Dynamic maintenance scheduling system for surface cleaning machines

• US 9,568,911 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2013
• Issued: 02/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tennant Company
• Original Assignee: Tennant Company
• Inventors: Groschen, Paul L., Erko, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rodriguez, Carlos Ortiz
• Application Number:
  US14/090,859
• Publication Number:
  US 20140156035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,176 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/293 the tools being disc brushes
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 11/4002 Installations of electric equipment
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold
• 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 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/20 Administration of product repair or maintenance

Abstract

An automatic and dynamic maintenance scheduling system for surface cleaning machines. Based on the receipt or lack of receipt of machine usage data from the machine, the system will adjust or maintain scheduled service call dates.

Claims

1. A dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system comprising:

a mobile surface maintenance machine supporting a central data unit (CDU) comprising one or more programmable processors, wherein the one or more programmable processors of the CDU are adapted to collect machine usage data from the machine, the machine usage data corresponding to at least an amount of time of surface maintenance performed by the surface maintenance machine; and

an offsite computer comprising one or more programmable processors;

wherein the one or more programmable processors of the CDU and the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to execute instructions to cause, on an automatic, recurring basis, at least one of

i. the offsite computer to prompt the CDU to transmit the machine usage data to the offsite computer, and

ii. the CDU to transmit the machine usage data to the offsite computer;

the offsite computer being adapted to determine whether the offsite computer has failed to receive machine usage data,

when the offsite computer determines that it received machine usage data from the CDU, the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically reschedule an onsite machine service call date when the machine usage data meets a rescheduling criteria or automatically keeps a previously scheduled onsite machine service call date when the machine usage data fails to meet the rescheduling criteria; and

when the offsite computer determines that it failed to receive machine usage data from the CDU, the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically keep the previously scheduled onsite machine service call date.

2. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein if the offsite computer receives machine usage data from the CDU, the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically adjust all onsite machine service call dates when the machine usage data meets the rescheduling criteria.

3. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein if the offsite computer receives machine usage data from the CDU, the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically maintain all previously scheduled onsite machine service call dates when the machine usage data fails to meet the rescheduling criteria.

4. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein if the offsite computer fails to receive machine usage data from the CDU, the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically maintain all previously scheduled onsite machine service call dates.

5. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the rescheduling criteria is met when a threshold change occurs in the machine usage data.

6. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 5, wherein the threshold change is a threshold increase or threshold decrease in average machine usage hours per week or per month.

7. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the rescheduling criteria is met when a calculated date differs from the scheduled onsite machine service call date by a threshold amount, the calculated date being a projection of when the machine will reach a threshold number of usage hours based on the machine usage data.

8. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the rescheduling criteria is met when the machine usage data meets a set usage threshold.

9. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 8, wherein the set usage threshold is a threshold number of machine usage hours.

10. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the CDU also transmits machine error data to the offsite computer, wherein the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically reschedule an onsite machine service call at an earlier date if the machine error data shows that an urgent machine error has occurred.

11. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 10, wherein the one or more processors of the offsite computer are also adapted to use the machine error data to automatically generate machine repair instructions and/or to automatically order a machine replacement part.

12. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors of the offsite computer are adapted to continue to prompt the CDU to transmit machine usage data until the offsite computer schedules an onsite service call date within a set time period.

13. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the previously scheduled onsite service call date is a date the offsite computer generated using machine identification data.

14. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 13, wherein the previously scheduled onsite service call date is a machine purchase anniversary date.

21. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the offsite computer is an offsite service center computer.

22. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the offsite computer is a mobile service unit computer.

23. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the offsite computer is located at an offsite service center.

24. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 1, wherein the offsite computer is comprised of at least one of one or more programmable processors, one or more memory modules, and one or more communication modules.

15. A dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system for a fleet of vehicles, comprising:

a plurality of mobile surface maintenance machines within the fleet of vehicles, each surface maintenance machine for maintaining surfaces at different locations, each surface maintenance machine supporting an engine control unit (ECU) and a central data unit (CDU) that are in data communication for transferring machine usage data from the ECU to the CDU, each CDU comprising one or more programmable processors;

an offsite computer at a location remote from the a plurality of surface maintenance machines, the offsite computer comprising one or more programmable processors;

wherein the one or more programmable processors of each CDU and the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to execute instructions to cause, on an automatic, recurring basis, at least one of

i. the offsite computer to prompt the CDUs to transmit the machine usage data associated with such CDU to the offsite computer, and

ii. each CDU to transmit the machine usage data of the floor treatment machine associated with such CDU to the offsite computer,

the machine usage data corresponding to at least an amount of time of surface maintenance performed by the surface maintenance machine;

the offsite computer being adapted to determine whether the offsite computer has failed to receive machine usage data,

when the offsite computer determines that it received machine usage data from a particular one the CDUs, the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically reschedule an onsite machine service call date for the surface treatment machine associated with the particular one of the CDUs when such machine usage data meets a rescheduling criteria or automatically keep a previously scheduled onsite machine service call date for the surface treatment machine associated with the particular one of the CDUs when such machine usage data fails to meet the rescheduling criteria; and

when the offsite computer determines that it failed to receive machine usage data from the particular one of the CDUs, the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically keep the previously scheduled onsite machine service call date for the surface treatment machine associated with the particular one of the CDUs.

16. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein higher than expected machine usage occurs when a threshold increase occurs in average machine hours per week or per month and wherein lower than expected machine usage occurs when a threshold decrease occurs in average machine hours per week or per month.

17. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein the one or more programmable processors of each CDU are also adapted to transmit machine error data to the offsite computer, wherein the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to automatically reschedule an onsite machine service call at an earlier date if the machine error data shows that an urgent machine error has occurred.

18. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein the one or more programmable processors of the offsite computer are adapted to continue to prompt each CDU to transmit machine usage data until the offsite computer schedules an onsite service call date within a set time period.

19. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein the previously scheduled onsite service call date is a date the offsite computer generated using machine identification data.

20. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 19, wherein the previously scheduled onsite service call date is a machine purchase anniversary date.

25. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein the offsite computer is located at an offsite service center.

26. The dynamic machine maintenance scheduling system of claim 15, wherein the offsite computer is comprised of hardware implemented within separate devices.