Working machine failure information centralized managing system

• US 8,108,242 B2
• Filed: 02/02/2006
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Komatsu Ltd.
• Inventors: Arakawa, Shuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Jeanty, Romain
• Application Number:
  US11/883,428
• Publication Number:
  US 20080140435A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,189 Days
• Field of Search: 705/7.27
• US Class Current: 705/7.27
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/26 Indicating devices E02F5/145 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E02F 9/267 Diagnosing or detecting failure of vehicles
• 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: G06Q 10/0633 Workflow analysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/80 Management or planning

Abstract

With a system and a method of providing information on a working machine, it is allowed to promptly handle a failure that has not been initially predicted by its designer. Failure occurrence information is transmitted from the working machine 1 side to the communication server 12 (S201). The communication server 12 transfers the failure occurrence information to the maintenance server 14 (S202). The maintenance server 14 additionally records the failure occurrence information to the database. The server 14 computes to obtain predetermined statistical information based on the design failure information, the production failure information, the information related to the treatment examples carried out at the work sites, and the failure occurrence information additionally recorded. The server 14 transmits the obtained statistical information to the communication server 12 (S203). The communication server 12 transmits the statistical information to the working machine 1 (S204). In the working machine 1 side, the statistical information is correlated with the failure occurrence information and recorded in the storage device 111. The statistical information is displayed on the display 142.

Claims

1. A centralized information management device of a working machine comprising:

working machines in addition to the working machine, thereby making up a plurality of working machines;

a storing means for separately storing failure management information including at least information that indicates a method of handling a failure which is expected to occur, depending on each individual working machine which is under the management of the device;

the storing means further for storing treatment information for each model of various models of the plurality of working machines which are under the management of the device;

an information processing means for receiving information related to each individual working machine, which includes at least predetermined failure information that indicates failure occurrence, wirelessly transmitted from information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine under the management of the device, to perform a predetermined processing on the information;

the information processing means further for receiving information, which also includes failure-handling result information that indicates failure handling performed on an occurred failure for each model of the working machine, classifying the received failure information for each model, processing the received failure information statistically, determining a failure which is expected to occur for each model, associating the received failure information and the expected failure determination, and determining a method of handling the failure with respect to each failure;

a failure management information revising means for performing an update processing or an additional processing of new information on the failure management information stored in the storing means, based on a processing result by the information processing means;

the failure management information revising means further for performing an update processing of the treatment information for each model on the failure management information stored in the storing means; and

a transmitting means for transmitting the failure management information or the revised failure management information in response to a request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine or from a portable terminal carried by an operator;

the transmitting means further for transmitting the treatment information corresponding to the model of each individual working machine in the updated failure management information in response to the request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each of the individual working machines or from the portable terminal carried by the operator.

2. A failure management information providing system of a working machine comprising a working machine and a centralized information management device which puts the working machine under its management, wherein the working machine has:

a condition detecting means for detecting conditions of respective parts of which the working machine consists;

a failure information generating means for collecting information related to the conditions of the respective parts which is detected by the condition detecting means to check whether or not a failure occurs in the respective parts referring to the collected information, and when the failure occurrence is distinguished, generating predetermined failure information to output it;

an information transmitting/receiving means for wirelessly transmitting the failure information output from the failure information generating means as well as receiving treatment information related to the failure information wirelessly transmitted to output it; and

an informing means for serving to inform an operator of the failure information output from the failure information generating means or the treatment information output from the information transmitting/receiving means, and wherein

the centralized information management device has;

a storing means for separately storing failure management information including at least information that indicates a method of handling a failure which is expected to occur, depending on each individual working machine which is under the management of the device;

an information processing means for receiving information related to each individual working machine, which includes at least the predetermined failure information that indicates the failure occurrence, wirelessly transmitted from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working under the management of the device, to perform a predetermined processing on the information;

a failure management information revising means for performing an update processing or an additional processing of new information on the failure management information stored in the storing means based on a processing result by the information processing means; and

a transmitting means for transmitting the failure management information or the revised failure management information in response to a request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine or from a portable terminal carried by an operator,

wherein the failure management information management providing system further comprises working machines including the working machine, wherein at least one of the working machines has;

the condition detecting means further for detecting conditions of respective parts of which the working machine consists;

the failure information generating means further for collecting information related to the conditions of the respective parts which are detected by the condition detecting means to check whether or not the failure occurs in the respective parts referring to the collected information, when the failure occurrence is distinguished, generating failure information, that indicates the occurred failure; and

when a method of handling is performed for the occurred failure, inputting handling method information that indicates the performed method of handling;

the information transmitting/receiving means further for wirelessly transmitting, to the centralized information management device, failure information generated in the failure information generating means and handling method information input to the failure information generating means as well as receiving treatment information that indicates the method of handling for a failure which is expected to occur, wirelessly received from the centralized information management device, to output it; and

