Data collection system

• US 7,854,377 B2
• Filed: 10/23/2006
• Issued: 12/21/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/21/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Original Assignee: Omron Corporation
• Inventors: Tsuda, Manabu, Fujii, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Michael G
• Assistant Examiner(s): SHARIFZADEH, ALI REZA
• Application Number:
  US11/584,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20070090178A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,520 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/376, 235/383, 235/385, 705/7, 705/8, 705/9, 700/95, 700/96
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0264 Control of logging system, e.g. decision on which data to store; time-stamping measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0272 Presentation of monitored results, e.g. selection of status reports to be displayed; Filtering information to the user

Abstract

A data collection system includes: a contact information acquisition unit, for obtaining contact information; a state recognition unit, for obtaining, based on contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit, state information concerning the state of a equipment; a state coding unit, for transforming into coded contact associated information the state information obtained by the state recognition unit; and an output unit, for transmitting to an output apparatus contact information obtained by the contact information acquisition unit and for transmitting to a network apparatus contact associated information obtained by the state coding unit. With this arrangement, information concerning the operation of a equipment can be easily obtained, without requiring the reconstruction of a equipment or a great change in a sequence program, such as a programmable controller, mounted in the equipment.

Claims

1. A data collection system comprising:

a divergence apparatus, located between an equipment and an output apparatus, for outputting contact information concerning an operation performed by the equipment;

a network apparatus; and

a data collection apparatus connected to the network apparatus via a network,

wherein the divergence apparatus includes;

a contact information acquisition unit, for obtaining contact information from the equipment; and

an output unit, for transmitting to the output apparatus contact information obtained by the contact information acquisition unit, and for transmitting, to the network apparatus, contact associated information, which is information concerning the contact information;

wherein the network apparatus includes;

a first contact associated information receiver, for receiving contact associated information from the divergence apparatus; and

a first contact associated information transmitter, for transmitting, to the data collection apparatus via the network, the contact associated information received by the first contact associated information receiver;

wherein the data collection apparatus includes;

an operating data storage unit, used to store the contact associated information;

a second contact associated information receiver, for receiving contact associated information from the network apparatus via the network; and

an operating data log accumulation unit, for storing in the operating data storage unit contact associated information received by the second contact associated information receiver;

wherein the divergence apparatus further includes;

a state recognition unit, for employing contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit to obtain state information, which is information concerning a state of the equipment; and

a state coding unit, for transforming the state information obtained by the state recognition unit into coded contact associated information;

wherein the output unit transmits to the output apparatus the contact information obtained by the contact information acquisition unit, and also transmits to the network apparatus the contact associated information obtained through a transform performed by the state coding unit;

wherein the state coding unit further includes;

a coding map storage unit, for storing a coding map representing a correlation between state information, which indicates state patterns for n contacts, and contact associated information, which is code in (n−

1) bits or smaller; and

a contact associated information acquisition unit, for obtaining, from the coding map, contact associated information that is correlated with state information obtained by the state recognition unit; and

wherein n is an integer of two or greater.

2. A data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the state coding unit includes:

a coding map storage unit, for storing a coding map according to which contact associated information, correlated with state information that indicates a set of two or more states, is regarded as the sum of contact associated information sets that are correlated with the two or more states; and

a contact associated information acquisition unit, for obtaining from the coding map contact associated information correlated with state information obtained by the state recognition unit.

3. A data collection system according to claim 1,

wherein the contact outputs the state of a buzzer that is to be set either to the ON or to the OFF state, or the state of a signal light that is to be turned on or off, or to blink;

wherein the state information includes asynchronous information that is generated asynchronously with a change in the state of the buzzer and a change in the state of the signal light;

wherein, when state information obtained by the state recognition unit includes asynchronous information, the state coding unit transforms the state information into contact associated information, which is code having a predetermined value, regardless of whether information other than the asynchronous information is included in the state information obtained by the state recognition unit.

4. A data collection system according to claim 3, wherein the asynchronous information is production count information indicating a production count for the equipment.

5. A data collection system according to claim 1, wherein the data collection apparatus employs different network interfaces to connect to the divergence apparatus and to connect to the analysis apparatus.

6. A data collection system according to claim 1, further comprising:

an analysis apparatus, including;

a contact associated information acquisition unit, for reading one or more sets of contact associated information from the operating data storage unit;

an analysis unit, for processing the one or more sets of contact associated information read by the contact associated information acquisition unit and obtaining predetermined information; and

an analysis results output unit, for outputting the predetermined information obtained by the analysis unit.

