sensor state information; and

a memory device which sequentially stores the operation information extracted by the extractor in time-series, wherein the extractor suspends overwriting of the operating information into the memory device when occurrence of malfunction is detected in the automatic door apparatus, and retains the operating information and the self-diagnosis result before the detection of the occurrence of the malfunction in the memory device.