the informing means further for serving to inform an operator of the treatment information output from the transmitting/receiving means; and

the centralized information management device has;

the storing means further for storing the failure management information including at least treatment information that indicates a method of handling a failure which is expected to occur, for each model of various models of the working machines which are under the management of the device;

the information processing means further for receiving the information related to each individual working machine, which includes the predetermined failure information that indicates failure occurrence plus failure handling result information that indicates failure handling performed on the occurred failure for each model of the working machine, classifying the received failure information for each model, processing the received information statistically, determining a failure which the received failure information expected to occur for each model, associating the received failure information and the expected failure determination, and determining a method of handling the failure with respect to each failure;

the failure management information revising means further for performing an update processing of the treatment information for each model based on the failure management information stored in the storing means; and

the transmitting means further for transmitting the treatment information corresponding to the model of each individual working machine in the updated failure management information in response to the request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each of the individual working machines or from the portable terminal carried by the operator, to each of the individual working machines or the portable terminal.

3. A failure management information providing method of a working machine comprising a working machine;

working machines in addition to the working machine, thereby making up a plurality of working machines; and

a centralized information management device which puts the working machine under its management, comprising the steps of;

detecting conditions of respective parts of which the working machine consists;

collecting information related to the conditions of the respective parts which is detected by the step of detecting the conditions to check whether or not a failure occurs in the respective parts referring to the collected information, and when the failure occurrence is distinguished, generating predetermined failure information to output it;

wirelessly transmitting the failure information generated in the step of generating and outputting the failure information as well as receiving treatment information related to the failure information wirelessly transmitted to output it; and

informing an operator of the failure information generated in the step of generating and outputting the failure information or the treatment information received in the step of receiving and outputting the treatment information, and wherein the centralized information management device includes the steps of;

separately storing failure management information including at least information that indicates a method of handling a failure which is expected to occur, depending on each individual working machine which is under the management of the device;

the storing of the failure management information includes storing treatment information for each model of various models of the plurality of working machines which are under the management of the device;

receiving information related to each individual working machine, which includes at least the predetermined failure information that indicates the failure occurrence, wirelessly transmitted from an information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine under the management of the device, to perform a predetermined processing on the information;

the receiving information includes failure-handling result information that indicates failure handling performed on an occurred failure for each model of the working machine, classifying the received failure information for each model, processing the received failure information statistically, determining a failure which is expected to occur for each model, associating the received failure information and the expected failure determination, and determining a method of handling the failure with respect to each failure;

performing an update processing or an additional processing of new information on the failure management information stored in the step of storing, based on a processing result in the step of performing the predetermined processing;

the performing of the update processing including update processing of the treatment information for each model based on the failure management information stored in the storing means; and

transmitting the failure management information or the revised failure management information in response to a request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine or from a portable terminal carried by an operator, the transmitting including transmitting the treatment information corresponding to the model of each individual working machine in the updated failure management information in response to the request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each of the individual working machines or from the portable terminal carried by the operator.

4. A centralized information management method of a working machine comprising the steps of:

separately storing failure management information including at least information that indicates a method of handling a failure which is expected to occur, depending on each individual working machine which is under the management;

receiving information related to each individual working machine, which includes at least predetermined failure information that indicates failure occurrence, wirelessly transmitted from information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine under the management, to perform a predetermined processing on the information;

performing an update processing or an additional processing of new information on the failure management information stored in the step of storing, based on a processing result in the step of performing the predetermined processing;

transmitting the failure management information or the revised failure management information in response to a request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each individual working machine or from a portable terminal carried by an operator; and

the centralized information management method managing working machines including the working machine, wherein the previously the steps of separately storing failure management information, receiving information related to each individual working machine, performing an update processing or an additional processing of new information, and transmitting the failure management information or the revised failure management information in response are performed for at least one of the working machines and further comprise;

when the failure information indicates the failure occurred, a method of handling is performed for the occurred failure by inputting handling method information that indicates the performed method of handling;

receiving the information related to each individual working machine plus failure-handling result information that indicates failure handling performed on the occurred failure for each model of the working machine as well as receiving treatment information that indicates the method of handling for a failure which is expected to occur, classifying the received failure information for each model, processing the received information statistically, determining a failure which the received failure information expected to occur for each model, associating the received failure information and the expected failure determination, and determining a method of handling the failure with respect to each failure;

performing the update processing of the treatment information for each model on the failure management information stored in the storing means; and

transmitting the treatment information corresponding to the model of each individual working machine in the updated failure management information in response to the request from the information transmitting/receiving means arranged in each of the individual working machine or from the portable terminal carried by the operator, to each of the individual working machines or the portable terminal.