7. A data collection system according to claim 6, wherein the analysis unit employs two or more sets of contact associated information to obtain operator moving time information, which concerns the moving time for a operator, and restoration time information, which concerns a restoration time.

8. A data collection system according to claim 7, wherein the analysis unit includes:

a operator moving time information acquisition unit, for obtaining, based on two or more sets of contact associated information, information concerning a period extending from the start of the ON state of a buzzer to the OFF state, and defining the information as operator moving time information; and

a restoration time information acquisition unit, for employing, after the buzzer has been switched from on to off, two or more sets of contact associated information to obtain information concerning a period required before the equipment is normal operation, and defining the information as the restoration time information.

9. A data collection system according to claim 8, wherein the analysis results output unit includes:

a moving time histogram output unit, for preparing, based on operator moving time information obtained by the operator moving time information acquisition unit, a histogram that employs, as respective axes, operator moving time, which is represented by the operator moving time information, and a frequency at which movement during the pertinent moving time occurred and/or a total time for one or more movements during the moving time, and for outputting the histogram; and

a restoration time histogram output unit for, based on restoration time information obtained by the restoration time information acquisition unit, preparing a histogram that employs, as respective axes, a restoration time, which is represented by the restoration time information, and a frequency for an occurrence of a restoration requiring the restoration time and/or a total time for one or more restorations, each of which require the restoration time, and for outputting the histogram.

10. A data collection system according to claim 7, wherein the divergence apparatus further includes a state recognition unit, for employing contact information acquired by the contact information acquisition unit to obtain state information, which is information concerning a state of the equipment;

wherein the contact associated information includes time information, which is time related information; and

wherein the analysis apparatus includes a correction unit, for correcting, based on a period that the state recognition unit requires to acquire state information, the operator moving time information and the restoration time information.

11. A data collection system according to claim 6, wherein the analysis unit further includes an operating data statistical processor, for calculating the total of durations of the individual states indicated by the state information for the equipment;

and

wherein the analysis results output unit outputs a graph showing occurrence rates for the states based on the total, obtained by the operating data statistical processor, of durations for the states that are indicated by the state information.

12. A data collection system according to claim 6, wherein the analysis unit includes an operating data statistical processor, for calculating durations and/or frequencies of individual states indicated by state information for the equipment;

and wherein the analysis results output unit outputs histograms for frequencies of the states based on the duration and/or frequencies obtained by the operating data statistical processor.

13. A data collection system according to claim 6, wherein the analysis unit includes an operating data statistical processor, for calculating ON durations and frequencies for the individual states indicated by state information for the equipment, and for also calculating OFF durations and frequencies for the states;

and

wherein the analysis output unit outputs ON histograms and OFF histograms that represent ON and OFF frequencies for the states based on the ON durations and frequencies and the OFF durations, and frequencies for the individual states that have been obtained by the operating data statistical processor.

14. A data collection system according to claim 13, wherein the operating data statistical processor employs the ON duration and the frequency of a state and/or the OFF duration and the frequency of a state to determine an occurrence type, and the analysis results output unit outputs the occurrence type;

and

wherein the occurrence type is either a “

long and frequent occurrence type”

, a “

short and frequent occurrence type”

, a “

long and sporadic occurrence type”

or a “

short and sporadic occurrence type”

.

15. A data collection system according to claim 13, wherein the analysis unit includes a state identification information storage unit, for storing state identification information that is used to identify a state and one or more occurrence types correlated with each other;

wherein the operating data statistical processor employs the ON duration and a frequency of a state and/or the OFF duration and a frequency of a state to determine an occurrence type, and employs the occurrence type to search the state identification information storage unit and find state identification information;

wherein the analysis results output unit outputs the state identification information; and

wherein the occurrence type is either a “

long and frequent occurrence type”

, a “

short and frequent occurrence type”

, a “

long and sporadic occurrence type”

or a “

short and sporadic occurrence type”

.

16. A data collection system according to claim 6, wherein the analysis unit includes an operating data statistical processor, for calculating OFF durations and frequencies of individual states indicated by state information for the equipment;

and

wherein the analysis results output unit employs the OFF durations and frequencies of the states, obtained by the operating data statistical processor, to output OFF histograms that represent OFF frequencies of the states.