System and method for maintenance support

• US 8,589,533 B2
• Filed: 08/05/2008
• Issued: 11/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ABB AG (ABB Limited)
• Original Assignee: ABB AG (ABB Limited)
• Inventors: John, Dirk, Bollmeyer, Stefan, Fengler, Frank, Hilsch, Georg, Braun, Roland
• Primary Examiner(s): ALGIBHAH, HAMZA N
• Application Number:
  US12/185,979
• Publication Number:
  US 20090043885A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,932 Days
• Field of Search: 709/224
• US Class Current: 709/224
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

System and method for maintenance support for electronically actuated and/or monitored appliances implemented within an electronically networked automation system, having a central monitoring unit processing present operating parameters for appliances for establishing the servicing state of the appliances using comparison operating parameters, where an external SSIS server logically combines the servicing request established by the monitoring unit with appliance-specific servicing performance information stored in a database and forwards these data to electronic mobile terminals of the servicing personnel in order to perform the servicing.

Claims

1. A system for maintenance support of at least one of electronically actuated and monitored appliances implemented within an electronically networked automation system, comprising:

a monitoring unit comprising a processor which processes present operating parameters for the appliances in order to establish a servicing state of the appliances using comparison operating parameters and

an external SSIS (Service Support Information System) server for logically combining a servicing request established by the monitoring unit with appliance-specific servicing performance information stored in a database and forwarding this information in file form to electronic mobile terminals belonging to a servicing personnel in order to perform servicing;

wherein the servicing performance information comprises;

a video clip for providing audio-visual information about at least one of setup and servicing features of the appliance to be serviced; and

navigation information for finding the appliance to be serviced within the automation system accommodated in a building or factory site section, from an entrance to the building or factory site section.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the navigation information has a multilevel structure, comprising at least one of the following pieces of route information:

a first piece of route information for finding the postal address of a factory site comprising the automation system using the present position of the servicing personnel'"'"'s mobile terminal equipped with a GPS module and

a second piece of route information for finding the building or factory site section on the factory site which contains the automation system, from the postal address.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the servicing performance information comprises a text instruction, matching the specific servicing case, with servicing steps to be performed in order.

4. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the mobile terminal of the servicing personnel is equipped with a camera for real-time communication via the SSIS server during the servicing work.

5. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein

the mobile terminal of the servicing personnel is equipped with a communication interface for local connection to the automation system, and with means for interchanging servicing-related information with the SSIS server via the automation system.

6. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation information includes satellite assisted navigation information.

7. A method for maintenance support for at least one of electronically actuated and monitored appliances which are implemented within an electronically networked automation system and whose present operating parameters are monitored by a monitoring unit in order to establish the servicing state of the appliances using comparison operating parameters,

wherein

an external SSIS (Service Support Information System) server for logically combining a servicing request established by the monitoring unit with appliance-specific servicing performance information stored in a database, and wherein these data are forwarded to electronic mobile terminals of servicing personnel in order to perform servicing;

wherein the SSIS server transmits servicing performance information to the relevant servicing personnel'"'"'s mobile terminal containing a video clip for providing audio-visual information about at least one of setup and servicing features of the appliance to be serviced and;

navigation information comprising information for finding the appliance to be serviced in a building or factory site section, from an entrance to the building or factory site section.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the navigation information includes satellite assisted navigation information.

9. A maintenance support method for at least one of electronically actuated and monitored appliances which are implemented within an electronically networked automation system, the method comprising:

recording present operating parameters by a monitoring unit in order to establish a servicing state of the appliances using comparison operating parameters;

logically combining a servicing request established by the monitoring unit with appliance-specific servicing performance information stored in a database;

forwarding these data to electronic mobile terminals for servicing; and

wherein the data contains;

a video clip for providing audio-visual information about at least one of setup and servicing features of the appliance to be serviced; and

navigation information for finding the appliance to be serviced within the automation system accommodated in a building or factory site section, from an entrance to the building or factory site section.

10. The maintenance support method as claimed in claim 9, comprising:

an external SSIS server (Service Support Information System) for logically combining a servicing request established by the monitoring unit with appliance-specific servicing performance information stored in a database.

11. The maintenance support method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the electronic mobile terminals are associated with servicing personnel in order to perform the servicing.

12. The maintenance support method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the navigation information includes satellite assisted navigation information.