Remote maintenance system, monitoring center computer used for the same, monitoring system and method of communication for maintenance

• US 8,234,095 B2
• Filed: 02/26/2009
• Issued: 07/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 11/05/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: mitsubishi hitachi power systems, ltd. (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nagafuchi, Naoyuki, Inoue, Hidenori, Morikawa, Toshihiro, Goto, Jinichiro, Takada, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): BHAT, ADITYA S
• Application Number:
  US12/393,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20090177441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,251 Days
• Field of Search: 702/184
• US Class Current: 702/184
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling

Abstract

A remote maintenance system has a monitoring computer for monitoring a facility and a monitoring center computer for maintenance management. The monitoring computer has a database for storing image data of the monitored facility. The monitoring center computer a database for storing CAD data for the monitored facility. The monitoring center computer provides coordinates to the image data sent from the monitoring computer, and superposes the image coordinate data and CAD coordinate data for the CAD. The center computer locates a needed maintenance location on the basis of the result of the superposition processing.

Claims

1. A remote trial-operation support system comprising:

a monitoring computer for monitoring a facility to be operated; and

a monitoring center computer for monitoring information held with said monitoring computer and sending information of a trial-operation method to be needed to said monitoring computer, through a pay station line,

wherein said monitoring computer has a database for storing image data of said monitored facility, and said monitoring center computer includes;

a database for storing CAD data for said monitored facility;

a function for providing coordinates to said image data sent from the monitoring computer to form image coordinate data;

a function for superposing said image coordinate data and CAD coordinate data for said CAD; and

a function for determining said information of the trial-operation method on the basis of a result of said superposition processing.

2. The remote trial-operation support system according to claim 1, wherein said system is further comprised of:

a tag having a storage and being installed in said monitored facility; and

mobile equipment being connected with said monitoring computer through a communication line,

wherein said mobile equipment has;

a function for receiving said tag information via radio communication; and

a function for sending the received tag information to said monitoring center computer,

wherein said monitoring center computer further has;

a database for storing said information of the trial-operation method for said monitored facility;

a function for receiving said tag information sent from said mobile equipment;

a function for retrieving said information of the trial-operation method from said database on the basis of said tag information; and

a function for sending said retrieved information of the trial-operation method to at least one of said mobile equipment and said monitoring computer.

3. The remote trial-operation support system according to claim 2, wherein said tag has a function for updating said tag information in said tag through the use of information inputted to the mobile equipment.

4. The remote trial-operation support system according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring center computer or said monitoring computer has a function for varying cursor data on a second display screen of a second party at another end when cursor data on a first display screen of a first party is varied.

5. The remote trial-operation support system according to claim 4, wherein said cursor-varying function varies said cursor data on said display screen of said second party at the other end by sending only cursor-position-varying information of said monitoring center computer or said monitoring computer to said second party.

6. The remote trial-operation support system according to claim 1, wherein said information of the trial-operation method includes a procedure of said trial-operation.

7. A monitoring center computer for sending information of a trial-operation method to be needed to a monitoring computer used for monitoring a facility, through a pay station line,

wherein said monitoring center computer includes:

a database for storing CAD data used for said monitored facility;

a function for providing coordinates to image data sent from a database of said monitoring computer that stores said image data of said monitored facility, and thereby forming image coordinate data;

a function for performing superposing of said image coordinate data and CAD coordinate data for said CAD; and

a function for determining a set of conditions that need to be adjusted during a trial operation on the basis of a result of said superposition processing.

8. The monitoring center computer according to claim 7, wherein said monitoring center computer further comprises:

a database for storing information of a trial-operation method for said monitored facility;

a function for receiving tag information stored in a storage of a tag installed in said monitored facility, from said monitoring computer or mobile equipment being connected with said monitoring computer by a communication line,

a function for retrieving said information of the trial-operation method to be needed from said data base, on the basis of said tag information; and

a function for sending said retrieved information of the trial-operation method to at least one of said mobile equipment and said monitoring computer.

9. The monitoring center computer according to claim 7, wherein said computer has a function for varying cursor data on a second display screen of a second party at another end when cursor data on a first display screen of a first party is varied.

10. The monitoring center computer according to claim 9, wherein said cursor-varying function varies said cursor data on said second display screen of said second party at the other end by sending only cursor-position-varying information of said monitoring center computer to said second party.

11. A communication method of sending information of a trial-operation method to be needed from said monitoring center computer to a monitoring computer for monitoring a facility, through a pay station line,

said monitoring center computer performing the following steps:

storing CAD data of said monitored facility in a database;

receiving image data of said monitored facility stored in a database of said monitoring computer as a party at another end;

providing coordinates to said image data received from said monitoring computer to form image coordinate data;

superposing said image coordinate data and CAD coordinate data which is formed by providing coordinates to said CAD data; and

determining a set of conditions that need to be adjusted during the trial-operation, on the basis of a result of said superposition processing.

12. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein said monitoring center computer further performs the following steps:

storing information of the trial-operation method for said monitored facility;

receiving tag information stored in a storage of a tag installed in said monitored facility, from said monitoring computer or mobile equipment being connected with said monitoring computer by a communication line;

retrieving said information of the trial-operation method to be needed from said data base, on the basis of said tag information; and

sending said retrieved information of the trial-operation method to at least one of said mobile equipment and said monitoring computer.

13. The communication method according to claim 11, wherein said monitoring center computer further performs the following step:

sending information to a second party at another end of the communication line for varying cursor data on a second display screen of said second party at another end when cursor data on a first display screen of a first party is varied.

14. The communication method according to claim 13,

wherein, in said cursor-varying step, said monitoring center sends only cursor-position-varying information of said first display screen to said second party at another end.